FINALLY POSTING! The Washington Trip

I'm sad I haven't written in so long again. The trouble was I wanted to write about our D.C. trip, but I lost the SD card (I am TERRIBLE with cameras, as this blog documents), and I didn't want to post it without pictures! And then the semester swallowed me whole. I finally found the SD card, but even then I couldn't use the library computers to post pictures, and our own internet connection was too sketchy. We went to Mesa for Conference weekend, so here's our Washington D.C. trip!

So, truth be told, the trip didn’t start out on the greatest note. Due to thunderstorms, our five hour flight became a six hour flight while the pilot circled D.C. waiting for clearance to land. In the end, after trying a few different airports, we were forced to land in Pittsburgh at 1 in the morning. Not happy. And the vouchers for hotels didn’t work because every place we called was “full” (I personally think they just didn’t want to honor the vouchers since it doesn’t make them much money. But you know me. I’m always the conspiracy theorist). So we spent the night in the Pittsburgh airport!

It was actually kind of fun. There weren’t enough chairs to seat all of the disgruntled and hotel-less customers, so we stole some wheelchairs, made ourselves a barricade, and slept on the floor for an hour or so. Thankfully we were able to catch an early morning flight (other passengers weren’t so lucky, and we stuck there until late afternoon).

Unfortunately we weren’t able to surprise Devin, because when our flight didn’t show up, the Baers decided to tell Devin. Don’t ask me what the connection is, or why we couldn’t continue under our assumed guise of distant relatives until we arrived. But, even though we didn’t see Devin’s reaction, he was still very touched (he even choked up on the phone) that Chris could be there for his wedding. He was thrilled.

We landed in D.C. in time to go with Cassandra through the temple the day before her wedding (brave soul. I didn’t want to do it that way. Props I guess.). I think the Washington D.C. temple is the most beautiful temple I’ve ever seen, inside and out. Too bad the earthquake knocked the golden spires off the top. In Josh’s words, “How unin”spire”ing.” But we’ll get to the earthquake later.

We also really enjoyed attending Devin and Cassandra’s wedding dinner. I’m not one to gush on about cute couples (unless it’s me and Chris, haha), but really, they are a perfect, perfect couple. Too bad they aren’t living close, because I’d like to get to know Cassandra more, she seems pretty awesome. Their wedding ceremony was moving and satisfying. It’s moving when you realize the import of a marriage, and it can blow you away when you see two people look each other in the eyes and COMMIT, full of promises and hopes and happiness and resolve. And it’s satisfying when you watch a wedding, and can’t help but think “Score! They’re hitched!” as immature as that sounds. Good stuff.

They had a beautiful reception at Cassandra’s home. Chris helped the Baer brothers decorate the car. Unfortunately, the stake patriarch hosed it off himself for the two before they even drove away. Didn’t want the car damaged, yadda yadda yadda. He’s prolly right.

The reception was an afternoon reception, so we went to the Lincoln Memorial that night afterward!!

I love Abraham Lincoln!!! Gah! He’s my hero. This monument moved me to tears. Please people, if you are reading this, read “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln”. Don’t be intimidated by its size, because it reads like a good novel. You will gain a new respect for him and his many good character traits: not just his honesty, but his discretion, not just his personal views against slavery, but his commitment to not using those personal views to tear the country apart, not just his loyalty to the Union, but his loyalty to a difficult marriage, his balance of shrewdness and genuine goodness, his moderation, his good principles, the list goes on and on. I enjoyed visiting this monument enough that in spite of our limited time, we visited it again in the daytime on Monday.

So, Sunday came next. We were staying with a very kind family in Cassandra’s ward, and after Church, Sis. Smith took the time to drop us off for a while at the Jefferson Memorial. I also loved this monument. I just love learning about the complex, brilliant, Jefferson.

Monday was a full day of sightseeing! We went to the Capitol first, and thanks to Kim Wold (thankyouthankyouthankyou) we got a private intern-led tour from Senator Jon Kyl’s office, through the underground tunnels, through the main rooms (at a much slower pace than group tours), and ending in the Senate Gallery. It was SO COOOOOOOOOL.

To make this a tab bit briefer, I’ll try to pick up the pace. We visited the Library of Congress, made a too-short stop to the Museum of Air and Space;

 peeked into the Sculpture Garden, walked all across the mall,

delved into The Museum of American History,

and went up inside the Washington Monument,

all of which was wonderfully fascinating. I was especially touched by the World War II Monument

and the Vietnam Memorial (although we saw this on Tuesday so I’m jumping out of order).

We also saw the brand new Martin Luther King Memorial!!!

I'm running out of time. Maybe I'll call it quits, or maybe I'll finish writing about the trip on the next post. Hopefully some of you have stuck with me in spite of my long lapse of writing! From now on I'll stop worrying about pictures and just make sure I keep my family updated. Thanks for listening!

We Went to Washington!

So, remember when I was talking about "fruitfulness" for my history fix coming in? Well, now I'm allowed to spill the beans! We went to Washington, D.C. for Devin Baer and Cassandra Harper's wedding! We couldn't tell before now because we were surprising them (we were the only friends of Devin able to fly out to the wedding, thanks to a loan from Marc and Denna). So, we experienced a wonderful wedding, a couple days of sightseeing (I'd never been to the capital and now it's my favorite place), the now-famous earthquake, and a "sleepover" at the Pittsburgh airport!
Unfortunately . . . I left my SD card in Mesa. So I'll save the details of the trip for when I have pictures to go with it! Denna (my sweet mother-in-law) is mailing it to me so it should be here in a few days.
SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW!!! I am all a-flutter. Scared to go back to school, scared to not go back to school, scared of not finding a new job, scared of finding a new job, scared of loans, scared of not taking loans, blah blah blah blah blah. The same thing everyone else goes through with regard to school, right? But, if nothing else, I am UNBELIEVABLE lucky that Chris and I have almost identical schedules! I'm so spoiled. Having him around is a confidence booster. Plus, we'll be able to share textbooks and help each other with homework! So, we'll make it somehow.

