Virginia is for Lovers: Take Two

Well, remember how I just raved about Virginia? Well, I missed it so much that I just had to go back. I didn't record my experience nearly as well the second time around, but, I'll try and make up for some lost time and write a good summary of my trip.

I arrived in Baltimore, MD on Wednesday night. Steve was nice enough to stay at his office late and pick me up in Maryland. As we drove, we passed the Washington D.C. temple and it is indeed a beautiful sight to behold. 

Thursday we woke up and got the kids ready to go on some errands. After going to the flooring store, Mei Li had a little tantrum. Ie Li documented it and it's quite funny. You should take a look. 

That night I got a call from my friend Preston Redd informing me that he had returned to Virginia from his adventures in New York. He picked me up and showed me some of his old stomping grounds in Ashburn from his younger years. We then headed to his lovely home in Great Falls and played with his family. We were able to squeeze in a game of pool and a movie. We watched The Ghost Writer with everyone which was somewhat entertaining, but overall, not my favorite movie. 

On Friday we spent some time at the pool with the kiddos. It's sad to think that summer is coming to an end and that I don't have many more pool days left. After a little while Barrett came to pick me up so we could head out to Purcellville for a fun get together. All the Redd boys came over and we enjoyed some burgers, hot dogs, pound cake with strawberries, s'mores and togetherness. 

On Saturday we spent the day in the city. Our first stop was the temple. I watched the three little ones while Ie Li and Steve went inside. We entertained ourselves at the wonderful visitors' center and with snacks.

Ie Li and Steve were out before long and then it was time for lunch. We headed to We, The Pizza and Good Stuff Eatery which are two restaurants owned by a guy named Spike Mendelsohn. He was a contestant on Top Chef at one point in time. I never saw him on that show, but this is what I've read using one of my favorite tools, Google. Anyway, I ate this:

And it was delicious. It could've used a little more BBQ sauce though. If you're ever in D.C., I'd check it out. 

We attempted to get some cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake, but 

decided against it. 

Sunday was beautiful and we spent the morning at church. After church I took a little nap while everyone else went on a walk. When they got back, Stephen and I had a little webcam photo shoot. 

 

Monday was my last full day in Virginia, but we made it a good one. 

 

IKEA was an adventure. After we bought the stuff we came for, we realized that there wasn't quite enough room inside the car. So, we managed to tie some string around this box in every way possible and just hoped that it would stay on the car. I never did learn much about knots, but the box made it home in one piece, and that's all that matters. 

So, after our failed attempt at Georgetwon Cupcake on Saturday, I looked it up on Google and found out that there was a store in Bethesda, MD which isn't too far from IKEA. So, we headed over there and were delighted to find a very calm Georgetown Cupcake. We decided to take our cupcakes to go and ended up at Wolf Trap National Park. It really is lovely there.

 

 I'm a sucker for wide, open fields of grass. 

 

It was the perfect ending to my second Virginia adventure.

I said goodbye to Barrett one more time. This really is this last time I'll see him before he's a missionary. I don't think I have time for another trip to Virginia before school starts. So, after this second trip to Virginia, I still love it and hope to visit many more times, if I don't end up permanently. Virginia, I will miss you.

So HOLLYWOOD

Remember when some of my friends were on tv? You  know, BYU's Noteworthy?



Well, yesterday I had the opportunity to go to the taping of The Sing Off: Season Two. Cassie and I got dressed up to "go to the club" (Those were the instructions for how we were to dress), and made our way to the Sony Entertainment Lot in Culver City. We waited for quite some time before we were seated in the audience, but it was well worth the wait.

The groups that performed were really amazing and I can't wait to see it air on TV. I was really impressed. I really only enjoyed the parts when the groups were performing. The judges really liked to hear themselves talk and they dragged on for quite some time. But it was still kind of cool to see the celebrities. That's a little secret of mine: I get really star struck. It's really dumb, because I expect to feel some sort of aura emanating from them and then I walk one foot behind them to go to the bathroom and then I realize that they're normal people, just like the rest of us.

