Happy Birthday America!

This last week was great. So I got sick, one of the pleasures of working with children, but I worked really hard at getting better and I did. By Friday I was up to doing everything! We started on Friday by getting up early to get tickets to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. You have to get tickets early in the morning for the rest of the day, so Kiera and I got up early to get tickets. Michaelann joined us later. After getting lost a bit, we finally got the tickets for later in the morning. This gave us time to walk along the waterfront, which was very nice in the morning. It also gave us the great idea of paddleboating in the Tidal Basin of the Potomac. Greatest idea ever. We went to the Bureau first, but its boring. About exciting as the Tillamook cheese factory, except you get free cheese there. After finishing that up, we got into a lovely paddleboat and set out into the river! It was a fun hour of going in circles, taking pictures, talking about first kisses, and awkward dates.












After our wonderful ride in the murky water, we went to the Supreme Court building. It is a gorgeous building. We were sad that its not in session so we can't sit in for a oral argument. Oh well.








Saturday we got up early again to get tickets for Ford's theater. After getting tickets for later that morning we went to Eastern Market. It was a really fun market place. It slightly reminded me of home. The reason we went was to get the famous "BlueBuck" pancakes. They are blueberry buckwheat pancakes from Market Lunch. It is a local favorite. They were very good, although I wouldn't say the line was worth it. We waited for at least 45 minutes.









It took so long we had to run back to Ford's theater. We barely made it. Abraham Lincoln is an incredible American hero. It was fun to learn more about him. The museum was interesting to me. The actual theater was cool, except the experience was odd. They had a storyteller come on. This guy told us we were Linchnians from this made up country, and he was Leo Tolstoy telling them stories about the great American here. "The Lincoln". He always referred to him as that. The stories he told were cool, except some were random, and I get distracted trying to keep track of Leo Tolstoy, and the Linchnians. Other than that, it was cool.
We finished up the afternoon at the Portrait Gallery and American art museum. It was pretty neat. I found Joseph Smith and Brigham Young in it! After that we went to the store an got stuff for a BBQ. We were very excited about it. We grilled hot dogs and corn. It was delicious! AND we did it without boys!
THE FOURTH OF JULY
Monday was awesome. It was just amazing to be in Washington D.C. for the fourth of July. We got up early again to make a pancake breakfast and get going. We went to the parade first. It goes down Constitution Ave. It was actually pretty lame. I was disappointed. But it was still cool to see once. It was pretty warm however so we went to the American History museum for a bit to cool down. We then walked to the Lincoln Memorial to meet up with some friends. They staked out a spot to watch the fireworks and brought blankets and food and everything. It was very fun. We did get bored waiting though and decided to walk down the mall. There was a lot going on. Concerts, festivals, and lots of people watching. It's a long walk though. We got back right before the fireworks started. The fireworks lasted about 20 minutes, and were the coolest fireworks ever. It was worth waiting forever for. They played music and we all sat and watched. After that we decided instead of fighting the crowds for the metro we would walk. We thought it wasn't far. It isn't too bad, but after we had already walked about 5 miles back and forth all day along the mall, it was a long walk. Eric a new friend in the ward walked back with us, so we had a man with us. It was slightly scary at times. It was very enjoyable though. Overall, I calculated it, we walked just under 10 miles the whole day. It was a perfect ending to the weekend, and holiday. It was hard to get back to work today. Although once I was there I was reminded how much I love my kids in the class! I am using a lot more of my ASL with a boy who is hard of hearing. It has added another form of communication and has helped. It is really fun!







We also thought we were really cool and would coordinate our nail polish :)