Lene Kristine Botolfsen.

I purposefully ignored this girl's birthday. Because I was on vacation and didn't really have a way to wish her an appropriate happy birthday, and if you know Lene Botolfsen, you know that she needs an appropriate happy birthday.

Lene's birthday is one of the most important days of the year. Lene is not ashamed to celebrate! (See Lene's Birthday 2010). And so, because I could not celebrate with her this year, I thought I would list 26 reasons why Lene Kristine Botolfsen is one of my favorite people in this whole wide world.

at her going away party.

1. She is extremely--but not mistakenly--confident in herself and what she wants. She's not afraid to be herself, and she's not afraid to show who she is. This quality ultimately brought a change in my through my association with her. Why should I be nervous to call a boy? Ask him to hang out? Lene isn't. She's cool and collected and very sure of herself.

2. She is very loyal and really cares about people. If you are Lene's friend, she will keep in touch with you, and you will be her friend forever. She devotes a lot of time and money to the people in her life, and that's exactly how it should be. Lene works hard to maintain the relationships that she cares about, and that is admirable. It's exhausting to have as many friends as Lene does, but she takes it in stride.

3. Lene is just so cool. This is what I tell people. That she is literally the coolest person I know.

4. Lene shops and spends money more than anyone else I know.... which makes it a blast to shop with her. One time we were in Banana Republic and she found, and this is a true story, a velvet, purple blazer on sale for a decent price-- but not a fantastic one. And she bought it. Because, what if she needs it when she teaches elementary school? She just might. Or, imagine Lene as a farmer's market. The average customer wanders around and looks at things, talks to the people at the booth, buys maybe a little bit of fruit, and then goes home. Or, if you are me, you buy nothing. ever. But Lene buys....lots of things. Not an unreasonable amount. Not like she's a crazy person. But I was always just in AWE of the way she could talk herself into buying things. :) It was adorable.

5. Lene. likes. kissing. I'm fairly certain that anyone who has ever MET Lene can attest to this fact, because she happens to bring it up quite frequently. Not inappropriately, but contextually and hilariously. In our apartment we had not one, but two mistletoes hanging from the ceiling-- year round. Around Valentine's Day we had a Kissing Booth... that stayed up until August. We had, in one area of our living room, what we like to call the "kissing corner." There was a small poster with kiss marks all over it. We each kissed the poster to signify each boy that we, as 4 roommates, had kissed. When Lene comes into town this August, I think we've collectively got like 4 to add... maybe more.

6. Lene takes an absurd amount of time to do things...like homework. It's not because she's slow. or dumb. The contrary is true, actually. It's because she likes to watch TV or a movie while she does her homework. Why not get some enjoyment out of it, right? When Lene reads this she will protest. She will say that watching something did not make her take longer... but I swear it did.

yes. lene is the one on the left. and yes. she looks terrifying.

7. Lene is very independent and very tough. She does what she wants, when she wants. Not to inconvenience people or anything, but like, if she wants to walk to the grocery store at midnight to get some milk by herself, she will, despite the repeated and emphatic objections of her roommates who care about her and her safety. She also, one time, rode her little red beach cruiser to the Provo Towne Center movie theater for a 7:00pm showing. And then she wanted to watch another movie. so she did. and then another one. a midnight showing. SO. She rode her bike home, by herself, across the SKETCHY bridge on University Avenue that goes over the railroad tracks, at like 2 AM! Crazy woman. But that is Lene. And that is why we love her.

me and lene, pretending to be dating Kevin and Geoff.

8. Did I mention that Lene LOVES Robert Pattinson, the Twilight movies (even though she knows that they are dumb), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Dawson's Creek. She loves them. Last summer she watched Buffy and Angel in order, alternating shows every episode, because apparently they connect and happen concurrently, which actually is kind of cool. But who else besides Lene even knows that?

