When did Joe become a cheerleader?

I don't know. I think it's been happening gradually, culminating in a display of acrobatics and too-cheerful good mornings when he woke me up just minutes ago. Really. Way too chipper to be my normal husband. With my head screaming at me like a bad hangover, his howdy-doody hellos left me numb, except for the desire to slap the smile off his face and out the door. I told him so and he happily blocked my only free arm from its goal. Oh well. I didn't have the energy for a good swing anyway. I just hope the aliens come back and replace the cheerleader in my bed with my real husband. Otherwise I may be collecting life insurance sooner than expected. And by the way, good morning.

Halloween in D.C.

Saturday we had the chance to visit Washington D.C. with some new friends from our ward. It was a blast! They showed us the ropes of downtown site seeing. We rode the metro to town, which was awesome! I love that it's easy and there's no traffic. When we arrived I saw all these signs for "the mall." Imagine my surprise when the mall turned out to be this huge stretch of land from Capitol Hill to the Washington Monument.

This is a pic of Joe with Annie & Matt (our guides and life savers!) on the mall. Annie even packed us water and lunch for the day (with some killer homemade bread). She knew we were total tourists! I'm so grateful to her foresight. It made the trip super cheap and loads of fun!

Our first (& major) stop of the day was the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Joe was a kid in a candy store! There were a ton of great exhibits. I think the Wright Brothers were crazy! But thanks to them and the forward thinkers following, we have the technology we do today. We also enjoyed the many war exhibits dedicated to those who have fought for our country. Fascinating! (More than I thought it would be!)

The Air and Space museum took up most of the day. It's nice when you know you can come back anytime. We weren't rushed to pack in a million museums at once. So after the fabulous lunch (care of Annie) we decided to head over to the archives for a glimpse of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

This is Joe infront of the Archives building.

The only other picture I took inside (as "no flash" meant really horrible pictures) was a wall plaque of the Rosa Parks arrest paperwork and a diagram that was used in her hearing. I actually had never heard of Rosa Parks until I met Katie Armga Larsen. Thanks girl, for setting me straight on some important U.S. History!

We decided to end the day with a quick visit to the White House. On the way we found this cute little nook in the EPA building. I couldn't pass it up!

Finally! Our last stop of the day. Our feet were so tired!

We look forward to MANY more trips to D.C. It is awesome and a little sureal having our nation's capital so close. Next time Joe promised a whole day at the Art Gallery because I was such a good girl at the Air and Space Museum. Woot!

The only thing missing that day were all the costumes. I didn't see a single trick o' treater until on our way home. All in all, it was happy Halloween!

ELLIE is BACK!

I am SO excited to announce that ELLIE is back! Thank you for hanging in there, loyal fans. And thank you for your encouragement and prodding. I've re-written chapters 1-2 and then added chapter 3. I have other chapters written, but I need another day to make sure it all makes sense. Feel free to head over to ELLIE and leave some feedback. I understand it's been so long you may not remember the oringinal ending. No worries. Just let me know what you think of the current stuff. I realize chapter 3 is short, but I promise you won't want to miss chapter 4! It's my fav so far!!!

Sister Hazel Night!

One of the great things about being back east is access to all the fun stuff! Even before we knew we were moving here Joe bought tickets for a Sister Hazel concert (his favorite band). They usually only play in smaller venues, so they've never come to Salt Lake. Needless to say, Joe was STOKED! So on October 23 we headed to downtown Baltimore for another little adventure. I was glad we had already been there once for the Raven's game. We were able to park in the same parking lot, which spared us a lot of stress and yelling at each other, hehe. We spent a little time around Inner Harbor seeing a few sites. Joe said no to bringing my camera so I stole his iphone and forced him to take a couple of pictures. (He later made the comment that we should have taken MORE pics... see! Sometimes I actually know what I am doing!) Anyway, after HOURS of pre-band openers, we finally got to see Sister Hazel. It was awesome! And well worth the wait. Can't wait for the next opportunity!!!

P.S. We even got to see a high speed car chase through the city! Some car came screeching around the corner and full on hit a construction sign (the kind with the lights that make an arrow). He sped away. Seconds later sirens went screaming through the same area after him. It was awesome! I wanted to stay and watch but Joe was worried we might get shot so we left. Everyone here confirms Joe made the right call, so I guess I'll give it to him. (But I still think it would have been fun to witness all the excitement up close!)