Weekend in DC

Last weekend Ryan and I drove up to DC for a small get away and to celebrate my friend Carrie's bridal shower. I am a bridesmaid in her wedding next month and I really wanted to be able to come and celebrate with her before the big day. Considering a six hour drive alone and pregnant would not be that fun I convinced my husband we could do a weekend together in our old stomping ground and he could go to the gym in the hotel while I was girly at the shower. He agreed! We left on Friday afternoon, hit some typical Northern VA traffic we did NOT miss living away, and rolled in to Old Town Alexandria around 9pm. It was a gorgeous night, in the high 70s/low 80s and we knew the weather was going to drop with the next day, so we went out and walked down King Street as soon as we arrived.

Our hotel was at the top of King Street right near the metro, so we just walked around the corner and down the street where we spent so much time as newlyweds. As soon as I saw the lights in the trees I had tears in my eyes (yes, pregnancy hormones do that). I sincerely loved living in Alexandria and I really do miss it. Ryan indulged me for some pictures and we walked the entire length of the street, all the way to the waterfront and back.

Being pregnant meant no bar hopping for us, like we used to do back in the day, but it was still neat to see which of our favorite places were still there and some new ones too. There was one bar that was completely Medieval themed that looked pretty awesome! Ryan also indulged my pregnancy craving of going to BGR and getting some delicious garlic fries. And we split a burger too... because, why not? At the waterfront we were happy to see the old man who plays the water glasses was still there and there was also a lady singing opera. Definitely a great evening.

The next morning we helped ourselves to the all you can eat breakfast before I gathered my things to metro into DC and go to the shower. It was cold and rainy but it was supposed to clear up. Ryan nearly had a heart attack when he saw the gym was closed due to a leak, but when I made him ask at the front desk for other options they got him to the gym at their sister hotel across the street. See, I can be right too :P In the above picture is our hotel and old metro stop, and the building there on the left with the green awning on top is where I worked when we first got married.

It was so wonderful seeing Carrie again and finally getting to meet the other bridesmaids. We had a room at a Mexican restaurant called Oyamel and did a really delicious tasting of all sorts of tapas. They even made special pregnancy cocktails for me and the other pregnant bridesmaid that were so delicious!

Carrie was such a gracious bride and host and it was an honor to "shower" her! We were neighbors when Ryan and I lived in Alexandria and got very close when Ryan moved to 29 Palms for nine months and her boyfriend, now fiancé, moved to Boston for grad school. We bonded over the far away boys, America's Next Top Model, our dogs, and many other things and I am so glad our friendship has endured in the four years (has it been that long!?) since I moved to North Carolina.

After the shower I met my friend from college, Cat, who was one of my own bridesmaids when I got married! We walked down to the National Mall since the monuments and memorials are always one of my favorite places. The weather cleared up even though it was still windy and a little cool, but the sun was warm. Luckily for me it didn't rain as my rain jacket doesn't button anymore! It was extremely crowded because of the kite festival so we did have to fight our way through tourists a bit.

Ryan came and met up with us and we walked around for a bit while it was sunny. Sadly we just missed the peak of the Cherry Blossoms but there were still a few on the trees for Bean to get for his first visit!

Cat has always been a great friend and I love that we can go months without talking and then pick right up where we left off every time. She is super intelligent and hearing Ryan and her debate and go back and forth is supremely entertaining for me as they both hold their own really well and don't get offended by different opinions.

Cat went with us back to Brookland, the area of DC where we went to college at Catholic University. When I first started there ten years ago (oh my...) you couldn't walk up certain streets even in broad daylight. In the four years I spent there they really cleaned up the area and made it safer, but that was nothing compared to now! My "unsafe" freshman dorm was knocked down and they built up the entire area with artist shops and studios, cafes, town homes, bars, and all sorts of other artsy things. Our tiny bookstore we used to have to go in to the bottom of the cafeteria for is now a CUA Barnes and Nobel where I did buy Bean a small Catholic University onesie! We had dinner together at a really good restaurant and then walked around campus a bit. I haven't been there in years so it was nice to see some of the changes there too. Our theatre we spent so much time in got renovated and spruced up a bit and we also ran in to a good friend of mine who was on his way to watch students in a showcase rehearsal... strange that he was a grad student when I was there and now is a professor with the music school! Ah, adulthood. After having some coffee at Busboys and Poets we all went our separate ways and Ryan and I took the metro back to Alexandria.  

Above is the Masonic Temple as viewed from our hotel room... we definitely had a great view! I took this Sunday morning before we left so it looks like a gorgeous day... but it was FREEZING. It was in the low 40s and the wind chill was awful! I was all bundled up in my CUA hoodie (as I don't fit in to any of my winter coats at present!) and the wind was brutal. We decided to go see our old apartment and walk around a little more but those plans didn't work too well...

