very thankful

 

i love the month of november and i love thanksgiving.

there is always so much to be thankful for, and this year isn't any different.

while we are always thankful for the more obvious things in our life

our warm home, great jobs, loving family & friends

this year i've tried to focus on the smaller things, because they matter too!

i am thankful for a husband that gets up first on weekday mornings. i like to think it's because he takes twice as long to get ready as i do, but i know he does it to let me sleep a few extra minutes

i'm thankful for a niece that says "i lope you" in the sweetest voice that just melts our hearts, 

even from 2,700 miles away

i'm thankful for to do-lists & felt tip pens, because they make the work day so much better

i'm thankful for simple traditions steve & i have started, like sunday walks and tacos on tuesday

i'm thankful to have returned to a normal dinner time since november 6th

i'm thankful for a church calling that has pushed me out of my comfort zone &

gives me the opportunity to serve

i'm thankful for a level-headed sister that always gives the most level-headed advice

***

i hope everyone will take time this weekend to give thanks for the simple things!

another election (almost) come and gone....

we are 7 days away! and even though the chaos doesn't necessarily calm down right after election day, it will be nice to return to a more normal dinnertime.

while it has been a busy few months and not always ideal, we've been incredibly blessed. this sounds funny, but it has been a dream come true for Steve to be on the battle grounds this election cycle. every night when i ask him how his day was i will follow up with "are you sick of it yet?" and he always always always responds no. while i got sick of all the banter surrounding the election weeks ago, he loves it, and the fact that he is happy makes all of this worth it. he enjoys the copious amounts reading and research, the sometimes difficult people and the long days. although i would love to live closer to family, friends and in a (slightly) cheaper city where we might own a home sooner rather than later, it all is worth it to have a husband that loves his job.

this election cycle has continued in the tradition that we have learned so much about ourselves individually as well as in our relationship over the past months. and while it is easy for me to countdown the days until it's all over, i am a little sad to see it go. the idea of moving onto something new, whether it still be at the DCCC or somewhere else in washington, it's a little scary. this whole election cycle/transient job thing is something i will ever get used to, but the way steve handles it with confidence makes it easier.

so in the case i don't blog again until after president obama (hopefully) wins another 4 years,
see you later election of 2012, you were incredibly good to us.

a busy week

we had a busy 7 days last week. while steve was working 24/7 my parents decided to come to town and keep me company. we first went up to nyc for 4 days then they came back and spent a few days in dc.

while in nyc we went to david letterman, saw mamma mia! and newsies, ate great food, carriage ride in central park, 5th ave, rockefeller square, union station, brooklyn bridge, downtown and 9/11 memorial, and my favorite, empire state building at night. thanks again for such a fun trip mom and dad!

 while in dc we saw the fdr and jefferson memorial, dinner at our favorite restaurants, trip to charlottesville to see jefferson's estate at monticello as well as university of virginia, as well as a trip to annapolis to see the naval academy. the highlight was definitely going to the nationals baseball game the night they clinched the division championship. time for the playoffs!

my dad & i with fdr's dog, fala, at the fdr memorial

a huge thank you to my dad for helping us paint the stairway and entryway in our apartment as well as fixing everything else around our apartment.

there's something great when parents visit.

keep your eyes on the stars but remember to keep your feet on the ground

 

the weather this past weekend was incredible. for any of you that have never experienced summer in dc, it is miserable. so humid, so hot and so sticky. luckily, i think we've said goodbye to the extreme humidity for the summer and have happily welcomed the cooler temperatures. sunday night steve & i decided to check out yet another cool dc spot that we hadn't seen yet. i love that there are a million things to do in this city, and even after 16 months we still haven't seen or done them all. roosevelt island is nothing but trees and running trails and was absolutely incredible. in fact, while we were walking the island i kept telling steve it reminded me hiking in utah (which i always miss, steve not so much). steve was in heaven because a few of the lookouts gave a perfect view of his favorite dc bridge (the bridge to georgetown). needless to say it was an enjoyable sunday night and the teddy roosevelt memorial was amazing as well.

