A week in Washington (D.C.)

My in-laws gave us a wonderful Christmas gift. Complimentary airfare to anywhere in the country for a little family vaca. As we discussed where we wanted to go, it was suggested that Dad was going to D.C. for a conference and they wouldn't mind if we came along. So, we left Brayden with my parents and hopped on the plane for a week of fun in the nation's capitol! :) (My mom did offer to watch Brayden...)

After our oh-so-exciting experience with Delta last time (if you haven't heard our honeymoon story... you should sometime...) I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of flying with them again. Dad fixed that by getting an upgrade ticket to first class and he gave it to me! (so kind!) I told Bryce I would switch him when the pilot turned off the seatbelt sign... which he didn't... *smile* (I paid him... *wink*) It was quite an experience...

We landed around 3:00 EST so we had some time to see a few sights, get a little east coast clam chowder, and snap a few pictures of the monuments at night! What a pretty sight! (p.s. I LOVE my new camera!)

On the way back from our tour of the warm memorials we took a short cut through a field. Little did we know the other side of the field was completely fenced off by a 7 foot chianlink... What other option did we have? That's right, we all (yes all four of us) climbed over the fence. The only thing between us and our hotel was finding the metro station... which disappeared. Funny enough we walked right by it at least twice... we finally figured it out with 2 minutes until the entrance closed. phew! That is the way you start a vacation! 

When I was asked where I wanted to go, the first thing I wanted to do was the International Spy Museum. It is a blast! They instruct you in the skills of espianoge, give you a "cover" (that you must memorize and remember throughout the exhibit because there's a test at the end), and let you explore exhibits covering everything from disguise to famous people you didn't know were spies. There was even an air duct that you could climb through, you had to be very quiet. You can't help but feel a little paranoid after going though... The rest of the week we would pass someone on the street and Bryce would say "he's a spy..." Naturally, no photos allowed...

We also took a tour of the capitol building with an intern from Senator Hatch's office. It really is a facinating building and it is fun to see where laws are made and passed.

The underside of the rotunda

The original Senate room

Day 3 took us to Gettysburg (my other suggestion). We bought ourselves an audio tour and book (so if anyone plans to go, give me a call! I have it!) and after we went through the visitors center and museum we took it to the field! It was a lot of fun to share one of my favorite places with my new family.

The cemetery where Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address.

On Sunday we found a ward that meets in one of the oldest chapel buildings in the country. They even had a little frame with original wood from the Smith cabin on the wall! They were such a wonderful friendly ward. We then toured Mount Vernon. This is seriously one of my favorite places in the world. (Monticello is up there too...) It is so beautiful and peaceful and George Washington is truly an American icon, hero, and all-around good man. As my dad put it "Him and Bilbo Baggins... the only two men to willingly give up power..." Well said. :)

Mount Vernon

The rest of the week we spent at the Smithsonian museums and other sites. We saw pretty much everything...

Natural History Museum

Dorothy's Slippers in the American History Museum

Arlington National Cemetery

On Wednesday we got tickets to see 1776 in Ford's Theater! It was a highlight of the week! We had balcony seats that looked straight across to President Lincoln's chair. The play was fantastic too! I am so glad we were able to go!

Sketch of the assassination

Lincoln was sitting there...

The stage!!!

Brayden sent us pictures all week updating us on how he was doing and what he was up to. It was good for me (I missed him a lot!) and, lets face it he's just darn cute!

Dear Mom and Dad, Stay Hydrated!

Dear Mom and Dad, I now control the remote

Dear Mom and Dad, Look at my new play area!

Dear Mom and Dad, I love you!

Dear Mom and Dad, Can't wait to be in my own bed again.

Dear Mom and Dad, They are feeding me. 

We finished it off by attending a session in the gorgeous Washington D.C. Temple. The best way to finish off a great week!

That's it in a very general nut-shell. Thanks again to my in-laws for the amazing time! It was fun to spend some one-on-one time with you.  I didn't think you needed to read every detail! :) Thanks for reading anyway!

