Hanging with 'Da Boys' in DC!

My dad and brother made a quick trip out to DC this past week. It was great to spend time with them! They were able to see lots of sites during their brief visit, from kayaking on the Potomac, to taking the Chinatown bus to NYC...what an adventure! :) Another highlight of the trip was to go through a session in the Washington DC Temple together.
Here are the mighty kayakers, ready to cruise the Potomac!
Sites of the monuments in the background. (I must say that I was a bit jealous I couldn't participate in this outing.)















Here's dad checking out the scenery and lovin' it! :)
They made it to NYC! Here they are waiting to get into the David Letterman Show!









Bull at the Letterman Show and Dad at the Stock Exchange.












Enjoying the excitement at the Rockefeller Center!
No better way to end the night than to go to the top of the Empire State Building. Here you will see an excited Dad as he peers his head out the bars to check it all out! One happy guy! (Glad you caught this moment on camera Spein.)













Spencer and Dad enjoyed a wonderful session in the Manhattan Temple.

While Dad and Spein were in NYC, I decided to take a nice morning walk on the trail near our house. Well, in my attempts to enjoy a lovely walk on the trail, I managed to blow the tire on our car. Since Brett was at work, I called my bro, Dave, and he and his friend, Eric, came to my rescue! Thanks guys! (Sorry you have to see me at my 'finest' with no make-up, ready to work-out, with a 9-month belly...oh well.)









Arlington Cemetery and the Iwo Jima Monument.














Brett, Dad and Spein at the National Cathedral and sites from the Washington Monument.
We took a trip to the National Zoo, only to find the animals were all asleep. This panda statue was about all we saw, expect for a very large hippo taking a bath. Dad is attempting to mimic the panda in this pic.:)
Thanks for a wonderful time!

Last Day of School

Friday was the last day of school for my little 4th Graders. It was a wild day with lots of excitement! The most exciting part of the day was when we had a special visitor...my brother! He surprised the kids with treats and talked with them for a bit! The kids absolutely loved having him there.
I love my bro! Thanks for visiting Dave! I will miss my 4th Graders, it has been a wonderful year teaching!

A Relaxing Memorial Day Celebration

We had a great Memorial Day last week. My brother Dave was able to meet us at the U.S. Capitol for a free concert and it was good to be with him. The concert was really neat with a tribute to all the soldiers that have served our country. It was fun to be there watching the concert on the Capitol lawn.









Ready to watch the show!
Early Monday morning we participated in the Falls Church annual Memorial Day race. Brett ran and I walked. :) At the end of the race we got a free T-Shirt with a drawing of Obama, Clinton and McCain racing on the front. Good times!









Racing with our good friends from the ward!

Mission Call for Spencer!

My little brother Spencer just received his mission call to serve for 2-years in the Fiji, Suva Mission! He will be speaking the Fijian Language while he is there. :) He is going to be an incredible missionary as he gives his time, talent and shares the gospel with the Fijian people! We are very happy for him. He will be leaving for the Missionary Training Center on October 1st!
I have posted some pictures from the internet of Fiji and the people there. We love you Spencer, aka 'Spein!' You will bless the lives of the people you meet.

A typical street on the Fijian Islands.
The perfect sunset in Fiji. Wow!









Fijian home and dancers.
Here is a map of Fiji and the surrounding islands. Spencer will be serving in both Fiji and the islands around it.












(I found this great Fijian Dancer and I had to post it. ) Here are some Fijian performers. It looks like a great place to be.
The Fijian Flag.

I love this picture of the Fijian people all gathered together. Spencer will meet some wonderful people and they will abosolutely love him.

Spencer will be a wonderful missionary!
Congrats on your call to serve! LOVE YOU!

Prince Caspian

This year I have been reading the Chronicles of Narnia to my 4th Graders. Ironically, we just finished the 4th book, Prince Caspian. All of the students were really excited to see the movie, so I told them if they brought an adult and paid for themselves, I would meet them at the movie on Saturday and we could all watch it together. Surprisingly, we had a lot of students show-up for the movie and we had fun watching it together. Brett was a big help for the whole event because he was running up and down the isle of the theater trying to direct all of the students to where the class was sitting.(I have a wonderful husband.:)) We had a great time! (The picture doesn't include all of the students that came...there were quite a few that had to leave quickly after the movie.) I love my little 4th Graders!

David Archuleta and Laura

My sister Laura was part of all the excitement in Utah when David Archuleta made his appearance last week. Laura went to Gateway early Friday morning, with my mom on the sidelines, to see Archuleta and get his autograph. She was one of the few people to get in the front line and meet him, complete with the autograph. There were girls screaming and even crying all around, it was definitely a sight to see, according to my mom. (The autograph is now safely put in a plastic protector and sitting on her dresser at home.)


David Archuleta is part of the Top 3 on American Idol right now and winning his way to the finals with all of the teenage votes. Laura only voted 100 times last week.:) (I think she might have a little crush.) :) The picture at the top was in the Deseret News and the girl with the black head band and curled hair is my little sister..I sure love her.)


Here is a video of Laura's favorite song...Imagine...sung by the one and only DAVID ARCHULETA!

Dave living life in Maryland

My brother Dave just moved to Maryland last week to sell security systems for the summer. We are really excited he's out here for the summer! Sunday, we went to see his place in Maryland and it's better than a hotel,complete with a security guard and entertainment room. Nice place Dave! I think we will be coming to his place to swim when it starts to get hot.:)
This is where I will be during the month of June until the baby is born, but not in the hot tub. :)









The lobby...pretty lux.