9. Lene has amazing style. She is the queen of accessories, and when we shop together, she is somehow able to buy pieces that I could never see fitting into anyone's wardrobe, but somehow, they do. And they are awesome. Like the velvety purple blazer. I would never, not in a million years, consider spending money on something so impractical. But when she wore it.... I found myself a little jealous. Like, why can't I see things the way she does when I'm trying to build a wardrobe? I see solids and basics... and that my friends, is why my clothes are so boring, but Lene's are so awesome.

10. Lene has a collection of Chuck Taylors. Like a gazillion pairs. When I say gazillion, I mean probably like 15. I really have no idea how many. But that's pretty rad.

11. The first day I met Lene, I was trying to move into my new apartment at Banbridge. I found the apartment, but I had no idea where the management place was. That means I couldn't actually get checked in or get my key or anything. So I knocked on apt 12. The one right across the hall. And Lene answered. She seemed very nice, and very helpful. I noticed that she had a little bit of a strange lilt in her accent. But I didn't think anything of it. Why would I? I didn't find out for like another two weeks that she wasn't from our country. (Which leads me to #12) But she gave me the info that I needed, and little did I know that she would change my life. :)

oh yes. excitement over the little things. you wouldn't guess, but we were at IHOP in this picture. At the traditional finals week dinner.

12. Lene is Norwegian. She is, by far, my favorite Norwegian. Last year when I was student teaching, there were some visiting students from Norway for like a day. And the girls reminded me of Lene-- probably just because of the way their English sounded. :) But anyway, she is very proud of her Norwegian heritage. I have, because of Lene, celebrated the Norwegian national holiday, May 17, 2 times, and with much vigor and vim. Lene makes Norwegian food, decorates, invites everyone that we know to come over, and then on occasion, makes everyone learn and sing the Norwegian National song. It is so great. And so Norwegian. And omg, Lene and her Norwegian skin gets sunburned worse, and more often, than anyone I've ever seen.

13. Lene speaks English better than most Americans. This is partially because she's just so darn intelligent, but also partially because she was always meant to be an American, I am sure of it. On the 4th of July, she just goes around, with her patriotic shirt, waving her little American flag, and saying, "I LOVE AMERICA!"

14. Lene is not shy.

15. Lene celebrates everyday more, and better, than most people. She is always up for planning more things, doing things elaborately, and making excuses to see her friends-- to spend time with people that she likes. In the last 3 years (since I've known her) she planned a significant number of events for everyone to enjoy. And sometimes, she very gracefully let me help her. We planned a lot of things together, and I don't think I've ever had more fun-- or seriously---been more stressed. The short list includes: 2 For Like Ever parties, 2 Picnic Awesomes (I have, so far, dropped the ball on that this year, ps... maybe we'll do it when you come to visit), 1 bomb halloween party, smoothie nights, 2 17 Mai parties, several events on the roof of banbridge, the Old Maid's Day extravaganza, lotsa blacklight dance parties, countless summer weekends of fun, 2 fully-orchestrated birthday bashes, an excellent going-away party, dinner nights for friends, and omh one time we had a bike gang that had this really hierarchical leadership struture that Lene was the master of-- and we would go Slickgangin like once a week and it rocked...etc., etc., etc.

black light madness. Yes, Lene's arm says, "I <3 MEN."

I was in DC student teaching, but I had to make a presence at the For Like Ever. And Amy did to, of course. So Lene made signs. :)

Halloween 2011. At our epic party. And these are my girls. honestly, it's a miracle we were able to gather everyone for one picture. a miracle.

Our collection of summer '11 friends. you know, the summer crew.

Slickgangin

16. Everyone wants to be Lene's friend.

17. Lene is very, very smart. And very dedicated to her school work (most of the time). She went into elementary education because she genuinely cares about children and wants to make sure that they learn all the important stuff-- and that they are comfortable at school and have a safe place to go.

18. Lene is very nurturing, and she is going to be an awesome mother. She'll be the cool mom, but also the mom that her kids trust and depend on. I'm so excited to meet her children, btw. because they. will. be. rad.