October update

Yep, another month has come and gone and I have one post to claim... I thought I'd update  ya'll and give you another little peek into our humble lives.

Life is busy but we are enjoying our time with our little guy and together.  We tried our hand at canning... Grandma and Grandpa Grass had us over to teach us the ropes and let us use their canner. 11 bottles... pretty tasty. Not too shabby for our first time! :)


We are loving our family history calling in our ward and are learning all sorts of things about the resources available to us. We are teaching a 6 week course during Sunday school where we have a few couples in the ward come into the family history center and we all work on family histories. I've found that an easy way to get into it all is just to go look through the FamilySearch site. But I took a look at the site for the youth that Elder Bednar talked about in General Conference. It is a great resource! Its not as overwhelming as I thought! We are also preparing to take a field trip to the family history library in Salt Lake with some ward members to participate in their youth scavenger hunt. It sounds like a lot of educational fun! I'm just a little bit excited! :)

October has been busy for us. I spent much of the month preparing for our Halloween Bash and our first annual Witch's tea party. I enjoy planning parties, so it has been a lot of fun. This is the big party of the year for me as we have not been established long enough to get into the other holidays. ;) I have also spent some time working on some Halloween decorations to set the mood around the living room. (for more detail, I wrote a post here, here, and here.) The rest of the time I get to play with Brayden who is growing so quickly I can hardly believe it!

Brayden turned 8 months yesterday. He knows how to crawl (though his stomach is is preferred transportation) and he is determined to stand on anything that is sturdy (and sometimes not) to hold his weight. He wants to walk really bad, but is still too wobbly to make it very far. He is a happy little boy and even teething hasn't been too terrible. ( I know, I am so blessed!) He has a third tooth next to his other bottom two that came in last week. He likes real food too. He will usually give me a little face for the first bite of a new food but then he seems to like whatever I choose to give him. Other than that, he'll eat anything he finds... including Max's cat food... twice... but to his defence they do look like his snacks...  He's adventurous and excited to find something he's not supposed to have.

Bryce is working hard studying for his final interview with the executives at his job. He comes home everyday and tells me something new he is learning about the health care industry. There is a LOT to know about the health care industry! He is scheduled to do his interview on the 17th of November. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers! He's going to need some divine assistance, but I know he is capable of passing this thing! Go get 'em sweetheart! :)

Someday I'll figure out how to post a few little videos of Brayden. But for now you just get some more pictures. ;) Thanks for reading! Love you all!

Abby makes a great babysitter. If only she lived closer... so cute! 

Thanks to John and Dana for the awesome saucer. He loves it! 

Yep, cute. :)

This was our first trip out to see the pretty leaves.

XOXO

What a wonderful life!

General Conference is one of my very favorite things. I love the very idea that God is speaking directly to me, my family, and everyone in the world. He communicates what he would like us to know about our situation here on earth through his prophet. There is nothing but love in my heart for these men who dedicate their lives to serving the church membership and citizens world wide in God's name. They declare a bold, un-apologetic, testimony of Christ, His atonement, and His Gospel. They do so with authority, fierce loyalty, and nothing but unconditional love for all men. And twice a year we are able to sit at their feet and feel that spirit of love, concern, and redirection we can all use once in a while.

I enjoyed the whole thing... there were so many messages and topics I know I could do much better on in my life. My home teachers gave us the challenge to prepare for conference by praying for certain answers. I have had a few questions and feelings that I wondered about and I did so. I wrote down what I would like answers to, and put Heavenly Father to the test.

My mom invited me to go with her and a couple other sisters from her ward to the conference center for the Relief Society broadcast. I was there, thinking about those questions I had and then the meeting started. President Uchtdorf spoke to me... or so it seemed. There was so much for me to learn in that talk that I was mesmerized by the profoundness. Not to mention the love he had in his tone, and the analogy of the little, seemingly insignificant flower. Even as he was talking I knew I wanted something for me to put in my house to always remind me of the feelings I felt when he spoke to me. I though I would share it with anyone who would be interested too.

