California knows how to Party!

In the city...city of Compton. Haha. Hopefully now you'll have that song in your head, because I had it in mine the whole week I was in LA. :)

Yup, work sent me to LA..and better than that it sent me to Whittier, the exact town of my dear Amanda (we were BFF in Jacksonville and how I've missed her!). It was such a great week. I had a good team, got to see a few sites and spend time with a good friend. I've got a great set up, what can I say?
Cruising down the street with Amanda. These purple trees were everywhere in Southern California and I couldn't get enough of them. So pretty!

Amanda being the excellent tour guide....cruising down Beach blvd, hanging in the OC and just soaking up what little bit of the sun we could get.

Just a glimpse of the home I'll someday have on the hills of...Florida. What can I say, I'm a Florida girl...as nice as Cali was...there is no place like the South :).

One of the nights my team and I were able to stay in the Universal Studios Hilton and so we were able to stroll down City Walk. It was a lot of fun, they had a jumbo tron and kept playing U2..it just doesn't get much better than that.

Universal City Walk.

Universal Studios Hollywood. Where the magic happens! Or is that Disneyland? Hmm...

Aww...good friends are the best. Love you Amanda!

Just lounging on Laguna Beach eating gelato and waiting for LC to show up ;)

Ocean. Sand. The Beach. Oh how I love the beach!! Laguna was just as pretty as I remember. Too bad the water is just below freezing. Another reason to love Florida...good 'ole Gulf is like bath water. Love it!

Amanda and I soaking up the LA sun.

Ya, you read that right. Apparently I have my own gallery...wonder what was on display there?

Amanda taking care of me as usual. Chocolate covered strawberries. Our tradition. How I miss this girl. It was so great to once again mix business with pleasure, I am such a spoiled girl. It was a productive and fun trip, though I have to say LA is much dirtier than I anticipated, but still a fun city. We'll see what Ohio (Cleveland) has to offer next week!

Singin' in the Rain

One of the great things about summer is the storms. And well, whats more fun than frolicking in the street in a downpour of rain and even a tad bit of hail? Not much. Good thing Julie, my nearly as crazy as me, roommate was willing to enjoy mother nature's shower with me. Ah to be young again! :)

We were soaked instantly and the street was flooding as soon as we got outside.

Thought we'd take it all in atop Julie's car...haha.

We couldn't stop laughing! I haven't seen rain like this in years, even in Florida. It just came down in sheets and it was so much fun to play in!

Every once in a while it's nice to just forget the worries of the day and jump in puddles and remember what it was like to be young and carefree again. A good downpour just seems to clear the head...so bring on the rain!

Last but not Least

Jen. My Jen. Yup, she's mine, don't know if you knew that, but she is. Ever since Mexico in January 2004, Jen and I were a duo. We student taught in the Mexican Colonies together and we embarked on young, single adulthood in the real world a.k.a. Arizona..together. I adore her and she came to visit me. Which means that just about all of my "Arizona girls" have been with me in DC in the last 4 months. And what a blast they have been.
Here Jen and I are just loving each other..haha. She was such a great guest, letting me lounge around and eat junk and watch movies. Just like old times ;)

Cracking up like only we can.

Bonding with my roommates and Melanie of course. I love, love when Jen sings and adding Melanie and Kim was just a moment to cherish. Sitting around the piano singing along to Broadway hits... do we know how to have a good time or what?!

Our little Arizona roommate reunion. We sure did have fun living together. Such great memories. Now if we could just convince Jen to move to DC...

Once again, it was so wonderful to share my city with a good friend. These last few months have been super busy with guests but full of great memories that I wouldn't trade for a Saturday sleeping in, no doubt. I have truly been blessed with remarkable friends and I thank the Lord everyday for the people in my life.

'Lil Annie & Big Ash

For those of you who know me well, you know that I'm the kind of a friend you just can't get rid of. Ya, basically once we've bonded and you're in the circle, well that just about does it for life. What can I say, I collect great people, it's my hobby.

With that said, the last couple of months have been wildly busy with friends in town. My roommates constantly mock me with the words "Another friend?" when I announce that I'll have a friend in town. Not to mention that its just worked out that my work travels have also been taking me places where I know people...like I said, I collect people..it's fun :).

Anyhow, these last couple of weeks I had two more friends from Arizona in town. They were both here at separate times for purposes other than partying with me. But I of course, couldn't let them be this close without sharing my wonderful city with them and hogging some of their time. What are friends for? :)

Annie and I taking my standard shot in front of Abe himself. We did the Nightime power walking tour of the memorials, as we dodged dozens of adolescents. Still a great time, as they always are.

Ashley telling me about a very important moment in her life. The dramatic eyes tell it all. How I love this girl!

Soaking up the Sun down on the Waterfront in Alexandria. Mixing it up I know...no Lincoln, but hey she'd already seen it :)

It was so much fun to see both of these girls. Sad that they haven't seen each other in a couple of years and they barely missed one another here. Guess we'll have to meet at Merri's in North Carolina in August. Arizona girls reunion, here we come!

Memorable Memorial Day Weekend

So about a month ago, my friend Jim invited my roommates and I to rent a house with a bunch of people for the Memorial Day weekend. In true DC fashion, we couldn't really commit to it. We were mulling it over in our minds for about a week when we decided when we were in. Well, it was too late. The house was booked. Thus our pursuit of the perfect, restful, sunfilled destination began... and much to our despair, roommates started falling off one by one, until only lonely Julie and I were left.