19. Lene is very organized. She keeps binders full of all her things, and they are all labeled.

20. As a transient college student, Lene still made it a point to collect house decorations-- things that she will want in the future, too. I do not have that mindset, at all, so it was always surprising to me. But awesome. Our apartment was adorable, because of Lene and her decoration collecting habits.

21. Lene likes really manly, manly men.

Our relief society sleepover. We were obviously up to no good.

22. Lene treats our church, and the gospel, as her highest priority. She loves to serve. And she has a testimony, that while serving as her 1st counselor when she was Relief Society President, I learned a lot from. She taught me how to serve with love and kindness, but with firmess-- and she always allowed the Spirit to guide our actions as a presidency. We had loonnnnnnng Sunday meetings. But they were awesome. I looked forward to them every week. I loved the girls in our presidency, but I also loved learning from Lene. We followed the Bishop's counsel to a T. Lene had deep respect for Bishop Brough. She was also always very concerned about our girls. More than the rest of us. She made extra visits, and did what else she could, in her limited time, to serve them. She was an amazing example.

you know, just a small collection of boys.

another small collection. both of these groups of boys came over for dinner as a farewell to Lene, fyi.

23. One time, Lene texted all her favorite boys something akin to the following: "come over so we can cuddle." (that is not a direct quote. I don't know what it actually said... I just know it said something about cuddling). Within like half an hour, there were 12 boys at our house. 12.

24. Lene has excellent picture taking skills. She takes pictures that actually capture moments, and she's not awkward about it. For some reason, I have a hard time making people pose for pictures. I just do. But Lene doesn't. She makes people pose, and they want to. And she makes people take self-portraits, which are always hilarious. And then she posts the pictures. She has over a hundred albums on facebook. They document her college life, and that's amazing. You only have to look at her pictures to realize what a cool person she is. She experiences new things and she's not afraid. And she documents it, and it's just so great. I think that like 70% of all my pics on facebook are from Lene. :)

the 4th of July. Night before. camping out for the parade. Because in the words of Lene,  "what is more American than a parade?"

iceblocking. together. it didn't work. and no, we didn't mean to match that day.

we thought this pic was going to turn out cooler than it did. dang it.

25. Lene gets excited for people. She very appropriately reacts to news that you have. She cares about what you are doing and how you are, and she gets excited. And sometimes, you just need someone to act on the outside exactly what you are feeling on the inside, but just can't let it out.

In San Diego. At the beach. 

26. Lene has a goal to eat a meal in the smallest and largest cities in every state. Who else thinks of something like that besides Lene?

And last: Since Lene left Provo, there have been many occasions when our friends-- or other people-- have made comments about her absence. They tend to say things like, "you can't replace Lene. there is only one Lene." and it's true.

Our last picture together, before she left forever. 

I love you Lene! Happy happy birthday. And thanks for being my bestie. :)

And also. I'm so excited to see you on August 6th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once Upon A Time...

... There was a girl named Audrey. She had a best friend named Rachelle.
(look out! This is a really long and cheesy post!)

Audrey and Rachelle first met at the tender age of 14. They were in two straight classes together at Dixie Middle School and bonded daily during their walk to the seminary building across the street. Audrey thought Rachelle was cool because she had a cell phone. Also, she always admired Rachelle's shoes. Rachelle was really smart and did gymnastics, and Audrey wanted to be just like her.

When the two of them were 15 they took a theater class together. Mr. Saxton and the loony drama kids only brought Rachelle and Audrey closer. They competed in the regional and state drama competitions together doing a scene from the "The Odd Couple." It was a really stupid scene. It required Audrey to wear frumpy mom sweats and Rachelle to squelch and scream like an out of control loony bird. Audrey and Rachelle practiced in the basement of the Doxey's house and the squelches could be heard in the upper floors. And when they competed, they somehow found it necessary to carry around like 5 folding chairs and 2 black blocks from room to room as props in their scene. However, dragging the furniture through the hallways at Hurricane High School was nothing compared to the creepy on-looking Hurricane kids. Audrey and Rachelle left the competition with a few mediocre competition scores in addition to confirmed rumors of Hurricane in-breeding.

