optimism

i think optimism is one of the most underrated qualities in a person. it's easily overlooked, taken for granted and never appreciated like it should be. and now you are probably wondering why this deserves a blog post? well this past weekend my appreciation for optimism grew {again}. being under the same roof as my husband and my mom for 3.5 days made the realize that these are the two most optimistic people i've ever met.

steve is the epitome of optimistic. just take one look at his career choice and this becomes extremely evident. he sees the possibilities this country can achieve and has decided to dedicate his career to this work. i remember when he first got back from his mission i asked him if politics he was sure that politics should really be a career choice rather than a hobby (like it is for most people) and he said that the best way for him to make a difference and a create a good future for our family is by choosing a career in politics. this kind of optimism has always been something i have admired. the approach most people take of "there's nothing i can do..." in any situation has never been an option for him. he always turns any frustrating, disappointing or rocky situation into a positive one. i give steve all credit for being able to up and leave what we knew was familiar a year ago and move across the country with no jobs, friends or family on the other end and stay positive through it all.

my mom defines optimism. everything is so uplifting and positive when she is around. after picking her up from the airport and going to our apartment it didn't take 5 seconds for her to start complimenting everything about our new home and neighborhood. even the quirks and weird things that I don't like about our apartment became minor in her eyes. this optimism didn't change all weekend, whether we were out to dinner, grocery shopping, site-seeing or doing laundry she was so positive and optimistic. although she has always been like this, it becomes more evident when you move away and spend less time together. she couldn't give enough compliments about steve and i's new phase of our lives and really confirmed for me that we are exactly where we are supposed to be right now. and that, my friend, is exactly what a mom is for.

you can just imagine that a weekend with these two was the most enjoyable thing ever. 

mom, thank you for coming and for all you did for us while you were here.
{including gift us with a gorgeous coffee table book of of our wedding photos,
even though it's been almost three years - so thoughtful!}

please come again {soon}!

a few photos of our weekend...

fords theater & the coolest portrait i've ever seen of president lincoln (at the national portrait gallery)

the view of the [back of the] capitol from the library of congress

the white house

most random highlight of the weekend: the peeps store at national harbor. steve was thrilled at the idea of a mike n' ikes wall - three pounds later, a happy boy!

arlington cemetery and the tomb of the unknown solider. incredible

the library of congress is amazing. the best part: thomas jefferson's personal library

update overload

it's so hard to blog when there is so much to catch up on. here's a quick rundown of what has being going on in our lives over the past few months:

cherry blossoms (love that i made steve walk the tidal basin with me, all while he was complaining about "being tourists" especially because i was carrying a water bottle with me, very funny)

the pierce's came to visit us during spring break and lucked out with perfect weather while they were here, of course we did all of the tourist things and watched lots of march madness, so fun to have visitors!

too many extra hours at work for steve... boooo to election years.

a 25th birthday for him (a few weeks ago) and a 25th birthday for her (in a few weeks).... 25's all around this year, although we aren't doing anything extravagant like a trip to the bahamas or another tropical island, we are certainly enjoying ourselves and making the days extra special

beautiful spring weather perfect for walking around embassy row right near the naval observatory (and vp biden's house)

lots of basketball for him and running for her

apartment hunting, still trying to decide if we want to move to another apartment in the area or stay where we are at for another year... why does real estate have to be sooo expensive, can't we just buy already? oh wait... still have grad tuition to pay for each semester! maybe in 2014?

cooking, cooking and more cooking, have i ever mentioned how much we love to cook at our house?

rediscovering our love for boy bands, particularly our new favorite... one direction. i just love those 15 year old boys (in a non-creepy way)

looking forward to more visitors this weekend, my mom!

the itch to spring clean, redecorate and completely revamp our apartment.... too bad we don't have more square feet or else this could be incredibly dangerous.

lots of okc thunder basketball. we are big kevin durant/russell westbrook/nick collison fans in this house, actually big fans of all the thunder players. it's impossible to not be.

