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.

Virginia is for Lovers: Day Seventeen

This morning started off with a trip to the pool, right when it opened. We stayed for quite some time and got the kids tired and hungry so they'd be ready to eat and sleep when we got home. During Stephen's nap, the four gals headed off to Tyson's to order Ie Li's chairs from Crate & Barrel for the kitchen table. The trip was a success and we hurried home so that we could head off to Purcellville.

Why the need to go to Purcellville, you might ask, because I was just there two days ago. Well, on my first tour of Purcellville, Barrett told me about the most magical place called Fields of Flowers. It's a pick your own flower farm. He told me that you go there and you get to pick your own flowers to take home. They just give you a jar with water to fill with flowers and some cutters and you're good to go! It's only open Thursdays-Saturdays, and since it's my last Thursday-Saturday here in Virginia, we thought today was the perfect day.

So, we all piled in the car and headed out to Purcellville. Barrett even got off work a little early to join us. Let me tell you. It is the most quaint flower farm I've ever seen. It's also the only one I've ever seen, but I'm sure there aren't many more picturesque flower farms than this one. It has a cute house on the property, a big red barn, and of course, beautiful flowers.

Pardon all the pictures, but I just couldn't put my camera away, and I think everyone needs to see how wonderful this place is.

Mei Li and Stephen LOVE Barrett



The Youngest West Kids

Isn't it Wonderful?

We were about to head home when Barrett called to say that we should come over if anyone need to use the facilities or grab a snack or drink. So we headed down the road a couple miles and arrived at his lovely home. Sister Johnson was nice enough to invite us to stay for dinner and we accepted. The kids had a really fun time playing in the back yard and with their dog, Chase. Brother Johnson even took the kids on some tractor rides and let them steer. Jonathan and I were also able to partake in the tractor fun.

My first time driving a tractor.

I don't think I'll ever leave Purcellville unhappy. It's a beautiful place. I can't say it enough.

Virginia is for Lovers: Day Fifteen

It's crazy to think that I've been in Virginia this long. I guess I'm having so much fun that time is passing by quickly. On Tuesday we got a little vacation from the normal hot, humid weather. It was still humid, but it was overcast for most of the day. Jonathan and I decided to take Mei Li and Stephen to the library for story time. We meant to get there at 10:30 for the "terrific 2s" story time, but we came late and it was all filled up.

So, in order to kill time, I read some books that Mei Li and Stephen picked out. It was the craziest thing. They both picked out books from 3 separate parts of the children's section, one by one, and somehow we ended up with five Christmas/winter books. It was amazing. After reading we went inside for STORY TIME!

The theme was fish. We sang songs about fish, read books about fish, and had a flannel board story about fish. Mei Li and Stephen seemed to like it. I never grew up going to story time, but I've been to quite a few over the years, and I would say that this one was very enjoyable.

When we came home I decided I needed to get some exercise in, so Mei Li, Jonathan, and I ran around the parking lot doing intervals. I was surprised at how much Mei Li enjoyed running with us. She was a trooper. Next on the agenda was Purcellville.

Barrett came to Ashburn to pick me up around 5:15 pm and we made our way back to the lovely town of Purcellville to have dinner at his house. His mom made a delicious flounder for dinner along with rolls, salad, and fruit. Then it was time for the fun to begin.

Barrett had asked me what I wanted to do for the day and I told him I was dying to rock out, so while he played some sick guitar, I pounded out a legit beat on my drums on rockband. He'd probably say he was top performer, but it was really me. His sweet mom brought us dessert while we were playing. It was homemade strawberry ice cream that his dad had made with pound cake and fresh strawberries. It was perfect.

And then it was time to leave the Johnsons' beautiful home and make our way to Barrett's lacrosse game. As I've said in previous posts, I've become a fan of lacrosse this past year, and even though Barrett wanted to get rid of me, I tagged along to watch his summer league game. It brought back some great memories of this past winter semester. I sat with Barrett's parents and watched him play a great game, scoring 3 of the 9 goals. One was coast to coast.

I remember the first time I watched lacrosse. It was in California, the day after my birthday. My mom had flown me home for my birthday weekend so I could go to Disneyland with Jeremy and Michiko's family. (Side note: The BYU lacrosse team was there for the weekend and they also made a trip to Disneyland. I remember spotting Barrett as he came out of the Buzz Lightyear ride and then Jon-Michael as he was walking down Main Street.) On February 13, my friend Olivia and I made a trip to Orange County to watch BYU play Chapman in a most exciting and thrilling game. We lost in overtime, but it was the perfect first game to watch. I hope that I'll have many more opportunities to watch lacrosse in the upcoming years.

Virginia is for Lovers: Day Eight

I have officially been in Virginia for one week now and it's been so much fun. I've got family, friends, and beautiful green countryside. What more could a girl ask for?

Today we made a trip to Costco for some essentials like Dannon Light & Fit. I've never been a huge yogurt fan, but I do love their vanilla flavor. But, I'm pretty sure we get it because Steven LOVES yogurt. Today I'm pretty sure I saw him down one whole yogurt cup for breakfast and 3 full bowls of Greek yogurt mixed with honey later on in the day. He's a yogurt fiend as Ie Li put it.

It was another extremely hot day. Jonathan, Mei Li and I watched a bit of Anne of Avonlea and then when Stephen woke up we attempted to go to the park. Bad idea. We got there and I said, "Ok kids, you have ten minutes and then we have to go home." We did just that.

Barrett came to pick me up around 6 so we could spend the evening in Purcellville. We arrived at his house and I met Brother and Sister Johnson while they were getting ready for dinner. They are both lovely people. Barrett gave me the tour of both the inside and the outside of the house and it is simply beautiful there.

I met Barrett's little sister, Lauren, when she came for dinner. She was super nice and cute. Dinner was splendid and then Barrett, Lauren, and I took off for downtown Purcellville to get some ice cream. On our way there, Barrett pointed out a place called Field of Flowers where you can go and cut your own flowers to take home! I'm determined to go with Ie Li and Mei Li before my trip is over. We arrived at Gruto's and I noticed their funny hours:


That whole town is just so picturesque. I can't handle the cuteness. We took our ice cream to go and watched the sun as it set over Franklin Park. It was spectacular.

We headed back to the Johnson's and the whole time we were driving I just kept thinking that one day I need to live in Purcellville, and if that's not possible, somewhere in the country because it's just too beautiful to not have in my everyday life. We sat outside for a little while and watched the fireflies roam through the fields and the trees. It was a gorgeous sight. I even caught a couple and one lit up in my hand. Special.


Brother Johnson and Barrett drove me home to Ashburn, where I recorded a glorious account of my adventures in Purcellville.