A Few Memories

So, Fred and I have been out here for just over a year. While these are not the best pictures we have, nor do they cover anything real major we've done since coming out here, and some are repeats of ones you've surely seen before, this is a short documentation of us coming out to DC and a few of the things we've enjoyed. You'll notice that a lot of them, in the end, include some type of food.

So obviously seeing Eric on our way out was fun. We didn't stay long, just enough time to say hi, drop off a box of donuts, and encourage him to keep working hard. Funny that Eric is the missionary but Fred and I are the ones who look awkward in the picture.

I got to meet Uncle Karl, Aunt Linda, and their kids when we came out. They took us on an amazing hike and we were able to enjoy the day together. Wonderful people. And of course, Santi the dog.

This picture is just to represent that we spent a lot of time in the car. It's probably not a good reflection of how I felt about spending hours each day in the car, but I was excited to be in Chicago to visit Brandt and Christina.

Believe it or not, this is Brandt and Christina. They were packed in the back of our car along with a great many of our belongings in rush hour Chicago traffic...yeah, hot and stuffy. Christina and I ended up bailing the car and taking the train to a restaurant.

One of the coolest things ever is that our good friends Tim and Janine were in DC the day we came out and we got to spend our first day in the area at Arlington National Cemetery with them. I personally have sorely missed them since.

That was the first time I saw the Changing of the Guard and the Tomb of the Unkown Soldier. Fred got this picture of it which I think is cool. He actually got this picture in December when he went with Erin, which might explain why people are in coats since that would be ridiculous in August, but I'm posting it here just the same because I saw it first with Tim and Janine.

So here are some pictures of us painting in our house. We previously had the horrific colors of bright orange, lime green, and periwinkle. Needless to say, we decided to paint even before any of our things had arrived. So as you can see, my picture is all normal. And then there is Fred...

While I may agree with what his sign says, I have creepy pictures running through my head of future children writing things on the walls with markers and having the same thrilled and devious look on their faces. Hopefully, they are not the same age as depicted in this picture here.

This is Fred with the butterfly spatula that we got from the Gray family. He's showing his excitement for all the new kitchen stuff we received and trying to find space in our kitchen to fit it all.

I can't help but laugh every time I see this picture. So one thing I am a little girly about is getting my haircut. It always makes me a little sad. It was a rash decision for me, so Fred up and took me on a whim one night. I'm not sure if the look on my face in this picture is because I'm about to get my hair chopped off or because of the strategic placement of the woman's hand. And here is the end result. I think I look happier than I felt. But hair is alive and it is slowly growing back.

Anyone who knows Fred knows that he loves projects. His mind works 100 miles an hour and is always thinking of what to be done next. I think that is an amazing trait and one that I really admire in him. Especially because he likes to figure out how to do things himself, he's always learning. - The timing, however, is not always so great. Because he likes to do things himself, it sometimes takes longer than expected. I love how happy he is in this picture because he has no idea what he is getting himself into. Of course, as the project went on and I realized my kitchen was going to be torn apart for Christmas while my sisters were going to be around, stipulations on the project had to be set.

The poor guy had to work like crazy to meet my demand that the floor be finished by the time my sisters arrived. He spent long days, all-nighters, and early mornings to get the floor done. What an awesome husband. The floor really looks great and I'm amazed at everything he learned along the way. That's definitely a huge memory from our first year here.

Then of course we immensely enjoyed having Rebecca and Erin over for Christmas. It was lots of fun, and because our kitchen was a little out of sorts, Maria invited us to her house for Christmas Eve dinner. We made coconut shrimp. It was fun. Maria is in Young Women's with me. To her right is Rebecca her daughter, then Jacky in pink and in the middle (of course), then the rest of us. I love the way Fred is standing in the back. It really demonstrates how short the rest of us are.

So, I know I look like a freak in this picture but it was C-O-L-D and I'm already married so I was more concerned about losing my neck and face to frostbite than I was about looking good. :)Thankfully Erin looks cute enough for us to keep this horrendous picture of myself. (And of course, the main attraction is the Washington Monument)

This is at the WWII monument. It has to be one of the neatest monuments that I've ever seen. Truly beautiful. I'm sure it's even better on a day when the wind isn't so biting and you can look at it normally instead of through squinty eyes overflowing with tears due to the cold and dryness. And here we are each supporting our favorite state...If you'll notice, there are clearly more people touching the Idaho stone. :) - sorry Fred.

Gettysburg was amazing. It was too cold to wander around the battlegrounds so we have great plans to go back and do the outside tour, but the Museum was actually one of the best I've been to. We spent a surprisingly long time there. And of course, we have loved attending the Washington DC temple. It is truly beautiful. We went to a little Christmas concert thing at the visitor's center and you can kind of see all the Christmas lights. It's a huge attraction here in December and draws in lots of people making it a great missionary tool. Fred is a cooking connoisseur. At least in comparison to me, which isn't too hard to beat. One thing that he loves to do is make different pizzas on Friday nights. He recently made a barbecue chicken one that was amazingly delicious (or so I hear since I don't eat much barbecue sauce) but this is a picture of one we made together.

Once again, here is me looking ridiculous. Fred seems to like taking pictures of me at my best, and this is about as good as I get when I'm at home. Here is a wonderful meal that we like to make of homemade salsa, cheese slices, crackers, apple slices, and tomatoes. You'll have to find out from Fred what he put in the salsa, but it was good.

We love, love, LOVE the Amish. They make the best cookies in the world. These snickerdoodles we got in Pennsylvania from a real little Amish town while we were visiting Uncle Karl and Aunt Linda. Then we discovered that there is a Dutch market not five minutes from our home in Maryland. Talk about good food. I'll have to post the amazing picture of the Chicken wing that Fred ate from there.

I had to include this picture of a few of the Young Women because they have become such a huge part of my life. Someday soon I'll devote a whole post just to them. This is at the overnight campout we had. In spite of my original reservations of the whole thing, it was lots of fun. And thanks to a great big bag of Rice Krispies we got from the Nielson family for Christmas (thanks guys!) Fred and I have enjoyed way more than our fair share of Rice Krispy treats.

And that my good friends is my feeble attempt at blogging this month since I haven't done so in a while. What are some of your favorite memories from this last year?