Colorado Bound

{Photo from Derek's mission to Colorado Springs. June 2004-June 2006}

Today Derek packed up the car and headed West from Washington D.C. to one of his favorite places on earth. Colorado has always held a special place in his heart ever since serving his LDS mission there. This time around, he will be completing a clerkship at a hospital in Denver and he couldn't be more excited. When we initially packed up our apartment in Arizona, I mistakenly placed an old Parker Colorado 2006 Stake Directory in a box for storage. Faster than the speed of light, or so it seemed, Derek snatched it up and gently placed it in his backpack to carry with him. Looks like this boy of mine really does love this state with the Rocky Mountains as their backyard. 

On another note, any must sees/eats while I visit Denver in a few days? 

insta-life

D.C. Take Three

 I think it's safe to say that by day three we were both a little tired and worn out. We slept in this morning, ate breakfast by our hotel, and then spent the afternoon back in the city. We spent the majority of the afternoon at the Museum of Natural History, which was amazing. Walking in, you are greeted by the world's largest known elephant (stuffed of course) and the beautiful domed ceiling of the museum reflecting light off the stained windows. We were able to see the Hope Diamond, countless dinosaur bones and fossils, "stuffed" exotic and wild animals, and a huge collection of gems and minerals. The icing on the cake was seeing the Oakley Meteorite, which fell in Derek's hometown in Idaho in 1926. We ended the evening walking in downtown, admiring the architecture, and one last Metro ride before heading back in.

Turning 24 with the Varsity Football Team

When I first came home to San Diego, my Mom was over the moon excited that I would be able to be here for my birthday. Since I went to college at 17 and have a September birthday, I haven't been home to celebrate in a long time. Well, just as luck had it, my Dad volunteered to feed the entire Varsity Football team (my brother is below in the blue Vans shirt & a starter) on my birthday. When my Mom first told me, I looked at her and said, "And WHY didn't you do this on my 16th birthday?" It wasn't a big deal at all, and my Mom and I had a lot of fun making all the decorations for it. We knew the boys wouldn't care, but we did and wanted to make it cute. It was a super fun night and all the boys were very polite, sweet, and grateful to have a huge plate of delicious food in their bellies. After they all left, we cleaned up and settled in to open my presents. Even though Derek is still out on clerkships, it was fun to have my countdown to 3 weeks until flying to Denver to see him. It was a great way to celebrate my birthday and to welcome in a new year.

D.C Take Two

 Our second day in the city was filled with more walking and even more sweating. The forecast called for rain, and even though it only sprinkled a few minutes, I sure sweat enough to feel like it had poured buckets. It was sooooo humid. Of course, it was the day we chose to go out to Arlington National Cemetery and walk for miles on end. Oh, did I mention I forgot to bring water bottles this day too? Even though we were hot, sweaty, and thirsty, we had a great time. Since we forgot water, we fell victim to spending $3 on a bottle we downed in .234 seconds while admiring the beautiful Smithsonian Castle. We decided to cool down in the afternoon by touring the Air & Space Museum. Derek was like a little kid again, and even convinced me to do a flight simulator with him. We ended the day with another trip to Capitol Hill where we might have eaten the best pizza of our lives.

D.C. Take One

Our first day in the city was jammed packed. We decided to do all the monuments & memorials this day and did a ton of walking. We lucked out and did most of it before it was too hot and humid, and spent the afternoon in one of the many Smithsonian Museums. All of the monuments we visited this day were so grand, beautiful, and literally jaw dropping. The architecture alone is impressive, but the feelings in the war memorials were very real. It was such an experience to see names, faces, and dates for those who served our country at times of war. It was definitely a busy day. We rounded out the evening in our new favorite neighborhood of Capitol Hill, and even picked out a row house for when we decide to move there. 

Home to Stay

Well, we survived Labor Day weekend in D.C. It was busy, crowded, hot & humid, but really, really fun. We both totally fell in love with the city and all aspects of it. Riding the metro, the museums, local restaurants for dinner, and especially the neighborhood of Capitol Hill. I left Derek in the city for his first clerkship of the year and am at home in San Diego with my family. So far, Derek is enjoying the hospital, even though 18+ hour days might kill him in the end. I can't complain....I'm being just a tiny bit spoiled here at home.

Photos from our weekend will be up soon.