December 2012

Yay for December!! It's Christmas time and the New Year is coming. I enjoyed celebrating the end of the approaching year with family and friends. Great times for sure :)

 I drove down the MD peninsula to my friend Krista's house and spent and day with her and her family. At the end of the day we went to this farm that goes all out on lights and has different animals for people to see. Loved it!

 My roommate and I also visited the zoo lights in DC. It was fun seeing the different animals portrayed via christmas lights :)

 This coyote definitely helped me feel my western roots!

 Krista and Ryan also came up on night and we went and saw the DC Temple lights. So much fun spending time with them!

 I got to go home to AZ for the week before Christmas. While there, I got to meet up with Caitlin (I forgot to take a picture-sad!), and also my old roommate and friend Dawsha.

 The rest of the time was spent being with my family and I loved every minute of it! It was fun to see how much my little brothers had grown- literally! Spencer's so tall now!

 And of course I was spoiled rotten by my Mom and Dad. I kinda got used to that. Um, can I go back home and have that happen all the time??

I'm so lucky to have the parents I do. I sure do love them!!!

Pretty much I have the best family in the whole world. I missed spending time with Phil and Jenny and Shelly and Ben. But I loved shooting hoops with the Greg, talking with Lydia, and hiding the boys stockings on Christmas morning and watching them hunt for them. I loved playing games and doing puzzles with Mom and Dad and learning more about my family history. I wish vacations didn't have to end! But I'm back in MD and delivering New Year's babys. So bring on 2013; it's gonna be a great year!

A Few Pics for Fall

Well I've been a blog slacker and so here's a quick look at my fall through pictures!

 Bethany and I when I was in Provo in August.

 Climbing trees in Kiwanis Park :)

 Pool games with Ben, Shelly, Phil, Jenny, and Spencer.

 Hiking in Provo Canyon in Sept. Love the colors!!

 Me at my favorite spot up Provo Canyon :)

 Andrea and I went camping in Sept in MD. Lots of bugs :P

 And the next day we went hiking. Love the outdoors!

 RS appreciation dinner. Love these girls :)

 Went to NC to visit Eric and Kayla and visited downtown Winston-Salem.

 And played frisbee golf with them for the first time ever. Addicted!!

 Had a goodbye lunch with Andrea :( Gonna miss her cuteness at work!

 Took myself hiking in the Shenendoah's at the end of October.

Got a beautiful bouquet of flowers for my birthday from my parents :) I shall endeavor to do better in the picture taking department for the remainder of the year. Happy Fall!

Gettysburg!

Gettysburg!!!

Being the huge history buff that I am, this place has been on my list as long as I can remember. Finally I was able to go up with Katie and Andrea and spend a day at this memorable site.

 We toured the museum for a couple hours, then got in the car for an audio tour around the entire battlefield. We got out at most of the stops for a look around and a photo op :)

 This is on the Confederate side of the lines and I'm maning the cannon laying cover fire before Pickett's charge. So awesome to be standing in the places I've heard about so much!

 At a memorial for the 20th Maine- Union regiment and my personal heroes of the battle!

 Katie, me, and Andrea on the Union side of the lines where the last big Confederate push took place.

 Gazing across the fields where once were strewn men from both sides of the war. It was awe-inspiring, somber, thought provoking, and thrilling all at once. Hard to accurately depict the range of emotions I felt that day.

We ended the day on a happy note at this little hole in the wall burger joint. Yummy and so very pro-republican. It was fun :) So glad I was able at last to see Gettysburg!! Love me some history!

A Short Sunday Stroll

 This past Sunday, Andrea and I decided to visit the MD side of Great Falls along the Potomac River.

 The C&O Canal goes along this side of the river, and it was fun seeing so many still working locks along our path.

 I love the sounds and sights of cascading water!

