July

Wow I can't believe how fast the summer has gone! I mean it's already the end of July...and I always get sad when the 24th of July has passed because that means it's more than half way over.  We have had a great summer here in VA. But I am getting sad because there is still so much to do! Here are some of the fun things we have done....

First, I'll start off with a cute thing that Jeff did... a week or so ago- I was having a stressful, bad week I guess you would say. And one night I didn't get home from work until 8:30 p.m. Well I get home and the whole apartment was totally cleaned (and it was really messy and dirty!), 2 loads of laundry had been done, dished had been cleaned, dishwasher had been emptied, dinner was ready, Willie had been fed... and then I open the door to this: 

my favorite magazine on the coffee table

flowers and a letter

And candles everywhere... Jeff had surprised me with all of this. I couldn't believe it. With a hug at the door and flowers and a love note waiting for me... my week had turned from stressful and horrible to amazing and awesome. I am so grateful for such a great husband!!

So when we first got here, we went and explored Rock Creek Park. It was beautiful! Its a great park in the middle of DC.... kind of like a huge Central Park I guess you would say. But you feel like you are in the mountains with all of the beautiful trees, streams, rivers and trails. It was  a beautiful sunday afternoon. 

Before the fun trails in the park- we found this cool little cottage and decided to take fun pictures..

The other night we went to the Nationals game with some friends, Brooke and Mark. Even though they are not the best players- it was still such a fun game! Beautiful night and fun to watch the fireworks after. 

LIZ AND ERIC COME TO VISIT- we had such a great time! Eating, sleeping in, laying by the pool, fun restaurants, fun shopping, kayaking, Old Town, Georgetown, and the Congressional Golf Tournament. 

We of course had to go kayaking again- it was such a beautiful night

here we are kayaking by the monuments

So on Sunday afternoon we were just hanging out and Eric and Jeff thought... well the Congressional Golf Tournament is only 20 minutes away... why don't we go!? So I tagged along with them. It was so fun to see THE Tiger Woods play at his best... Great Sunday! 

JULY 4TH 

We woke up- had a great breakfast, Jeff and Eric golfed, Liz and I laid by the pool.. and then were headed to D.C. for the day. It was so fun! Saw all of the fun July 4th stuff right in the middle of our Nation's capital... then that night we were so lucky to head over to a great spot to watch the fireworks. We went to Jeff's boss's house- (Chris and Laura) for a fabulous dinner and to watch fireworks right on their roof. A July 4th we will never forget! 

Beautiful day- look at all the people!

OLD TOWN-  we are back tracking a little... the day after my birthday we went and celebrated in Old Town. It was such a fun night (I know I keep saying that- but it really was!) shopping, and eating fabulous food. Above is a picture of Jeff and Eric playing music with this guy that plays incredible songs with the water glass... he has been in National Geographic and everything. Way cool to see! 

Here is the harbor right in Old Town about 5 minutes from where we live. 

Here we are eating at the Chart House- great king crab legs! And beautiful view!

Old Town

Thanks for such a great time Liz and Eric!

Then we were lucky to have Mel, Trav, Marylynn, Scott and cute Zoe come and visit! We had a great weekend hanging with our friends that we have missed so much! 

Here is National Harbor- this is about 10 minutes from where we live and we love it! It's like a "Gateway" (in Utah) on the harbor. Great shops, restaurants, and beautiful view of the Potomac river. We ate at Rosa Mexicano for lunch. Great food!  We took them to all of our favorite spots- Old Town, the National cathedral, "M" street in Georgetown, and into D.C. 

Thanks for such a great weekend guys! We miss you already...

they say it's your birthday

well I am a big birthday fan... I love birthdays! I had a great birthday thanks to Jeff. He always goes above and beyond what he needs to, to surprise me. I had a great morning with breakfast in bed, then an afternoon with laying by the pool (and talking to friends and family- thanks for your phone calls!), and then Jeff had an adventure planned for us. He surprised with these fun activities!

Walk around Old Town and take ferry along the Potomac seeing all of the monuments

end up in beautiful Georgetown

 walked around the fun shops, and restaurants on "M" street- I loved it!

then surprised me with Kayaking on the Potomac

It was beautiful! We did it for about 2 hrs... up the river to see the beautiful scenery and then by all of the monuments. By far the most fun thing we've done here!

to end the night: dinner right on the water :)

So of course I wake up to the apt all decorated with balloons, candy, streamers, and flowers (if you look in the back- the table is all set with bday stuff)

Ferry ride

kayaking

dinner on the water

thanks my love for such a wonderful birthday!

Ocean City Beach trip

A few weeks ago we decided to take a quick trip to Ocean City, NJ. What a fun beach! I was craving some summertime and couldn't wait to get to the warm sun and ocean. We went with Marylynn, Scott and cute little Zoe. It was so fun to be at the beach again! We had never been to an East Coast beach before- so it was great to experience it finally. We drove down on a Friday afternoon and got there around dinner time. We walked the fun boardwalk that night and got some treats. The boardwalk had everything! Ice cream, hot dogs, amusement park, games, icees (our fav) and ice cold lemonades. We woke up on Saturday and beached it all day. It was awesome. Every couple of hours we would just get up and get a nice cold yummy ice freeze. It was ice cream but with more ice and water. They were so good! On Saturday night we decided to head to Atlantic City. We had never been and it was so fun! I mean I'm sure most people have been but it was cool to see what was like a Vegas on the beach. We walked through the casinos and ate at a yummy restaurant at Caesars Palace. It had this "pier" of restaurants that looked over the ocean. It was so fun! I think we'll be back again! 

On our way there, we stopped at this cool little town that had a fun train station... thought we would take some fun pics...

Scott, Marylynn and Zoe on the boardwalk

cute little Zoe