We were determined to get a tan and to have ourselves a delightful weekend and so we decided to drive down to North Carolina and stay with a friend there. Well as fate would have it, I got a call the Sunday before Memorial Day weekend informing me that there was in fact room now at the Maryland house with Jim and Co. We contemplated for a moment and before we blew our chance again, we agreed.

And thank goodness for that because it was seriously one of the best weekends I've had in DC(minus all those other really awesome ones with friends in town... :) ) in a while. Getting to know people I've known since moving here, better and just eating and laughing and laying in the sun all weekend...I mean seriously, does it get any better than that?

Backyard. Even though this pool was freezing, it did the job.

Our dock. Cheasapeake Bay. Isn't this gorgeous? We played here all day. Perfect.

Jim and Quinn attempting to be sneaky with water balloons. Just a taste of the fun we had ;)

Best 10 bucks I've spent in a while. A few of us decided that we needed rafts so we could lazily float in the bay. Best idea EVER. May have contributed to the extreme sunburn I got, but so worth it.

What's Memorial Day without an impromptu dance party?

Watching Todd slave away as we cooked our assigned dinner. Tacos. Apparently being Mexican, that's the only thing I can cook...haha :).

Jessica and Quinn getting their groove on.

Julie and I a little exhaused and sunkissed on the last day.

Happy Memorial Day!

Business or Pleasure?

I'm pretty sure you're not suppose to love your job, but I can't help myself..I love my job! Not only is the work rewarding, but I get to travel all over this great country-which I must add I am slowly falling deeper in love with everyday. And on top of it all, I get to meet up with friends too!

Over the last month or so I've been to quite a few cool places- tends to happen when you're on the road every other week. Here are a few of the highlights:

BBQ Ribs on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Delish!

Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee.

Evening on the River with Tom in Evansville, Indiana.

Bagpipes in Evansville!! Em even got them to play Amazing Grace just for us. Absolutely. Incredible. One of those stories that will go down in the books. Em is my hero.

Em and I. How romantical. PS. So Em and Tom are my old roommate Jen's siblings. I adore Jen and thereby adore all things associated with her. Her family lives in Evansville and so we got to party it up while I was there for work. Such a great week!

Historic downtown, Frankfort, Kentucky.

Quaint porch in Frankfort, Kentucky. Captures the essence of this town. Small town America at its finest.

Deer. Yup, they were just roaming around. Gosh, I love Kentucky!

Louisville, Kentucky. That would be a Louisville Slugger on Main Street.

This statue is right outside Churchill Downs and I stopped right in my tracks when I saw it. I seriously just saw Chariots of Fire two days before seeing this monument. Eric Lidell is one of the main characters of that movie and this is his quote! How random is that?!

Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky. For all you race fans, this would be where the Kentucky Derby takes place. All I need now is a brightly colored hat :).

When I was in Columbus, Ohio my friend Annie came to pick me up and I spent the evening with her adorable family. Here I am smothering her beautiful girls.

Annie and I. Columbus, Ohio.

I love that I get to meet up with friends while I'm on the road, it just makes my day. It's a pretty sweet gig, when you can combine play with work so often. Plus, getting to visit the nooks and crannies of our nation (Neosho, Missouri, anyone?) just fills my heart with love for my homeland. All in all, I'd say life is good, very good.

Mi Madre

My mom's pretty amazing. Ya, ya I'm sure yours is too..but this is my blog and this is my chance to say what makes my mom so incredibly fantastic. :)

First off she is extremely patient...especially with me. Whenever I freak out about being single or doubt my purpose, she is the voice of calm and total faith, reassuring me that I have nothing but time and the Lord does in fact have a plan just for me.

Secondly she takes care of everyone and I do mean EVERYONE. Just this week she agreed to host three guy friends who will be in Paris the end of this month and all she asked for were the dates. Not to mention that she just hosted another friend and her sister a few weeks back. My mother's door is always open. We always comment about how my Mom tends to take care of those that others don't think about...the outcasts if you will. Her love and understanding for all is the best example of Christlike charity I know. I hope to one day be half as compassionate as her.

She loves her family. She loves her kids and prays for us constantly. She's never been the kind of mother who couldn't let go. She raised us with correct principles and then let us stumble on our own-all the while being there to help us up and cheer for us along the way.

Not only does she adore her children, but she spoils her nieces and nephews, her siblings and in-laws as well. It's all family and it's all important. I just think of this last summer when I was in Paris with four friends, my and Aunt and Uncle and four cousins were there as well as two of my brothers. It was a bit hectic but it was so much fun and my patient little mother was just eating it up. The hustle and bustle of young people in her house is something I know she loves. She didn't have six kids because she enjoyed quiet time...Her love is overflowing and she truly takes care of everyone in her reach.

Her devotion to my Dad is always evident. I have never questioned the love my parents have for each other and that is one of the greatest blessings they could have ever given me. The security of their relationship has set the standard for what I hope to one day have.

Everything my Mom is and stands for I know comes from her rock solid testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her childhood was rough, she didn't have the blessings of active parents but she stayed true and steadfast and married in the temple and raised six children-alone a lot of the time. She studies the scriptures, pours over her family history, serves the downtrodden and lives each day with the knowledge that she is a Daughter of God. She is such a tremendous example to me of what I hope to someday be. I know my Mom has a testimony of Christ; I know my Mom has a testimony of the Gospel and I know that she has total faith in the Plan of Happiness.

I love my Mom. I have not always been the greatest daughter and I know there have been times when I deserved a good kick the pants, but she has always loved me and she has always listened. She's my Mommy and on this Mother's Day, I want everyone to know that I know my Mom is truly a treasure.