April in Review =)

Holy goodness!  What a crazy few months it's been.  I would like you to know that I've had this in "draft" since mid-May...and it's now July.  Sheesh!

I got majorly inspired when my fellow-blogger-girlfriend provided 2 months of updates done in a single post!  Crystal - it's on!  I'm totally copying you and going to try to get totally caught up in one fell swoop =) 


Alrighty - the above was written in late June/early July and I really thought I could do it.  It's now getting to be mid-July and I have decided I will provide updates of a single month in each post.  I think it would be way overwhelming to read April, May, and June all at the same time - because a lot happened in those months!

Here I go - I hope this works!

April
San Diego / Birthday / Journey through Culinary Joys:
In mid-April I was extremely fortunate to get to take a trip to San Diego on the company dollar =)  I was there managing our tradeshow booth for a nursing convention which also happened to be the same week as my birthday!  AND I had wonderful friends who lived in town - double bonus!

The convention ended on a Friday, so I decided to stay the weekend and take advantage of being in a new city plus celebrating my birthday plus visiting Crystal and Joey :)  I have to say, San Diego is an amazing town and I could totally see myself living there someday.  One super neat thing about the city is that each "micro-town" has a big neon sign in the entrance (like how Atlanta has Midtown, Buckhead, Brookhaven and Denver has Congress Park, Capitol Hill, Uptown...).  It was so cute and such a fun little quirk of the city!

The sign for "Little Italy" - were our friends, Joey and Crystal, live

I ate an absurd amount of seafood (the goal was seafood with every meal...and I practically did that with the exception of a protein shake here and there) and got to see some incredible sites!  Some highlights: 

• - Visiting the San Diego Zoo (bucket-list check!!)  
• *and getting pooped on by a bird for the first time ever*
• - Birthday celebration drinks at The Prado in Balboa Park 
• *uh...best.mojito.ever*
• - Running around the San Diego Bay to the USS Midway
• - Little Italy Farmers Market 
• *I ate crazy amounts of food and bought the cutest apron and coasters!*
• - Hiking in Torrey Pines and walking on the beach
• - Birthday Dessert at Extraordinary Desserts
• *if I remember correctly, we had the Dulce de Leche...whatever it was was ah-may-zing and you must go if you're in San Diego*
• - Birthday Breakfast at Pappalecco
• *to.die.for...I had the Mare breakfast and it was insanity...best ever...Crystal deserves major props for this one!*
• - Seeing seals on the beaches in La Jolla!
• *and eating the "best fish tacos in San Diego" at George's Ocean Terrace*

Overall, I was incredibly impressed with San Diego and I want to go back with Marc.  He would love it - and I really want to try some surfing!  More pictures on the Book but here's a couple for ya =)

My birthday breakfast - SO yummy!

Seals on the beach in La Jolla!  I loved this and wish I could have gone swimming with them =)

I got home super late on Sunday (which was my actual birthday) and was surprised with a cute card, gift and mini-birthday cake from Marc (pictures available on the Book).  The next day he cooked me the most amazing steak dinner with chimichurri and, again, it was to.die.for.  If you come visit us, we (Marc) will definitely make you something with chimichurri since he's mastered it now!  And we ate my mini-cake which was delish.  Overall, an awesome birthday!

Visit to Virginia and D.C.
After San Diego, we had about a week in Denver and then we were off to Virginia to visit Marc's cousins, Kathy and Goody, and their adorable little boys, Sean and Justin.  Not only was it a great weekend because little Sean was celebrating his First Holy Communion, but it was also my first time getting to visit Washington D.C.!  We were only in town for 3 full days, and they were quite jam-packed.

First of all - we had a BLAST at Sean's party and I have to say, the party planners pulled everything off without a hitch =)  First Holy Communions are a big deal, and Kathy threw Sean a party with upwards of almost 80 people at their house!  It was so fun to meet everyone and see the family and friends come to support them during this huge milestone.

One funny story from the weekend - it was my first time really being surrounded by lots and LOTS of children under the age of 10 (there were about 30 at the party).  I learned very quickly that motherhood is exhausting...at one point I went upstairs to fix my makeup (I had gotten a little sweaty from setting up food and running around helping get the party off the ground) and I accidentally fell asleep for 3 HOURS!  I swear to you, it was an accident.  Marc finally came to get me and was like uh...where have you been?  Thankfully no one else really noticed I was missing since there were so many people there, but I was so embarrassed!

Apparently I'm not ready to be a mom just yet =)

After the party was over, Marc and I headed up to the Nations Capital for my inaugural visit =)  Yes, that's right.  Before this trip, I had never been to D.C - not even for a class trip!  I was so excited - everything I saw I wanted to take a picture of.

We only had a few hours but caught most of the basics:

• - WWII Memorial outside the Lincoln Memorial
• - Lincoln Memorial sans reflecting pool
• Why was the Second Inaugural Address a big deal? I know the Gettysburg Address, but I didn't understand why the other one was there...I'm not a history buff.
• - Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian
• This was a must-see for Marc.
• - Nature and Science Museum at the Smithsonian
• This was a must-see for me - we got to see the two Giant Squids that were captured recently!  Very neato.
• -  Vietnam Memorial Wall
• - Visiting Arlington and seeing the Changing of the Guards
• incredibly moving...
• - Quick walk by of the White House
• I'm pretty sure I saw Michelle cooking dinner =)

And the biggest highlight of all...that night, after we'd gone back to the Goodhart's house, we were watching TV and saw there was going to be a special announcement from the President.  That was the night President Obama announced that Osama Bin Laden had been killed...and I had literally been standing in front of the White House just hours before!!!  It was insanity...I was so incredibly emotional and couldn't believe all this was happening just miles from where I was sitting.  (check the Book for more pictures!)

Our reflection in the Vietnam Memorial wall

Standing at the Lincoln Memorial looking over the "Reflection Pond" (they were rebuilding it - so bummed!).  I was standing where Forrest Gump and Martin Luther King, Jr. gave their speeches =)

Needless to say, it was an AMAZING trip.  We had a great time and I can't wait to go back!  But first, we have to get the Goodharts to come visit us in Colorado =)

And there you have it!  April in a nutshell.  Stay tuned for May and June.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!