Memorial Day & Other Summer Fun

 (Sorry I'm a little behind on the blogging these days! Hence writing about Memorial Day in the middle of July!) Memorial Day in the Nation's Capital is a patriotic event! We decided to go all out for it and see as much as we could for our first Memorial Day here.

On the eve of Memorial Day, Sunday night, we decided to go the Capitol grounds for the national Memorial Day Concert! 

 

 

We didn't get there super early to get the best seats but we still enjoyed the wonderful show! We were so glad our friends the Camps could come with us!   

  

 

  

Pretty cool just hanging out on the Capitol lawn on a beautiful Sunday evening.

We enjoyed hearing from artists like Jennifer Nettles, Jackie Evancho, Anthony Kearns, and the National Symphony Orchestra. But my favorite part was the segment they did honoring the 70th anniversary of D-Day. They had several veterans there at the concert who had specifically helped secure the biggest German guns in an unbelievable mission on D-Day. Talk about pride and gratitude for the red, white, and blue!

 

It was really moving to sit by so many families who were at the concert who were part of TAPS- Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors- those family members of the fallen armed forces. We were around several different families who had t-shirts and buttons remembering their lost loved one. During certain segments, they were very emotional. It was so humbling to be by them.

 

The Capitol all lit up at night looked so pretty! At the end of the concert they sang each of the armed forces songs and those who are or were part of that branch stood up. It was so fun to see the proud Navy vets, Air Force Vets, Marine Vets, etc.. stand up and sing with gusto! It definitely got us in the right spirit for Memorial Day!

The next morning we decided to go to Arlington National Cemetery: the quintessential place to remember all the thousands of men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice that we might be free. Each grave at Arlington was decorated with a flag. That's over 300,000 flags!
 
 

 

Such a humbling sight to see row upon row flags throughout the cemetery.

 

It was such a hot morning but we enjoyed our walk around the cemetery. 

We found Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln's grave. Considering my family celebrates Abraham Lincoln's birthday every year, this is an important place!

 

 

  

The changing of the guard ceremony was especially cool with every group you can think of giving decorative wreaths.

 

 

 

It was VERY warm by the time we had walked all around the cemetery but we felt like we were at the perfect place to honor all those fallen for Memorial Day.

And summer isn't summer without some yummy new dishes!

 

Brandon made some DELICIOUS pineapple curry the other day.

 

Another day, Brandon proved himself the finest chef by making this decadent burger. Seriously am I not so lucky to have this man who loves to cook?

Speaking of burgers, this magazine came out recently and we have decided to take advantage of this beauty.

 

One of the best burgers was at Holy Cow- a burger place that gives 25 cents from every purchase to a local charity.  

 

Not only is this place charitable, it is delectable!  

 

We got sweet potato fries with marshmellow dipping sauce and a delicious salted caramel shake. Seriously so good!  

One of things on our DC Bucket list was to go to Roosevelt Island: this island in the middle of the Potomac full of little trails. It's a natural getaway in the middle of the big city! 
 

So one date night we headed over to explore Teddy's conservation playground.

It was beautiful to say the least.

 

 

 

We first checked out the monuments to Teddy and bully! Was it cool! (I know. I know. Pathetic historic humor)

 

 

  

I especially loved these quotes they had from him. That Teddy was a smart guy! 

 

 

With the sun setting, it was seriously so beautiful!  

 

Then we decided to explore the island a little bit.  

  

  

 

 

And since it's pretty tricky to get pictures together when you're the only two people on an island, we had to take some solo shots to prove we were there. 

 

KING OF THE MOUNTAIN!  

 

A natural swing! 

 

A great little home for Brandon.

 

I think this was my favorite spot we found. Isn't it so picturesque? 

 

It was such a lovely time. We'll definitely be going back soon.  

 

We ended our night with a delicious crepe in Georgetown!

One last summer event to report on. Back on Mother's Day Brandon was a sweetheart and gave me a "Not a Mother" Mother's Day gift of tickets to see Beauty and the Beast at Wolf Trap, an outdoor amphitheater in Virginia. Well the big day came to see it but boy was it HOT!

 

We settled down on our blanket and got ready to roast. :) 

 

Even though the main stage was a little ways away, it was such a great show! Belle was amazing! And turns out two cast members were BYU alum. Go Cougs! Seeing the show brought back so many memories of when I was in Beauty and the Beast my senior year of high school. My best friend was Belle and I got to be a drunken townsperson (I had so much experience to rely on) and a plate. It was so fun!

 

I sure appreciated this stud to endure the heat and the musical with me! That's true love folks! Despite the heat it was a great summer activity. And afterwards we jumped in the pool at our apartment complex to cool off.

MORE SUMMER FUN TO COME! 

Summertime Fun Has Begun!

So it's official. I. Love. Summer! Always have. Always will. The last few weeks we have had some beautiful weather and we've done lots of fun things to kick off summer right.

At the beginning of the summer, we drove down to Hickory, North Carolina to celebrate the marriage of two of our dear friends: Jared and Kara!

 

Aren't they so cute? Jared and Brandon were roommates at BYU for several years and are good friends. Funnily enough both of them married Karas. :) Good choice boys!  We were so sad we couldn't be with them on the big day down in Texas so we were so glad we could be at the open house in Jared's home town.

We arrived a little late to the open house after some awesome GPS mis-directions. But once there we danced some Scottish country dances and had a rip-roaring time.

