Washington DC Day One

First off, let me just say that I loved Washington, D.C.   It was clean, warm, and beautiful.  I'm sure a lot of my love for it had to do with the fact that it was full-on spring there, but there were many other things I loved as well!

My flight landed at around 4 and I had a few hours to spare before picking Jess up at the airport, so I headed to the Washington DC temple to kill some time.  This temple is kind of tucked away and sneaks up on you outta nowhere!  The thick trees really help to conceal it.  As always, the temple grounds and the temple itself were beautiful!

DC Temple

After leaving the temple, I headed back towards Reagan airport to get Jess.  Her flight landed around 10 so it was definitely the end of the day for us.  We drove to Gainesville to Jill's house and promptly went to bed.

The next morning we woke up early and got ready to head back into DC.  We had intended to get most of the stuff at the National Mall done in one day, but as anyone knows who has ever been to DC that is pretty much impossible.  So we actually only got a few things done!  

We started at Ford's Theatre where President Lincoln was assassinated.  It was a bit surreal to be at a place where such an important moment in American history occurred.  They had a nice museum in the basement and then they put on a short 30-minute play in the theater itself.  At first I wasn't very thrilled at the idea of the play, but I actually really enjoyed it.  I wouldn't miss the play if you go there to visit.

The gun that killed Lincoln

This is the gun that killed Lincoln and it was TINY.  You could seriously conceal it in your hand and no one would be able to tell you had anything.  Small, but quite deadly.  

After touring the museum and theater, we headed across the stress to the home where Lincoln actually died.  They have done a good job of replicating things as they were during that time.

After Ford's theater, we headed to the Capitol for a tour with Senator Hatch's interns.  We had scheduled the tour several weeks in advance and it was significantly better than the tours you get by simply walking up to the Capitol.  We even got to go on an underground train that connected all the buildings.  Fun, and efficient.

Surprisingly, I was kind of disappointed with the interior of the Capitol.  I think that Italy spoiled me rotten; I just wasn't all that impressed with the dome itself.  The rooms felt small and compared to the actual size of the building I was expecting more from it.  However, our tour guide was excellent and I'm glad that we went and saw all the historical rooms within the Capitol.  

Next, we headed down to the Washington Monument and the Tidal Basin.  Guess what I was most excited for?

Cherry blossoms!

I love flowering trees!

Capitol

Spring!

HUGE building

The walk from the Capitol to the monuments was looooong but pretty.  We walked past all the Smithsonians (so many of those!) and both Jess and I commented that Washington DC is definitely a runners' city.  SO MANY RUNNERS.  Seriously.  We saw hundreds and hundreds of runners over the course of the trip.  They have many walking paths to choose from.  We were surprised that with so many places to run they were running where the tourists walk, but I suppose it was probably the easiest location for them to get to.  In either case, I thought it was pretty cool that it is such an active city.

Washington Monument

Right next to the Washington Monument is the World War II Memorial.  It is really pretty!  Each marker signifies a state.  It is really well done.

WWII Monument

Finally, we made it to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms.  We wanted to make sure we hit these at full bloom (and before weather had a chance to destroy them!) and we nailed the timing.  They were PERFECT.  Soooo pretty and they smelled so good.  I seriously took hundreds of photos of them.  I couldn't help myself!

Tidal Basin

Pretty!

Jefferson Monument

Happy, happy girl

By the time we reached the Jefferson Monument the sunlight was fading fast and we had finished all we could in one day.  The sunset was gorgeous and the views from the stairs were amazing.  It was an excellent first day, even though we didn't get to do all we had planned to do.  That's okay, because we made up for lost time the next day...

Griffin's Birthday Weekend

Griffin's birthday weekend was a bittersweet event.  It was sad to go up there for Granddaddy's funeral, but it was nice to see the family and to celebrate two(!) years of Griffin's life.  I can't believe how fast time flies!

All of the Crossan cousins were in town for the funeral, so they finally got to meet all the new members of our family (Allie, Gracie, and Griffin).  It was fun to see them all interact with each other.  I think that Uncle Tom might be a wee bit grandbaby hungry, but he'll never admit to it!

Griffin loved all his presents!  He was so happy just to play with the one he opened that he didn't even want to open the next one!  Too cute!

Jason got some quality time with all the nieces and nephews!

Long lost cousins!  It was SO good to see Tori and Marlaina!

I love this photo of Jason photo-bombing Aunt Joni and Tori!

Gracie was quite popular with everyone and was always being passed around--she's a good sport!

Told you Uncle Tom might be grandbaby hungry!

Zach was practically attached to Tori--he wouldn't let her out of his sight!

I'm standing on my tip toes and Gabby is hunching down--she's just a bit tall!

Little Allie is too funny--she LOVES her photo taken!

