Washinton D.C. Day 2!

After we got our luggage and caught our bus we checked in to the Hyatt Hotel on Capitol Hill! It was beautiful and so convenient! We had our practices every day there and I was able to take a few lovely strolls to the Capitol which was only 2 blocks away so much fun!

On the second day after our 4 hour rehearsal we had 40 minutes to grab some lunch. So we took a quick jaunt over to the Union Station since every place closes on the weekends since nobody works the weekend! Anyway it was a BEAUTIFUL building. I loved the architecture of all the buildings back there. Such intricate details and just so beautiful!

Here is Cecil Christensen dancing in the arch way. She is so cute! She is also Karston's nursery leader and is soooo cute with the kids. You can just tell she is the cutest little grandma watching her with all those kiddos!

This is where we ate. They let me pick at their food since I has having tummy troubles and couldn't eat a whole lot. This is Cindy Tuckett she also is in my ward and is a lot of fun! Love them both!

Here is an original clock of the Union Station! So pretty I love it!!! Cecil saw a fruit stand on the way out and stopped to get some Cherries they were SOOOOOOOOOO Yummy I have never tasted Cherries so sweet! After eating and getting Cherries we had 10 minutes to get back to our bus before it took off. If you have ever been to Washington D.C. you know how very easy it is to get totally lost in seconds. Well we got a little lost but thanks to the power of prayer we got back with 2 minutes to spare! Thank goodness!

So on the bus we go and head off to Arlington Cemetery.

As you notice on the sign it says this is the Nations most sacred Shrine and I would have to agree. There was such a beautiful feeling of peace I will never forget it or at least I hope it won't. It is experiences like this that really open your eyes to how very blessed we are to live where we do and to have people willing to put their lives in danger to help protect ours. I have such a greater respect for those who serve our country after this trip.

Waiting to go inside. Our bus had a flat tire so we had to wait for the other half of our group to come before we could venture inside!

I was intrigued by this spot. It gives you the perfect example of what it looks like there. No matter what direction you turn the rows are perfect. Straight, diagonal, up and down nothing but perfection. If you are buried here they will allow 2 other family members to be buried with you. It would be your spouse and 1 child. The spouse and child get 1 plot they just stack it and then you have your own. As you are looking you can tell when there is a spouse buried there because the headstone has the writing on the back side instead of the front.

Here we are getting ready to head up to the Changing of the Guard of the unknown soldier. The grounds are simply BEAUTIFUL!

                 This says "Here rests in Honored Glory An American Soldier Known but to God."

I love this picture and the view from this point. It just reminds me of our soldiers and how they are doing their best to protect our country. Love it!

Cute little Veterans were EVERYWHERE! It was so wonderful to be among so many who have come here for Memorial Day to remember and bless their fallen comrades. So tender they are!

Changing of the Guard. I love this picture because you can tell how diligent they are at always protecting this shrine. I have never seen sidewalk so worn out from our soldiers walking and protecting this. So tender to see. It is so hot I don't know how they stand it. I was there only for a few minutes and was dripping with sweat and I was in Capri's and a T-shirt. They are in full uniform. At night they do get to wear Khaki's.

Can I just say I love me a man in uniform. These boys were pretty darn good looking! However not as cute as my Hubby! :)

After we saw the Changing of the Guard we wondered over to the graves of the Kennedy family. That is a forever burning flame behind the headstones. It was neat to see. I didn't realize there was so much controversy on where to bury Jacquelin Kennedy. Anyways there they are!

I have always wanted to see a Magnolia. I have always loved them but have never seen one. Let me tell you they did not disappoint. They are so PRETTY! I didn't realize how big Magnolia trees are but they are mighty huge!

This is a couple of our guys as we finished the tour! This is pretty much what everyone looked like after this little jaunt or HIKE! Our bus needless to say smelled DIVINE!

Looking and smelling just so great they took us to of course BUCA DI BEPPO! Have you ever been there? If not it is nothing but a treat! It is decorated so ugly yet is so entertaining. Everywhere you look is some odd picture of people being dumb. Yummy food though! Really yummy!
                                                    
The bathroom was hilarious. It had this framed bra. If you look on the other side you can kind of see an ad for a girdle and on the other wall it had some underwear and all these other pictures that talked about girl stuff then in the corner they have a little girl praying with a puppy. Which one of these doesn't belong here? Anyways like I said the decorating makes no sense but is fun to look at anyway!

