We love visitors

Stephen and Brooke came to visit us this month and we absolutely loved their company. The only downer was that a huge storm came through knocking off all the blossom petals the night they arrived, so they missed the cherry blossoms by hours...so sad...oh, and Ava was sick the majority of their visit. That didn't stop them from enjoying their trip, of course.

Though, after their return from Italy the week before, the US architecture just doesn't stand to Italian Renaissance, however, taking part of US History can top any Italian structure. Stephen couldn't get over the fact that he helped Doug write the last paragraph of a speech he wrote for the Senator, and we all thoroughly enjoyed watching him revel in his opportunity to leave his "mark" in US History.

Despite Ava's sickness we still tried to get out with them here and there.

Great Falls...great family.

I love my bro...and doesn't Brooke just look lovely. Actually, Ava absolutely loves Stephen and always has. She will stare at him for lengthy periods of time...just fascinated with his presence. I just wish we could get into that tiny brain of hers and figure out what she's really thinking.

I was pretty excited at how this picture turned out...I think we'll actually be framing this one.

Cherry Blossoms

On April 1st, some ladies in my ward got together and went to the tidal basin to enjoy the cherry blossoms. One word...FREEZING!

Though the sun was out and there were clear skies, it was deceiving 'cuz it was bone chilling cold that morning. Fortunately, once we walked partially around the basin we found a nice spot, by the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Monument, to throw out a blanket and let the kids run loose.

It was pleasant since the trees surrounding us blocked the wind. After our little break, it had warmed up nicely, so it was a little more bearable.

It was a fun day, and nice getting to know these ladies a bit more.

This is my personal favorite.

Kites a flyin'

Once again,...at the end of March (I'm catching up) we decided to go check out the Cherry Blossoms but detoured over to the Mall instead where we saw hundreds and hundreds of kites flying in the air and thousands of people everywhere. I had forgotten that kites were part of the Cherry Blossom festival activities. I'll be honest, the picture does NOT give it justice. It was quite a site when the wind would pick up and the sky was speckled with all sorts of shapes, sizes and color along with the monuments and Capitol in the background. Again, this picture is just a glimpse of what we saw. Maybe next year we'll actually participate and fly a kite.

Picnic'n Time

Sometimes I take for granted what surrounds us here in DC. At the end of March, Ava and I went to visit Doug at work and have a picnic during his lunch hour. So, we just headed to the Library of Congress and plopped in the shade to enjoy a fancy lunch consisting of ham and cheese sandwiches. Notice our view in the background of the U.S. Capitol. I feel fortunate that we are surrounded by so much History in our own humdrum life, that we can easily take part in it....even if it is simply enjoying a view at lunch time.

Annual White House Easter Egg Roll

My timeliness of this posting is not so hot considering this event was the day after Easter. Regardless, it is still worthy of a 'post'. As mentioned earlier, I camped out for tickets to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, and it was well worth it. Despite Ava's young age, it was a lot of fun. Although there were a variety of activities on the lawn; face painting, story telling, magic shows, entertainment (including the Jonas Brothers for all you preteens out there), Easter egg hunt, Easter maze, Easter egg roll and much more - I will say that Ava's favorite activity was simply walking around the White House lawn with a yellow crayon she swiped from the bunny-ear hat coloring booth. She was everywhere with that crayon as seen in the picture (please revert your eyes from the large derriere in the middle of the pic).

However, the highlight of my day was Ava's participation in the Easter egg roll - notice the man snatching the egg out of Ava's hand before she was able to actually cross the finish line. In his defense, you can see others lined up and waiting for us to finish before they blew the whistle - they sure did file people through. It sure was fun!

As you can see, Ava wasn't so fond of some of the visitors, like Strawberry Shortcake.

...Hmm, maybe one day... I've got a handsome husband if I do say so myselfIt's nice to see that some secret service have spirit Not that way Ava, or you just may get pounced by security but there's so much to see, and so much to do....isn't that life?!

Easter Sunday

"Happy Easter!" Ava absolutely loves wearing hats. Here she is sporting her Easter best. Though she didn't wear the hat to church I still think she looked adorable.

Flashback to Girls Camp

With Easter coming up Julie and I had been talking about getting tickets to the Annual White House Easter Egg Roll. In order to get tickets, however, we had to camp out since it was first come, first serve. We had been tossing the idea around with our husbands, who...needless to say...were fine with going, if we did the dirty work. Fine with us. Thanks to Julie, who kept the idea going, more and more 'moms' in neighboring wards decided it would be fun. It was. We camped by the Ellipse in DC, right along 15th Street. The weather was better than expected, though it did get pretty windy around 3 am. Though I had a blast with the ladies and loved the view of monuments and the White House surrounding us, I will say I felt like I had been hit by a bus the next day. I don't want to admit it, but I think I'm too old for pulling all-nighters...though it won't stop me from doing it again next year!

This was my view the majority of the evening, let me rephrase that....the morning. (Rebecca, Shane and Julie - you look fantastic)

finger lickin' good

Upon our return from AZ I cleaned out the fridge and Ava found herself a treat. Who knew she would devour this plum! It was just her size, as was the make-shift towel/bib. (just a side note...I really do do her hair, but it's no use...it has just as much personality as Ava has)

Arizona Trip

A month ago Ava and I went to Arizona for a week. It was the perfect time to go...one we left to get out of Doug's hair so he could finish his thesis, and two it was absolutely beautiful weather. We were able to spendplenty of time with my sisters, Ava's cousins and Grandpa Garrett. As usual, it was sad to leave but I left with plenty of memories: Ava's first zoo excursion, clearance shopping, ATV riding, ATV rolling (where was my camera for that one, still have evidence on my leg of the incident...how about you Marie?), catching up with ol' friends, Daddy-daughter(s) date, food garlore, AZ Temple visit, and my favorite was watching Ava interact with all her cousins and dancing with Grandpa. It was fun! Thanks for the memories fam!