Annapolis

My Aunt Laurel was in town for a couple of weeks to work in our DC office (we work for the same Congressman). We of course had to do something exciting and new while she was here...

Ryan and I had never been to Annapolis, Maryland and Laurel really wanted crab so our day trip last Saturday was decided. When Laurel and I were researching what to do, we saw a link for a "pirate tour" of Annapolis. I was extremely excited at the prospect of dressing up and being able to use the phrases "walk the plank" and "you wench"! But, when I called to reserve the tickets, they were completely booked! What a letdown! If anyone here in DC wants to go one day...let me know, I am all for going back for a pirate tour!

Instead, we walked down the main street and looked in all the shops and looked for a place to eat. Laurel wanted to get as much fresh crab as possible so we were on the lookout for a place with good crab cakes. Lo and behold, we saw a sign in a window of a New York style deli boasting "The Best Crab Cakes in Maryland". We inched our way through a ridiculously packed and skinny deli and sat down. Our waiter was extremely convincing and encouraged me to order the shrimp salad sandwich because the ham sandwich I wanted was something I could eat any day. I was not impressed, it was pretty tasteless. Laurel's crab cake was not the best but sufficient...Our New York Deli in Annapolis experience was entertaining but just eh...

Our next stop was the U.S. Naval Academy. It was a lot cooler than I thought it was going to be! We found a statue of their mascot, Bill the Goat (or something like that). I tried to save Ryan from the goat...

There was one building that was my favorite because it was so incredible inside and out. For your viewing pleasure, here is the proof...

After the Naval Academy, we drove across the bridge over the Chesapeake Bay and found a restaurant for some serious crab. It was delicious and I love eating with my hands! Laurel is completely hardcore and didn't use the tools. She just cracked those crab legs with her bare hands and showed her brute strength! :) It was so fun to have you here Laurel! Thanks for playing with us!!!

P.S. I am still struggling with the spacing...sorry!

Am I 80 or 24?

I have asked myself the question "Am I 80 years old or am I 24 years old?" a lot lately. You see, about a month ago I started having really sharp stomach pains. After they didn't go away, I went to see my doctor. His first guess was gallstones (first time I raised the age question). In I went for an ultrasound and that proved his first guess was wrong. The pain was still there so the new guess was that it could be something with my stomach, like ulcers or something with the sphincter, aka valve, at the top of my stomach. So, I went in for the second, and most interesting/disgusting/fascinating, test I have ever had. They had me drink an alka-seltzer like substance first and then GULP (those were the exact instructions I was given) two cups of barium, that is a really chalky and gross shake that acts as a dye to show how I am digesting food. My favorite thing that the nurse and doctor both said to me was "don't burp or stop drinking". This stuff is DISGUSTING and it took everything in me to not gag...which is really hard since I have quite the gag reflex. (Too much information about me?) They took a gazillion x-rays of my chest and stomach and had me do all sorts of twists and turns on the metal table so that I could "coat my esophagus and stomach with the barium". Personally, I felt like a lab rat in a darkened room. It was pretty cool to watch the images on the screen, even though I am far from qualified to understand what the heck they were showing. I finally got the test results back from that and I have a diagnosis...hiatal hernia. What the heck? How old am I???

To further this question in my mind, I told my Aunt Laurel , who is here in Washington DC for a couple weeks. As soon as I told her she said "oh, that is what Grandma Peterson had!". My Grandma had this??? Alright, I have now gone from 24 to 80...what a quick jump! Here I come Pepcid AC and Tums, we will have a close relationship for the foreseeable future! :)

Spacing help

All of you expert bloggers out there...I need help! How do you fix all of the spacing issues like my post below? I can't seem to get it right when I write a lot and put a bunch of pictures up. Does anyone have any recommendations or tips?

Trip to Idaho

Let me begin by saying that Independence Day/4th of July is my favorite holiday and this year was definitely one of my favorite years! There is just something about that day that makes me all giddy and childlike!

This last week, I went to Idaho for work because my boss was going to be in the district for the week and I had not yet worked with him in the district. Ryan couldn't find a cheap ticket so I went alone. The work term can be used loosely as I only had to work for a couple of the days in the office and then spent the rest playing. :) My Aunt Laurel was nice enough to let me stay at her house for the first couple of days since my oldest brother, Troy, and his family were in Island Park for a family reunion. I had a couple of relaxing days to catch up on things and then on Monday, I went to Troy & Jamie's house for the rest of the week. I had a blast with 4 of my adorable nieces and nephews! But, I was really sad to leave Ryan for a week and to not be with him on Independence Day.

On Tuesday, I went to tennis lessons with Jamie and they were a lot of fun. It makes me want to take tennis lessons out here in Virginia so that maybe I can get good enough to challenge Ryan to a game... Then I went to work for the day. I went to a meeting and a press conference with my boss, Mike, and Laurel (she works for Mike too) and then we had a big open house at our new Idaho Falls office. It ended up being a really fun day and it was great to see Mike work in the district because I am so used to just seeing the work in DC. Towards the end of the open house, I happened to find out that I had misunderstood our Communications Director, Nikki, when it came to what I could help with for the Idaho Falls Parade on the 4th. I thought I was going to be a sideline supporter donning a Mike Simpson t-shirt. False. I was supposed to be IN the parade. Slight misunderstanding. :) Good thing I love Nikki and was happy to help.