Every year all these Bikers go to Washington D. C. and do a ride in honor of the Veterans. These handsome devils let me take a picture with them and the guy with the longest beards bike! I was kind of scared to ask him but he was really nice about it and called over his biker buddies! Awesome huh!

Here I am at Iwo Jima. Such a beautiful tribute to these men! I have always loved this statue.

After all this we had to go back to the Hotel for yet another 4 hour rehearsal :( I had to come supplied with Mountain Dew. We were all so tired it was so hard to stay awake Just look at Jim Johnson. His head kept dropping and well since I was the camera lady I couldn't refuse! Hehehehe!

Following our practice we were able to snag Craig Jessop and grab a quick picture. He is the guy in all black on the front! Such an amazing gift he has. Out of 200 some odd voices he could pick out individual voices and let them know if they were singing the right notes or not! I couldn't believe it. AMAZING simply AMAZING!

Of course after all that excitement I decided I didn't get enough walking in so I talked Mark Blatter into walking up to the capital with me so that I could get some shots of the Capitol at night. This truly is such a masterpiece. I don't know how people can envision this type of architecture and then do it. Amazing! So there you have it day 2 of our exciting trip! More to come soon!

Washington D.C. Post 1!!!

If you didn't know already over Memorial Day weekend I had the WONDERFUL opportunity of being able to go to Washington D.C. to sing under the direction of Craig Jessop, who by the way is freakishly talented! I worked with him when I was in High School and that was fun although they did have to remind us that we were only High School kids and he needed to be a little nicer! Oh in case you don't know who Craig Jessop is he was the Choral director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Now as more of a background... We were asked by a choral festival group to come and join with 6 other choirs and sing for the Memorial Day services there. So we did and I have to say I am soooo very thankful to the choral directors, and my music teachers who helped make me just fall in love with music. I have had so many wonderful experiences singing and of course you can't do it without them! Anywho on with the trip!!!! I was one of the 2 photographers so I won't be posting all the pictures because well if you know me you know how much I love to take pictures all in all I took around 650 so I will just select a few of my favorites to remember the trip with!

We left on Thursday May 24 to go down to Salt Lake since we left at 7 in the morning the next day! So we had a delightful trip down and once we got there we went to the new mall in Salt Lake! SOOOO beautiful! Loved it! Then we went to eat with some friends that were also going to Washington D.C. with us at the Cheesecake Factory YUMMMY! After our delightful dinner we went to find our hotel and check in! We stayed at the Quality Inn and let me tell you if you want Quality DON'T stay at the Quality Inn. You will be sorry! First as we walked up to the building we were a little skeptical because well it has not been kept up very well. Kind of looked like a safe haven for Druggies, Murderers, etc. No it wasn't that bad almost but almost! Anyway our room was WONDERFUL compared to what Jeanie and Ronda had to deal with! We just didn't have towels, an iron, and a hairdryer. Their room had only 2 lights, their toilet overflowed, and no towels. They had to have Security Guards go around looking for extra towels. Creepy! Anyways we slept in our dirty sheets and not even lying I swear ALL night long there was a guy somewhere whistling. Jeanie heard it too so it wasn't just me! Thank Goodness. So it is probably Haunted too! Anyway DON'T stay there! TRUST me on that one. We did however get our money back so that was a free night! So we get to the airport the next day and get new reservations for when we get back! Flying is definitely not as much fun anymore you have to pay for EVERYTHING! You don't even get free pretzels or peanuts anymore bummer :(

We got all checked in and of course we as Sounds don't go anywhere without our playing cards! Such a fun past time!!! (Analisa ?, Mindy Gerrard, Gayleen Meservy, Kevin Elwood, Linda Winters, and Cindy Benson)

Here are 2 of our favorite people! Karen and Mark Blatter! She is Dougs other mother, and my most FAVORITE Labor and Delivery nurse. I didn't get to have her when Jayden was born but she worked a double shift just so she could stay and finish Karston's birth! I LOVE HER!!! Then to top it all off she gave him this adorable blanket that she made!!! Such a lovely lady!!!

Here is our mug shot before boarding the plane. Since I was taking the pictures I had to make sure every once in awhile I was in one just to prove to my family I was actually there!

Our fearless leaders! Jeanie Elison, Ronda Groberg, and Dixie Johnson! Such fun ladies!!!

Once we landed we got to ride the fun cart thing over to baggage claim I snapped this little beauty just as it started to move! Hahaha love Benson's face!

And now we wait....... and wait...... and wait for 67 people to find their luggage! And that is the first half of our adventure! Fun and overly exciting I know!!!! More to Come!