Monticello

Also during Melanie's visit We went on a day trip to Monticello, Jefferson's house. This place is fabulous and totally worth the long drive and the money to go see the house. It is just that every about the house and grounds tell you so much about who Jefferson was. Because not only was so much of his past preserved but he even designed the house himself. And I LOVE this house. Ok, again a part of my obsession with things that are old, but like I said, super neat.

Here we are walking on the grounds. You can't take pictures of the house, but here are some of the beauties of the grounds! I think what I love most about this place is that it is surrounded by woods and trees and feels so secluded and like your own little world out there with this gorgeous view since you are on a mountain top. I would have preferred to live here as well if I were Jefferson!!

Jefferson's lookout by his gardens.

Walking to Jefferson's grave.

Part of the house

Jefferson's grave.

Love this place and the history and the old trees and everything else!!

Conner's Been Busy

I am sure you are all asking what is Conner up too??? Well here are some shots of the little guy lately. I have to admit that his is like 2 weeks late in coming so of course there are more, but as always for your viewing pleasure.....Our Little Man!

Here he is in his current favorite position, one hand in the mouth with 3 fingers and the other hand grabbing his toes.

He keeps holding his hands like this and it is too cute! I can't resist when he does that! And he likes to cuddle his bear.

Conner and Daddy matched on our day our shopping. He just looks so much like a little man!!

Sporting his hat like the "Ladies Man" he is.

Grabbing something to eat with Aunt Melanie.

And now play time with daddy!!

FYI, if you want him to smile like this, tickle his back! It is hilarious!

Routing for Ohio State! Yes this child is already being indoctrinated. Between his Ohio State and super hero Onesies and the BYU Football rug and watching March Madness with us, he has all of his bases covered.

"Oh this looks yummy!!"

Falling asleep after a tiring day of shopping. That is hard!!

Chilling in his swing. I keep thinking he's outgrown it because often I put him in and he tries to get out already, yes he does this often in his car seat as well. But it really just looks like he's doing sit ups as he squeals and grunts his way out. But no escapes yet!! But then other times he loves this thing! Silly boy.

And this one is my favorite. When he's really calm and just watching (he's watching "West Wing" with me and Melanie here) he grabs his pant legs and pulls them up. Some days I have a hard time keeping them down because he just keeps pulling them right back up!!

Georgetown Revisited

Ok so of course after going to Georgetown with the ladies from my ward I HAD to take Melanie there!! And of course again it isn't Georgetown without trying Georgetown Cupcakes

but a few lessons learned.....1. Don't eat a whole half dozen cupcakes yourself in one day, you will get sick and never want to eat a cupcake ever again. 2. Don't buy a whole half dozen cupcakes when you really just like frosting, and 3. Even worse when you only like frosting, don't buy said cupcakes and then walk around for hours in the heat where they all melt. 4. Chocolate frosting tastes better after being in the heat than cream cheese frosting 5. Don't forget about the cupcake of the day! It is free!!!

I think that pretty much about sums up our cupcake experience. I'm sure you've guess by now that I'm the cupcake lover that ate 7 (can't forget the cupcake of the day!!) in a 24 hour period. And Melanie is the one that likes frosting but not cake. But I would like to let you know of all the 14 types of Georgetown cupcakes I've eaten in 2 weeks my few favorites (As you can guess I like the speciality cupcakes, check for the cupcake of the day and month on the menu before you go, it changes a lot):

1. Cookies and Cream

2. Chocolate Mint Crunch (BEWARE if you are NOT a chocolate lover you will die from overload! This is rich!!)

2. Also tied for 2nd I'd say is the Peanut Butter Fudge (this peanut butter frosting is delicious!!)

3. Lemon Blossom

4. Salted Caramel

5. Carrot

6. Maple

7. Chocolate 2

8. Chocolate Coconut

9. Chocolate Hazelnut

HOnestly if you are going to try any, try one from the top 5...these things are good!!! But now I need to try some of the other specialty ones...but give me a few months to recover :)

Pictured is the Peanut Butter Fudge

So Melanie, Conner and I walked around and went down to the river again and walked around and went and did some shopping of course. We then went and saw the Tudor House in Georgetown. This was really cool and very beautiful. A neat old house. We had our own personal tour pretty much and after I figured that Conner wanted to look out in the baby carrier rather then facing me, he was a super happy camper and smiled and looked around the whole time. I do recommend going sometime since it is neat and you wouldn't have imagined that there were 8 acres of house and gardens that existed in Georgetown, but they do!! It was the house of Martha Washington's Grand Daughter and was in her family until the 1980's where is was donated to the foundation. I guess I just like old things and old homes, so very cool and just a neat family, connected in all sorts of ways to our nations history. Have I peaked your interest yet??

Here we are walking around some of the gardens.

A shot of the house. Very big, but surprisingly to me not very elaborate at all, especially on the outside. But I'd take a backyard like this any day!!

There you have Georgetown again folks, we like it!! And I love that even though I've lived here for 3 years and been back to visit my Grandparents many times growing up, that there are still things I'm discovering!

DC Sites and Melanie's Visit

This week Melanie, Dustin's sister came to visit and we're SO glad!! We have been out and seeing all sorts of neat things. Melanie was the best to keep me company while Dustin worked. So lots of West Wing. Yes, we watched almost 2 whole seasons this week....but we're proud of it!

Here we are at the Hard Rock Cafe.

And a nice visit to Ford's Theater and the house across the street where Lincoln passed away.

The gun that killed Lincoln.

Melanie cuddling up to Mr. Lincoln.

And of course some of the memorials too! Sad we missed the cherry blossoms by a few days.

I had not seen the new MLK memorial. Very neat.

It was a beautiful day and we're sure glad we went!

The Museum of American History

A while ago one of the ladies in our ward suggested getting to know DC better and so we've been making visits to places in the area. A few weeks ago I made a trip with one of the ladies to the Museum of American History. Lots of cool things like the first ladies' dresses, Dorthy's Ruby Slippers, and tons of other fun things. It was a great trip and I am sure enjoying all of the things Conner and I are seeing!

Here we are in front of an old doll house built in the 1950s. Conner really likes it too.

Some of our friends!!


I sure love these little ones!!

Georgetown

I love having such wonderful ladies in my ward who have cute kids and that we can go out and explore DC together. This week we went on a trip to Georgetown, which of course isn't a trip to Georgetown without going to Georgetown Cupcakes!!

Here is our stroller brigade or, the stroller derby we had walking all around Georgetown. The day was perfect and super sunny and warm! Poor Conner was a little over dressed :) This isn't new if you've seen how I dress him normally! But he was released right after this picture.

One of the cupcakes from Georgetown cupcake. This one I think is my favorite! Some were too heavy or chocolaty, but I highly highly recommend the Cookies and Cream.

We all also got a free cupcake. Apparently they make a "Cupcake of the Day" and if you look on Twitter you can see the flavor and if you give them the name of the cupcake you get one until they run out! Chocolate chip for this day.

Conner is so good and fell asleep during lunch.

So we walked down by the canal and river and went into some shops, but I have to admit that my favorite highlight of the trip was that I had to move my car since I parked in Two Hour parking and after I parked and got out I noticed where I was! I was directly next to the spot where Dustin proposed! So of course I had to get a picture of Conner and me where Daddy proposed over two years ago on a rainy February night. Such a special spot and such a special memory!!

It was a great day with great conversation and seeing all sorts of fun things! I'm so glad to have good friends and a little boy who puts up with mommy dragging him all over the place :)