Cherry blossoms.

Its common for people to correlate Washington with corruption, inefficient bureaucracy, bickering, selfishness, and being out of touch with the average American. And to be fair, they would most often be correct in their assumptions.

However, for one week in March or April, thousands and thousands of tourists joyfully swarm the city to see the famed Japanese cherry blossom trees lining the Tidal Basin/Jefferson Memorial and other spots on the Mall. They are always stunning and beautiful and worthy of all the attention.

Last year, we had a week in mid March where it was 80 degrees so they bloomed weeks ahead of the "peak bloom" period. This year, the temperatures were below average forever and ever and ever (it seemed) so they bloomed weeks late. Finally, early this week, they popped and the Tidal Basin became gorgeous. The weather has been PERFECT also-it has been nice to walk around in warm weather enjoying the trees.

G ran the Cherry Blossom 10miler on Sunday so naturally I made a giant G and went to cheer him on.

Britt, Caity and I went down Monday night to see the trees. Caity had a tender moment with a squirrel. Precious. #bestiesandblossoms

Seriously, how beautiful are they?

I have a strange love for ducks, so this little mallard couple made me happy.

The pics i took last year were better. And there wasn't scaffolding on the Wash Mon. (seriously, bad time to do earthquake repair)

Most beautiful time of the year in DC. Even if it is only for a week.



Okay, I can't resist posting this pictures of my nephews at the doctors office. Don't worry, Daniel and Joseph are going to kindergarten in the fall. WHAT??

And this from 'The Simpsons". I dare you not to laugh.

Opening Day!

Life begins when the season starts.

You know that feeling you have when you've been waiting for something for so long and it happens and its disappointing? I did not have this experience with Opening Day.

As soon as we lost Game 5 of the NLDS, I was counting down to April 1st, Opening Day at Nationals Park. The Nats have high expectations to live up to this year: they looked ready to compete in Spring Training and have been called the World Series favorite (which makes me nervous). So, OF COURSE IM EXCITED. I would be excited even if they sucked.

This year R and I went with my mom. G was in Myrtle so he couldn't come, but we OBV still had fun. There were some new additions to the park, mostly related to the NL East Division Championship. I especially love the huge pic of Werth crossing home plate in Game 4 after his game winning homerun. Ugh, best game ever. We got to watch the banner revealed that is over the scoreboard, which was exciting.

We also ran into the team organist, which we loved because G is always telling my mom she needs to do it. lol

Loved watching people stream into the centerfield gate.

They added a new racing president to George, Tom, Abe, and Teddy. Its Howard Taft, who is supposed to be a rival to Teddy, since they were rivals in the 1912 election. I understand why they chose him, but at the same time, Howard Taft??? In the same group as George, Tom, Abe and Teddy? Whatever.

We had such a great time, and they won :) I am so excited baseball is back. I feel like I'm alive again.

Also, another TG pic, just because. Hi.

Spring.

"For The Lord thy God is a merciful God." -Deuteronomy 4:31

..because eventually, if you live in a pretty temperate climate, WINTER ALWAYS ENDS. IT DOES. THANK YOU MERCIFUL GOD.

It's no secret I hate winter. I hate being cold. I hate wearing pants. I hate that the trees look so ugly. I hate snow. I hate that there's no baseball. I hate wearing coats and having to bundle up everywhere i go. I hate that it's only light outside for 10 hours. And to make things worse, due to poor circulation, I have freezing cold hands and feet all year long, even when it's hot outside. I like maybe only one thing and that's the holiday celebrations. And even those aren't even my favorite holidays so, eh.

But spring/summer, I just love. I feel a certain rebirth when it becomes warmer and I can start to feel myself getting happier. We celebrate Easter and the Atonement and Resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ-Easter is one of my favorite holidays because it is so joyful and warm. And then theres General Conference the first week of April, which always boosts me up. This conference I especially loved Elder Cook's talk on peace. Maybe it's because I spent all week silently freaking out about North Korea, but I felt like he did an excellent job of being comforting, intelligent, and realistic at the same time. He's becoming one of my favorite speakers. I also enjoyed President Monson's closing remarks-how he encouraged us to be tolerant, kind and loving to those who do not share our beliefs. We could all work on that.

AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON BASEBALL RETURNING AND THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS POPPING. I will deal with those in another post.