Our first home :( Carrie warned me they were knocking them down to make way for, surprise, more luxury town homes and condos. The beautiful apartment that was our first home after we were married is gone. That building had so many memories. We made great friends with our neighbors, we used to sit outside on the stoop and smoke and drink together and have our own little parties in the parking lot. It is the apartment we bought Rylie girl home to for the first time. It had two years of memories and firsts, from our first anniversary to my first surgery to our first almost everything as a family. Now a newlywed couple would never be able to afford it unless they make double or triple what we made starting out. And it made me a little sad. We decided to just drive up to the park and walk along the river and nature trails for a bit before getting back in the car and heading back to North Carolina. It was the first time leaving DC I did not cry. It was nice to return to weather that was 20 degrees warmer and our house and our Dup Dup... but Alexandria will still always hold a special place in my heart.

Military.com Spouse Summit 2013

Readers, I am honored to share this information with you all today. A few years ago as a semi new blogger and newlywed I heard about Military.com's Milblog Conference. Even though it was the weekend of my first wedding anniversary my husband understood when I jumped at the chance to attend (at least half of it!).

I had a blast. For the first time I was able to put names and faces in person to the bloggers I had been following for years. To be honest, I was a bit starstruck! 

This is one of the group pictures from the night of the conference... all of these women are amazing bloggers that I could not believe I was fortunate enough to meet!

The networking possibilities were endless, not just for bloggers either. I knew people who attended the conference and left with not just a pocket full of business cards but legitimate job opportunities as well. Now this was in 2011... two years later the conference has evolved. Do you have to be a blogger to attend? Nope! This year they are trying to reach all military spouses who wish to attend. If you can get to the DC area April 11th and 12th I highly encourage it!

Military.com’s Spouse Summit is not your typical conference. First of all it’s free! And they have banned the PowerPoint and 30 minute speeches in favor of interactive sessions with experts you can actually talk to and network with. The summit will focus on the issues that really matter like connecting with other spouses-on and offline, military mental health, what works when raising kids in the military, spouse career options and what you need to know about that looming transition to civilian life that faces every single military family at some point in their lives.

And the speakers this year are truly top notch: they have representatives from the Center for Deployment Psychology, The US Chamber of Commerce, The Warrior and Family Support office of the Chairman of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, University of Southern California's Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and they are so honored to have as our keynote speaker Sal Giunta, the first living Medal of honor recipient since Vietnam. Amazing stuff, right?

The link to register is: http://spousesummit.com/ and you can follow along on Twitter this year with the hastag #MilSpSum

I am very disappointed I cannot attend this year. Naturally this is the weekend of my play! So I will be in North Carolina, jealous of all the lucky spouses who will have an amazing time. Do you plan on going? Let me know!

Rylie Goes to Washington

My favorite uncle (my Uncle Dave) was in DC last week so we enjoyed having a brief visit (when we weren't working), went out to dinner, and he got to meet Rylie!


Playing with Ry pup at the apartment before dinner



After going out in Old Town Wednesday night he asked if I could take him down to the mall to take some pictures of the monuments the next night. I love going down to the monuments so on Thursday night we got Rylie in the car and made our way into DC. Rylie was not happy in the car, she was drooling like crazy and whining the entire time, I wasnt sure what was wrong with her. Was she just car sick? I'm not sure! But it makes me dread a possible four hour drive to NJ for Easter and an eight hour drive to move! Eep!

Once we got to the mall she was fine though and then had to have her picture taken. Tough cookies girlie. I am not by any means a photographer and taking pictures at night with a moving subject is not easy!! But I got some that came out really cute as well as some decent night shots. I was shooting in manual and kind of winging it, so not bad for a first attempt.





We parked between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, so we started there. And we walked. A lot!


"Moooooooom! Stop it! The flash is bright!"


"I can't see the Capitol when you do that!"


"Fine, I will look this way. Happy?"


"No? Ok, maybe that way!"

I am totally a mean Mommy :P I just wanted some cute pictures of Rylie girl and eventually we made it through.


She learned after awhile just to not look :P


This one is my favorite!


We then walked down towards the Washington Monument, heading towards the Lincoln. I got Rylie up on the wall to get these but she was much more interested in the tourists (and middle school field trips there at night!) than in getting her picture taken.




It's a shame it was cloudy because there was a gorgeous moon, it only made some brief appearances!


Lincoln Memorial


Rylie at the Lincoln


She was much more tired at this point!


Back to the Washington Monument


Earthquake damage!

