Two more items off the bucket list!

I have this bucket list. Everything I want to do before leaving DC. Some are fun things, silly things, etc and some are more serious.

Well, a few weeks ago I crossed TWO items off the list. 

Now, that's a productive week!

Tour of the Pentagon!!

I had to apply for this back in April, but it was worth it!

So, you can't take picture inside the Pentagon, but you can in the VC area. They put up this fake stand etc for people like me... cheesy, everyday Americans wanting to look important :)

I look official, right?!

I also liked this "statue" they had next to it.

I am so PROUD to be an American!

The Pentagon was AMAZING! So, the tour itself would have been super interesting for me if I knew about the branches of the military, their history and what-not. We basically spent the entire hour walking it's halls. But, that's also what I found more interesting! The Pentagon is like a city within itself! There are 5 sides, 5 levels above ground, 2 below (maybe more that are secret!!), and 5 ring corridors. All in all, if you walked the entire thing it would be 17.5 miles. And... I kind of feel like we walked that. With my knee hurting these days... that was a major undertaking, but VERY worth it! On the inside of it there is an enclose 5-acre outdoor area with another cafe. Awesome.

We had to go through two security entrances but I am completely smitten by military men. I'll go through any security they ask me to because they're just so dang polite! And, they look fabulous in uniform, I must say :)

As we all know, one side was struck by a plane in 9/11. 125 people inside were killed. We walked the way the plane came in to the building and stopped at some of the locations where the plane eventually stopped. Luckily the plane hit a side that had been recently renovated preventing it from doing further damage. But, there is a very sweet memorial and chapel inside the pentagon that we got to spend some time in. It was neat and yet, so sad.

I loved getting the chance to take a tour. I just wish I could have taken pictures... and even more so, it made me want to be an ARMY WIFE!!! Like in the TV show!

President Lincoln's Cottage!

I had only recently learned of this in DC... like last year maybe. It's an unknown gem. But, after seeing the movie about Lincoln last fall, and reading the book "Killing Lincoln", he has become one of my most favorite presidents. So, when a groupon came up with this tour I snatched it!

And, asked Mer to come with me! It was great!! I wish I had more time to look at the exhibits in the VC, but I'll go back. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, but so were some of the others on our tour. History buffs with cool, fun, interesting facts. The house itself was plain... not much furniture because it had been used for an office building and hospital since the days of Lincoln, but it was neat to be there in the room while stories were shared and one could create an image in their mind with what life would have been like. 

Lincoln was definitely a smart, courageous and wise man. He was a hard worker and faced many pressures from all sides, but I think he also had strong morals and wanted to do what was right.... even if that was taking the harder road. 

It was a wonderful visit and I would suggest it to anyone!

Mer wanted me to get a picture with her sitting on his horse. 

They told us no. WHY not?!

The picture below is the two of us with the cottage behind us (and behind the tree)

There was a wedding taking place there later in the day. Kind of a weird place to have a wedding... but wasn't my wedding, so who am I to comment?!

I think if I lived in Lincoln's day... we would have been friends :)

Hair D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R

 I decided to make a change. Do something different.

Boy - did I learn my lesson!

I went to a new salon that had gotten good reviews online and a friend recommended. I didn't go to her stylist, but figured that was OK.

WRONG

I walked in and right away I didn't feel so good about my decision! I should have turned around then, but I didn't. The stylist just seemed like she was in a bit of a rush and that "she knew best"... so I shouldn't question. Looking back - I don't know why I didn't run in another direction, but I didn't.

I asked her to go a shade or two lighter. I made the mistake of mentioning that my hair tended to have redish highlights when I was out in the sun for a while. Well, she focused on the "red" part. Long story short, I walk out of there 2 hours later with DARK Brown/Black hair and it's also a deep RED color. It was disaster... and that's an understatement.

I was just so discouraged... frustrated... mad....on the verge of tears. It had been a long day and a hard week and this was just one more thing that had gone wrong!

Well, luckily I stopped by Mer's house and she told me that I could call the salon in the morning and complain... and ask the to fix it! I honestly didn't think it was possible, but I learned they can "strip" your hair. It's not healthy for it. Literally - they bleach it. But, at this point I'd rather not have any hai than the hair I did!

