{Operation Move-to-Washington has begun}

Our time in Maryland has finally come to end.  We loved every minute we spent living on the East coast and everything we were able to see and do.  It was an adventure and we loved it!  It was sad to leave the many dear friends we made, but we were looking forward to being much closer to family.  

The packing and loading of our household goods went somewhat smoothly.  The packers showed up late and didn't get it all done so they had to come back the morning that they were loading the truck.  It was a bit stressful, hoping they got it all done.  I had planned to do the walk thru with our landlord loading day in the evening so as far as I was concerned it all had to done by 7:00 pm.  Thankfully it was.  We got a hotel for the night and we basically crawled into bed that night and crashed.  Bright and early the next morning we took off to start the trek back to the West!

For the drive back to the West coast we planned a little sight seeing to make the trip interesting.  One of the things on our bucket list that we hadn't gotten to do while living in Maryland was seeing the church history sites up in New York and Ohio.  So that is how we planned our trip.  We hit Palmyra, New York first and then basically followed the trek the Latter-Day Saints took all the way to the Salt Lake Valley. 

We got to Palmyra just after 1pm and stopped at the Hill Cumorah Visitor's Center.  They told us that we would want to go see the Smith Farm and the Sacred Grove first and then the Printing office where the first Book of Mormon was printed and then come back to the Hill Cumorah.  So that is what we did.

We got over to the Smith Farm and toured first the little cabin that they Smith family lived in before and while they built their larger home.  It was in that cabin that Joseph prayed in the grove and had the first vision.  It was also where the Angel Moroni visited Joseph and taught him about the work the Lord had for him.  After walking through the homes and the barn we were able to walk to the Sacred Grove.  It wasn't that far of a walk and if you didn't know what had happened there you might suspect it was just your average run of the mill forest.  But it wasn't average and we did know what happened there.  Our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ appeared to a young boy who prayed sincerely.  I am so glad that we were able to see it for ourselves.  The feelings I had there only strengthened my testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet of God.  

After seeing the Sacred Grove we made our way into town and saw the printing press where the first edition of the Book of Mormon was printed.  It was quite the job to print 5000 copies of any book at that time but especially for a small printer.  We learned how they did all the printing and the people involved.  I loved seeing that!!

After the printing house we headed back to the Hill Cumorah and we hiked up to the top.  They were setting up for the Hill Curmorah Pagent so there was a lot of equipment there that isn't normally there but it was still neat to see the hill and know that that was where Joseph Smith received the plates from the Angel Moroni.  

How thankful I am for the sacrifices of the early Saints and for their testimonies!!

Up Next Kirtland, Ohio

{Independence Day}

We had really wanted to stay through the 4th of July before we moved back to Washington State.  It worked out perfectly and we enjoyed our last 4th in DC.
The first thing for that day was our ward's annual pancake breakfast.  It was even more special because Ayden played colors for the flag ceremony!  He worked really hard to learn that and he did an amazing job!!  The pancakes were pretty good too!!

We had been wanting to take the kids to a Nationals baseball game and figured what better time to do that then on the 4th of July!!  It was a good game even though the Nationals lost and Lauryn wasn't feeling too great because it was a little warm!!  We rode the metro down for the last time and enjoyed a day at the ball park!

We enjoyed going with some of our dear friends, the Denison family!  We miss you guys!!

After we got home from the game and rested in the A/C for a little while, we made our way downtown again for the National fireworks show.  We met up with some friends and enjoyed our last night on the Mall!  The fireworks were wonderful and we loved spending time with friends!!

The Washington Monument

One of the last things that we wanted to check off our bucket list was visiting the Washington Monument.  Right after we moved to Maryland three years ago there was an earthquake and a hurricane and with that the monument had damage and was closed for renovations.  We hoped it would open before we moved from the area and thankfully it did.  We got online and reserved our tickets for a day in early July.  We were so glad we did because the day we chose happened to be very hot and we about melted.  We didn't have to wait in line for tickets and then wait in line to get in.  We just got in the line to go up to the top.  It was an amazing view at the very top.  It reminded me of when we went up to the top of the Arch in St. Louis!

Looking up the Mall toward the Capitol.

Looking out toward the Tidal Basin and Reagan National Airport.

Looking the other way down the Mall toward the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery in the distance.

Looking over the White House!

Had to take this shot.  Out just at the Horizon you can see a White building.  That is the Washington DC Temple!  Love that place!

The kids at the top!!

The kids at the bottom!!
So glad we were able to fit that in before we left the area!!

The End of an Era

The end of June brought with it the end of an Era!  Ryan graduated from his fellowship program!  Seriously we have waited for this day for what seems like forever!!  We are going to celebrate our 15 year anniversary here in a few days and in all those years we have been in school or a training program of some sort.  I think we both took a big sigh of relief as he walked across the stage to accept his certificate.  Afterward we went out for lunch at PF Changs, which was where we went to dinner the night he graduated from Med school.  These crazy kids!!  How thankful we are for them and what they add to our lives!!  

I am so proud of Ryan and everything he has accomplished throughout this wild ride!  He is an amazing doctor and is respected by everyone he works with.  Love, love, love him!!