Washington D.C.

 

Craig and I had the amazing opportunity to go to Washington D.C. for a work conference at the end of April.  Craig's office is part of a buy in group called Vision Source and every year they hold their national Expo in some big city.  This year the Docs wanted Craig to go and experience it since he is now a minority partner and I was just lucky enough to tag along.  I had never been to D.C. before and Craig had only been there once for just a few days about 15 years ago, so we jumped at the opportunity.  We flew out Wednesday April 27th with Dr. Warner and his wife Michelle and got into D.C. late.  We stayed at the Gaylord resort and convention center, which was about a 25 minute Uber ride into the heart of the city.  To say it was huge would be an understatement.  Thursday morning we were up bright and early (especially with the time change) to get going.  Craig had meetings and I headed to the gym.  After grabbing some breakfast and getting showered and ready Craig was about done for the day.  That afternoon we headed first to the Jefferson Monument and then made our way over to the Holocaust Museum.  Luckily we had made reservations online for the museum, otherwise we would not have gotten in.  I feel like I have read a lot about the Holocaust, but to see it more personally really opened my eyes.  The horror that was suffered and the pure evil that abounded is just heartbreaking. After the museum we walked to the other monuments at the National Mall. WWII memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Monument, Washington Monument, and the White House.  They were all amazing, but I think the Lincoln Monument was my favorite.  I was a little sad that we couldn't get any closer to the White House.  By that point we were pretty tired and hungry, so we decided to grab some dinner at a local place called The Hamilton, which ended up being delicious.  We then headed back to the hotel. 

Friday morning was a lot the same.  Craig headed off to meetings early and I headed to the gym.  I met up with him for the breakfast and then went to get ready for the day while he finished up meetings.  Just after lunch we too an Uber to Arlington Cemetery. I was really looking forward to seeing the cemetery and the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldiers.  We made it just in tome for the changing of the guard and also to see a little ceremony where they changed out some flower wreaths.  It really was quite emotional watching all of this in silence.  It was crazy walking around and seeing all of the headstone for men and women who fought for our country and also leaders of our nation.  It always fill me with gratitude to be in a place like that.  From Arlington Cemetery we then took the Metro into Penn Station to catch the train to Baltimore and then got on the light rail to finally make it to the Baltimore Oriole's baseball game.  The Nationals were out of town that weekend so we decided to head into Baltimore because they were playing the Red Sox.  It was a very cool stadium and we had awesome seats not to far behind home base.  We even got a foul ball.  My hand was sore for days afterwards, but it was totally worth it.  The sox won and it was so much fun and totally worth all the extra travel for it.  After the game we made our way back the same way we came and eventually made it back to the hotel around midnight.  Long day, but so fun.

  Saturday started off the same way.  I exercised while Craig went to meetings.  After lunch we headed back in to town to check out a few more things.  We only had a little bit of time but wanted to get to as many museums as possible.  Top of our list was the American History Museum.  It was so cool to go through the war exhibit as it outlined all of the wars that America has been a part of.  I think Craig could have stayed there all day.  We then headed over to the National Archives.  We only went in to see the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution.  It was quite an experience.  Everyone was very reverent in the room and really the spirit was just very strong there.  It really is amazing what the founders of our Nation were able to accomplish.  We then ran over to the Natural History Museum and walked through that quickly.  It was so nice that all of the museums were free.  After walking through the museums we then walked to the capital building and spent a little time there.  We then took an Uber back to the hotel and grabbed some dinner with the Warner's. After dinner we decided to check out the Ferris wheel by our hotel.  The line was a little long, but it was pretty neat to see the town lit up from the top.

Sunday morning we just got up and it was time to head back to the airport and back home.  It was such an enjoyable trip.  The weather was perfect and we got to see and experience so much. I know we only saw a fraction of what D.C. has to offer, but everything we saw was amazing. The travel was so easy and it was so nice to not have to wear a mask on the airplane.  The kids did great.  They first two nights they stayed at home with our babysitter Paige and then Friday after school my mom picked them up and they spent the weekend with her.  There really were zero complaints and another fantastic trip for the books.

Easter Weekend

 

We had a wonderful Easter weekend.  Easter is such a wonderful time of year.  I love spending so much time thinking about and talking about our Savior and all that he did for us.  It always helps me put things back into perspective.  We did our usual dying of Easter eggs, our spiritual Easter egg hunt, the Easter bunny visited our house (which Brooklyn questioned this year and now knows the whole truth and it kind of makes me a little sad, but she helps keep the magic alive for McKay), we did Easter egg hunts, got together with family and ate way too much.  Brooklyn had a soccer game Saturday morning so I dropped McKay off at my mom's house and she took him to her ward's egg hunt.  After the soccer game, which she won, we headed back to my Mom's house for Melissa's baby shower.  We kept it very low key, but ended up having a decent turn out.  The kids were amazing and played upstairs almost the entire time.  After the shower we did a cousins egg hunt, but had to do it inside because the weather was not cooperating.  The kids didn't seem to mind because they still got their candy.  Easter Sunday after a wonderful church meeting where Craig spoke and did a fabulous job, we headed back to my Mom's house for Easter dinner.  Everyone went all out and it tasted amazing.  It was a little weird to not have an Easter egg hunt and other festivities out at Stan and Diane's this year, but they were in Florida visiting Craig's sister.  We had such a fantastic Easter weekend and every year I am amazed at how much more my testimony can grow for our Lord and Savior and his infinite love for all of us.

Oh and we did a thing the day after Easter....We traded in my Acadia and bought a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee L. It is quite the beauty. I am pretty stoked.  We didn't think we would buy a new car quite yet, but the Peterson's really hooked us up and made it pretty impossible to say no.  I have loved driving it around and the kids are not allowed to eat in it and McKay keeps asking when he will get to eat in it, some day buddy, someday.

Winter Adventures

 

We had a lot of fun this winter as a family.  We were finally able to get up on the ski hill as a family.  We were able to get up to Brundage a handful of times and I was able to get the kids up to Bogus Basin a few times too.  McKay of course picked it up super quickly and after just a few times he was the master of the Bear Chair.  His slogan for the year as we were getting off the chair lift was "Skis up, Farts out".  He thought that he was pretty funny. Brooklyn also improved a lot this year.  She could go on any of the chair lifts.  It was so fun to be able to explore the mountain with her.  The best part was that they were always excited to go and they can't wait for next ski season.  Since we were on the mountain a lot, that meant we also spent a lot of time at the cabin.  The kids loved playing in the snow and I am just grateful that they don't need me to play out there with them.

Brooklyn also had her first ever volleyball season.  She picked it up really quickly and made some big improvements throughout the season. She also had basketball season.  We worked a lot on her lay ups and dribbling.  I was able to help coach which was a lot of fun. We also had the chance to go to the Monster Jam.  It was our first time taking the kids to a monster truck rally.  It was very loud but we sure had a blast.  I love that the kids are old enough to take them to do fun outings like these.  We had a lot of fun this winter, it was busy, but sometimes that's the best.