Trip to the beginning

Last weekend, we went down south in Virginia for a few days to check out Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown to see the first settlement in America and the sight for the surrender of the Revolutionary War. It was a fun trip and we enjoyed the beautiful weather and spring scenery. When we got down there, I decided I wasn't in too much of a "museum" mood and would rather stay outside and enjoy the weather so we didn't spend as much time as I anticipated touring the historical museums and such. As we walked along the sites, we ended up stumbling on a couple of very cool places...a glass making demonstration and President's Park. But first, here are a few pictures of the historical sites.

Monument at Yorktown for Surrender of British in Revolutionary War

Yorktown Battlefield

I am currently obsessed with flowers and I love taking pictures of them. Here are my favorites...

The glass blowing demonstration in Jamestown was very, very cool. The whole process is less than 10 minutes and here are some pictures. We were mesmerized and ending up watching for a good 45 minutes!


Ta-Da! Here is the final product!


The President's Park was right by our hotel and it ended up being very cool. They have huge busts of each president and then a bunch of facts about each of them.


We learned a lot of cool facts about the presidents, here are a few of my favorites:

- James Madison was only 5 ft. 4 in. and weighed in at 100 lbs...he was kind of a little fella.
- James Garfield could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other, both at the same time.
- Woodrow Wilson believed that the number 13 was his lucky number. He dropped his first name, Thomas, so that Woodrow and Wilson would equal 13 letters.
- Calvin Coolidge was very quiet and shy. When a lady at a dinner party informed him that she had a wager that she could make him say more than two words, he replied, "You lose."
- LBJ has a quote that I made sure Ryan noted, "I've learned that only two things are necessary to keep one's wife happy. First, let her think she's having her way. And second, let her have it." ;)

My favorite thing I learned is this...take note of the second fact down on the list for Ulysses S. Grant.



Note to self, do not speed on a horse in DC.

It was a fun trip and we learned some fabulous facts to share!

Palmyra, New York

For my birthday weekend, we went to Palmyra, New York. Palmyra is where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began in the spring of 1820. It is a very sacred place and I am so grateful to have been able to go with Ryan and my parents.

We arrived on Friday late afternoon and went to the Palmyra Temple, which was beautiful and amazing.After the temple, we went to a pizza place that the hotel recommended. Ryan and I ordered calzones. I was quite surprised when they brought them out since they were about the size of my head...seriously, check these babies out! I ate about 1/3 of it and then took the rest back for leftovers. They were very delicious though!


On Saturday, we first went to the Smith family farm and the Sacred Grove, which is where Joseph Smith, Jr. received the First Vision. There is such an amazing feeling there.

After the Sacred Grove, we went to the printing shop where the Book of Mormon was first printed. It really is a remarkable process and I am glad that they went to all of the hard work so that we can have it!

Next, we went and got lunch at the Chill & Grill. Ryan and I had talked about going there and we told my dad about the "trash plate". This is the most disgusting invention and I knew my dad would be all for it. It is a plate with macaroni salad, baked beans, fries, hamburger (or you can choose hot dogs) and then all of the regular hamburger condiments all on one big plate. My dad of course ordered it and then regretted it later.


We also went to the Hill Cumorah and to Fayette, where the church was officially organized in 1830.

On Sunday, we went to church. It was so fabulous to be in such a spiritual place on Easter. All weekend, I had been reminded of how grateful I am for Jesus Christ and His Atonement. It was great to think about the true meaning of Easter.

After church, we drove back to DC and I tried to get as much out of my time with my parents as possible.

Just for fun, here are a few other pictures from the trip.

We went through a town called Shamokin Dam...it is the coolest town name ever really

Smith Family House

We saw this guy on the side of the road and my dad insisted we turn around and get a picture

The Big Day

Last week, I celebrated my 25th birthday. On April 1st, Ryan asked if I wanted to open my present on the 1st day of my birthday month or on my actual birthday, which is April 9th. I told him I would wait until my birthday but he kept asking and then finally admitted that he was just really excited to give me my present (which I found pretty cute). He gave me exactly what I asked for...an Ipod Shuffle to use at the gym and two cds that I have really wanted! I was really excited to get it, the Shuffle is so cute and little!

I then sweetly informed him that it would still be great to get a surprise on my actual birthday and I told him that he could even wrap up a bag of candy and I would be happy, I just wanted a surprise on my actual birthday. I definitely got a great surprise!

April 9th came and Ryan was very sweet and gave me a card and some money to buy some clothes or whatever I wanted. I have determined that one of my absolute favorite things about having a birthday is getting calls and e-mails from family and friends. I feel so loved! So thank you for everyone that called or wrote!