At the end of their sophomore year Rachelle called Audrey one day with an invitation to go boating. Audrey replied with an exclamation in the affirmative, and Rachelle commented, "I have decided to make you my designated boating buddy, if you don't mind." Audrey didn't mind. She loved spending time with Rachelle, and well, she loved boating.

Several boating trips ensued. Lots of tubing, attempted wake-boarding (on Audrey's part), cliff jumping, more tubing, and an extraordinary amount of merriment accompanied the two.

Senior year, Rachelle and Audrey were in choir and drama together. Audrey was nervous to sing in front of Rachelle because of Rachelle's musical talents ;). Rachelle was somehow able to teach Audrey how to sing alto, and they sat together all year, laughing at the juniors who were really excited about choir and grades (guess who). Oh, those were the days. They also performed in Fiddler on the Roof together; Rachelle playing the lead (because of her talents, of course), and Audrey playing an ensemble role that allowed her to be involved, but still gave her plenty of time to do her homework in the hallway during performances. There was one scene, however, that Audrey and Rachelle were able to participate in together. During Sunrise, Sunset, Audrey and Rachelle always made eye contact and got a little teary when they imagined the show being over, and high school being over, which would eventually lead to their separation.

Rachelle and Audrey also joined each other on several school trips that year, which included the famed Choir Trip, the RASK Urban Experience Trip (of which Rachelle was in charge), and the senior trip to California. Each trip brought the friends closer together. On the Choir trip Rachelle shared her mittens her Audrey. On the RASK trip the friends found a random store in the Trolley Square mall that was selling hourglass sand things that looked really awesome. Because of its fascinating nature, Audrey and Rachelle committed a good 20 minutes of their lives to the device. The California trip was an altogether different bonding experience; Disneyland was a blast, but Magic Mountain was a bust. On the exhausted trip home, Audrey and Rachelle texted awkward and coded messages to Rachelle's boyfriend at the time--messages he still probably hasn't figured out (example: "The moon is bright tonight... with freckles." Rachelle, I hope you remember that one). They thought they were too hilarious for words.

After a year of separation while Rachelle attended her freshman year at BYU and Audey stayed at Dixie State, they decided to be roommates at BYU. Rachelle found them a place to live in Provo, and one day, Audrey took a call and left class to give Rachelle her credit card information to get the contract signed. Audrey had not even officially been accepted into BYU yet; but she wanted to live with Rachelle so bad (and she had no doubt that she was going to get in), that she signed a contract anyway.

...And so began a pattern of Rachelle finding housing for Audrey. Every place that Audrey lived at BYU is credited to Rachelle's finding (and in most cases, Rachelle signed the contract for Audrey while she was away).

It is hard to describe the perfection that was Audrey and Rachelle as roommates, but I shall attempt it in list format.

1) Rachelle helped Audrey function in normal society (example: Rachelle made me stop wearing my CTR ring on my wedding ring finger. Go figure) and Audrey helped Rachelle remember the small but significant details of her life (Rachelle: Audrey, did I pass the AP Bio test? Audrey: Yes, you got a 3. (Audrey distinctly remembers sitting at the Doxey's kitchen counter looking at Rachelle's new macbook and calling the AP Board the moment scores were released)).
 
2) Rachelle and Audrey live very independent lives. They both have their own plans and like to do their own thing. Their daily activities varied greatly; they were on different ends of campus, they had different friend group outside of the roommates, and they had different time-consuming jobs. Somehow, though, they were always able to meet up at bed time to settle in at about the same time. Never had either person known such remarkable and entertaining pillow talk. It kept the pair of them up for hours and hours, way past their bed time. They would lay there in the dark and giggle ("well that's just FANTASTIC!!"), and their roommates would complain and bang on the wall. In their junior year, when they didn't share a room, they enjoyed pillow talk time in the living room, looking up at the Christmas lights that hung around the room all year long.

