Last Virginia Weekend...

My last weekend as a DC nanny. What a strange feeling! The thought brings on so many different emotions. Excitement and seeing my family and friends and starting a new chapter. Sadness on leaving my three favorite little boys and the best job I could imagine having. It's exhausting to go from excitement to a breakdown so frequently!

But anyway, since it was both mine and Katie's last Saturday in Virginia, we decided to go do somethings we've always wanted to but have put off.

We started off our day with one last trip to the DC Temple. It was so great! The people there are always so helpful and welcoming. I love that temple so much and will miss being able to go to it.

After the temple we went out to lunch at The Silver Diner. We had never eaten there, but heard it was really good! I maybe had my expectations up too high because I wasn't super impressed with the food, but it was still pretty good. My shake was awesome and they had cute little jukeboxes on every table. It was pretty fun!

After lunch, we headed over the the Reston Zoo! It's this cute little petting zoo 10 minutes from our house. I've wanted to go there for so long! They have little buckets of food or lamb bottles you can buy to feed them with. It was so great!

 Bottle feeding a baby goat. He sucked it down so fast!

 Katie and her Llama friend

 HUGE pig!

 Oh, just kissing a goat.

 Katie has a love of llama's and it's rubbed off on me a little bit!

Creepy masks in the gift shop

We ended off our day by going out to dinner with Ryan and Melissa (our nanny parents). They are so great! They wanted to treat us for our last Saturday here. It was so much fun! We went to PF Changs. I had never been there before, but it was so good. We just sat and talked and had a relaxing evening. A perfect ending to a great day! 

A very fitting fortune for my nanny experience and the changes to come!

So that was my Saturday. Tonight I am having dinner with my awesome visiting teachers and packing like a mad woman. I can't believe I leave on Tuesday! I am so excited to go to New York and then to get home and see my great friends and family. I am sad to leave Virginia, but I am so excited to start the next chapter in my life!

Life Is Great!

I'm pretty sure I had the best Saturday ever. It was seriously so great! 

It started out pretty early, with Katie and I deciding to go to the temple at 7:30 am. We figured we could get up at 6:30, leave at 7:00, and get there right on time. Perfect plan, right? Wrong. The GPS led us to a totally random location in downtown DC. I had put "Mormon Temple, Washington DC" into the GPS and we think it maybe got confused because it led us to the Buddhist Temple instead. Who knows! But an hour and a half later (after stopping and giving a homeless man some muffins and a water bottle), we made it to the temple. I have never gone through so quickly! I would guess we were in and out within 20 minutes. But I am so grateful that they let us in even though we were so late!) I love the Washington DC temple.

 After a great start to the day!

Katie and I after baptisms (explaining the no makeup and slicked back ponytail!)

After baptisms we went to IHOP, which was super yummy. I could eat pancakes everyday and not get tired of them! Then I came home and napped, showered, and got ready for GAME TIME! 

I've been looking forward to going to a Nationals game since I came out here, and I finally got to go! I went last month with the family I nanny for, but we weren't there long enough for it to count. 

The Nats definitely didn't disappoint! I had the greatest time. And our seats were AWESOME! We were to just to the right side (first base line) of home plate and 14 rows back. So great! It was 104 (with a heat index of 118) degrees, so we were roasting a little bit, but I barely noticed. I was loving the game too much! And they won, so that made it even better:)

 Ready to ride the Metro to the game!

 Go Nationals!

Our excited faces:)

 Me, Katie, and Abby

 Me and Katie:) I love that she'll watch baseball with me! Such a great friend:)

 Me and Bryce Harper;) Love him!

 14 rows away from Bryce Harper:)

The team on the field after a great win!

I loved every moment of the game! From standing and cheering when a run was scored to booing Jason Giambi or the Umps on a bad call, it was all great!

Katie and I finished off the night by stopping for Frosty's at Wendy's and shopping for munch n' mingle. Then we came home and CRASHED after a long hot day! 

I am so grateful for the time I've spent in Virginia and for the opportunities I've been given. Saturday was a day i'll never forget! I've even added Harper to the list of possible names for the puppy i'm getting when I get home (although my dad said he won't allow a non-Yankee baseball themed name;) We'll see!

One Year!

It is so crazy to say that I moved to Virginia over a year ago. I reached my year mark on June 28, 2012. It was a major milestone for me! I have been looking back over pictures I took when I first got here and it is amazing to me how much has changed! I went from watching 2 infants to watching 2 toddlers and a newborn. I love them all so much! I don't know how I'm going to leave them in month. I'm way too attached!  Here are some pictures and videos of the little guys from when I first got here and from recently. 

Owen!

Oliver!

 Baby Spencer!

Baby Oliver

Big boy Oliver!

Owen :)

I love my job! And I am so grateful that I've been able to spend the last year with these little guys. :)

Go Nationals!!

So, I am a born and bred Yankee's fan. And I always will be! BUT, if I wasn't a Yankee fan, I would most definitely be a Nats fan! I do live in Washington DC, after all!;) I went to my first game on Thursday and it was SO cool! Melissa and Ryan are good friends with one of the assistant GM's and a member of the general counsel, so we scored some awesome free tickets! 

A beautiful day for baseball!

Katie and I in our AWESOME seats! 

 The Nationals batting cage, where they warm up before a game

Press Conference room

View from the Presidential Club seats

Katie and I behind home plate!

 The Nationals bullpen

 Katie and I out on the field! :)

I love my job! 

 With the boys after their first baseball game. Owen was a little bit afraid of all the people and the noise, but Oliver was fascinated! He just sat and watched the game:)

It was such a cool experience! We also got to walk through the tunnel and see the some of the players get leave the clubhouse to get on the bus (they were headed up to Boston). It was so great! We have tickets for another game on July 7th and I am SO excited! I love Baseball:)

"May The Sun Never Set On American Baseball." - President Harry S. Truman 

Hair Dye Time!

So a couple Saturdays ago, Katie and I were at the store. I was casually looking at the hair dye, when Katie suggested we buy a couple boxes for ourselves! I was a little bit (okay, a lot!) nervous, but decided it could be a fun way to spend a Saturday night!:) Katie colored my hair, and then I did hers.

Katie getting the dye ready!

Before...

During...

After!

After my hair was done, I did Katie's. I was definitely more nervous about doing her hair than I was about how mine would turn out! I am pretty relaxed about my hair, but I didn't like the pressure of doing someone else's. 

Before...

During...

After!

Towel Heads :)

It was still hard to tell how different our hair really was while it was wet, so we took some more "after" pictures after church on Sunday. 

Finished product! I definitely think it looks a little bit darker. I like it a lot!

Haha, we decided Katie's didn't look too different.....She still looks super cute though! :)

I love having Katie out here to do fun things with! She is so great:) And for my first time dying my hair from a box, I would say it was a success. Definitely worth the 8 dollars!