"Monumental" Weekend

A couple of weekends ago, my friend Heather and I went to a few monuments. Being September 11, we thought it would be nice to see the Pentagon memorial. It's a beautiful and fitting tribute to those who lost their lives on 9/11 and there was a very reverent feeling there. We then headed to the Air Force memorial and the Iwo Jima memorial. All were inspirational and left me with a feeling of gratitude for both this wonderful country in which we live and for the men and women who sacrifice their lives to protect our freedoms.

Heather and Me

Iwo Jima

Air Force

Air Force spires- so grand!

Pentagon Memorial

Pentagon Memorial- made to look like wings

Names are inscribed on the "wings" and several people left flowers that weekend. A beautiful sight.

Charming Old Town

If you ever plan to visit DC, make sure you plan in a stop at Old Town Alexandria. It is the most quaint and charming little place ever! It's especially charming to walk down it's brick paved sidewalks and cobblestone streets at night, and see all the darling colonial style buildings, shops, and restaurants. The best part is at the end of the street when you come to a beautiful waterfront that has a marina full of sailboats and a view that will take your breath away! You can see the city lights reflected on the water, a beautiful bridge lit up, and the Washington monument in the distance.

I didn't take any pictures of it, and now wish I had, but I will definitely be going back. Here's a pic of me and my friend, Dixie (who's in my program with me), in front of an archway not far from Old Town.

Sardines

Today was the first day I attempted to ride the metro during rush hour. Boy, I had no idea how packed they really get! It really is just like sardines. Just when I thought we couldn't fit anyone else in our car, at least 10 more people managed to squeeze in, leading me to remember the Genie in Aladdin's comment, "itty bitty living space" about living in the lamp.

There literally was no option to have a personal bubble. It got so packed I didn't even have space for my arm to hold on to a bar to keep me steady. On the other hand, people were so tightly packed around me, it was like I had my own airbag on all sides. I didn't have to worry about moving- because I literally couldn't!

Perhaps the biggest lesson I learned today through this experience was the importance of brushing your teeth...yes, (sheepishly I'm admitting) I actually neglected to do today. So this is a shoutout from the rookie to all my sardine friends, "I'm sorry about my breath this morning. Hopefully you didn't notice since I am a nosebreather, but at any rate, I'll make sure to brush my teeth next time!"

Raclette

One of my new friends in my ward invited me over on Sunday for a swiss meal. They call it raclette. It was delicious! Basically you put the food on the little shovel and top it with cheese, then put the shovel on the raclette grill and it broils the cheese. Yum!! Lindsey made two dishes- one with turkey, pears, and almonds; and the other was some sort of bratwurst with sauerkraut. Both were delicious! It was so nice of her to prepare dinner for us and it was so fun to learn a new cooking method and about another culture.

Necessity or Desire?

So everybody out here (at least it seems like everybody) has a pair of these! And I need to figure out how to get me a pair...

The only trouble is deciding which pattern to get!

Time to Say Goodbye...Part I

I have so many wonderful friends! Before I left, several of them came to a going away party for me. Thanks to Annalyse and Kathryn especially for all the work they put into providing such a fun and memorable evening. The decor and food was to die for!

Melanie

Paul

Melanie, Kellie, Kathryn, Annalyse, and Kathryn

Liz

Bev

Jerusha, Celeste, Niki, and Sharley

Seth, Quade, and Marcos

Sistas

Teresa

Kristy, Jess, and KaDee

Paul, Raunde, Amanda, Gen, and Wes

Thanks for such a fun night everyone!

Camping!

A couple weeks before I left for DC, Justin and Andrea invited us to go camping with them. It was so nice to relax and spend a couple days up in the mountains away from everything. It's amazing how all your cares disappear and how time seems to stand still.

We had fun playing games, taking walks, talking, eating, sitting around the campfire, and just being with eachother. We were also grateful we were free of harm from the moose that charged through our campground and almost trampled me when it got stuck in our tent pole strings! And boy am I glad to be alive! Needless to say, we took the tent down that next morning and J&A slept in the truck the next night!

Oh, and it was by far the easiest camping trip I've ever been on. Justin and Andrea provided everything for Kellie and I. They brought the food (prepared it, too), put up the tent, and everything. Thanks, J&A! I owe you one...

Pete came and spent the evening with us (and had a lot of fun, too. his face says it all, right?)