April Showers bring May flowers (Cherry Blossoms in particular).

The District of Columbia is farther from my beloved St. George than I thought. In Washington, there are 39.9 inches of precipitation annually. In St. George there are 8.7 inches. I much prefer the latter. Rainy days=cloudy, sunless, and unhappy days--- and they mean that your shoes and socks and pant bottoms get really wet, and then they stay really wet and cold all day. It's very rude, actually.

But the showers bring the flowers, and I'm already seeing the affects.

So I had some adventures this weekend. It was the first time in 3 weeks that I actually was able to get out and do something on the weekend. The three weekends prior I spent all my time grading, planning lessons, and working on the dreaded teacher work sample. But because my student teaching career is quickly coming to an end (yes.), I have a little more time on my hands, and the weather (despite the loads of rain) is getting better (yes! again).

So I'm starting to enjoy myself a little more. The sad part about the new freedoms is that I am suddenly just about out of money. It's too bad I spent it all during the cold, rainy months, when the other thing to buy was consolation food. Consolation food is very, very bad on so many levels. For one, it makes you fatter. For another, it's still makes you fatter. Third, it's actually kind of expensive (Tom and Jerry's. How can they justify selling those tiny cartons for like $5 a piece? It's inhumane. But people like me buy them). Fourth, now I don't have money for the fun stuff, which is stupid. But whatevs. I have less than two weeks (WAHOOOOO) left, and then I'll hopefully be home and have a job. I can't WAIT to make money again.

So anyway, this weekend. It was a blast. Most of the time.

On Saturday morning I slept in (I hate getting up at 6:30 in the morning. I swear, it will be the death of me), and then me, Julie, and Angie went to a National's game!! The season opener was last week. I love baseball games. I should say that again with more enthusiasm, I LOVE BASEBALL GAMES!!! They mean summer and happiness and sunshine and more happiness. And cute boys in baseball uniforms.

So we bought our tickets and found our seats, and it was sunny and lovely and fun and THEN.

In an instant, the weather shifted to a TORNADO. Well, it might have been a hurricane.

One second there was laughter and cheesy music to be heard, and the next: people were screaming. The clouds had shifted instantaneously and let out a down pour of HAIL. Pelting hail and high MPH winds. We cowered in our seats (screaming ourselves), and once we emerged, the field was covered in a giant tarp, and the entire stadium was evacuated. No. Joke. The marquee had a delay message. We went behind the stadium to get out of the awfulness, and then after waiting in the cold and wet for about 20 minutes decided to bail. It was no longer worth it to wait for the game. This is what I'm talking about when I complain about the rain and awful weather in Washington. THIS is what I'm talking about.

The baseball field before the chaos

The baseball field AFTER. Big difference? I think so.

Julie and Angie DURING the chaos.

Who else's mascot is a giant Abe Lincoln head?

So we went to Eastern Market instead, which is one of my very favorite places. Most of the booths and shops were closed because of the weather, but we managed to buy some delicious mini donuts from a guy. And we found lunch at Good Stuff Eatery. Never has a hamburger and fries tasted so good.

That night we made our way to the waterfront between the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. The Cherry Blossom Festival people sponsored a street party thing and fireworks. This evening event combined like 8 of my favorite things. 1) fireworks. 2) boats on the river. 3) glow sticks and festival people. 4) twinkly lights on the boats that were on the river. 5) adventures climbing over fences. 6) attempting to take pictures of said fireworks (I have still never been successful at that. And why do I even try?). 7) ice cream at Thomas Sweet in Georgetown following the firework adventure. 8) well, I still really loved the boats on the river.

These are the perfect seats me and Angie found to watch the fireworks from.

Summary of the evening on the river with the fireworks: it was a dream.

Note to future husband: I would like to be proposed to on a boat. In the middle of a river (or the ocean). During some fireworks. That would be nice.

The next morning I woke up to beautiful sunshine; the likes of which have rarely been seen since last fall. I took advantage of the loveliness and went on a long walk by myself before conference (don't worry, I still slept in until like 9:30. Conference wasn't until noon out here). I rode the metro to Arlington Nat'l Cemetery and then walked across the bridge to the Lincoln Memorial, all the way around the Tidal Basin, and then to L'Enfant Plaza to catch the train back home. I saw the Cherry Blossoms up close for the first time, and note to reader, they do not disappoint. They were gorgeous. There were A LOT of tourists, but I dealt with them-- I walked quickly and jumped out of many a picture. In total the walk was about 3.5 miles, and I loved every second of it. I talked to my mom and Moriah on the phone but mostly I just enjoyed the blossoms. And I am seriously in love with the Jefferson Memorial. I mean, I have been for years, but anyway.

Beautiful Arlington

I stuck my camera through the fence. This is the construction site for the new Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial, to be completed December 2011. (YIP!)

Snow on some random trees? No! They're cherry blossoms!

Hey TJ. I can see you poking out in there.

I loved the combination of Cherry Blossom and Willow. (fyi, see the tourists? They were swarming)

Addendum to the note to future husband above: How about a proposal in the Jefferson Memorial, during some fireworks, after rowing a romantic little boat across the Tidal Basin? And don't forget the twinkling lights.

So I had a good weekend. And this weekend is going to be awesome too. And then the next weekend (drumroll please), I'll be flying home, and saying goodbye to this amazing city for a third time.

It's going to be great.

And look out BB12. I've officially purchased Dani's contract. Save a kitchen cupboard for me, I'm coming home!