 Granddaddy's funeral was beautiful.  It was perfect--the best blend of tears for a loved one who has passed and joy for him being reunited with the love of his life.  The military service at the graveside was especially touching.

The Crossan kids!

All the Crossan grandkids together!  Such a small family!

And the great grandbabies of the Crossan family!

I am glad that the next time I see the Crossan family, it will (hopefully) be celebrating Marlaina's new marriage rather than a passing of a family member.  I love seeing that side of the family, but not under sad situations.  It could be another 20 years before I go to my next funeral and that would still be too soon for me!

Crossfit Games

So Jason is an animal. Seriously.

As some of you may know, last month marked the start of the Crossfit Games. The games are open to anyone who wants to compete as long as they pay the entrance fee. Workouts can be done at home and videoed, or done at a Crossfit affiliated gym. Jason signed up (for fun--not to compete) and his WOD (workout of the day) was scheduled for Friday at 5:30.

The first workout of the games? Seven minutes of burpee hell--as many burpees as you can. For those of you that have never done a burpee, seven minutes sounds simple enough. However, for those of you that have done a burpee, well, you know just how miserable this workout really is. It looked MISERABLE. I was so thankful that I wasn't having to do them!

Burpee Love!

Had to jump 6" or it didn't count!

And....done!

Sufficiently worn out!

It was funny to watch everyone as soon as the 7-minute countdown stopped--instantly everyone was laid out on the floor trying to catch their breath, not pass out, and not throw up. That's the sign of a good workout!!

I'm so proud of him!

Also, I have to admit that there was some serious body motivation at his gym. Most of the girls there were completely ripped!! I don't think I've ever seen so many fit people in one location; it was seriously intimidating. For example:

Her abs are ridiculous.

She could crush me.

It was almost enough to convince me to do the WOD right then and there! I'm still tempted to see how many I could do. The current leader did 161!! That is insane! For comparison, most of the people in these photos got somewhere around 100. I think anything above 70 is seriously impressive.

Jason has been doing Crossfit since the fall, and I started doing Crossfit-type workouts in December after a Groupon came up for a local gym.  The workouts are super intense, but typically nice and short.  I haven't really lost weight with the program, but I've gained a lot of muscle mass.  I almost have tough arms!  So close!  Haha.  If any of you are thinking of trying it, I definitely recommend it!

Weekend with the Peñas

I have been wanting to update the blog forever but I just haven't made time.  Today, I couldn't stand that stupid picture of me from my marathon running with my eyes closed any longer so I'm finally updating!  Obviously, we've done a lot between my marathon and today but I'm a human so there's no way I am capable of doing a good catch-up on all missed events.  Some highlights:

• Ragnar Las Vegas--hot and dry, but a fun race with a lot of really cool people.  
• Thanksgiving up in Idaho
• Christmas with Dad down in SLC
• New Years up in Idaho with the Peñas, along with Gracie's birthday
• Starting Crossfit workouts (Jason and I are at separate gyms because I am a weirdo)

We were also lucky enough to have my sister and her family come visit us for President's Day weekend.  We LOVE having visitors and have been trying to get her family to come see us for a long time.  We finally cemented the deal with bribery (in the form of free tickets to Hogle Zoo and to the Living Planet Aquarium).  Success!  It was a super fun weekend, and it was awesome to hear the kids talk about all the fun things they know about the animals.  

You have to get the mandatory photo on the elephant!

Not to mention the famous arm photo.  Zach was the perfect height!

Little Gracie thought the animals were super cool.  She was much more engaged than I expected!

Told ya!

Tyler was loving all the fun statues around the place.  I've got some great photos of these kids.

After the zoo, we spent some relaxing time at home.  Allie couldn't help but play dress up (and yes--that's my tank top she is wearing.  Eesh that girl is tiny!).  She is such a cute little (girly) girl.

We also took some time to play "Bear Cave" which I think will be a tradition at the Lloyd house until they grow old.  Basically, it's an epic blanket fort and the kids LOVE it.  

And Nikki and Eli are good sports about the craziness.  :)

On their last day here, we took them to the aquarium which is what they were most excited for. Zach and Tyler are obsessed with sharks and could not wait to see some in real life.  They had to wait all weekend for the big event.  

Zach loved the piranhas as well, but the star of the show was definitely the many sharks!

The sharks were a lot cooler than I was expecting.  I've seen great white sharks in other aquariums so I was worried that I'd be disappointed in the smaller varieties, but I've decided sharks are just creepy cool no matter what.  The sting ray pool was also a major hit.  It was funny to watch their reactions as the rays got closer and closer to them!

All in all, it was a great weekend.  I am thinking up many more bribery attempts to get them back down here.  Any suggestions for fun activities?