 It was a gorgeous area for a Sunday stroll...

until it started to pour! In 5 minutes we were completely drenched, and I loved every minute of it!! Sometimes it's fun to feel like a little kid again. Best walk ever :)

Across the USA And Shelly's Wedding

 Once upon a time, my little sister decided to get married. So this DCite had to find a way across the country to SLC. Fortunately, her friend was driving back to UT at the same time, so they made it an epic road trip!

 Never ones to be traditional, they first headed north to explore Palmyra New York. Beautiful day in the Sacred Grove!

 Next, they journied west to Niagara Falls. It's true what they say, the Canadian side definitely has better views then the US side. So amazing! I was giddy just listening to the sounds of the crashing water.

 From Niagara Falls, they crossed several midwestern states and finally found their way to lovely Colorado. Once there, they climbed up some boulders in Woodland Park and rejoiced at escaping from the car for awhile.

 A few friends made this layover a bundle of laughs. The gorgeous scenery helped a bit too :)

Amazingly enough, they reached their destination with plenty of time to make it to Shelly's wedding. I'm so happy that my little sissy has found the man of her dreams. Good luck with life Shelly and Ben! Love you forever!

Bull Run Mtn Hike!

Last Saturday Andrea and I decided we didn't care it was raining, hopped in the car, and drove to Bull Run Mountain for some hiking!

 Mountain might be a generous term as the summit was only 1300 feet, but it still felt wonderful to be out in the forest. And what a view from the top! Because it was raining, when we emerged on the granite cliffs overlooking the valley, it felt like we had fallen into the primordial world! I kept expecting to see dinosaurs pop out of the trees :)

A random collage of some pictures from the summit. Love the one in the middle of Andrea staring off into the distance :)

I may not be your typical tree hugger, but I love me my forests and hiking always makes any day a thousand times better!

Kayaking with Krista!

Last Friday I had a chance to go kayaking with my friend, Krista. First time going, and I must admit I'm hooked!!

 Here we are all vested up and ready to hit the water. We went in the Chesapeake Bay, near Piney Point.

 Here we paddled amidst the local wildlife. I'd never seen a jellyfish in real life before!

 And when we beached on a sandbar for lunch, we ran into this little guy. He's so cute! I have this thing for turtles :)

 We managed to spend some time swimming around, whilst avoiding the jellyfish. Although our friend Erin did have a little minnow swim down her...well you can guess :)

 Piney Point lighthouse. I love lighthouses!! This one was so picturesque too.

And of course, I had to ring the bell. How could I not when they put that mallet so temptingly close to it?? It was a beautiful day on the water, with great company, and great memories. Thank you Krista!!

Dawsha Days and Fourth of July

The end of June and the beginning of July brought a visit from Dawsha!! The first day she was here we went to King's Dominion, which was awesome, and then the power went out that night. Little did we know, it would be off for 3 very long, hot days!!

 But Dawsha was a good sport about it and we made the best of things by escaping from the hot house to the hot outdoors :) At least here, at Swains Lock, we had the lovely Potomac River and part of the old C&O canal to keep us entertained!

 Fortunately, by the fourth of July, the power was restored and we journey downtown to enjoy the fireworks...along with the rest of the city it seemed :) Quite crowded, but we still had fun. This is Betsy, Seth, and Dawsha.

 I felt very patriotic watching the fireworks light up the sky from my view at the Jefferson Memorial. Amazing to see those lights along side all the monuments on the Mall.

 Me, Betsy, and Dawsha in front of the Jefferson memorial before the start of the show. I had such fun times with these ladies!!

 Sadly, Dawsha lef the next day, but Eve and I went on Saturday the 7th up to Antietam. They do an annual patriotic concert and fireworks display. They even shoot off live cannon during the Overture of 1812 performance. It was quite hot that day walking around the battlefield, but luckly we had a friend, Heston, who lived nearby and rescued us from the worst of the days heat. Very fun day!!!

I love history and I'm learning so much more about the Civil War being out here. I'm loving seeing all these places I've only read about. Minus the whole humidity thing, I'm really enjoying my time out east!!