The White House Christmas Tree

Jason heard from a co worker that outside of the White House there is a street called the Eclipse. It has many small Christmas trees in front of it that have decorations from the state. 

 We took a trip down there and went to see the Christmas trees.  It was very crowded place but we had a good time.  It was neat to see the White House and all the Christmas decorations. We found the Utah tree, Tennessee Tree and the Virginia tree.  It was fun to see that some child had molded the arches, a skier and it was in the decoration ball. I love Christmas trees and the beauty they are with Christmas lights. We also went to the Opryland hotel in Baltimore, MD and saw the lighting of the Christmas tree and it snowed inside for the children. It was bubbles but it was pretty neat.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas with family and loved ones. Remember that Christ is the reason for the season.  Look beyond the gifts and think of what gifts you can give the Savior in the upcoming year.  I know I need to work on that myself.  

Arches ornament

Cute Trains around the big tree

Tennessee Tree

Waterfall show

The tree at Opryland

The State Capital and Utah Jazz game

We signed up for tickets to take a tour at the State Capital in Washington D.C.  We had to go through metal detectors and I beeped.  My belt set it off, ah.  I always seem to set them off.  The state capital building is very pretty and big. We started our tour with a video in this huge theater and then had headphones on and followed a tour guide around.  We got to learn more about the history of the great nation we live in--America. 

It was touching to hear the story about 9/11.  The tour guide told us she was in the building that day and was running for cover and was not sure if she was going to live.  The plane that was headed for the capital crashed a few miles away from where she was.  It was touching to be reminded of all the sacrifices many people made that day.  While we were walking around we passed by John Boehner office. It was neat. 

The rotunda

The beautiful painting at the top of the rotunda

The statue in the old ballroom

The star showing the center of D.C.

The capital building sign

Us outside the capital

Jazz vs Wizards game

Warm Ups

Jazz team huddling up

Final Score

 

For my birthday Jason bought us tickets to the Utah Jazz game vs. the Washington Wizards.  This is the closest way we could see my Utah Jazz team.  Unfortunately the Wizards are not doing well this season. The game was pretty close the whole game.  We had a good time and really good seats.  We had a great time.

The National Zoo

The Cute panda eating bamboo

The elephant and me

The tiger

The Lions

The Halloween decorations

The zoo entrance

We have had some fun exploring Washington D.C. and all the free things it has to offer.  We took a trip to the National Zoo right before Halloween.  They had it all decorated for Halloween.  We got to see pandas, lions, and tigers oh my.  The tiger was being very vocal and some kid was growling back at it. It was pretty funny.  We had a good time looking at all the animals.  It was such a pretty day out in D.C. 

The New Apartment

Our old apartment while packing

Bedroom closet

Our room

Our big windows in our room

Hallway closet

Bathroom

The kitchen

Otherside of Kitchen

Hallway closet and our door

Porch View

The porch

One side of the living room

The corner of the living room

The dining room

Our laundry room

We have been in our new place a little more than a month.  We are finally all settled in.  Been trying to find curtains that we like but we are having no luck.  Our new ward is very friendly and we are enjoying the new place.  I figured I would post some pictures of our new place. 

My 27th Birthday

I turned 27 today, where does the time go?  I swear it was just yesterday that I was just learning to drive and all of a sudden I am 27.  Every birthday that I have is a blessing.  I was born premature and almost did not make it so I am blessed each year.  My heart always goes out to my birth mom who gave me live and I always wonder what she is doing on my birthday.  I have also been blessed with my mother now and am so grateful for all that she does for me. 

 I was complaining earlier that I was going to have to go to work on birthday.  I didn't have to go to work because I hurt my back and have been on leave from work for a week now.  So, for some reason on October 19th I woke up at 6:30am for no reason.  Jason had to leave early for work so he was gone already.  My mom had sent me my birthday package a few weeks early and so I was dying to open it.  I was good for a few hours and opened it about ten o'clock.  Inside the box was a sweet card from my mom and family friend Rafa.  I also got a gift card to Cafe Rio from my sister.  Jason and I love chocolate covered cinnamon bears so there was 2lbs of them in my box.  Also got a gift card to Kohl's and Victoria Secret.  Jason suprised me with tickets to a Utah Jazz game vs. Washington Wizards.  It was so sweet. He knows I love the Jazz and they were going to be in town close to where we live.  So, I am excited.

When he came home from work he came in with a dozen red roses and my other gift which was the 5th season to the Big Bang Theory.  I love that show, it makes me laugh.  We went to eat at Red Robin because they give out free birthday burgers if your a part of the Red royalty card. It was a good time.  We went to the store and spent some of my gift cards and I got stocked up on body sprays from Victoria Secret.  

My roses from Jason

It was a great birthday weekend.  I love cinnabons and we went and got some in stead of a birthday cake.  It was delicious.  I am so blessed to have a great family who loves me.  I had so many sweet messages and phone calls from people.  I am extremely grateful for all my friends and family. 

My New Job and Happenings

I started a new job on October 8th at a Children's Center called Winwood. It has been a week since I started and I love it.  I take care of toddlers ages 16 mo to 24 mos.  There adorable and so cute.  Diaper changing has been an experience.  On Thursday I hurt my back at work lifting up a toddler. I was walking very awkwardly and in a lot of pain.  But this past weekend we went to Richmond to visit Jason's parents.  Jason's dad was having surgery on his bladder to take out some cancer and get chemotherapy.  It was a tender moment but he is doing well.  God was watching out over him during the surgery. 

