Washington DC

Kristen and I decided to meet my sister Erica and her family out in Washington DC for the weekend. It only took us 8 hours to drive there from Kentucky and we were able to see a lot of stuff in only 2 1/2 days. The best part about Washington is that everything is free. All the museums and historical sites are free for the public so it made for a relatively cheap vacation. Us in front of the White House. Erica said you could see the "garden" that Michelle Obama had planted from the fence, but I must have missed it. What a facade.

The walk along the reflection pool to the Lincoln Memorial has to be more than a mile, and I was so proud of Kristen for not complaining once during the whole trip about her feet hurting, even though I know they must have been. Over the whole weekend we must have walked at least 15-20 miles.

This picture was taken at the Air and Space museum. I just had to put it in because of how big Kristens belly is getting! She didn't know I was taking this picture.

I would encourage everyone that goes to Washington to go to Arlington Cemetery and walk the mile up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip because it made me proud to be in the Army; even though I will only be a dentist, and see the sacrifice that so many soldiers have made for their country. Every one should read about what it takes to become one of the guards of this tomb. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/ceremonies/sentinelsotu.html

You can't be LDS and miss going to see the temple while you are in Washington. We went on the last day that we were there and it was the perfect day for it, although the heat and humidity were out in full force.

Kristen and I went with our friends, the Edwards to Louisville for "Thunder over Louisville" at the beginning of May. It is an airshow/fireworks celebration that kicks off "Derby week", and they do it every year. We were there from about 4:00pm to 12:00am and I have to say it was the most amazing fireworks show we have ever seen. They put barges full of fireworks on the Ohio river between two bridges and they go for over 30 minutes. At the same time, there are fireworks going off on the bridges as well. Equally impressive was the number of white trash/carnival people that surrounded us on every side.

The crowds were huge and we couldn't hardly find a place to sit, but lucky for us there was a nice little spot next to some chain smokers. (See- Lady in bottom left of picture)

These faces must be from the unwavering cloud of cigarette smoke that surrounded us for hours.

I can't complain too much though because we did have a ton of fun.

Heart Walk

Kristen and I decided to volunteer for the heart walk in Lexington. We took Pippin along thinking that he would enjoy seeing all the other dogs and he did; we just didn't realize that he wasn't up for the whole "walking" part. He moved slower than molasses going uphill in winter time compared to all other people and pets. Even a Welsh Corgi with a bum leg moved faster than Pip. After about 100 yards, he stopped, took a HUGE DUMP, and needed to rest. I decided that I would just carry him for a while after that. Our friends, the Chandlers, volunteered their stroller so that I wouldn't have to carry him the whole time, so Pippin spent the majority of the walk in their stroller. It was pretty sad. We were the last ones to finish

Kristen seems to have made friends with most of the little kids in the ward. I know that she will make a great mother in just a few more weeks! (This picture was taken during the 1st 100 yards of the 3 mile trek.)

McDONALDS IS TAKING OVER!!!

This Van was pulling an "Austin Powers" on the sidewalk in Washington DC. You can't tell from the picture, but it was about the size of a golf cart. Soon after, we saw a squirrel chowing down on a hash brown. It was pretty funny.