3) Rachelle was really good at telling Audrey all of her problems, particularly boy problems, and Audrey was really good at listening and supporting, but never telling her what to do. Audrey just knew that there were some things that Rachelle had to figure out on her own (like the fact that she didn't actually like that one boy, and that she knew deep down that she was going to break up with him eventually). Rachelle was always really good at making Audrey spill the beans. Audrey is really bad at talking about her honest feelings. But Rachelle was really good at giving advice and making Audrey feel secure. Rachelle was very good at making Audrey feel good about herself. She was very supportive of everything Audrey did. After Audrey got a good grade on her first test at BYU, Rachelle made her a cake to celebrate.

4) Somehow Rachelle has always been very good at reading Audrey and knowing what she is thinking and feeling, even before Audrey knows it. Exhibit A: When Audrey decided not to go on a mission (against her life plan, mind you), she called Rachelle to tell her. Rachelle calmly responded: "I know." Audrey: "WHAT?! Why didn't you tell me??!" (telling would have saved Audrey a lot of stress and effort). Rachelle: because you needed to figure it our on your own. But Audrey, why do you think I haven't purchased housing for the fall? Because I was waiting for you." Oh Rachelle, always the smart, intuitive one.

And so Audrey and Rachelle lived together at BYU as roommates-- as an old married couple-- that relied on each other for just about everything.

In the meantime, they also did all sorts of other fun stuff.

Rachelle showing off her mad cartwheel skills

They took a vacation together to Washington, D.C., which was only the dream of Audrey's life (see post #1 of this blog). The two of them ran (literally) around Washington for 6 days, seeing a lot more than the average tourists do on their first trip to DC. Audrey realized later, on her other trips to DC, that after what she had seen with Rachelle, there really wasn't that much left. That's how much they saw. They got really sore feet and were very, very exhausted, but were also highly entertained by the common and not-so-common attractions: tourist families with matching plaid shorts, the chipmunks that Rachelle refused to recognize as squirrels ("Aren't they the same thing?!"), and the many reflective surfaces around the city that served as perfect photo-ops.

They spent a week in Palm Desert, California and basked in the sunlight (and got really tan), went to the gym and worked out for a surprisingly long period of time (yay 0 elevation) played board games, watched Ironman way too many times, and made fun of Joshua Tree National Park. Oh yes, and they also went to Tiffany's and looked at diamonds. Rachelle loves diamonds, and Audrey has been lucky enough to be exposed to the world of diamonds through Rachelle. Thanks to Rachelle, Audrey is very well-versed in diamond language.

They exchanged books, movies, and TV shows. Audrey and Rachelle love to talk about books. Audrey likes to read books and then make Rachelle read them. They also enjoyed watching Friends, 30 Rock, and the occasional Gossip Girl episode together. They tried not to watch Gossip Girl most of the time, but it was too addicting.

They developed a list of rules for their life that include the Rule of the Evil Hour of 6, the "It's okay to be late for most things" Rule, and the "You don't actually have to eat meat if you don't want to" Rule. The most-often broken rule, I think, is the one that states, "Always go to bed when you're tired, and sometimes, go to bed before you are tired." The two of them are really bad at going to bed when they are tired. See this post for the other rules, if you are curious.

Rachelle and Audrey are no longer roommates. They can't be. Rachelle went off and got herself a man. And she married him. Audrey was left with other awesome roommates and more adventures to have on her own, but she misses Rachelle.

The truth is, Audrey needs that Rachelle. She just does. And she is so grateful for her friendship. And for the fact that Rachelle really knows Audrey. She understands.