Musician's Choice - Choice Kids Sailin' Through Summer

I found my flashdrive of photos! Here are a few choice photos of Choice Kids! ;)

All of the group except for two kids:

Surfin' U.S.A. :

On the Good Ship Lollipop:

Talk Like a Pirate:

Pineapple Princess:

Pearly Shells:

Humuhumunukunuku Apua'a:

Several Soloists:

Under the Sea:

As you can see, it was a lot of work and a lot of fun! I sure enjoyed working with these kids, and I hope to do something like this again next summer!

Camera-less Moments

*sung to the tune of Clementine*
Part Four of the Camera Saga. Still in a pickle. For some reason I saved the box, the warranty, the manual, the plastic wrappers, each piece to the camera, the unused and unopened camera cords - and yet, I didn't save the receipt. I didn't? I could've sworn I did! Meaning (as a gum-chewing Walmart employee told me) that the warranty is useless. I made the same mistake last time I bought a camera (same model, a year ago - what is up with me? But for the record, I didn't break the camera through carelessness, the same lens error occurred both times). Anyway, I can't afford to drop another $200.00 for a third camera. Sad day. So this will have to be a pictureless blog, which is unfortunate, because for the first time I actually want to take pictures of my home surroundings. Ah well.
Also, I meant to post pics of my kids in Musician's Choice program, Choice Kids. But I can't find the flash drive with the photos Laurie took. Blast. Not my best day with taking care of technology.
But! I saw a deer outside my front window the day before yesterday! Just standing in the meadowy area that the back of our building faces. I watched it for a few full minutes before a man walking his dog scared him and he bounded away. I love animals. It was neat to get to see that, all while standing in my front room with the window open.
Too bad I didn't have a camera. . .
Maybe this gap of time without a camera will teach me that a moment doesn't have to be captured on film to make it a special moment. Lovely moments can be savored all on their own.  

A Pinch of History: Potato Peel Pie, Valley Forge, Western Waterways and other Lions, Tigers, and Bears

Sad day. My camera is broken. Isn't that ironic? I think I still have the warranty paperwork though, so we'll take it to Walmart tomorrow. Pictures of our apartment will have to wait yet again.
I've been doing a lot of reading lately (Imagine that. Me, reading?), and I find it interesting how the topics I'm reading about tend to crop up in my current reality. I've been riding on a history-fix lately, and it has led to a chain of books that I want to pass on. In the words of Juliet Ashton (from The Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which I just finished and loved), "That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you to another book, and another bit there will lead you to a third book. It's geometrically progressive - all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment."It started with "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln", which was THE most enjoyable Lincoln autobiography I've read. Of course, it's much more than that, because it tells the story of his Cabinet members, before, during and after the War. So, so fascinating - I highly recommend this book. I love those valuable so-called side players in history, and the brilliant and genuine way Lincoln led them all in a way that made the most use of differences of opinion, talent, and sphere of influence. Almost everyone grows up admiring Honest Abe, but I feel like I now understand the reasons for admiring him in a way I never have before.
Then I got to thinking how many gaps I have in my understanding of American history, which led to "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West". Yes, Mountain View friends, I know a lot of you read it in high school and hated it, but I never read it then and I don't hate it now.  Then I bought Chris "1776" for his birthday (He wanted it, I promise! I didn't simply choose the book I was currently craving and then give it to him so that I could justify buying another book. . . *cough*. No, but truly, I didn't.). Then (although I haven't started reading this one yet) I picked up a dollar copy of  "American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House", because I realize I understand virtually nothing about Pres. Jackson except that he constantly dueled, removed the Indians from their lands, and had something to do with the National Bank (See? What do I know?)
Another quote from the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: "Have you ever noticed that when your mind is awakened or drawn to someone [or something] new, that [it] suddenly pops up everywhere you go? Sophie calls it coincidence, and Mr. Simpless, my parson friend, calls it Grace. He thinks that if one cares deeply about someone or something new one throws a kind of energy out into the world, and "fruitfulness" is drawn in."
Well, fruitfulness for my recent love for history has been drawn in! But I can't tell you yet what that fruitfulness is, because it involves a surprise for someone else. Actually, I was planning to tell, that's what this whole post was supposed to lead up to. But my husband peeked over my shoulder and told me I'd better not let the cat out of the bag yet. Mph. And now I don't know what to do with this post! So, stay tuned and on August 17th or 18th I'll write about where the history fix has led us!

Back in Mesa

So, I realize I said I would be posting pictures soon, but we are back in Mesa for the week and haven't yet taken pictures of our place.We've come back to Mesa Tuesday through Sunday so that I could lead Choice Kids' last performance at Musician's Choice (the Back-to-School Open House, August 6th), and so that I could do some last recordings with my brother Nate. We spent eight hours recording today and are taking a much-needed break before jumping back into it for the rest of the night!
Nate, Rachel Noble, and I are in the process of recording a spiritual CD, but due to the fact that I just moved to Flagstaff and he will be going to BYU, we will only have the holidays to record. We won't release the album until Christmas Break, at least. It's going to be SO good though! We have a very unique sound that you won't hear from other religious artists, and some unusual choices of hymns, along with a couple beautiful originals put together by Nate and Rachel.
Not much else to say, other than that pictures will be coming next week! :) Thanks for reading.