So yeah, I walked behind Ben Folds, Nicole Sherzinger, and Shawn Stockman. And I got to see a lot of Nick Lachey. Nicole waved to me because I pretended to be a really excited fan and yelled her name. We got home really late, but it was really fun to be with Cassie, Cody, Jonathan, and President Crabb for the taping. It should be airing sometime in December I think, so keep an eye out for me on TV.

One last note: Loved watching all the new groups, but I will forever and always be the biggest fan of Noteworthy.

Tomorrow is always Fresh

I made Saturday more productive than the previous days.

I had breakfast with a best friend. We made French toast together.

I started reading a book.

We recently cleaned out our basement and a lot of boxes have been sitting on our driveway begging to be looked through. This job fell to Jonathan and me. We've been working on it for the past couple days and today as we neared the end, I was ready to call the rest of it junk and leave it in the dumpster. But, something in me kept saying, "But...What if there's something special in there?" So, I diligently looked through everything and found some real gems. 

I found some really great pictures of when I was little. This may not seem too amazing for some, but I'm the last of six children and it takes some digging to find pictures of myself. Because I'm extremely lazy, I haven't scanned any, but one day I will. Anyway, it was cool because I found a family portrait that I'd never seen before from when I was about one and a half or so and I thought to myself, "Oh, so that's what I looked like." I guess I don't have a very good idea of what I looked like as a baby and that's why I loved the pictures so much.

But, even greater than the pictures I found are love letters from my dad to my mom. They're from 1973, when they were only engaged. Some are from when my dad was doing an audit in Venezuela. It is so touching to read words like, "I worry about you a lot. Are you getting enough sleep?" 

I think I love his closing paragraphs most and I just want to document some of them in case I don't see these again for a while:

"I wish only to have you near me. Until that dream comes true. I remain your distant fiancée."

"Sweetheart, you have really soured my bachelor life, nothing seems to go as well without you now. You made life so much more, there is no comparison to what it was before. Remember that  I love you still and more each passing day."

"Amy, you deserve the very choicest blessings the Lord can bestow. I know sometimes that you get tired and frustrated with school. Remember that the Lord is there and cares.

There is also a guy that is thinking about you too. I don't want to divulge his full name but his first name is Howard."

I could probably type up something from every single letter that I love, but I'll do that in my journal or something. I love reading how much my dad cares about my mom and seeing glimpses of his testimony. I know that one day I'll find a guy who loves me so much and loves the Lord even more and that we can be together for ETERNITY. 

Back to school

My only occupation right now is school. This summer I've realized that without school I get bored very easily. I'm extremely anxious to get back to Provo. My friend said that he was going to be in the library a lot doing some research for some essays. I told him that I wished I had a reason to be in the library and that I wished I had homework to do or a test to study for...whaaaat?

I can't believe my fingers actually typed that out. I don't know that I've ever said that. I'm sure once school starts I'll have plenty of homework to do and lots of tests to study for and I'll hate it, but I guess I asked for it and hopefully this post will remind me that it's good to be busy.

And for that matter, the only reason I'm bored is because I haven't been doing anything productive. I've been quite lazy, actually. So, as I finish out the last few weeks of summer, I'm going to make sure I make every day a good one. This quote from Anne Shirley will serve as my motto: "Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it."

I survived

I personally think that my face isn't very swollen. Just a little bit along my jaw line. 

You'll never guess what's in this box:

My teeth!

Kind of gross, but kind of cool, right?

So they were able to get 3 of them out in one piece and then they had to break the other one. 

They didn't give me laughing gas, they just gave me local anesthesia. I've never been poked so many times in my mouth. I wasn't nervous at first, but when my mouth starting getting numb it hit me that I was going to be awake and this oral surgeon was going to be cutting into me and yanking and pulling and breaking things. 

After I saw the tools he was holding, I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see anything. My mom is a dentist and she wasn't bothered by it a bit. She actually stood right next to him while he did everything and they talked about all the techniques he was using.

 I couldn't feel anything, but at one point I wanted to cry for some reason. Then my mom grabbed my hand. Sometimes I think I'm all grown up and can do things all by myself, but you never really stop needing a mom.  It was such a comfort to me at that moment to have her there.