So, I called Sat am and the manager said she would fix it. Well, when I got in, she was there as well as the lady who had done it the night before. Awkward! We had a few moments of disagreement, but luckily it smoothed over pretty quickly. Sadly though, she was the one who also stripped it and reapplied the new color. Let's just say we didn't talk much while she did it.

I took a picture as she was finishing "stripping" my hair. It's hard to tell how light it was... but I have never see it so light!

Here's a better picture of it!

We decided to just die it a light-medium brown. Well, when she was applying the color I got nervous again because this looked blond!

But, when it was done and wet, it looked super dark again. I just kind of threw up my hands! The stylist insisted on blowdrying it straight (further damaging it!) and it was a little light than I had first though. But, it seemed to also have a few colors in it. Especially around my face she hadn't totally removed the other color. Then, the top was still a bit red and the back was lighter.

Ha ha... whatever. I am forever messed up in the hair department. What's the use of worrying about it now.

I like the light shade at the bottom and in the back. 

I hope I can get it all that color someday.

Well, this is what I ended up with after spending 6 hours in a salon I am not going back to anytime soon. So much for getting lots of things done on the weekend!

Reasons why...

Life has been busy, but good!!! (at least for the past week)

Reason #1: Bekah got married!!

I wish everyone from our BYU days had been able to come for the wedding, but jobs, finances, and family obligations can sometimes get in the way. Totally understand. But, we sure will have one great reunion at some point!

Jen, Tami and Emmy were able to come though and it was SO great to see them! I haven't seen Jen in about ten years! We were able to attend the sealing in the DC temple. This was my 2nd sealing to be a part of and it was beautiful. I was able to take more of it in this time around since it wasn't a family member getting married and I kind of new what to do/expect this time around. It was just wonderful! 

Afterwards we went outside to wait for them to come out and we were able to snag a few pictures before it started POURING. The weather has been so crazy lately, but I guess that's what you get for a hot and humid DC summer!

 Fun to catch up with these girls though. Then, her reception at night was out at Meadowlark Gardens (ironically the name of the street I grew up on!) It was a beautiful place and the sun was finally out as most of the storms had passed. She had a beautiful sit-down dinner and dancing reception. Tami's husband and kids came as well as Emmy's husband. Great group!

 My arm looks gigantic in this picture. Very disproportionate! I think I grew a 2nd arm attached to my original one while the picture was being taken :)

Anyway - so happy for Bekah and Steve!!

Reason #2: I moved!!! 

But only 3 doors down (literally). A huge hassle, yes. But good in many ways b/c I took the time to go through and throw out a lot and it's nice starting over with a new layout in my apartment and new carpets, etc. I also got a balcony with my new place! WAHOO! If it wasn't so humid out I would use it more often, but I did buy two chairs for it :)

BUT, that also meant I had to take down and re-install my fan. NO EASY task. Peter and Kevin actually took it down. Then, Kevin and I worked for two hours (mostly Kevin) on Sat and had no luck with it (well, we got everything but the electrical part!). Tuesday I came home from work and was determined to get it working. A few phone calls to Justin and another 2 hours later and it worked!!

I felt like I was on top of the world

b/c I was smart enough to figure it out!

But Thursday came and it stopped working! Another two hours later I discover one of the electrical parts had come loose. I was SO done with installing the fan I did the bare minimum to put it back up the last time so it's missing it's outer casing. I could care less. 

Who looks up at the ceiling anyway?!

This picture has the casing.

This picture was taken Tuesday when I spoke of my success too soon :)

It's up and working. I have pictures on my walls. Most of the boxes unpacked. Starting to feel like home. But it was a major stress and I really felt that on my body! I was glad to have some of last week off to recover and get settled. 

Reason #3 & 4 - Not one - 

BUT TWO NATS games with David's tickets!

Awesome, right?!! This is the only way to watch baseball! Wed night July 3rd I went with Miriam, Kevin, and Brian. Very fun group!! And, the food was yummy as always. There was a nice breeze and the sun went down while we were there, but it was still nice and humid! 

I loved being this close and getting such great pictures. Seriously - 4 rows back from the NATS dugout! Here's Bryce Harper and another guy (maybe Zimmerman) with beards. What is it with the beards?! Maybe they're in "fashion" but I don't like facial hair on men no matter who they are! And, it's gotta make them even hotter as they stand out there in the blazing heat in their pants and polyester uniforms! Sweat must be pouring from them!

