Well, it has been a while since we last posted and a lot has happened. First off, Matt and I road-tripped into Washington DC! It's only 3.5 hours from our house, but we actually hit pretty bad traffic so it took a little longer. Our hotel room was only a couple of blocks north of the White House, so first thing Saturday morning we trekked to see the home of Mr. Obama. Yeah, it's nicer than our current house and just a little bit bigger...We did happen to see one of the gardeners, so it made for a pretty exciting day :). The main thing we did was the Holocaust Museum which was absolutely exceptional. It's very sobering and tugs at the heart strings for sure. To think that something so devastating could happen to a group of people. One of the most interesting parts was the propaganda section, which showed how the Nazis used media and propaganda to promote their agenda. Then the museum did a good job covering recent genocides like Rwanda and Iran. We spent about 3-4 hours there and could've spent a lot more! Of course we saw all of the memorials--Lincoln, Washington, WWII, Vietnam, etc--and by day's end we were officially worn out! That night we met up with the Chaffee's, friends from our Student married ward, at the Cheesecake factory for some dessert. Can't go wrong with that. So it was a quick weekend trip but lots of fun. And, we are happy to say we have now mastered 4 major city transportation systems--Chicago, NYC, San Fran, and DC. We are such adventurers!
Next...Our old man got older! Matt had a birthday, and as a special birthday present he got to come to the Doctor's to hear his son's heart beat :) I made a huge breakfast that morning at 5:30 so he could still go and workout. Needless to say he didn't even eat half of it, but it's the thought that counts, right? I made a 4 layer chocolate cake with cream in between and created chocolate shaped hearts out of melted chocolate chips--it was a lot of fun to make! For one of his presents, we went to a Cubbies game in Philadelphia--definitely hostile territory. Cubs lost terribly, but we won't dwell on that. We had great seats, 10 rows from the right fielder! But we can't wait to go back to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs again. Much more enjoyable with the friendlys.
Lastly, this past weekend we had a reunion with the good ol' Shimmys! Becca went through the temple in Manhattan and her family came out for the occasion. It was fun to see them all, especially Joe and Erin who we hadn't seen since Christmas. We had GREAT food--not that there is ever a question of good food when the Shims are involved--at a very authentic Italian pizza joint, and then went on an excavation to find frozen yogurt. The group scattered, and Joe, Erin, Matt, and I went to the Met. It was huge! Some highlights were Egyptian artifacts and arms & armor. They had armor and weaponry from countries all over the world. Joe seemed to be in heaven! We also shopped on 5th Ave, particularly in the Apple store as Joe tried to convince Erin he needed a brand new version of the iphone—good luck, Joe. For dinner we found a burger joint with the greasiest and highest calorie count for fries I have ever heard of. That goes without saying they were amazingly good. It was great to see you guys! Come back soon! Here is an open invitation for any of our friends to come and visit and stay at our place! We'd love to have you! :)
Next...Our old man got older! Matt had a birthday, and as a special birthday present he got to come to the Doctor's to hear his son's heart beat :) I made a huge breakfast that morning at 5:30 so he could still go and workout. Needless to say he didn't even eat half of it, but it's the thought that counts, right? I made a 4 layer chocolate cake with cream in between and created chocolate shaped hearts out of melted chocolate chips--it was a lot of fun to make! For one of his presents, we went to a Cubbies game in Philadelphia--definitely hostile territory. Cubs lost terribly, but we won't dwell on that. We had great seats, 10 rows from the right fielder! But we can't wait to go back to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs again. Much more enjoyable with the friendlys.
Lastly, this past weekend we had a reunion with the good ol' Shimmys! Becca went through the temple in Manhattan and her family came out for the occasion. It was fun to see them all, especially Joe and Erin who we hadn't seen since Christmas. We had GREAT food--not that there is ever a question of good food when the Shims are involved--at a very authentic Italian pizza joint, and then went on an excavation to find frozen yogurt. The group scattered, and Joe, Erin, Matt, and I went to the Met. It was huge! Some highlights were Egyptian artifacts and arms & armor. They had armor and weaponry from countries all over the world. Joe seemed to be in heaven! We also shopped on 5th Ave, particularly in the Apple store as Joe tried to convince Erin he needed a brand new version of the iphone—good luck, Joe. For dinner we found a burger joint with the greasiest and highest calorie count for fries I have ever heard of. That goes without saying they were amazingly good. It was great to see you guys! Come back soon! Here is an open invitation for any of our friends to come and visit and stay at our place! We'd love to have you! :)
The White House, of course, with a visit from Matt's tongue
The Capitol
Paying homage to Mr. Lincoln
Washington Monument with reflection pool
The wearers of Blue were few and far between
Look at how close we were from the right fielder--no homeruns to the right field :(
The infamous man with the cake!
Part of the motley crew
I couldn't resist :)
With Joe and Erin at the met
Snap shots of the past...
The happy couple