Quick list of other things I love about Rachelle:
1. She has a snuggie.
2. She is a super hard worker. She is not afraid to put in the effort to get what she wants.
3. She has a fantastic shoe collection.
4. She asked for Star Trek for Christmas.
5. She has a different color of hair in like every picture she's in.
6. She was really good at getting me to go to the gym.
7. She likes all sorts of random music. Sometimes she's in a Ne-Yo mood, sometimes All-American Rejects. Sometimes country. But she always like Billy Joel.
8. She listens to all my crazy stuff and just laughs at me.
9. She totally appreciates it when I scrapbook roommate stuff. She always wants to see the new pages I make. That makes all the work worth it. :)
10. She taught me how to rinse everything completely before putting it into the dishwasher. And how to use plates all time. Especially for toast. She hates it when there are crumbs on the counter.
11. One time we bought a hot pad for our kitchen together. Just one of them. Just because.
12. She let me drive her car all the way to St. George once- she was in the passenger seat. She needed a break.
13. She often goes along with my crazy ideas-- but she also puts a check on them too.
14. She leaves really, really long phone messages that I actually really entertaining to listen to.
15. She likes to make piles of clothes like I do. And she never got mad at me when my side of the room was a disaster area (as it often was).

So happy birthday, my darling. And thanks for being you.

America Week

At the beginning of the week I was still getting over the plague, but I was mostly better when my family FINALLY CAME TO VISIT ME!!! They flew in on Wednesday night, and I can't even describe how excited I was to see them. I had been talking about it for weeks! I really missed them.

Daily report of their trip to D.C., and my favorite 4th of July ever.

Quick explanation: The 4th of July is my favorite holiday. I have kind of forgotten that fact the last couple of years, but seriously, I used to be obsessed. I would get completely decked out in red, white, and blue. I literally prepared for the holiday for days before hand. I have purchased and worn a flag tee from Old Navy every year since 2000 (except this one. I already cried a tear about that.). I have a festive backpack, visor, flip flops, nail polishes, shorts, pajamas, the works. And I LOVE fireworks. I love it when they are huge and it looks like they are falling on you. And I love America. I am very patriotic. In fact, the whole time my family was here- especially on the 4th- Stephanie often was like, "Well, we should do whatever Audrey wants to do. It's the 4th of July. That's practically Audrey day. It's like her birthday." Because, it kind of is! I love it.

Wednesday: I picked them up at the airport, taught everyone how to use the metro (seriously, guys, it didn't have to be that complicated), and we found our way to the hotel. I should have scoped out the area before they got there, because I wasn't sure exactly where it was, I just knew the general direction. It was a lot more walking than everyone had anticipated, and I think my mom wished we would have just taken a taxi. I kind of agree. But the walking was good for them, and they got to see the neighborhood. They stayed between Dupont Circle and McPherson Square, an excellent neighborhood. McPherson is really close to the White House, so they got lucky! And there are a lot of restaurants near Dupont. After dropping their bags off, we went to find a place to eat. It was getting late, so that was actually kind of difficult. We ended up eating in the hotel restaurant, which wasn't too bad, and then I took a taxi home to Foggy Bottom.

Thursday: The fam came to the Museum That Will Not Be Named! They came down to the Archives Center, where I work, around noon, and I gave them a little tour. It was amazing to finally be able to show them exactly what I do all day every day. And they got to meet all my work friends! I loved it.

And then, I got off work 4:30, and we looked at some of my favorite exhibits in the museum, namely, the Star-Spangled Banner, the Scurlock Studios exhibit (which is what I'm working on), and the Lincoln exhibit on the 3rd floor.

After the museum, we headed to Georgetown. This is what I had been most excited to show them. We stopped at the Barlow Center so I could change out of my work clothes, so they got to see where I live! I think that made my mom feel better about me living in the city, because she finally got to see how safe it actually is. Next stop: Dinner in G-town. They loved it. We ate at Chipotle, not really a local hotspot, but it was good. And then shopping! Georgetown is so great because it is SO cute and quaint and charming and high class, but also because it has amazing food, ice cream places, and excellent shopping! We ended up only having time for H&M (because my family moves slow and it's hard to get everyone moving in the same direction all the time), but that's okay. It was starting to rain and get dark, but before leaving, I convinced everyone that they HAD to walk down to the waterfront to see the river and all the sites from there. We have a good view of Arlington, the Kennedy Center, and Watergate from the waterfront park down Wisconsin Ave in G-town. I love it down there. Me and my Washington friends go and sit by the water probably twice a week, and I had to do it with my family too!