Oh, hello spring/summer. I love you. I love the warm weather and feeling sun on my skin. I love air drying my hair. I love wearing casual skirts and flowy sundresses everywhere I go. I love wearing sperrys all the time (oh wait, I do that year round). I love baseball, and Nats Park, and sitting in the stands with the people who mean most to me. I love that our house is no longer freezing. I love popsicles and milkshakes and slurpees. I love walking leisurely down the Mall with friends, laughing and enjoying our fun life in our Nation's Capital. I love that the sun goes down at 8 or later. I love beach trips and road trips and all other trips. I love happiness.

I also love Tony Goldwyn, but he has nothing to do with summer. Here's a picture anyway (how will I survive a summer without "Scandal"?? That's the one downside.)

Have a (warm) historical day :)

[recently]

I know...I have not posted in a while. Unfortunately we are at that part of the year where NOTHING GOOD HAPPENS. Joking...but it feels that way sometimes. So here are some mini updates on life, nothing too exciting:


*We gave Raja to my parents:( The first few days were really hard because she has been sleeping on my bed every night for the past few months. Luckily, they are only 30 minutes away so I've seen her a couple times. This past week she had to get a shot and her nails trimmed so she came to stay with us so I could take her to the vet. Precious.

*R has been living at home this semester so we have had a lot of time to bond. #superbesties

*Had a couple weeks the past month where I was almost literally counting down the hours to the weekend. Just a LOT of real difficult days at work. So to answer Dowager Countess, a weekend is THE MOST WONDERFUL THING IN THE WORLD.

*Celebrated Valentines Day a little late by crashing C2s Ward Party with Britt. We all missed the dressed-up memo...Oops.

*We were supposed to get a snowstorm last Wednesday with maybe 6 inches accumlation. Woke up to no snow, so off to work I went. I was so upset...I had been really looking forward to a snow day. Then the snow was coming down pretty hard even though it wasn't sticking, so John let me leave at 11 :) YES. Came home and ate a quesadilla and watched Pat Collins in his trademark wet weather gear on NBC4. #PatInTheHat

*Used my tax refund to get an iPad Mini :) i LOVE it.

*Went out to Georgetown with R and G, kind of a pre-celebration for G's birthday. LRG love.

*Missing this guy.

*Loving this guy.

*Waiting as patiently as possible for "Scandal" to return on 3/21. In the meantime, I have been enjoying numerous Fitz/Tony Goldwyn. I mean seriously...NOT. REAL. #TeamFitz #MrPresident

*Had a lot of days recently where the only communication needed was an iMessage full of gun emojis. It happens.

*19 DAYS UNTIL OPENING DAY. I ALMOST MADE IT THROUGH ANOTHER WINTER.

*If you only knew how funny this actually was, you would appreciate it even more.

*Hopeful words on love <3

*And last but not least, some inspiring words that i LOVE. Lets think the best of everyone.

[recently]

*It has been absolutely freezing. If you know anything about me you know I hate being cold and I hate everything about winter. I've even gone as far as suggesting it is some kind of conspiracy. To survive I have been holing up in my bed, in a similar style to this dog:

while also dreaming of Hawaii because yes, it IS HAPPENING in June.

*My dear friend Kash got married a few weeks ago to Cristian Arteaga. It was a beautiful, intimate little ceremony with family and close friends. I was so happy to be able to share in their joy.

*I became ADDICTED to this show. Sooooooo goodddd. Its been a long time since a TV drama has been able to stay interesting week after week but this show does. You NEVER know what will happen...every character is so complex that one episode you like them and the next episode you kind of dislike them. Yes, I do know the American president is a philanderer and so I should automatically say ew gross, but...its FITZ. Come on. Freaking love him.

*Last week we went to the J. Crew Warehouse sale in Lynchburg. I spent more money than I should have, however there are ridiculous deals there, so it was worth it. 2 swimsuits for $10? 3 pairs of shorts for $24? cashmere sweater for $25? Yes. It is true.

*And last but not least, our ward boundaries changed. We knew for a week something would happen and there were theories upon theories, but this was the final result. Things will be a lot different because the boundaries completely changed for our wards and a new ward formed for Annandale/Centerville/WB-but I think it will be fine. A lot of my friends made the switch too, so it should be okay.

Have a historical day!