New Hometown's

Hurricane Irene was kind to us, we thought it would be much worse but, it turned out to be a windy rainstorm. We had power the entire time! While B and I spent all day together indoors, we realized our favorite games to play together (there aren't too many that are fun for a party of 2) Monopoly Deal & Scrabble! We watched Disney Classics, read books we found at the library, and played games all day! Loved it!

 Our historical hometown. This is the Yorktown Victory Monument. It was authorized by Continental Congress in 1781, just after the news of surrender reached Philadelphia.

The sun was killer, gorgeous day with a light breeze.

 We found the coolest tree, thats me sitting on the lowest branch!

 Best climbing tree! 

 We loved the historic homes; most of them had a small stand with the story behind the home and the date it was built. We absolutely loved walking down those streets.

 Prepping the cannon!

 This was the coolest tree, the way it formed to the wall like that.

 Down at the Yorktown Beach. This was a perfect little area to read a book on the bench, jog on the trails around downtown, or play in the sand & ocean. Pretty cool to have this so close, we are so grateful for our new hometown!

Sisters

I had to post these pictures of my sisters in San Diego. It is their first day of school and they are absolutely adorable! 

Mckenna: 8 years old (turning 9 in October) & going into 3rd grade.

Olivia: 6 years old & going into 1st grade.

Madison: 13 years old & going into 8th grade.

Miss them so much, they are growing too fast!! Can't wait until October, when we get to see them!

Baking

Yesterday was a great day, I finished a really good book "Message In A Bottle". This book made me laugh and cry, it was a good read! I got to see my husband at work to bring him his lunch, search the library for more books to read, and then I went on a run! Our ward at church has a fun way to get to know each other. Two different families are paired up each month to have dinner together. Last night we had a blast getting to know new people and it was up to B and I to provide the rolls. We made them together and they turned out beautifully! After I picked B up from work, we raced home and rolled out the dough to get them to raise for a second time, popped them in the oven, and ran out the door! The timing was actually perfect, and from what I hear they tasted wonderfully! My digestive system does not take wheat flour well so, I keep my distance. It was fun to make this memory with my honey!

Brian taught me how it was supposed to be done!

Using our balcony sun rays! We love our view! 

 Cookin' and workin' man!

Finished product 

This was where I found the recipe. This is a great recipe book, I got it as a wedding gift from Grace Ivory Rock, one of the authors!  You can find her website here. She also made a sequel, "Keeping Up Cookbook". They are both terrific!

2 package dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup butter

2 tsp salt

1/2 cup + 3 Tbs sugar

3 eggs, beaten

5 1/2 to 5 3/4 cups flour (I used half whole wheat and white flour)

1/4 cup butter

Pour warm water over yeast in mixing bowl. Let stand. Scald (heat until just before it starts to bubble) milk in saucepan and remove from heat. Add butter, sugar, and salt and stir until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Pour into mixing bowl with yeast, add beaten eggs and mis well. Add flour and combine (dough will be sticky). Refrigerate dough in tupperware bowl overnight. (I just let it rise in the sun for    2 1/2 hours).

Melt 1/4 cup of butter. Grease 3 cookie sheets. Divide dough in half. Roll half of the dough out on a floured surface into a large circle. Spread half of the melted butter on top with a pastry brush and cut into 18 slices with a pizza cutter. Roll each slice up "croissant- style" and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining half of dough. Let rise for 3 hours. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes at 400 degrees or until golden brown. 

These were a hit! All the little kids loved them as well!

Dinner's for two

Earlier today, I went to Trader Joe's (my new favorite place to shop) and found all the ingredients to this yummy white bean soup I found here! It was really good, I was so proud of myself!

 Cute Fishie ice cubes we found at IKEA

I actually found this recipe off of the food network, I was inspired by an article I read in a People Magazine called "Getting Healthy in America". They had a couple recipe's to look at and one of them was a lemon chicken recipe. It looked so good so, I looked it up on the Food Network and I found it, Tuscan Lemon Chicken! The only thing I did different was how I cooked the chicken. I seared it on the stove for 4 minutes on each side to make it crispy and then placed it in the oven for 30 minutes. It was so tender and very lemony, B and I voted it was very tasty and refreshing!

One Bedroom Apartments

The much anticipated first apartment post... we love our home, it is a work in progress!

Washington DC

It was a pretty amazing experience to watch the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Arlington Memorial. This is guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,and in any weather by Tomb Guard Sentinels. Sentinels are all volunteers and are considered to be the best of the elite 3rd U.S Infantry. There are a lot of qualification to be in the Infantry that are very interesting to read about. If you are interested the link to read is The Sentinels of the Tomb of the Unknowns

The Lincoln Memorial was very crowded, my mom and I got so lucky to get this

 picture free of other observers!

 O darn, the reflecting pool was under construction!

My favorite memorial; The Korean War Veterans Memorial

 I am now a Virginia gal :) - The World War ii Memorial

Beautiful Washington Monument, it was the most perfect day! A blue sunny sky with a light breeze... need I say more? We were very blessed!

The Holocaust Memorial Museum was absolutely life changing, the only thing I wish would have been different was the amount of time I could have stayed in there. We got tickets for the final hour it was open and let me tell you, that is NOT enough time! I will be back, that is for sure, very touching.

 President Obama ate Here last weekend, we just missed him! They have the "Prez Obama Burger"and the "Michelle Melt Free Range Turkey Burger"  ps. We got the inside scoop and President Obama did not get his classic burger last week, he got a cheeseburger with no tomato! 

We actually ate at "We the Pizza" next door! mmm mmm good!

Baby boy Parker ate goldfishies while Big boy Oster filmed and took pictures of all of us! We sure do love having family nearby to come with us and enjoy DC!

After Pizza, we went down one building to the Good Stuff Eatery and got shakes! My mom and Sister in law wanted to try the famous s'mores shake and Oster wanted chocolate! My mom said their secret is sweetened condensed milk, she knows this taste well!

 I just love this picture! Oster's side profile is adorable!

 The Capital was so bright and beautiful!

We never wanted to leave, there is not enough time in a day to learn and see all that you want to in beautiful DC. We are so lucky to be so close and I am glad my mom was able to visit and tour around with us!

Washington Monument at night.

 We were so surprised at how close we could get to the White House, it was actually a lot smaller than we had imagined. We hoped that someone would walk pass the window, that would have been exciting!

It is such a small world, my friend from Nursing is serving her mission at the visiting center of the DC Temple! It was fun catching up with her and visiting our closest Temple.  

The Georgetown Mall was the coolest mall I have ever been to!

We got some lunch here where I found the greatest salad I have ever eaten at Sweet Green. They source local and organic ingredients from fresh farms and with each bite I tasted every savoring flavor. I ordered their pre-made "guacamole greens" salad and I would definitely recommend this! 

Mothers

My mom came to town! We laid out on the beach the first day and the people watching was almost as good as Disneyland. There were a lot of different languages to listen to and it was fun making guesses at which language was which.

 Sweetest man 

My mom got pooped on by a bird :/ yuck!