Friday: I don't have work on Fridays, so I got to be with my family all day!! We got up early and met at the metro stop at Arlington National Cemetery. We started there, and it was a long day of walking. After Arlington, which I love, we walked across the bridge back in to D.C., and around the Tidal Basin to go to the FDR and Jefferson (my favorite) memorials, and then back up to the Washington Monument, my museum, and my favorite place to eat near Federal Triangle: Potbellys. It's hard to explain this massive distance, but just take my word for it that it is far (I actually calculated it to be 4.69 miles). But we ate at Potbellys!!! It's my all-time fave recently. I always get a smoked ham sandwich and banana oreo shake (I can't describe how amazing those shakes are. They are literally the best shakes I have ever had. And the oreo banana is breathtakingly delicious). After Potbellys, we walked back down to the Old Post Office Pavilion on 14th and Pennsylvania to go up in the tower so we could see the city. The Old Post Office Tower is the next tallest building in D.C. besides the Washington Monument, so it provides a really good view, and you don't have to bother getting up early to get tickets! A perfect alternative to the real thing. After spending some time in the tower, we walked up Pennsylvania to the White House, and then split ways. Stephanie, my Dad, and Moriah, went back to the hotel, but Elise, my Mom, and me went to the Capitol for the 4th of July concert dress rehearsal!!
We got up to the Capitol lawn and found my friends. They saved a little spot for us. So guess who performed at the concert??!!! Barry Manilow (Elise and my mom are Fanilows!), Aretha Franklin, Natasha Bedingfield (who isn't even American. How weird), Elmo, Oscar, Cookie Monster, Rosita, Big Bird, the Jersey Boys (they were TOTALLY the best part!!! I want to be a fan now), and the National Symphony or something like that. It was SO GREAT!! I was sitting behind this speaker thing, so I could only see about 1/4 of the stage-- but it was totally worth it. My Mommy and Elise left a little bit before it was over because it was getting dark and they still had to figure out how to get back to their hotel. So, I just stayed with my friends and partied with them after.

Saturday: I am a slave driver, I made my family get up and meet me at 9:30 at the Eastern Market!! We got in line for breakfast, which is in my top 5 favorite things about D.C., and waited for like 1 1/2 hours for our food. My Dad was grumbling a bit, but I convinced everyone that the food was well worth the wait. I was starving and nearly fainting by the time I got my french toast with pecans on it, but it was so amazing, that I don't rememeber being miserable anymore. The Market was really busy that morning, but we got our fill of the flea market, the fruit and vegetable stands, and everything. I love that place. I think they really liked it too-- that's what is important.

And then, me, Dad, and Moriah, went to the Nationals game. We were playing the Braves. By the way, the Nats are my team. I love them. Even though they have like the worst record in the MLB. But they have a really nice stadium, I can get in to a game for $10, their colors are red, white, and blue, they have in-between inning races between dressed-up giant-headed presidents, I love baseball, they are the National team, and they are from D.C. What more could you possibly ask for in a baseball team??? (Besides a winning record...) And, surprise, surprise, WE WON!! But, I guess, that shouldn't be too shocking, because it was the 4th of July! But it was a lot of fun. I'm glad I got to spend that time with my Dad and my sugar doll, Moriah.

See the giant headed presidents??!! They are awesome!!!

