I fell off the blogging wagon.

What a failure. I guess work got busy and I had no energy after my 10 hour days. So, now we're back in Provo and I want to remember all the things I love and will miss about DC.

Hopping on the bus every morning at 6:25AM for work and taking two busses every Sunday to and from church.

Working in Downtown DC. You don't see a lot of skyscrapers in this big city like because there is a law  that says no building can be taller than the Capitol Building. 

Having Blake work on a beautiful naval base: Fort Lesley J. McNair. 

Going to the National Defense University where Blake works every Thursday

to watch super fun softball games. 

Tours of the Capitol Building from Blake. 

Watching fireworks over the Potomac River on the fourth of July in the nation's capital. 

BBQs with Blake's co-workers and international fellows.

Weekend visits to New York.

Beautiful monuments.

and memorials.

That is just a small glimpse into our lives the past 7 months. One day I hope to document better all our adventures, but for now this will do. I miss DC already, but it's nice to be back in Provo.

Passport DC

A few weekends ago, Blake and I had an awesome opportunity to travel the world. We started in South Africa and then went to Ethiopia, Ghana, Egypt, Korea, Australia, Peru, and several other countries. It was a dream come true. Twenty countries in just one day!

Ok, ok, you got me. We didn't fly around the world, but we did get to visit the embassies of so many different countries in one day. It was so neat. We got to experience a lot of different music, food, dress and animals.

South Africa was really fun. They gave us a bottle of marinade to take home. We used it tonight for our chicken and it was delicious! I really loved the Indonesian embassy because (besides the fact that it's my mom's native country) the building was adorned with beautiful details. It was extravagent  to say the least, and they had barbies dressed up in cultural clothes from all the different regions. 

Australia was fun. They gave us some vegemite on toast. Not my favorite, but it's really not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. They also had some people showing native animals from Australia including a lizard type animal called a "blue-tongued skink." There was a woman who didn't quite hear what he said and she said, "that's a blue-tongued skank?" Haha. Blake and I also got some matching tattoos to show our support for the country where his grandmother served her first mission.

So, I'm behind on blogging and if I had blogged right after the event, it probably would've been more detailed, but for now, that'll have to do. Enjoy!

Home Sweet Home

DC is the only home that Blake and I have known together and we were so glad to be back! We moved into a new studio apartment in the city and Blake started his new job. Our first weekend back we tackled some famous sites that we didn't get a chance to see our first time around. We visited the Jefferson Memorial, which is beautiful, the Vietnam War Memorial and the Korean War Memorial. Here are some pictures: 

And this is my favorite picture from the day:

A perfect start to our summer.

I HEART NY

So we didn't just go to Boston and then to New York, but I post with pictures and I don't have pictures from in between, so on to New York!

Blake's dad works in New York during the week and Blake's brother, Jared, and his wife, Mindy, were coming for an information session, so we decided to make the short trip north on the Bolt Bus which is a great deal if you're going to New York from DC. Sometimes you can get tickets for a dollar!

We arrived:

Blake and I relaxed in our hotel room until dinner. We had delicious sushi. The next morning Stephen took Mindy and I to pick out some birthday presents at the Pandora store and I'm really excited to fill up my charm bracelet!

We went on a ferry ride and saw the beautiful skyline of New York before we headed to our first Broadway show ever, GODSPELL!

Godspell was amazing. The music is spectacular and everyone was perfectly cast. Jesus and his disciples act and sing the parables and it was a really fun production. 

We rested for a little while and then got geared up to go to Del Frisco's. Best steakhouse I've ever been to. Despite being full out of my mind from crab cakes, salad, bone-in filet and vegetables, I got creme brûlée since it was a sort of birthday dinner. I'm glad I didn't hold back. It was delicious.

The next day we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the 9/11 memorial. Both were amazing. The MET is incredibly large and we didn't even get to see a small fraction of everything, but Blake loves art and it was so fun to see him so happy and enjoying everything. 

The 9/11 memorial is really breathtaking. They have two large fountains. One for the North and South towers that collapsed. There are names etched into the stone for everyone who was lost in the towers and responded at the scene. 

Blake and I had to board the bus soon after, but it was such a fun visit to the Big Apple and I hope we get to return sometime soon! Thank you Stephen for treating us to a fun weekend in New York City!

I Think I'll Go to Boston

Does everyone remember that popular song from years ago? Well Blake and I did just that. We went to Boston for Presidents' Day Weekend with our friends Adam and Amanda. Amanda found some awesome  flights sometime in January and after a few computer clicks and dollars we were booked for Boston. 

First Stop: Fenway

Blake loves baseball so this was the HIGHLIGHT of our trip. It is the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball and the tour was so fun. 

Later that evening we went to Little Italy and went to a delicious dinner at Giacomo's Ristorante.

Photo by Amanda Anderson

 It was pretty darn delicious. Then we walked a couple blocks to an improv comedy club for the rest of the evening. It was funny, but I still love Comedy Sportz, so everyone in Provo, take advantage of it!

Saturday Morning and into the afternoon we went on the most amazing tour of Boston called The Freedom Trail. We had the best tour guide. 

He was so knowledgeable and made everything really fun and interesting. We ended at Quincy Market which is really cute and if I was better at taking pictures I would have featured a picture right here. Haha. But it has lots of food and shopping and is a great way to spend an evening. Blake and I decided to eat at Capital Seafood for dinner and we had delicious crab cakes, fish, and Boston Cream Pie. 

We visited the New England Aquarium and had so much fun looking at all the animals. Sometimes I forget that those awesome creatures are real until I see them at the zoo or aquarium. It always leaves me in awe. Penguins!!! They're real!

We visited the Harvard campus and had lunch and got back to Boston and visited some more historical sites like Old North Church where they hung the lamps noted in Paul Revere's Ride. One if by land and two if by sea. 

We went on a fun little ferry ride back to Long Wharf and are happy to report we used all modes of transportation in our Boston trip: Air, land, and sea. 

We left Monday morning and headed home to DC. It was such a fun and exciting trip, but I love the feeling of being back in familiar places.