As soon as I was done with the open house, I called my sister, Megan, to recruit her. Megs and her husband, Justin, and their baby, Andrew, were already planning to come up to Idaho Falls to see me and celebrate the holiday with us. They were fabulous sports and agreed to help. I also talked my two nephews, Kimball and Cole, to join in on the fun too. I was planning to make this parade fun if it was the last thing I did!

After recruiting them, I called to tell Ryan about the days events. He had sent me a text message while I was at the open house to tell me he was really tired and was going to take a nap but to call when I was done and he would probably wake up. I tried all night long and it went straight to voicemail, so I thought he had forgotten (again) to plug his phone in. I tried not to panic and not to worry. I did well until about 11:00 Idaho time and decided to try once again before I went to bed, even though it was 1:00 DC time. He finally picked up and we talked. I was relieved!

The next morning, I took Kimball & Cole to their tennis lessons and then we came home and the three of us and Lauren played dress up while Jamie went to run errands. I think that Lauren's dress up costume was my favorite...















After we played for awhile, I went to get ready for the day. Lauren came into the bathroom and Jamie asked if I wanted to do her hair, so we worked on getting some cute pigtails in. As I was working on that (which is a lot harder on a 2 year old than I thought) the doorbell rang and Jamie went to get it. Next thing I knew, Ryan was standing in the doorway of the bathroom. I was SHOCKED!!! My wonderful and adorable husband had surprised me and flown to Salt Lake and then drove to Idaho to join in on the fun! It was the best surprise ever! I was sooooo happy! I love Ryan and I am so glad he surprised me and came to Idaho!

Ryan's parents came up to Idaho Falls too for some work on the apartments they own and it was my mother-in-law's birthday so we went to celebrate at dinner. Troy & Jamie got a babysitter and it was fun to have them come to dinner too. It was so fun to see Rick & Lyn on the trip too, I felt so happy to see them too! Happy Birthday Lyn!!

After dinner, Ryan & I went to Rexburg to see some of Ryan's friends. We got to see our friends Adam & Heather's new baby, and I got to meet the famous Curt Greesman, who Ryan talks about all the time. He just got off his mission and it was good to get some inside stories about Ryan in college.

Ryan and Curt showing how cool it is that Ryan got to drive his parent's/brother's Mercedes up to Idaho.

Thursday morning, Ryan and I went up to the new Rexburg Temple. It is absolutely amazing and gorgeous. I was so grateful to be able to go and spend time with Ryan there. We forgot to take pictures but it was amazing. I love going to the temple so much, it gives me so much peace and fills me with joy.

Then, we got back to Idaho Falls and Megan, Justin, Andrew and my Mom came up from Idaho. More family that I got to see! We all played for the rest of the day and the evening and I loved every second of it. That night, we went over to some of Troy & Jamie's neighbors for fireworks. I thought that it would be small regular fireworks and most likely some illegal bottle rockets. I was wrong! They had a bunch of the big fireworks like at real firework shows, it was awesome! The best part of the night was the 5 year old boy, Conner, that decided he wanted to be Ryan, mine, Justin and Megan's best friend. He told us all about his family (maybe more than his mom might have liked...) and he was adorable. I love the things that little kids say!

On the big day, Independence Day, we woke up and went to the parade. It ended up being a lot of fun and we were able to "lightly toss" or hand out candy. We were threatened to not "throw" the candy but we could still give it out. I actually enjoyed being in the parade! (Shhh, don't tell Nikki or I might have to do it again :).)

















The smallest Mike Simpson supporter, Andrew felt a little tired during the parade and took a nap. Kimball and Cole were super lucky and got some free cotton candy, which as made obvious by the picture, was enjoyed greatly. The best comment of the day was when Cole yelled out from the golf cart "Vote for Mike! I would if I was old enough!!" Only 12 more years Coley, and you can! :)

That night, we went to the big Melaleuca Celebration. My Dad came up for the event as well so it was a large family affair! We ate a buffet dinner and then staked out a place on the "Greenbelt" (grass along the river is what I guess that means). We had to wait awhile before the fireworks and the kids were going crazy. After being tackled several times and being crawled all over, I gave Kimball, Cole and Lauren each a piece of technology to entertain them. Thank goodness for technology!















Lucy is the best baby of the Troy Peterson clan. She is SO sweet! I love cuddling with her. Lauren, however, is a spitfire. She is adorable but if you turn your back, you could find her washing her hair in the toilet, pouring lotion all over herself or climbing on any piece of furniture she is near. She is constant entertainment!



The fireworks were amazing and may be the best I have ever seen. It was like a fireworks finale for a full 35 minutes or so. Awesome! On Saturday morning, we woke up and ate a delicious breakfast prepared by Jamie in celebration of Megan's birthday. Megs loves her birthday more than anything else so it was wonderful to be there to wish her a Happy Birthday! Love you Megs, I am glad I got to see you on the big 26th birthday!

Cute little Andrew fits perfectly inside the bag I gave Megs for her birthday! Baby bag has a new meaning...



















It was a great week and I loved having Ryan there! The only downside is that the only way he could come was if he stayed in Utah until this Wednesday so I am chilling in Virginia by myself for a few days. But it was well worth it! I have the best husband!

I love this country and I am so grateful for the freedoms we have here. We talked in all three of our church meetings today about the amazing blessing it is to have the freedom of religion so that we can practice our faith as we choose. I consider that an amazing blessing and I am very grateful for it. I hope everyone else had a great Independence Day!