Katy's Trip: Little Washington

We live in a beautiful area.  Rolling hills, pastures, stone walls, trees, "mountains".  It's lovely.  We drove up to Little Washington the day before Thanksgiving to see the quaint little town that bosts the best restaurant in the country, The Inn At Little Washington.  We didn't eat there, but we did eat cookies from there.  Quaint and lovely are the best adjectives to describe the place.  And by the way, I have been failing to give credit to the photographers.  I've used Katy and Courtney's photos for all my posts lately.  They have good cameras and good skills so why bother?  Besides when I am not the photographer I get to be in all the pictures (ha).

Katy Trip: Monticello and UVA

Instead of going to Stake Conference we decided to head down to Charlottesville.  I know it may not have been choosing the right, but it sure felt like it because we had such a great day.  We started the day with tuna sandwiches at Monticello.  Did I tell you how expensive it is to buy lunch for our family everywhere.  Of necessity we have become experts at packing a lunch.  So anyway, we enjoyed our homemade lunch but did stick our noses in the cafe to admire the pastries, which we deemed worthy of a return visit after our tour.

 I like to do the "Courtney pose"....

 One of the greatest things about Virginia is the holly that grows everywhere.  I love the stuff.  It makes me happy...

 Once when I was in Europe Jennette, Challey, and I bought these amazing hollowed out hand painted eggs.  Our Prague eggs.  And we had to carry them everywhere and treat them tenderly so they wouldn't shatter.  It became a real pain in the neck.  At the end of our tour I noticed these really cool blossom things.  Very beautiful.  I thought they would look nice in a basket or vase or something.  So I carried them around.  They were fragile.  I felt like I had my Prague eggs back.  I don't really like that feeling...

 We had to jump...

And the kids had to wrestle...

 The vegetable garden is hands down my favorite part of Monticello...

Carla Sue got sexy for us...

 and sassy too....

 We made it back to the cafe for our goodies .  The boys and I loved our eclairs, and Katy adored her lemon square....

 Lucy loved her brownie...

and Courtney enjoyed every crumb of her brownie...

 Next it was off to see the rotunda at UVA.  I think these dorms are pretty cool...

 and Katy took some cool artsy shots...

 We saw this bike and decided to reenact a scene we had observed at the archives the day before.  A security guard had been patrolling the grounds around the building and came across a bike locked to a parking meter.  And the guard was standing flabbergasted, staring at it, arms widespread, wondering if the bomb, I mean bike posed a threat to national security.  It is hero's like him that make me feel safe in this dangerous country every day. GBA dude. Anyway here we were paying homage to that brilliant officer except I couldn't seem to keep a straight face...

And after our recreation of the national security threat we admired Thomas Jefferson's serpentine walls....

 The rotunda itself....

Another fine day's work, n'est-ce pas?

Lucy's Big Concert

In September Lucy started weekly rehearsals with the Warrenton Youth Chorale.  They were preparing for their big Christmas concert which took place the first weekend of December.  We went to the Friday night performance.  I wasn't aware what a big event this was going to be.  They sang with the Warrenton Chorale and the Warrenton Bell Choir.  It was an impressive concert.  The Youth Chorale sang several songs on their own, and several with the Warrenton Chorale.  It was a fantastic concert and was a great way to kick off the Christmas season.  Lucy's friend who is our next door neighbor sang in the choir too, as did several other girls from the ward.  

(I have had a couple of requests that I post more songs, but vimeo only lets me upload a few at a time, so check back later if you want more concert footage)

Katy Trip: DC

Let me tell you a little about Katy as a travel companion.  She is perfect.  We view the world the same way, we know how to "grease" a place, and we know where to linger and where not to.  And so with that said, here is our first day in DC together.  We caught the metro at Vienna...

 and got off at Capitol South...

 where we walked to the Capitol building.  The weather was PERFECT....

 We got tickets for a tour and went through the ridiculous security.  We took this

picture of a tour guide WITH A WATER BOTTLE for Courtney (read here about waterbottle-gate)...

 After our whirlwind tour of the Capitol we took the tunnel and emerged in the

lovely Library of Congress.  Such a great building....

 We made our way from the Capitol to the botanical garden, which was getting decked out 

for Christmas.  They had these fun wooden models of the DC sights.  

 We went next door to the American Indian Museum.  This building

is one of my favorites.  It really evokes the feeling of the Southwest.

they have even included "desert varnish" on the walls which makes

my heart happy (although I am sure to someone unfamiliar with the massive 

canyon walls of the Southwest they must think the building just needs cleaning)...

 The inside is super cool.  It reminds me of the Guggenheim....

 We crossed the mall to the National Gallery...

 This painting is a doozy.  I love it.  It is a family portrait of the Doge's (the doge is Renaissance ruler of 

Venice) family with the Virgin Mary.  It may be my favorite family portrait trend of all time.  It may beat out orchards, railroad tracks, denim shirts with black jeans, and anything Olan Mill's has ever done.  So gut wrenchingly hilarious!!!....

 We stumbled upon a Pre-Raphaelite exhibit, which was a Victorian art movement I was once

particularly passionate about.  Very cool...

 Then Katy enjoyed this particularly amazing (my all time favorite?) Modigliani.  The color palette makes me happy.  And it made Katy happy too....

After an oddly improbable encounter with an old friend from Utah that left us in a bit of shock, we dashed off to the Natural History museum where we met up with Rob, Courtney, and the kids...

 We presented Courtney with a water bottle from the Capitol building.  "They told us they were sorry, and they hope you accept this as a gesture of reconciliation"....

 This coral reef display was all crocheted and was super cool....

 We then went through the ridiculous security at the Archives. There is something wrong with the 

security guards that work there.  The power has gone to their heads and it was fun to observe them lording their power over people.  It was so ironic that they were doing it in front of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution.  I guess they aren't required to read them....

 As they sun went down we proceeded to mosey on down the mall to view the monuments

at night.  

 Nanook of the North...

 We finally got Rob in a shot.  That man is elusive...

 We had the unique and odd experience of seeing the Lincoln at night--not lit up.  We waited and waited but 

gave up. As we drove out, the lights were finally on.

We done well for a days work!