Washington DC

Forgive me for blogging out of order but I must catch up. As you might recall, we took a trip to Washington DC with my mom, dad, and brother in July. My mom had a nursing education conference there so we met them for what was supposed to be a fun filled, sight seeing, family trip. And it was still a good trip, it just wasn't as fun since my Grandma passed away in Utah while we were there and my mom went home early to take care of funeral plans. All the same, we are grateful for the trip and here are some highlights! (Oh and sorry for the tremendous amount of pictures, this blog is becoming a great scrapbook!)

Day 1
Checked into a very nice Marriott courtesy of my mom and the college

Day 2
Woke up early to get tickets for the Bureau of Printing and Engraving where they print the dollar
Crossing the National Mall(and attempting to smile in the blazing sun)on the way to...the Smithsonian CastleThe American History Museum where Ryan got a picture with his beloved Steven Colbert

Enjoyed the delightfully warm pool
And checked out some beautiful gardens

Day 3
Woken up at 4:30am with a phone call that Grandma had passed. We spent the next few hours helping my mom get a last minute flight back to Salt Lake. The rest of the day we spent swimming and at the Holocaust Museum
We saw some great architecture on the way



Day 4
The National Aquarium and The Natural History Museum
Air and Space Museum

One of our many rides on the MetroWe only took the Metro to and from our hotel. The rest of the time we walked. And walked and walked. Like when we walked from the Washington Monument to the Capitol. It didn't look that far until we were about half way and our feet were screaming :) Totally worth the view though, especially at sunset.

Then being the brave (or crazy) people that we are, we decided to walk all the way back and see the Lincoln Memorial. Again, very worth the walk. Besides, like they say, when in rome :) Our one lousy picture of the White House due to a nearly dead camera and the fact that the day before when we tried to get a picture during daylight, the police pushed everyone away from the White House. Not sure why...

Day 5
Packed up and headed home

I'm glad we had the chance to discover our Nation's capitol. We covered a lot of ground in the few days we were there but there is still so much we didn't see. Hopefully we get the chance to go back and show my mom around soon!

There's no place like home

I certainly have some blog catching up to do so here goes...

We were fortunate enough to take a week off before school starts and head back to Utah for a family visit. Usually we try to get together with friends when we are home but this was dedicated as solely a family visit and it turned out great! Be prepared for LOTS of pictures!

After our flight got in and we waited 2 HOURS for our "reserved" rental car (because they "ran out of cars") we headed down to visit Ryan's sister and brother. We had 3 new nephews and a puppy to meet and they sure are cuties!


The next day we met up with my family. My niece Mckayla is starting Kindergarten so we had a girls day to go back to school shopping while the boys went out to lunch. She is such a diva and had us cracking up during her "fashion show." She and Talmage both got new rainboots from my mom and are in love with them!


The next day we went to the Children's Museum at the Gateway with Ryan's family. It was fun to watch the kids enjoy the neat exhibits.

Later we enjoyed a family BBQ. They boys enjoyed some guy talk on the balcony.
That evening we took advantage of having the whole family together and had some pictures done. We were hoping to go outside but the weather didn't cooperate. I'll post more when they are done being edited by our expert photographer and sister-in-law Kelli.

The following day we again were hoping for good weather to go swimming but ran into rain so we found a neat indoor/outdoor pool and enjoyed the afternoon there with Ryan's sisters and niece and nephews. Check out the cute baby in the swing!

For those of you that don't know, my twin sister is a very talented triathalete and her kids are no exception. Her daughter Mckayla who is 5 has taken to the sport herself and had her 2nd tri scheduled while we were there. I was SO excited to see her compete and we left plenty early to get there. Unfortunately it took us 30 minutes to get about 5 miles on the freeway due to unknown construction and we missed the race!! You can bet I had a royal tantrum in the car :( We got there just after she finished but she was still excited. She had a great time and we are so proud of her!

Later that day we visited the Aquarium. Kind of small but not too shabby.

The Sunday we were home, Ryan had the opportunity to ordain my little brother Tyler an Elder and advance him in the Priesthood. It was a great day and nice to have the whole family together. We love you Ty!



The next day we met Ryan's family at a local school for a picnic lunch. Little did we know we picked the perfect place for a show! Halfway through our lunch we noticed a paraglider above us and shortly after he landed right there on the grass! We came to find out that it was the 2009 national competition and soon we spotted nearly 50 of the competitors 18,000 feet up in the sky. They were supposed to land about 50 miles away but we saw 4 or 5 unlucky guys who didn't quiet make it land right next to us. What a neat experience to see it so close! The picture is hard to see but if you look close you can see a bunch of the parachutes.
Later that day we were able to spend some time visiting my Grandpa. It was SO good to see him and how I wish I could be closer to spend even more time with him. We were also to get together with Ryan's Grandpa and his wife Bonnie a few times. I sure love Grandparents! The funny look on Ryan's face is because his mom asked them to reinact a big hug :)

We made it home safe but not before being delayed getting out of Salt Lake which required our plane in Denver to wait for us and sitting next to a creepy guy who laughed incredibely loud at whatever he was watching and then reached into MY seat front pocket to get a magazine. He didn't even ask! Just started searching then did the same thing when he returned it, can you believe that?!

We really had a great trip and are grateful to our families, especially our parents for hosting us and planning activities. See you in December!!