last saturday

This morning I woke up and began to pack. I feel that I have acquired more clothes over the summer...I am going to make them all fit. After packing I met up with Chase and we went to the zoo, grabbed some food, and then walked around.

I met up with Jake and Kayla at about 5:30ish and they grabbed a burger and drinks. I had a Shirley Temple where they ate - I can honestly say I don't think I have had one since I was 12...

Then we decided that we would head to the Nats baseball game. Usually you can get a ticket to the Nats games for $10 or so...the cheapest one we could find was $75! They were completely sold out. They were playing the Phillies. I think more people from Philadelphia were attending than from DC.We sat and waited thinking that maybe we would get tickets...wrong. Oh well, it was fun to spend time with them.

I got back a little bit ago and helped April pack. She leaves tomorrow.

Last Day of Internship

Today was my last day at MAW. I worked on an itinerary for a little girl who will be traveling to Belize the second week of August. I decided I want to go to Belize someday. It looks beautiful. I also put together a Snapfish scrapbook for a little boy who wished to meet Spiderman. Then it was time for good-byes...

After work I met up with Diane and Rachel Smith and the rest of their family. They have been in DC for a few days now. We went out to eat and then did a night view tour. I felt bad for them because it was A LOT of walking. When I give tours, it is a BIG group and so they have a charter bus. They were troopers and barely complained, if at all.

This is my last weekend in DC and I am going to enjoy it as much as I can.

The first picture is of the WWII Memorial and the second is from the Vietnam Memorial.

I have probably been to all of the memorials at least 17 times...each time I find something different.

good bye interns

today was a "good-bye" day for the interns at maw. it was megan and randi's last day and mine is tomorrow. our supervisors took us out for lunch and then had ice cream for us in the afternoon. they are all great girls and i am so glad i got to work with them over the summer.

after work i had a night view tour. it was a group of international students from all over. they are here for 6 weeks through the department of state. they were all very attentive. we went to jefferson, fdr, and lincoln. i had to explain to one of the chaperones from nigeria four different times that george washington was our first president. i expanded on how he founded america and so that is why we have the "washington monument" and finally, it clicked and she replied " i will never forget it now"

it was an ahh-ha moment for her...

excited for the weekend! giving the smith family a night view tour tomorrow night! :) then 4 days til my momma and daddy pick me up from the airport! :)

kayaking!

i headed to work today at maw and worked on closing files.

after work i met up with april and jenni and a few of jenni's friends and we went kayaking on the Potomac river! i did it last year but must have been really brave that day. i was so scared and nervous for some reason today. BUT i did it and had a great time! this is "jack's boathouse"

there was a beautiful sunset while we were out!how can this not make you thankful for everything we have been blessed with?

here is a great prayer i read this week

Lord, let us not so much be concerned to be cared for as to care,
Not so much to be materially secure as to know that we are loved by You.
Let us not look to be served, but to place ourselves at the service of others.

gone for so long...

i have not been connected to the world for the past 46 hours. on sunday there was a tornado here that knocked the power out all over DC and Maryland.

we have had no air, no warm water, no where to plug our computers in, no Internet, no place to store our food, and no where to cook it. i have been roughing it - DC style.

i am SO appreciative for electricity.

in the midst of all of this i had to finish my online class. we went to barnes and noble last night and i camped out on the floor with a ton of other people. it is completed! yay!

on friday my cousin Desiree flew in from Phoenix. she is a flight attendant and had a 30 hour layover. on friday night we went out for dinner at matchbox, a restaurant i have been wanting to try. before we were seated i checked for my phone and it was no where to be found. the last thing i can remember is looking at a message i received on the metro. i had on a cotton dress with pockets and i think i must have put it in my pocket and it slipped out.

what a mess. verizon wireless stores are so confusing and they charge you so much money for phones. i loved my phone and they discontinued making it. i would have kept my phone for as long as i could.

saturday was the hottest day in the history of DC i believe..105 at one point. desiree and i were brave the went shopping at H&M and met up with my friend Jordan for some fro-zen-yo and five guys. we were so hot and sweaty. we headed back to the hotel early and sat around and talked. she is so fun to be around and can always put a smile on your face.

i know she is going to be mad that i post this picture..we attempted to take a few pictures but we tended to look unfortunate in them.
i think this one is funny...unfortunate...but funny

Amanda Jo!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful friend, Amanda!

(Amanda made this last year)

Amanda was one of the first people that I met my freshman year of college. I honestly don't know what I would do without her.

(Fall Classic at Arrowhead our freshman year)

She is a constant reminder in my life to have fun. Anytime I am having a bad day or stressed about something she knows exactly how to brighten my day. Her sense of humor can make anyone laugh.

I love Amanda for many reasons, but a few of my favorite reasons would be her constant reminder to...

let loose and have fun - to go out on weekdays - to make a fool of yourself - and to take chances

(Going out during the freezing cold Maryville winter)
I love you Amanda Jo! Happy Birthday!

Also, Amanda just found out she passed the C-Base! CONGRATULATIONS! I am so proud of you!

i love to laugh.

i have a project i want to do when i get back to iowa. i saw this pilow in a store and fell in love with it. however, they were asking way to much for it. i decided that i would be able to make it for a lot cheaper and with colors to match my room.

today i went to work at Make-A-Wish Foundation. i worked on an itinerary for a little guy going to hawaii. and a few other things..i honestly can't remember at the moment.

after work i met up with april and we went to pentagon city mall. i am still on the hunt for a wedding dress for my cousin's wedding in august. no luck.

the funniest thing happened on our way back from the mall. we had to transfer to the red line and i saw that a train was on the platform when i came around the stairs so i yelled ...

"april, lets run!"

we both started running, but she didn't run fast enough...the doors closed right in her face and she was left behind! it was hilarious! i know that sounds really mean, but if you would have seen her facial expressions you would be laughing as hard as i was. these three random guys and myself were laughing so hard that we were about to cry. they asked "is that your friend?" and i replied ...

"yes, she is my friend...and my roommate"

we just laughed and laughed for the next three stops. she had to wait 11 minutes til the next train. love you april.

when i got to FH i was greeted by some familiar faces. my Turkish friends i met a few nights ago. they said they were bored so we decided to play a game of sand volleyball at center. it was so much fun, even though we really didn't play by the rules or keep track of score. then we just sat around and visited. they also made me laugh hard!