If you click on the picture, it should give you an image you can save and print. 

Among my other favorite talks were Elder Bednar's talk on Family History (Bryce and I are the ward Family History consultants and have just recently caught the Spirit of Elijah fever...), the talk on "Looking up", and the talk to the fathers about raising a daughter. President Monson's stories in his final talk regarding the speaker at the temple were inspiring. I really felt a theme through the conference could be Service to each other & your prayers, no matter how small, will be answered. And I testify that I know the things that were said were straight from heaven.

Here is my other little inspiring image for ya'll to enjoy. Click them, print them, enjoy...





Brayden is now officially 7 months old. He scoots around on his belly with his left big toe to get anywhere he wants to. He's actually forming a little callus on his foot where he pushes himself. He's pretty speedy. His new favorite activity is to hold onto my hands and pull himself onto his knees and then to his feet. He looks so triumphant when he succeeds. Smiling with his two new front (bottom) teeth.

Bryce came home for lunch a week or so ago and on his way back to work he was hit from behind in a school zone.  Bryce was hit, pushed into the car in front of him, then the next car, then the next... Everyone was fine, and our car was the one hit worst... Bryce is fine. Our car on the other hand.... lets just say the worst place to be in a mulit-car accident is in the middle... It was totaled. Bryce called me and said, "So... I was hit... but... we can get a car you can drive!" HA! So, as weird as it sounds, this is great news for us. We have been doing our first car shopping and are proud of our result. It is an automatic (*wink*) Hyundai Accent 2006. It's a pretty sky blue color and fits our little family well. It drives well, is safe, and gets awesome gas mileage. We call it the roadrunner because its horn sounds like the Warner Brothers' cartoon... :) *meep*

Bryce is studying hard for his final interview... the test in his company to see if he can remember enough about health care to keep working at KLAS... he's pretty stressed, but I know he will do well. He works so hard and is always coming home to tell me the latest thing he learned. It all goes over my head, but I try to keep up with all the jargon and lingo...

I spend my time with my darling little boy. We play, clean, watch Studio 5 and the news... and plan parties, projects, and crafts that I want to do. (P.S. The Halloween season is upon us and I am soooo very excited!!!)

We are redefining our plans for my future (school-wise) and they are still in progress... but I will probably enroll in a few independent study courses sometime in the near future to complete my core credits. That way, when I can apply for the General Studies program, I will only have to focus on the emphasis courses. We shall see what life hold for us until then!

Can you believe that Bryce and I have our 2nd anniversary this next Monday?! It seems like forever ago... and yet, it hasn't been that long. Wow. Bryce is taking me to the circus! I am pretty excited as I have never been to a circus before...

That about sums up our 2 years right there...

Well, that's about it for now! I love you all!

Celebrate Your Freedom!

I have spent some time considering freedom today... perhaps a little differently than I have in the past. I realize that I am so incredibly blessed to live the life I do. I do not worry about my life and I am able to worship how I see fit. The modern-day conveniences that surround us are abundant and, I admit, taken for granted.

There has been a lot of struggle and suffering for the life I live today, and it all began with the inspired words of Thomas Jefferson, 185 years ago. The famous, elegant words that began the began the American experiment that changed the course of world history.

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, ...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..."

I have found a rare video of Thomas Jefferson and the other founding fathers as they were drawing up the document. And I have decided to share it with all of you!





Its a little silly and outright bizarre at the end, but it made me giggle a little. Honestly, the historian in me did curl up inside and cringe while watching this.. but for some reason I love this video. For more information about the group that did this you can go here.

In all seriousness, to the men we call our "Founding Fathers" I give my thanks, for the sacrifices and genius you invested into this magnificent country. To the men and women since 1776 who have served to make this country better, safe, and free, thank you! And to a loving God who saw fit to create this "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave" and institute a government led for the people, by the people, I wish to also publicly express my thanks.

I stand for the flag of the United States, I believe that "in God we trust", and I believe that "united we stand, divided we fall." Celebrate Independence Day and never forget the marvelous blessing it is to live in the United States of America.