Overall we walked about three or four miles, pup pup was beat!! She was getting a little whiney at the end but she had some water and surprisingly got back in the car again. Sure she whined the whole way home but she was ok. And naturally my uncle got some awesome pictures on his nice camera...


Uncle Dave and I


Rylie was not cooperating at the moment


Much better!

Wreath Laying at Arlington Cemetary

Most of you who know me know I am not in any way, shape or form a morning person. But when my neighbor Carrie sent me the link to Wreaths Across America and asked me if I wanted to do wreath laying at Arlington Cemetary I did not hesitate for a second when I agreed. Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman, Morrill Worcester, in 1992. Every year huge tractor trailers filled with boxes and boxes of fresh, beautiful wreaths arrive to Arlington and volunteers lay them on every grave. Wreaths Across America now lays wreaths at cemetaries across the country to honor veterans and those who have served. Please feel free to look at their website to learn more!



Lots of people were there!

Saturday Carrie and I got up early, (just like a work day!) and made our way to the metro. We are only a few stops from Arlington, but the train got packed fast! Girl scout troops, boyscout troops, college kids, veterans... tons of people! We almost could not get onto the metro platform since it was so packed. And I am glad we took the metro, because traffic was waaaaay backed up.



Isn't that great thought? SO many people coming to volunteer and say thank you. Amazing.



Helicopters did fly bys all morning in between the various ceremonies



ROTCs and all sorts of members of the armed services came in uniform.

We made our way into the cemetary and saw most people were going up the main hill towards the center, so we instead took a quick left and walked towards the side of the cemetary I have not been to before. On one of the first roads we saw our first truck, but it looked pretty busy so we kept walking to the next one.



Approaching the truck.



Once you made it to the truck volunteers were emptying the boxes of wreaths. You basically got to an open box, grabbed one or more, and then went on your way. Some trucks got a little crowded, but mostly everyone was just trying to help where they could. Some boyscout leaders would just grab a box and take it to their kids instead of having them go into the masses, which I thought was smart! The first time we each only took one wreath, the other times we took about three each.



People then got down to work, laying wreaths. They asked if the headstone had a Star of David on it that you skip it (I heard that after I laid one on one), but I don't think those people would have been insulted! I wish I had some rocks I could have put on top of them or something, I felt bad just skipping those.



My first wreath



Carrie's first wreath



My first wreath was laid at a Marine's grave from WW2. Purple heart, Silver Star. They ask for each wreath you lay that you take a moment, read the headstone, and say thank you. Some of these graves have been unvisited for years, and this is a moment for them to be honored and showed respect.



Carrie laying her first wreath. Later on we actually found David McCampbell, a medal of honor winner. I was walking by and I saw that on his headstone and I just stopped. It seems surprising, the medal of honor winners have the same headstone and are in the same place as anyone else. I thought perhaps they'd have a special section, or a larger marker, but they are just mixed in. I hope I don't sound disrespectful or weird saying that, but it was very humbling to walk by and see that. Carrie laid a wreath on his grave.



Wreaths stretched as far as the eye could see.



I'm not going to lie, I got quite choked up.



Especially when I saw headstones for men (and women) who died in Iraq or Afghanistan. Those were a lot harder for me to see. Men and women who died fighting where my husband fought. Beloved sons and fathers and husbands and wives and daughters and mothers. Seeing that made be go from beyond choked up to actually having tears fall.



Those in uniform were also very emotional to watch. They all saluted and laid their wreaths with such ceremony. Many people just stopped and watched them do row by row.



People were all across the cemetary anywhere you looked, paying respects, heads bowed and hands brushing marble in whispers of thanks.



Patriotism was definitely high. Motorcycles and cars with flags were a common sight. Obviously cars outnumbered parking spaces so people were actually able to drive into the cemetary and park on the sides of the roads.



We were so far down we were actually pretty close to the Air Force Memorial. As we were finishing up in all our sections we got a text from a friend of Carrie's. His father was a Marine who died in a car accident in 2003, and he wanted us to go over and see if he had a wreath yet.



When Carrie laid the wreath on his grave and said her thanks I definitely lost it. Tears and all flowing down my face. We both were definitely wrecks at that point but so so honored for what we had just done.


We decided not to go to another section of the cemetary as it was pretty full at that point. People were coming and going constantly so we decided to skip the metro in Arlington and cross the bridge and walk up the mall towards DC and the yellow line to get home. Six miles, some cold faces and a potbelly sandwich later we made it to the metro to get home. By noon I was parking at home and getting my slightly frozen self into the shower to defrost. Then I took a two hour nap. Maybe three hours.

Overall it was a beautiful, emotional day and I am so honored I was able to be apart of it. Thank you to all those who organized, those who attended, and to Carrie for getting this girl up before 7:30 on a Saturday morning.