It all happened pretty fast and then I was out the door with gauze in both sides of my mouth. Gauze is not very delicious, especially with blood. Sorry. Was that too much information? I slept for a while and then woke up, anxious to eat. Luckily Cassie said she was stopping by with a treat. She brought me Ben & Jerry's and it was delicious. I ate it while I watched food network. Advice, don't watch food network when you're supposed to be on a liquid diet, especially the show, Best Thing I Ever Ate. It really is torture.

It's been a day and I'm still on my liquid diet, but hopefully tomorrow I can eat some real food. I will never take food for granted again. 

A trip to the surgeon

Oral surgeon. In about 45 minutes I'm going to get my wisdom teeth extracted. Most people dread this, but I'm strangely excited. My wisdom teeth are pretty annoying. They're all partially grown in and food gets stuck in them and I can never get it out. So, I'm excited to be done with them for that reason.

I'm a little nervous because I don't know what to expect. I've never had a tooth pulled. I'm also a little scared to see my face afterward. I already have a round face, so I'm wondering if my face will just look ginormous later on today. I may or may not post a picture. I probably won't be leaving the house today if it looks bad. But, my dear friend, Cassie, assured me that I will feel pretty again after a few days. So, wish me luck! I am accepting ice cream and smoothie treats today.

The Happiest Place on Earth

When grandchildren come to visit, my mom likes to take them to Disneyland. This time was no different. On Friday we hopped in a couple of cars and made our way to Anaheim to enjoy the sites and attractions of "The Happiest Place on Earth". Here are some insights that I gained. 

Reasons why I LOVE Disneyland:

My dad dresses up as Indiana Jones for the day. Ok, that's a joke, but he does like to wear safari hats when he's out walking in the sun for a long time. The real reason behind this picture is because I get to see these cute kids smile all day. 

Dole whips. They are delicious. They're sold at the entrance of Adventureland next to the Tiki Room. 

Fireworks. I would have to say that Disneyland has the best fireworks EVER. I did see fireworks in the nation's capital for the 4th of July that were pretty amazing, but I'm going to say that Disneyland wins by just a little bit. There is something about all the Disney songs that they use for the show that somehow make me feel like I can do anything as long as I can dream it. Phrases like: When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are and If you keep believing, the dream that you wish will come true are so magical. 

Things that I HATE about Disneyland:

Ticket prices are outrageous. $76 for adults and $68 for children. You do the math.

Women who don't know how to dress properly. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I shouldn't be able to see under a woman's dress when she bends down, right? Right, didn't think so. 

Awkward couples. And I'm not talking about awkward people who find love with each other. I'm talking about couples that look too young to drive--kids who had to have their parents drop them off for a date at Disneyland; couples that like PDA a little too much. Ie Mei claimed that when we walked in she saw a couple lathering sunscreen on each other--he was putting it on her neck/chest area. Last time I checked, I was able to reach that area all by myself. 

Traffic on the way home. Only in Los Angeles is there traffic at 10:30 at night. RIDICULOUS. 

This last thing about Disneyland is a toss up. 

Tattoos. They're not super pleasant to look at, but it does remind me that I dislike them a lot. Or it makes for good text jokes to my friends. I sent this picture to my friend and sister-in-law that read: This is the tattoo I'm going to get when I become a hair stylist.

This lady was in front of me in the line for Space Mountain. The guy standing next to her who didn't look a day about 18 said the following: The next tattoo I get is going to be on my chest, next to my rosary. I'm going to have the devil and Jesus arm wrestling. 

Yeah...weird. 

But all jokes aside, Disneyland with my family is always fun and we had a wonderful time. 

In Recent News

Our family reunion came to an end. It was a wonderful week with all twenty-six of us. 

Jonathan, Ie Mei and her kids, and I made a trip up to Modesto to visit the Wild Wild Wests at their new house. The week was filled with: 

I'm obsessed with Michiko's bike. I am determined to have one. One day. It doesn't have to be soon, just one day.

Salt Water

Swimming in a salt water pool: fun.

Gargling salt water because you have a sore throat: not as fun.