The Other Coast

Two days after we got home from California, Brian left for Washington DC for work. We decided this would be the best chance for me to go out with him so at 12:30 am Friday (3/7) morning my flight left to meet him for the weekend. Luckily I slept most of the flight and when I got there I went to Brian's hotel and crashed until his conference was over. That afternoon we went over to check in at our hotel we would be staying at for the weekend. Then we went to the Capitol building to meet a friend of Brian's who would be giving us a tour around the capitol. It was really cool to be there. The architecture is beautiful and amazing stories are held inside. There were a lot of people there so it was pretty crowded but we enjoyed the tour. We even got a picture of us by a marble statue of Brigham Young. His statue is in the National Statuary Hall because he was the governor of Utah.
After the tour we wandered around a little bit and then headed back to our hotel. That evening we ate at the Vantage Point Restaurant which is on the top floor of the hotel. It has a beautiful view out at the river and surrounding area by the hotel. It was kind of rainy so it wasn't the clearest nights but it was really neat.

The next morning we went to the Holocaust Museum first thing (at 10 am). Nothing really opens before that in DC. We ended up spending about 3 hours there looking at everything. It was a sad but enlightening experience. I loved this quote on the outside wall of the Museum regarding the Holocaust.It was a little rainy in the morning but then it cleared up. By late afternoon the wind picked up and it was very cold and biting wind. We tried to see as much as we could. We walked down the Mall, saw the different Smithsonian buildings, went to the Air and Space Museum (spent another few hours) and then we saw the storm coming in. We decided to brave the biting wind and see as many of the memorials as we could that night. We walked around the river to the most famous ones. The first picture is on our way to the Jefferson Memorial with the Washington Memorial in the background. Then at the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials. We also saw the Memorials for George Mason, FDR, Korean War Veterans, and Vietnam Veterans. It was dark outside so we didn't get very many good pictures but it was really cool to see the different memorials in respect for those who have served our country.

On the last day, Sunday, we went back to downtown DC to look at the capitol in the light and get pictures. Then we went to Union Station and the Post Office Smithsonian Museum.

After this we went to check in our luggage at the airport and then took the metro back to Arlington Cemetery. (Above picture is as we were going down the 6-8 stories on the escalator to get to the Metro). We didn't have much time there before we had to be back to catch our flight. We barely made it in time to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
It was a very nice ceremony. We were slightly cold, totally worn out, and in a hurry to catch the metro and we missed it by 2 minutes. So we got to sit and wait for 18 minutes until the next one came to take us to the airport. We were cutting it close to making our flight but luckily we made it without any complications. Here are a few pictures from the airplane as we flew out of DC.

Sorry for such a long post but I had so much I wanted to share and lots of pictures. I hope you enjoyed the pictures even if you didn't read the entire post.

Family

So the main reason we went down to California at the time we did was for the blessing of our new nephew. We had fun visiting with family but it made Brian and I wish that we could live closer to our nieces and nephews. On Sunday (3/2) when we got to Brian's sisters house I was asked if I would give the baby a bath. I had seen it done before with my sisters kids but never actually done it. I was nervous so I grabbed Brian and made him come with me even though he had no clue what he was doing or how to even help (it was mainly for moral support). So, come to find out, I gave the baby his first bath in his baby tub. He was a really good baby and loved the bath. No crying as long as he was kept warm. Then I helped my sister-in-law put him in his blessing day outfit. He is really cute and has such a calm temperament.

Also, our niece Trissa had an attachment to me. After church when we weren't there right after they got home, she went around the house saying, "Where's Aunt Laura, where's Aunt Laura?" It was pretty cute to hear someone tell me that when I did finally get to there house. I have missed my sisters kids being around so it was nice to have a little kid snuggle up to me and want to sit on my lap.And of course, we had family pictures after the big event at church. It has Brian's whole family except his dad who was pretty sick for the weekend.
After church we had a nice lunch and the weather was so beautiful that we ate outside. Then we had fun giving the family their late Christmas presents from us. The main ones for the kids were just way too big to ship. We even made the kids come out to the truck and get their own presents. They were so excited and pretty much ran down the street to the truck. The littlest one was kind of sad he didn't have anything to carry back but they were just a bit heavy for him so he just held my hand. We really had a great time with them that day and didn't want to leave! We just hope it isn't a really long time before we get to see them again!
We also had the opportunity to go to the Newport Beach temple with Brian's mom on Saturday (3/1). It was a cloudy day but it was still a beautiful sight. The stone is slightly pink so it is very unique. It was a really neat experience. We had a lot of fun playing and relaxing with family.

California

On our first day in California (2/28) we went to Knott's Berry Farm. It is an amusement park with roller coaster rides and shows. It was a beautiful day until the late afternoon when it got a little windy but still nice enough for short sleeves and no jacket! We rode almost every ride and it was so not crowded. We walked on to pretty much every ride without waiting. The longest we waited was for the stage coach ride. We took our picture with Snoopy, rode the little train called "The Galloping Goose", and watched the Wild West show (all pictured below). We enjoyed our little visit but we probably won't go back for a while because it's such a small theme park that you can do everything in one day. Also, it would be better with little kids next time too.



2/29 - My sister called really early to tell me she had her baby! So, my new little niece has a leap day birthday...so cool! Her name is Telena Lynn and I can't wait to see her. Then after breakfast we started getting ready to go kayaking. Brian's dad has a double person kayak so we borrowed their truck and strapped it to the top and went out to Newport Harbor. We had a lot of fun but it was a lot of work (we realized we're both out of shape)! We got to see lots of big, beautiful houses on the water with boats in their "backyard". Oh what it would be like to have money!!
After the kayaking trip we drove out to one of the islands but it was difficult to maneuver around the small streets with the big truck. Then we drove over to the beach and walked down to the shore. The water was really cold and the waves were coming in pretty big. It was a beautiful sight though. We also found a lot of seashells on the beach (mostly where we went kayaking but a few at the beach too). We found some big and beautiful looking shells. Now I just need to be creative enough to use them.

From Coast to Coast (and in between)

So I have been slacking with the posts lately but we've been busy. On Feb 12th Brian's sister had her baby, Matthias. We were getting a little worried since he was past his due date and we were planning on heading down at the end of Feb for the baby blessing. But no worries our plans didn't change. On Feb 27th we began our drive down to CA really early in the morning. We were making really good time so we stopped at the Calico Ghost Town, an old Mining city. It was really beautiful weather and Brian and I were getting quite warm wandering around. It made us really excited for nice weather during our weekend. It was really nice to get out and stretch our legs too after being cooped up in the car for several hours. We went on a walking tour of one of the old mines. It was nice and cool in there.

Inside the mine shaft on our way out on the modernized (thankfully) staircase.


Anyone want a bath in this thing?


They put me in jail...how sad


Look at the scary face!!


This is the real story of how I got me a husband!! :)