cherry blossoms around the tidal basin and the jefferson memorial

steve with winston churchill & the british ambassador's residence

there are the most beautiful tulips by the tidal basin, took this photo for my mom

steve's favorite: the franklin d. roosevelt memorial (missed the "t" on "third:)

this is my favorite area in the district, the view from the back of the lincoln memorial overlooking memorial bridge and the potomac, across the bridge is arlington cemetery

we love our nursery kids, steve especially loves wheels on the bus during singing time

of course we had to participate in the mega millions lottery last weekend - $10 well spent even though we didn't win, count it as a $10 donation to the public school system

vietnam memorial and washington monument at sunset on a sunday walk- independence hall in philadelphia at 1:30am on our way home for a concert downtown philadelphia

[lately]

not working in the restaurant world on valentines day is the best invention ever. i have a new found love for the holiday. steve went above and beyond [again] this year, and his valentines tradition [previously mentioned HERE and HERE] did not disappoint. on top of that, he always asks exactly what i want to do for the day and plans just that. although he would rather eat at a really amazing restaurant it's just not my style. i would feel so bad for the employees while i was there.

my love for adele was rekindled during the anderson cooper 60 minutes interview

steve has been super busy at work focusing solely on the man that we call grimmies at home - see HERE and HERE which lead to this. although still a press boy at heart, steve has become quite the researcher. 

although we'd much rater spend the upcoming long weekend traveling, it is going to be spent catching up on everything else in our lives, doing our taxes, spring cleaning and [hopefully] re-decorating the bathroom. i just need to find a killer shower curtain.

i don't know how we survived before we had a cafe rio 5 miles from our home.

i am hoping it stays relatively warm and sunny this weekend so we can walk embassy row.

making exciting plans for this summer, i am certainly hoping this involves a trip to disneyland with some of our nieces, i seriously love the tea cups.

date to the art museum

saturday dates to the art museum are always the best. especially when they are followed by a trip to cafe rio. i'm fairly confident in the fact that i have the best husband around for taking time out of his busy schedule to take me out :)

christmas break

Better late than never, right?

Our Christmas this year was perfect. Too perfect that it was really hard to come home after 10 days of no work and quality time with family and friends. Between gaining the most-amazing sister-in-law ever, late night Mario Kart tournaments, 3-day road trip with the two of the cutest kids ever, dying and cutting my sister's hair, eating, eating and eating, the annual Pollei Family bowling night, meeting up with some of my best high school friends, and quality time with family, I think it's safe to say it was a much-needed break.

Christmas Eve nativity & pinata, so funny to see Kiki dive for the candy

I don't know who loved who more... Kiki didn't leave Steve's side all break, 

then again, neither did Steve.

Trip to Temple Square to see the lights. Always incredible.

The kids loved tracking Santa on Google Maps on Christmas Eve!

 

Until next year!

The month of December in Washington, D.C.

We have had a lot of fun lately.

Nothing out of the ordinary. 

But this place is really starting to feel like home. 

We feel so blessed to have the jobs we do, 

for Steve's opportunity to go to the school that he does,

and to live in such a beautiful city.

This doesn't mean it wasn't terribly hard to leave Salt Lake last weekend,

but it means we are really starting to feel settled.

Spending our first holiday season in the District was very fun.

Although Steve's 1st semester of finals kept us from enjoying the first half of the month,

we certainly did a lot the week before we went to Utah for the holiday.

We went to the DC temple to see the lights and festivities, 

window shopping around Georgetown, 

visited the Botanical Gardens (absolutely AMAZING - so many poinsettias!),

checked out the White House tree and walked historic neighborhoods,

enjoyed festive baking, eating out, listening to Christmas music, 

and celebrating our Christmas on December 21st before heading to Utah.

the car wash

Friday, May 6, 2011 - After traveling for 3+ days across the country Steve and I arrived in Washington, D.C. With bugs, birds and who knows what else on our car we decided to familiarize ourselves with our new home and find a nearby self-serve car wash to clean our car. Easy right? Wrong.

After nearly 3 hours of searching for a car wash there wasn't a single one to be found. We were so confused and thought this was the most bizarre thing. After scouring the web for the answer to this bizarre question we read that car washes don't exist in Northern VA. Something about harming the Potomac..? Who knew. Anyway, this has become quite the joke with Steve & I due to my impatience with a dirty car (inside or out).

So guess what was at the top of our "to-do over Thanksgiving in Nashville list"?

Visit a self-serve car wash of course.

This Thanksgiving we were thankful for the simple things...