The game was good even though we lost :(  BUT afterwards we were surprised to find out there were fireworks!!! Wahoo! They were right behind where we were sitting so we just walked on up the stairs and out the gate!

BOOM!

BANG!

SPARKLE!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

And then I returned 12 hours later :) This time with Cortne, Scott and Cortne's friend Jeremiah (who was a major fan of the Brewers (Nats opponent that day!)

IT WAS SUPER HOT!

AND HUMID

AND NO BREEZE

I lasted two innings outside in the blazing sun and stayed to watch Neil Diamond sing his new song (thinking he would go to the field to sing). But no, he didn't want to be in the sun either so we could only see him on the jumbotron thingy. Disappointing!! But, cool that he was at least there. After he sang, we went up to the Diamond Club, ate quite a bit and watched the game in AC from the windows and TVs. Scott also ran in to some co-workers so they joined us at our table and we had a very fun time! I didn't stay for the whole game... I was baseballed out and had no desire to go sit in the sun again. My pool was calling my name!

This picture above is the view from the Diamond Club. Still a great view!

I love this panoramic shot that I took!

My Iphone camera is quite nifty!

The rest of my 4th and the weekend was fun and relaxing... movie and pool time with friends a few times (the pool that is), little more unpacking and organizing, a mani/pedi, temple trip, and FINALLY, FINALLY got through all the pictures from our ancestors and my younger years. 

Reason #5: Pictures mailed off for digitalizing!!

Mailed them off yesterday!! So excited for that. It's been a work in process for the past 9 months and many, many, many hours put in to it! Finally out of my hands!!!

#Natitude

This weekend I was SO lucky to be given my boss's season tickets to the game on Saturday! Not only did I get the 4 tickets, but I got his parking pass as well, which by the way just happens to be covered parking RIGHT NEXT to the stadium. We could not have gotten ANY closer!

The weather was beautiful for an afternoon at the ballpark. Beautiful! It was perfectly sunny, warm (80s) but not humid. I worked out in the morning and then got ready. We met at 11 AM b/c there was traffic, but that just added to the experience! I loved driving there and not having to take the metro, which I have always done in the past.

One of the others who came with us (Cortne) had been a guest of someone with similar tickets in the past. She knew all about the ADDED bonus of the Diamond Club! This is an exclusive private club just above our section of seats in the stadium. You show them your ticket to get in the door. Then, they give you a wrist band to wear so you can come and go.  AWESOME

As soon as you enter they have a table with yummy candies. How can you go wrong with that? Then, there is a full bar with every kind of drink you can imagine to the right and rows of tables. In the back there were 6 or 7 of these stations with yummy food of all kinds! This picture doesn't do it justice, but who has salmon, steak, shrimp and other similar dishes when they go to a ballpark? Hah! Me - never. Until this past Saturday that is :)

 Even though the club was air conditioned, we took our plates to our seats. Why not? I've never been so close to the players! We were seated right behind their dugout. Like 4 rows back. CRAZY. he scary part was that you really couldn't look down when someone was up to bat because we didn't have the netting in front of us. It ended just about 5 feet before our seats!

  I love this panoramic picture a friend of mine took. It's amazing what you can do with camera's these days!

Screech, the Nationals mascot, came to visit our section. Everyone was getting pictures with him. I was a bit of a chicken at first....

 but then figured, why not?! This opportunity might never come again! I went up to ask him and he kept *Screeching* at me! I was confused at first and didn't know how to reply, but hah! That's all he can say. So Cortne and I got in it!

 Here's our little group at the end of the game. The Nats lost like 7 to 0 or something crazy like that. It wasn't a very exciting game, but the food (unlimited visits), the trips I took just to cool off from the hot sun in the air-conditioned club every now and then, the weather, the people I was with, seeing Screech, standing and singing the National Anthem, watching them honor some of our troops while singing "Proud to be an American", and really - just being with this group of people... all combined to make it such a fabulous, fun, relaxing experience. I was so grateful for it and had such a GREAT time!

 This was the sea of people heading to the metro after the game... we just took the elevator up from our seats to get to our car.

Now that's how you see a baseball game :)

I wonder if I can get these tickets for another game sometime soon!!!

All in just three days!

It's been an eventful month! Here's another posting of things I've been doing...

and this was all in a matter of three days!

Spring/summer has come and with that means some awesome thunderstorms.