By 11:00 a.m. on my birthday, I had received calls from several people...but not my parents. I have to admit, I was confused. My mom had sent me a text message early in the morning to tell me happy birthday and I replied when I woke up thinking she would call to talk to me. I was surprised I had not heard from her as that is very out of character for my mom. I even went so far as to try to call her to make sure she was okay and nothing had happened and when I got her voicemail, I called my sister to see if she knew where she was. She told me she would try to get in touch with her. I heard from a few more people and then around 1:00, Ryan told me that he needed to go help our friend move a couch up to his apartment and would only be gone a few minutes. When he returned, he told me that we were going on a scavenger hunt for my birthday and the first clue was at the mall.

We arrived at a candle store and he told me that the first clue was in a candle. I started to look around and then turned to say something to Ryan and suddenly, my mom was right there in the store!! I started to cry and gave her a big hug and then cried some more. I was in shock for a good 10 minutes and didn't really know what to do! My cute mom flew all the way from Utah to surprise me on my birthday! Apparently Ryan didn't really need to help move a couch but instead go to the airport!

I asked her if my dad was with her and she said no. I was sad I couldn't see my dad too, but so happy to see my mom. On our way back to our apartment, my dad called my mom's phone and she told him that he was in trouble for not calling me yet to wish me happy birthday. I talked to him and told him I would forgive him. :) Ryan dropped us off at the apartment and went to get some easter candy that he had wanted to give me with my card. When he came back...he brought my dad with him! Again, I was shocked. I loved having my parents surprise me!

Ryan and my parents had been planning it for a couple of months and I could not have asked for a better birthday surprise. I could not have imagined a better day. The biggest reason that having my parents coming to DC is such a huge deal is that they are leaving at the end of June to live in Argentina for three years and in order for me to see them, I have to fly all the way to Neuquen, Argentina to see their cute faces. My dad has been called to serve as a mission president for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Neuquen, Argentina mission. My mom will accompany him and will serve with him and help with various responsibilities in the mission. If you are unsure as to what all of this Mormon language really means, there is a brief explanation here or you can look at the beliefs of my faith here. One cool thing about their mission is that they have penguins! I really hope I get to see them when we go visit. :)

It was so wonderful to have some time with my parents before they embark on their fabulous adventure. We will see them one more time before they leave when my family gets together in early June, but this time it was just us and my parents! We went to dinner for my birthday and then the next morning, left for a weekend trip to Palmyra, New York. I will leave that for a separate post. My birthday was a fabulous day and I am so very grateful for my parents and Ryan for planning such an amazing day. I am so lucky!

Some days, I really love my job.

There are days that I really hate working, but then, a day comes along that makes me realize that I love my job. Tuesday was one of those days. Josh Groban, Linda Ronstadt and Wynton Marsalis testified before one of the subcommittes that my boss is on to talk about funding for the arts. I absolutely love Josh Groban and so I made sure to be there to meet him.

I actually went and listened to the entire hearing, which I usually just watch on tv at my desk, and it was really interesting and I felt inspired. They all gave really great testimonies about the arts and the way that it impacts their own lives and all of society.

After the hearing, we went to meet the stars. Three of my other co-workers that weren't in the hearing came to join us in the hearing room. While my boss was taking pictures with the group of artists, I was standing with my three lady co-workers waiting (my other co-worker Nate was anxiously awaiting his turn to meet Linda Ronstadt) and Josh Groban's mom was standing next to us. She asked who we worked for and we talked to her for a minute and then she looked at the four of us and said "you know, Josh is 28 and single..." I laughed and thought to myself that a mom is always a mom and wants her kids to find someone! It was just a lot funnier coming from Josh Groban's mom!! You know, just trying to get her incredibly famous son married off. :)

After the congressman took their pictures for the press, the musicians were talking to other people and my boss, Mike, yelled "hey Josh, I have some people for you to meet!" Josh came over and Mike said something like, "Josh, these ladies work for me and they have been dying to meet you." It really is great having an outspoken boss that loves his staff and knows we had been talking about this hearing for days!

Whitney, Megan, Josh, me, Missy

Josh really is a very nice guy and was happy to talk to us and take a picture. My co-worker, Megan, told him what his mom had said and he just laughed.

On our way back to our office, we stopped for a quick picture with Linda Ronstadt. Some of you may be thinking that you don't know who she is...but you probably really do know who she is. She sang "Don't Know Much" (you know, the one that sings "I don't know much, but I know I love you...")

1/2 of Missy, Nate, me, Linda, Megan

My favorite parts of this picture with Linda is Nate in the background and Missy trying to get in the picture before it was taken, Whitney was also off to the side and unable to squeeze in... Nate got his own picture with Linda and it is pretty awesome. Doesn't he look so giddy to be meeting her?

Linda and Nate

All in all, it was a pretty good day to work on the Hill.