The Happenings of late...

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! :)

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

3 Years and Counting...

Matt and I have been married for 3 years! Wow how the time flies by! It's been lots of fun, and we've had our share of adventures with plenty more to come. :) I love you Matty--you're the best!

On a separate note, we spent 4th of July weekend in Cincinnati with Matt's parents. It was a nice break full of LOTS of food. Our friends the Shims fed us remarkably well, as well as the Howards. We ate and ate and ate. Matt ran a 5K with his dad and they had some bonding moments. We were also able to see Chris and Erin, friends we hadn't seen for over a year! We also saw Huey Lewis and the News along with fireworks to kick of the celebration of America. And as a surprise to Matt, I found someone to give him an intro lesson to the Steel Pan Drums--he did so well!

Snap shots of the past...The happy couple

The Boys after the 5k

Projects around the house

Huey Lewis and the News 4th of July concert

The Connollys--they're having a little girl in August

Food at the Shims

Matt's Steel pan drum lesson--listen to how well he can play!

Our NJ pad

So we have yet to share a picture of our humble abode. We are living on the 2nd floor of an old but cute house. A business is on the 1st floor during the day, but the best part is that they leave at night and don't work weekends! We also just got bedroom furniture!!! At our apartment in CA we had a huge walk in closet and didn't need anything else. In our current house we have NO closet space and were in desperate need of something. So we bought a bedroom set and absolutely LOVE it! It came on Friday and barely fit up the stairs and into our bedroom. Enjoy the pics!

We like it--nice and yellow

I love dark stained wood!

It's a BOY!!!

So it's official, our little Peanut is actually a little boy! That means the name Xena Warrior Princess (a favorite) is out, and He-man comes to the front! :) Don't mess. He will pass on the Lanenga name, probably the 'Lanenga nose', and definitely the Lanenga essence. We have pictures of him, but they just need to be scanned in. I know you will all be anxiously waiting...

BODIES...The Exhibit

So Matt and I ventured into NYC last weekend to visit the Bodies Exhibit. Anyone who knows me, knows I think there is nothing more interesting, more fascinating, or more complex than the human body, and I love it! To me, it is indisputable evidence that there is a God. Something like this cannot just evolve, but was created. Men and women were created in the likeness and image of God.

We actually took the fairy in from NJ instead of taking the transit and subway, and it was nice for a change. The exhibit area was right next to a pier, so there was lots of shopping, eating, music, and fun all around. The exhibit itself was amazing! My favorite part was the circulatory system. I've seen the cadavers and stuff before, but with the circulatory system they were able to capture every aspect--so fascinating! Not for the light of stomach, however, so bring your 'spewing' bag or tighten your stomach.

Then on Monday for Memorial Day, we had a BBQ with some friends from the ward and the food was F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C! I'm hungry just thinking about it. :) But no, we took no pictures--we're pretty bad about that.

I wanted to play with them too

Trying to prove that I am, in fact, preggo

Matty with the Brooklyn Bridge

There was a mini golf place off of the pier!

Handy Dandy Hand outs

Since graduating from BYU, I have been involved with the Young Womens organization--both while in California and here in New Jersey. I think the Bishoprics are telling me I have a lot of growing up and maturing to do. :) I am currently the 1st Counselor and Miamaids advisor. So I'm really not the creative type, but for the combined lesson that I was teaching on the Priesthood I found the cutest thing. I found oragami directions for folding a collared shirt out of a dollar bill, but I exchanged the dollar bill for white to make it look like a Church shirt, and then found some ribbon for a tie. I was super excited for how cute it turned out. Then on the back I attached a quote that I really liked--what do you think?!

My Cute Candy hand out

I made 10 of them for all of the girls

crazy good stuff....

I never thought a harp was cool until last wkend. Allie and I went to a Yanni concert in NYC on Sat. Surprisingly really liked it. We'll post more later, but this guy almost makes you want to become a professional harpist.