National Cathedral

Disclaimer:

It makes me so crazy when I take pictures of these breathtaking places and there is just no way to convey the majesty of it!  The lighting inside is dim and my phone doesn't begin to capture the beauty of it all.  (I have asked Santa for a fancy camera this year.)  This picture sums up my feelings about this.

                            


Now, on to the cathedral.

Outside of the cathedral, there is a garden.  It is called, The Bishop's Garden.  I felt like I had fallen through a magic hole into a Peter Rabbit book.

Dalton's bummer deal

The Cursed Cast

July 27- Dalton broke his arm.   Two days before he was suppose to go to scout camp at Bear Lake.  The doctor said, "No way" should we let him go.  The men in the ward swore to keep him safe, they were determined to get Dalton up to camp if only for one day.  But as it turned out, he was in too much pain to even feel up to going at all.    

August 1- The doctor put on a full cast and we drove out on August 4th.  This meant that he would not be able to swim at any of the hotels...  This was so hard for Dalt.  We also have a pool at our apartment complex and he so graciously sat there and watch everyone else swim. 

 August 28 - Finally he got his short cast!  Hooray!  He has been swimming almost everyday since! (This was the day his tooth fell out from boredom.) 

(Even though it looks like their faces are blacked out, they are not in the Witness Protection Program.  The picture is so dark because it was night time.  And my phone doesn't take great pictures.)  

September 25- He got rid of the short cast and they put him in a removable brace!

October 23- The doctor give him the go ahead to play sports and to only wear the brace when he
was doing so!

(Excuse the picture but, I was driving and it was dark...)

Mountain Living

This could be a postcard!  The whole place could be a postcard!  It was so beautiful there!  We have some friends (The Livingstons) who have a cabin here and they invited us there for Conference weekend.  It was so delightful.  They have internet access so, we were able to watch conference while we were there.  

Seth and I just took a picture of our feet.  Just for no reason.  











This is a river that runs past the cabin.  They boys are all catching crawdads for our "dinner".  I opted out but, they say it was good...  They were only about the size of your palm so, it took quite a few of them to get enough meat for everyone to have a taste.

I've seen these before but, this one was the best of them all.  It was so perfectly places and the moss was perfect hair!  

 The grown ups 
        and
    The kids

Homemade Sushi

A guy who works with Chris came over and helped us
make homemade sushi.  It was fun and even more
delicious than it was fun!  These sushi rolls had tuna
in them.  We also made some with Salmon and California
rolls.  SO yummy!

The best part is, Dalton and I had to go to an Asian market to get stuff on his grocery list.  It took us forever to find the stuff because we kept getting distracted by all the stuff in the store.  I didn't wan to offend anyone by taking a million pictures of things I had never even knew existed so, we mostly just gasped and laughed and kept walking!

Dalton is holding a Duran.  It is hard like a coconut.  I hear it tastes like poo.  We didn't buy one.  Just took a picture of it...

DC Cupcakes

Would you look at the line waiting to pay too much money for a cupcake?!  I was speechless!  Truly, who waits in line for a cupcake?  Cheesecake maybe but, a cupcake?  

Bwahahaha!  Look who's waiting in line now?!  The truth is, our friend's little girl saw the episode on TLC where they spotlighted DC Cupcakes or something like that.  Maybe it was Cupcake Wars.  I don't really know.  All I know is that we got up at the crack of dawn so that we could get down to the store BEFORE they opened and get a cupcake for her.  Luckily we were first in line.  But, can you see the amount of people who are behind us?  This is in the morning before the store even opened!  What is this madness about?  All of these people are having cupcakes for breakfast...

They sure do put on a great show of their cupcakes!  The store was beautiful and the displays looked amazing!  

This beautiful KitchenAid was my favorite part of the whole experience!  I sure would like one of those!

Here they are, anxiously awaiting cupcake perfection! 

The boys all agreed that the cupcakes were "the best thing they have ever tasted".  (Chris and I didn't buy one on principle alone!  WHO waits in line for a cupcake that cost $3.00????  I can buy 3 entire cake mixes and make 72 cupcakes for that amount of money!)  But, I have to admit, it was fun to watch the kids there, eating their little piece of heaven.  

Our Apartment

Speechless!

At first I thought, there are no words to express the feelings of this place but then I started to understand what it was that I was feeling.  I was SO proud!  I was so proud of all of those scared men and women, many of them really boys and girls, who left their homes, families, jobs, and comfort zones.  These people who not only put their lives on the line for you and I, as American citizens but they stand up for all those who need help.  They stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves!  War is terrible but it is unavoidable and I am so proud to say that I belong to this great country that will stand up and protect whatever needs protecting!  I am grateful to these soldiers that guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  What a beautiful tribute.  They stand there on the scorching hot humid sweat pit days as well as in the pouring rain.  I'm grateful for the soldiers and their families for sacrificing their time, to keep us safe.  As I go from building to building and have to have my bags checked and scanned, I am grateful.  What a small inconvenience for me.  I love this country and I love the efforts of those who work so hard to make it work!  The Founding Fathers, the President, the Senators, Congressmen, Mayors, Citizens.  Thank you for all you do for this great country!

l

(We rented bikes and rode through the National Mall and saw all of the historical monuments.  Each time we stopped, Ethan had to organize our bikes in an organized fashion.  He cracks me up.)

“We are all in this together. We need each other. Oh, how

 we need each other. Those of us who are old need you who 

are young, and hopefully, you who are young need some of 

us who are old...We need deep and satisfying and loyal 

friendships with each other. These friendships are a 

necessary source of sustenance. We need to renew our faith 

every day. We need to lock arms and help build the 

kingdom 

so that it will roll forth and fill the whole earth.” 

― Marjorie Pay Hinckley

This week I have learned that this quote is very true.  Sometime I think it is easier to just do my thing here and not worry about making friends that I will just have to leave in a few months.  It hardly seems worth the effort.  I feel so awkward socializing even with people that I know so, making myself go to activities and functions that have been planned, by myself, sitting by myself doesn't always seem so appealing.  But, after a week of keeping to myself, I went, with Chris, to dinner with a friend last night and that made all the difference in the world!  I felt so much better about life!  I believe it is true that we need each other.  No matter how short the time we are together.  We need a place to give and receive love and service and laughter and companionship and girl talk and and and.  So, even though it is uncomfortable and I may seem awkward, I know that I must put myself out there.  I must find a place to share myself and let others share with me, for my sake.  And others need it too, for their sake.  When I don't put myself out there, I am depriving them of things they need.  Not because I'm awesome to hang out with but, because everyone needs someone, even if it is just for an evening of socializing.  It truly takes a village folks!  I get that phrase more and more the older I get.  

National Botanical Garden

This is a carnivorous plant.  They had a bunch of them on display there.  Sort of cool, sort of creepy. 

I am taking this picture from a second story catwalk.  A-mazing!

The picture of the beloved Cocoa tree above deserves to be sized 

x-tra large with a gold frame and lights flashing on and off.  I nearly knelt down and bowed in front of this tree.  

 There is an Orchid room.  I wanted to take pictures of every flower in there.  They are so intricate and unique.

I left this place amazed and happy at all of the amazing art that is everywhere around us!  How can anyone not believe in God?