  

One of Jared and Brandon's friends from freshmen year, Jared Robinson also came up from Atlanta. We had such a fun time visiting with so many old friends. (I'll say though it was a bit confusing with TWO people named Jared and TWO people named Kara in attendance!)

Jared's parents were so sweet to host us for the night and the next morning we went to church with the Mr. & Mrs. then headed back to DC. We snapped some photos before we left though.

   

All four of us together.

 

The two best buddies. They must be friends to wear matching ties. :)

 

These boys are all grown up and married! 

Also back in May, one of my dear old friends, Micaela was in town and we got to catch up with her for a little bit!

 

Micaela and I are from the same home stake, went to good ole Powell Middle School together (PMS- yep that was our school's initials), and most importantly were on the same softball team together. Go Wildcats! Micaela is one of the most fun people to be around ever. Seriously she is a riot. We had so much fun navigating DC traffic with her, going out to dinner at our favorite burger place, and reminiscing about middle school choir, softball sliding lessons, and girls camps gone by. :) It was a highlight of my summer to laugh and catch up with her. Come back soon Micaela!

It ain't summer till you've been to a baseball game! We had a big work outing to a Nationals baseball game one Friday night and had a great time!

Before the game, everyone stopped by the Bullpen for drinks.

  

Ie Ling and I are the only two Mormon girls in our office so we enjoyed some tasty pink lemonade instead of beer. (Don't worry mom. No booze for me!)

These are some of my favorite people from work! Kelly, Keri, Sam, and Ie Ling. These people make make me laugh and keep me going on those long days. Thank goodness for good friends!

 

We had GREAT seats and had a fun night together. I confess, I didn't see too much of the game that night- we were so busy talking and having fun together.

 

One of my favorite parts of a good Nats game are these racing Presidents who run around during the 7th inning stretch. There's George, Abe, Teddy, and Tom. Their giant heads are pretty funny.

 

It was such a fun night. Brandon came to the game and sat in another section but eventually got to come and sit with us for the end.

The DC area is such a volatile place of people constantly moving in and out of the area. We were so sad that one of our favorite family's in our ward at church moved at the end of May: The Khong family.

 

We teach the sunbeam/CTR 4 class of 4 and 5 year olds and have loved, loved having this little guy in our class. Aiden can read upside down, loves Star Wars, and is a pro at spinning around in a circle. :) We were so sad to loose Aiden  but know how lucky his new Primary in Texas is to have him! 

This summer we've also been doing a lot of burger cookin'!  

 

Brandon is pretty much my own live in Bobby Flay. He's the best! Every burger different and divine! I could eat burgers every other night I think!

 

Check this bad boy out with fresh homemade guacamole! I love that Brandon has decided that he likes to cook. Seriously best hidden talent ever.

One of our most recent DC adventures involved crossing a few items of our bucket list: visiting the National Botanic Gardens and going to Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown. It was a day of flowers and gardens and good friends! We invited the Camps to join us and some of their friends in town as well. It was a great day!

 

Checking out the jungle of the exotic plants at the Botanical Gardens.  

Look at that mist! It was tropical in there!

 

They had these cool platforms you could climb up and walk around to see the greenhouse from the top. It reminded so much of Kew Gardens in London when I visited there on my study abroad.

Such a stud.

  

The view from the top! 

 

 

It was such a fun getaway in the middle of DC. Right by the Capital. I loved seeing so many plants and flowers I've never seen before. PLUS it was free. My favorite thing ever these days.   

After checking out all the different greenhouses, we stopped by the beautiful rose garden outside. I'm a SUCKER for roses of all kinds so excuse my photo overload.

 

 

It's hard to get good photos of the two of us together sometimes. So selfies are a regular requirement for us. 

 

This one is my very favorite. Aaah, so beautiful! 

We met up with everyone for pizza at Georgetown for lunch and afterwords we ventured to the HUGE, elite gardens of Dumbarton Oaks. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day weather wise so it was the best day ever to be out and about and appreciating beautiful nature.

Our whole group 

The lovely and historic Dumbarton Oaks estate. Smack dab in the middle of Georgetown. We weren't allowed inside the estate for some reason, but the gardens were so pretty! Established in 1940 but part of it reminded me of British Jane Austen gardens. Which always makes me happy.

Check out this still functioning swimming pool! Can you even imagine living here and swimming here?

 

 The National Geographic has rated Dumbarton Oaks as one of the top ten gardens in USA! And it's easy to see why:

 

Check out that rock detail. Compare it with the people standing inside the courtyard. Yah. For real, how do people design stuff like this?

 

I told Brandon to find his favorite thing about the gardens and he picked this pretty cool tree.

 

So good to be together!

 

Being my father's daughter, I naturally volunteered to be the guide for us all and read off all the interesting tidbits about each garden (I'm sure to everyone's chagrin). I loved it tho! I've always wanted to be a tour guide!

 

Such stunning flowers!

 

aw...

 

Brandon, Terry, and Kayla acting all natural checking out the high class gardening. :)

 

Check out that fountain with lilypads. Pictures don't do this garden justice with its trees circling around it, perfectly planned. 

 

And if you're rich society in the 1940s, clearly your garden has to have a stone pineapple in it. 

 

 

Brandon's favorite pose. The lunge. :)

 

We had such a fun day with everyone exploring such stunning gardens! More summer fun to come! (as I'm over a month behind in blogging--- whoops!)