our only complaint - where are his glasses?

the memorial had these massive stone manoliths with all of his most-famous quotes. of course my favorite being the title of this post.

as we were leaving there were 50 or 60 people kayaking in the potomac. it was super cool and another reason why i am really starting to love this place :)

lately

it's been a crazy month. steve's younger sister came to visit and i'm pretty sure we all almost died of heat stroke (no joke was over 100 degrees and humid everyday she was here), we moved 1/2 mile down the road to a new apartment (while gaining 220 square feet - a hot commodity here in DC), steve has been in summer school and election season is already beginning (no more time off until december!), and i'm trying to get settled and make sense of our new apartment (first thing to go was the pepto pinkish/peachish walls in the bathroom). photos coming soon!

today i was pleasantly surprised when i got home from work and found the photos from our shoot in utah in the mail! jordi (our photographer) is pretty much family now that we've done engagements/groomals/wedding day/family photos in 2010 and now these with her. she's the best and we always love catching up with her!

trip to utah

We spent a fun five days in Utah this past week! It was Steve's last vacation before the election season picks up (note: election season goes through recounts into December... yikes). It was fun to see family and friends. There is something so soothing about Utah in the summer. the dry heat, summer nights, beautiful mountains and sunsets. It's pretty great. Between eating (a lot as always), dinner up in the mountains with family, nba playoffs with friends, playing games, doctors and dentist appointments, hair cuts, family pictures, staying up way too late and waking up way too early, a trip to Provo to see BYU and Mckay & Brooke's sno cone shack, a birthday party for a cute little 5 year old, seeing Brave (super cute), playing with the little kids we stayed busy. 

Utah, we can't wait to visit again.

best donuts in utah

steve showing us his haitian skills at dominos from his mission

Once a BYU Cougar, always a BYU cougar.

   

first time s'mores for the girls!

hotdogs and roasted corn on the cob

goodbyes are never fun, she wasn't happy.

anniversary number three

happy anniversary to my love!

from meeting at freshman orientation in august 2005

to getting married on june 19, 2009

you are the best thing that has ever happened to me!

even though this anniversary is being spent with you sleeping off the flu,

there's no where else i'd rather be.

 you are so loyal, patient, funny, understanding and the hardest worker I know,

thank you, thank you, thank you for all you do!

 

they love each other

A few weeks ago we went to California to spend time with my sister and her family and we were lucky enough to have Mckay and Brooke join us from Provo. Of course there were a million reasons to go: it's likely they will only live in CA for another year so of course we should visit Disneyland while they do, it's always a fun to spend time with your newly-married older brother and his amazing wife, and Steve had to use his vacation time before the election gets closer. So we figured we'd take advantage on the cheap(er) airfare and go!

From the trip I realized little Kiki and Steve love each other even more than they did 

just a few months before over Christmas break 

 

whenever we were in the car he HAD to sit next to her and hold her hand

Since the trip, we were Skyping with the kids and of course Uncle Steve 

HAD to be on the screen at all times or Kiki would ask "Unkl Steep, where are you?" 

(as she would try to look around the corner of the computer screen). 

Then the best part is when he was on the screen she would just scream,
"Unkl Steep, Steep, Steep!" the. whole. time.
It made it hard to talk to anyone else, but the entertainment was worth it.

Steve's #1 reason for wanting to go to Disneyland. Star Tours.

Thunder Mountain Railroad was the best ride of the day.

This was taken at hour 9 or 10.
Kids still happy and Abbie not even tired even though she's pregnant.
I don't know how you do it.

Ariel at the beach

Kiki loved Brooke's hair because it was just like Rapunzel's. 

Thanks again to Abbie and Josh for letting us crash at your house, eat your food, 

rile up your children before bed, and making us feel so welcome!