Happy Birthday Jack!!

I can't believe it has been four years since this little boy came into the world with a very sick body. Jack was born with Gastroschesis (which meant all of his insides were in a sack outside of his body). He has always been a fighter through all of the challenges his body has given him. 

Four years later....

We have the sweetest, funniest, happiest little 4 year old in the WHOLE WORLD! I am so lucky to have such a spunky little nephew like Jack!

He is my ABSOLUTE favorite (only) nephew!

Happy 4th Birthday Jack, I love you!

Beautiful Spring

On Thursday and Friday last week, I opted out of riding the metro home from work and walked 5 miles home. The walk home was gorgeous, because I had to walk down the National Mall and around the Tidal Basin to cross the bridge into Virginia. The cherry blossoms hit their peak those two days, so we spent some time taking some cool pictures of the gorgeous spring out here. I have TONS of pictures, but here's just a few!

Picnic Club!!

This spring, it has been SO WARM in D.C. The cherry blossoms showed up almost 2 weeks early this year, and we have had weather in the 80's for days in a row. I am SO GLAD I am not back in Logan this spring. I actually forgot spring existed, since there isn't an actual spring season in Logan. 

We have taken EVERY opportunity to soak up the sun. A few of us at work started a "picnic club" where we eat on a blanket in the park near the Senate Reflecting Pools outside the Capitol. It's so pleasant, beautiful, and warm. It makes me wish lunch lasted 6 hours instead of 1! 

Here's some "lunch club" pictures my good friend Trevor Hoyt gave me: 

Sometimes Trevor decides to nap in strange positions....

Lauren, Nick, Trevor, and I

Cherry Blossoms!! I have taken so many good blossom pictures this past week. More to come in a future blog post!

Trevor Long is the ULTIMATE picture ruiner!

The World Famous Cherry Blossoms

A few months ago, before I came out here, I SWEAR everyone I talked to would go on and on about the world famous cherry blossoms in D.C. and how lucky I was to be in D.C. during the cherry blossoms. They were so built up in my mind that I basically thought, "Man, these cherry blossoms must be made out of gold or something!" The build up was UNBEARABLE! I really didn't understand why cherry blossoms in D.C. would be so much cooler than the ones in Utah. On Saturday after our race, my sister and I walked around the national mall and experienced the cherry blossom amazingness. I decided they are so cool, because they accent the cool monuments and features of the city. Here are some pics I took on my phone Saturday. They were pretty sweet! I was sad to hear they don't last very long!

Rock N' Roll USA

This weekend my sister Shannon (kudos for being the first family member to see me since I left in January) flew out to visit and run the Rock N' Roll USA Half. It was an awesome race! The Rock N' Roll series knows how to do races! Every runner needs to do at least one. Shannon had a goal to run the half six months after she had her baby, but then she hurt her back a few weeks before. We weren't quite sure how she would hold up, but she ran the whole way! I stuck with her, and we went really slow but it was a great accomplishment for her! It was kind of nice to take the stress out of a race and run just for fun. I also became a pro at running and taking pictures. I am such a dedicated blogger huh? It was a great race and a great weekend with my sis!

The race expo was really cool! Oh, by the way I changed my hair color. I got the ombre hair coloring, or color "melting" and LOVE IT!

The race was HUGE. There was 30,000 runners. By far the biggest race I have ever ran and it was organized SO WELL!

Beginning of the race, feeling pumped up by the awesome atmosphere!

Running past the Capitol

Running past the Washington Monument

I totally rocked the fanny pack the whole race! We were nervous about losing our stuff at the gear check, so since we were running slow, I just put everything in a very handy fanny pack!

It was such a warm day, I had to ditch the long sleeves!

The End: Shannon was dead!

The medals were super cool looking!

Such a great weekend!! I'm so glad Shannon came and we got to play in the city together! (Oh, and I totally rocked the green shorts for St. Patty's day...luckily I somehow have 3 pairs of green running shorts. It must be my favorite color or something...)

Dome Tour!!

Capitol Dome Tour = Coolest part of DC!!

Dome tours are special, because you have to go with a member of congress. You get to go through the dome and on top of the Capitol. It seriously was AMAZING to see all of the art work of the Rotunda and then the gorgeous views of the city!! It was amazing!!

Walking up the domes, stopping by the Freize (A timeline of American history). 

The Apotheosis of George Washington UP CLOSE!

Those little dots are tourists in the Rotunda! We are at the top of the dome!

THE BEAUTIFUL VIEWS OUTSIDE!!

 The east side of the Capitol. Supreme Court on the left and Library of Congress on the right!

Supreme Court is my FAVORITE!

The west side: Washington Monument!!!

Our cute little group!

The Senator and myself!

Library of Congress

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!!!!