I LOVE thunderstorms (as long as I am not out walking in it!). And, I happened upon this beautiful rainbow after a pretty big storm as I was driving home from work one day!

So pretty! I had to pull over and take a picture to remember it

I wonder where the pot of gold is though... :)

At the end of May, I went to PA for a day to finish clearing out the storage sheds we had used to stuff all the things from my mom's house that were still in there when it sold. We had cleared out most right after her funeral and had placed stuff in one bedroom that each of us (my brothers and I) had wanted to save. But, there was also quite a bit of *crap* that had just never made it to the trash. Well, when my little brother showed up at the house an hour before closing and noticed all the things still in there, he called a good friend and they loaded it all and stuffed it in two storage sheds in town. Months later I got the task of emptying out these sheds. It just so happened to be one of the most humid and hot days of the season thus far. And, lets just say the storage sheds had NO ventilation. 

It was pretty bad. But, I was so fortunate to have a good friend offer to take the day off of work and drive with me. Thank goodness for angels like her! It was so nice to have someone there to help sort and chat with as well. 

She happened upon a box of clothing my mom had saved from when we were kids. And... look at what I found! My kilt from NDA. Happy to say that it still fits! This must have been one I never wore though because I never had them this long!

We cleaned out the sheds in time to also take a little detour and visit my mom's grave. They had recently put the stone in so I wanted to check it out. It had been such an ordeal to get it approved, etc., but I am pleased with the way it turned out. 

 She's buried next to her parents. The stone cost a couple thousand and we honestly thought it would have been similar to theirs, but it's kind of teeny in comparison. I need to contact them to make sure we got the right one! Not that we would now pay for another bigger stone... My mom would not want that! But, just to make sure we got the right one.

Cemeteries are interesting places. I think they have a lot of beauty and it's neat to think about the lives of all those buried there, but at the same time I think they're kind of morbid and don't like spending much time in one. We didn't stay for very long in this one :)

I wanted to move on what the day and get to our final destination - Annapolis!! We were going to spend the night in Annapolis in order to run a half marathon the following morning! My brother let us use his hotel points so we were able to get a suite in the Sheraton. Kate met us up there.

The Sheraton treated us well. We were privleged to get appetizers and dessert in the private club lounge and the rooms were very, very comfy. We went to dinner at Macaroni Grill and carb-loaded. I had a very yummy whole wheat pasta with a meat sauce and was filled!

Race morning came way way way too early! It was sunny - but hot and humid at 7 am when the race started! I told the others we had to take a "before" picture because I knew I wouldn't be looking decent at all after!

The course was beautiful. Much more hilly than I had been informed, but I did suprisingly well on it! The last two miles were truly hard since I had never trained more than 7 or 8 miles... but I was determined to finish and not to stop. I was all sweat. My music helped me a lot to keep going, as well as pouring water over my head at every station. But, I have no doubt the Lord helped me keep going as well :)

I loved that they had inspirational quotes along the way. Mile marker 12 was one from Pres. Hinckley, even though they spelled "weeks" instead of "weeds"! We passed this one three times. The 2nd time I really thought it was mile 12, but I was shocked and saddened when I found out it was only mile 1-.5 and we still have much more to go!

 I crossed the finish line and was SUPER happy! I needed food, which I got right away, and then went back to the finish line to stretch and wait for Miriam and Kate. We were all VERY happy to be done with the race.... and as you can see, we were still smiling at the end!

We did it!

On the way out we had to stop and take a picture of the naval academy stadium sign with our "Yippee! I did it" poses :)

After the race it was off to the pool. So much fun!! But, I can wait a few months before doing it again :)

Spring in DC Part 2

 May was a busy month! Or, at least it was picture worthy :)

May is filled with graduations and the end of a school year for many. It's an exciting time, but it also means that it's a time to say goodbye to those who are moving on to bigger and better things!

Braden graduated from Georgetown and is now moving on to bigger and better things so we had a little farewell dinner for him earlier in the month. It was fun to share stories about times shared with him and some of the funny things he's done/said. He's been a great friend/home teacher and I'll definitely miss his humor! It's been fun getting to know him these past two years, but I am sure will fit right in with life in NYC!

 Then the next Sunday we celebrated Camille's birthday with another Sunday dinner. I love having people over for dinner and I love celebrating birthdays! A win-win combination! Happy Birthday Camille!