We met up with Mom, Elise, and Moriah after the game and walked up to the Library of Congress, which was closed. And this is where we split ways. They all wanted to go back to their hotel and watch the fireworks from their roof while they sat in the pool. That sounded like a lot of fun... but I REALLY wanted to hang out on the Mall and watch the fireworks from there. Seriously, I didn't want to miss that opportunity. And although I was kind of sad about ditching my family, I'm really glad that I did! I found my friends- they were sitting between the World War 2 Memorial and Washington Monument kind of by a stage where an orchestra was playing. It was perfect. We sat and played cards- go fish, scum, spit, and frustration. The weather was perfect, the setting was amazing, and the company was wonderful! The fireworks started around 9, and they were literally the best fireworks I have ever seen!! We laid on the blanket and watched the fireworks shoot up and fall on top of us-- they were huge and beautiful and shocking and loud and amazing. And the whole time, among other things, I was thinking about a career change. I am sorely tempted to become a firework show designer. How fun would that be? It would be a dream. Afterward, I told Cameron about my new ambition. He was like, "I thought about that too!! Except, I want to invent and make new fireworks. Study the physics." And so we came to an agreement. He will make the fireworks, and I will design the fantastic shows.

This one was during the finale. My camera couldn't handle the amazingness.

After the fireworks, we walked with the masses of 4th of Julyers home. The minute we stepped into the Barlow Center, though, Tyson convinced everyone that going to Thomas Sweet in Georgetown for frozen yogurt was the best idea ever. So, we went. We got some frozen yogurt, and finished the night at the water front, looking out over the river and the city. So gorgeous and so perfect.

It was an amazing fourth of July: my favorite breakfast ever to begin the day, a Nationals game (what's more American than baseball?!), and fireworks on the lawn of our nation's capitol? It was fantastic. I can't even describe it. Laying there and watching the fireworks was breathtaking.

Also, another huge event occurred that night-- something that will change my life forever. But we'll get to that in another post. I want it to be noted and significant.

Sunday:

I rode the bus and met my family at the Friendship Heights metro station to walk to church. It was a traditionally long testimony meeting, and we sat in the overflow, which is full every Sunday. My ward is enormous. My family was amazed.

My family is so dang cute I can't even stand it.

We spent the afternoon on the Mall, finally walking around the WW2, Lincoln, Korean War, and Vietnam War Memorials. I could do that everyday, and it wouldn't get old. I just love being on the National Mall. That night, after dinner, we rode the metro out to the Pentagon. My last request was for my family to see the September 11th Memorial. It's one of my favorites. And then I went home and went to bed.

Monday: The fam did stuff all day until their flight, but I had to work, so I just saw them at lunch. They got picnic stuff and we ate outside You Know What Museum on the grass. That is my favorite kind of lunch- outside in perfect weather with my family eating simple, pure food.

We all accidentally matched on that last day. :) I guess that's what sisters do.

Sunday was my favorite day with my family because it was less stressful than the other ones. I wasn't as worried about making sure that everyone was happy and having a good time. That felt good. For some reason, being their tour guide was ster-ess-ful!! Every night when I got home I breathed a sigh of relief, and I was SO tired! It was hard.

The biggest frustration of the weekend, though is that my family was NOT used to walking a lot. They walked slow, they were tired, and their feet hurt. All of these complaints were perfectly normal. My feet hurt and I was tired too. BUT, somehow, I could still walk a faster speed. It was SO FRUSTRATING!! And Stephanie and Elise kept getting mad at me and saying, "Well if Audrey would stop riding that invisible scooter maybe we could keep up!" They could have kept up if they would have tried harder. I'm convinced of it. Every time we sat down somewhere and rested for a while, I would say, "Okay, I'm going to count to 5, and then we are going to stand up. So get ready." And then I would count, get to 5, and be the only one to stand up and walk away. GOSH FAMILY! I would get several feet away, turn around, and see them still sitting there looking all tired. Seriously. In the end, I find all of this very comical, but it was stressful and frustrating at the time. :)

The whole weekend, for me, was about doing things so that they would have a good trip. I was totally stressed about not seeing enough cool things. I wanted them to LOVE D.C. SO BAD!!! Because I love it so much. This city is pretty dear to my heart. I wanted them to understand why and love it too.

And I think they had a good time. It was an amazing weekend. I loved having them here. I LOVED being able to show them everything that I do and see everyday. It was a blast. I loved taking them around Georgetown, and walking around the monuments, showing them where I work, what I do all the time, teaching them how to work the metro, everything.

And also, it was the best 4th of July ever.