 Then, the next big happening in May - The Gregory's got a dog. 

Yep - a dog

 Meet Gus

Ava is all smiles, 

but let's just say the dog and I have a strained relationship thus far :)

One day last week I was out doing errands and I saw this car. 

I literally could NOT stop laughing and thought it was so cute! 

I had to take a picture and text it to some friends. 

The funny thing was that I was surrounded by three men 

also taking pictures of it for their wives/girlfriends. 

It's sometimes the little things in life that completely make my day!

This past weekend was Memorial day weekend and we celebrated the men and women who have fought so hard for our freedom. I was glad I was able to go to Arlington National Cemetery and walk around. Seeing all the flags placed in front of the tombstones is humbling. Rows and rows of men and women who gave their life for me to be able to have the freedoms I do.

 One of the other things I love about Memorial day weekend is that the Rolling Thunder come in to town and have a rally at the Pentagon. The Rolling Thunder's mission is to educate, facilitate and never forget by means of a demonstration for service members that were abandoned after the Vietnam War. And, they all come in from all over the US on motorcycles!! All weekend long you can hear the roar of their engine and see groups traveling by motorcycle everywhere!

I LOVE IT!

So, I made a point of attending one of their events at the Cemetery. I didn't quite fit in with their outfits and such, but I was in heaven. I love their bandanas and jackets... like this one below.

 I stayed to watch the ceremony as well as the usual guards and changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. It was beyond cool! Such precision. Truly mesmerizing. How fortunate I am to live so close by to this and to be able to participate in such an honorable event!

 I counted the seconds and number of steps this soldier took. 

A theme was definitely the number 21.

They take a measured 21 steps in 21 seconds. 

Stop. Turn.

Then do the same thing back. 

They can't look to the left/right, up/down, or change facial expression.  

After each turn, the Guard executes a sharp "shoulder-arms" movement to place the weapon on the shoulder closest to the visitors to signify that the Guard stands between the Tomb and any possible threat. Twenty-one was chosen because it symbolizes the highest military honor that can be bestowed -- the 21-gun salute.

 Did you know the following:
1. Some of the training these men and women do before becoming a guard is to walk the curbs of the cemetery for hours/days on end. The curb is about 4 inches wide and you have to walk without looking down and without falling

2. Another task is to stand beneath a flagpole in the Army’s parade rest position for hours and hours and hours.

3. Once you pass the physical tests, a guard candidate has to memorize a notebook about as thick as the Washington phone book that is filled with facts and figures of the cemetery and guard ceremony — such as how many rivets are in the rubber mat the guards walk on in front of the tomb. There are 163 rivets in the mat and 2,002 links in the chain around the tomb plaza.

4. The tomb is never unguarded or unwatched. Even with the guards walking back and forth, other guards are watching via cameras to keep an eye on the on-duty guard as well as the plaza around the tomb itself.

5. The guards work 24-hour shifts with a day off in between another 24-hour shift. During the winter, they guard for an hour, take an hour off and return. In the summer, due to the heat, the guard shift is shortened to 30 minutes on and 30 minutes off.

DC SUMMERS CAN BE HOT!

 But yet, these guys are out there in full uniform

WOW

 “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.”

On the hour, the guards changed. 

It required 3 total guards to do the ceremony. 

All with precision and 21 was the theme yet again

 I love this picture of the 3 walking perfectly in line with each other

And just to think, they do this 24 hours a day... no cheating or slacking on the ceremony just because no one is watching! I would be SOOO tempted to!

After the guards changed, they did the wreath laying for the Rolling Thunder group.

 I loved it all. Then, on my way out, I saw this. 

A beautiful scene if I do say so!

 Sunday was a beautiful day. Loved church and loved hearing the roar of the motorcycle engines out my window :) But, in the evening I had the opportunity to head out to Wolf Trap and see "The President's Own" US Marine Band concert. We took a picnic dinner and it was SO yummy! These guys and girls are awesome cooks! We had fun chatting before the concert and then got to enjoy some great music and FIREWORKS! I loved it. I had never been to Wolf Trap before, but I really like the venue and will most likely be back soon!

 Such a great group of people!

And, I love this picture of Miriam and I!

What an amazing friend she is!

I didn't realize until after the picture was taken, but we're kind of twiners in our outfits!