 So Monday  I went into the doctors to get it checked out.  As of right now I am on workers comp and am at home resting my back.  They gave me muscle relaxers, pain medicine and gave me physical therapy. Unfortunately physical therapy is not possible till Monday.  So, I have been at home resting my back.  I am going back to the doctors on Monday to see what the next step is going to be. 

I am not the most patient person when it comes to sitting around doing nothing but I have had time to sit back and strengthen my faith.  I am so grateful for a working body and the saying is true, "You never know what you miss till it is gone."  I miss a good working back. But, I am grateful for my health and for wonderful doctors who are working with me to get better.  


 

Baseball and Free Musuem Day

We have found some fun things to do in our new place. Jason and I found some cheap tickets to the Washington Nationals baseball game.  The Nationals recently made it to the Playoffs.  Monday September 24th we rode the metro to the Nationals game.  It was a lot of fun.  As we walked in there are big headed mascots that were dressed up as the former Presidents of the United States.  George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.  It was funny, they had them do a race in middle of an inning.  The Nationals won the game we went to 12-2.  It was neat to be able to see the capital from my seat and I believe we saw two helicopters coming from the White House. 

Another thing we found fun to do was Free Museum Day. Thanks to my friend Whitney for posting in her blog about it.  We got free tickets to a museum that normally $21.95 a ticket.  We went to see the museum called the Newsuem.  It is about the history of the news. It was really neat.  There is a room of newspapers from years back.  Jason and I saw a newspaper announcing the murder of Joseph Smith. It was pretty neat to see the first newspaper of that time period.  Also, there was a section honoring those that were in the towers of 9/11.  They had an antenna that as on top of the towers that fell.  It was crazy how much the metal turned and such.  It was very touching to see all the artifacts they had from 9/11. It was crazy to think that people's cell phones kept ringing for days after the attacks. Many family members still calling to try and get a hold of their loved ones.  It was very moving.  I am grateful for the knowledge of eternal families. 

I am excited to see all the neat and free things the D.C area has to offer while we live here.    

George Washington Big Head Mascot

Washington Nationals Ball Park Sign

View from our seats

Presidential Race

Run Mr. President Run

Newspaper we found at the Newsuem

Antenna that was on top of the World Trade Center Towers during 9/11

 

It's always an adventure when we move

It seems like every time we move, it is always an exciting adventure. We woke up early on Monday September 17th and got ready and went to pick up the U-haul.  It was raining all day, off and on heavy showers and then random down pours.  Jason and I began packing our U-haul and then some of the men from our church showed up to help.  One of the men from our ward really should be a pro packer/mover because he knew where to place everything so it all fit nice and snug. We were able to pack everything in about two hours.  Unfortunately we were not done.  We are moving in two phases:  Moved out of our apartment to a U-Haul and then had to go to a depot where our pod was and had to pack that to be shipped to Virginia.  

As I said, it was raining all day, so by this time Jason and I were wet from the rain.  Since it was raining as we packed our pod we got really soaked.  There was no place to really put out our things to organize it. So, we slowly packed the pod and moved things between the pod and the truck.  As we were packing the pod Jason's knee popped and he was in pain. Luckily, nothing serious happened.  Jason powered through it and after a few hours we were done packing our pod and headed back to our apartment in Murfreesboro to get passed off for the cleaning check.   We both  have cars so we drove our cars which had things in it to a hotel we had for the night and began our drive to Virginia Tuesday morning.We followed each other as we drove for six hours the first night to Roanke, Va and spent the night in a hotel there.  Wednesday Sept 19th we arrived in Fairfax, VA and unpacked our cars and signed our lease.  Jason's uncle and aunt live close by so we stayed there for a few days till our furniture and things came that Friday.  

Friday Morning we went to pick up a U-haul and unpacked our pod at the depot.  Jason's Uncle and aunt helped us unpack the pod and then helped us move into our apartment. Our new place is on the 3rd floor and is a pretty nice apartment.  After walking up and down the stairs many of times I was out of breath.  This new place is going to whip me into shape.  Jason was under the weather so he almost passed out on me.  It was a little scary for a bit.  Our couch was a pain, it took lots of effort to get it into the door. Our entrance has a little turn that is weird but luckily Jason's Uncle knew how to get around it and get the couch in.  

We are excited about the new place.  There is a Cafe Rio across the street!!! I have not had Cafe Rio in Tennessee so I only get it once a year when we go to Utah for Christmas.  there is also a grocery store, 7-11, Ross, Marshalls and other stores across the street too.  Jason's mom and brothers came to help us unpack and helped us get a table, coffee table, dresser and a desk.    It will be nice to be closer to family.  As we unpacked the table it was all scratched up so we had to go get a new one. It is always an adventure. 

Pictures will be coming soon.  The home is put together but not quite enough to post final pictures of what it looks like.   We are getting settled into the new place and love the area and our new ward.  There very nice.  I had a few job interviews so we will hope to hear back from them soon.  Jason starts work on October 1st.  He will be taking the bus to the metro and the metro stops right by his work.  It will be a good thing. 

We got the Job and are moving!!!!

I just want to start out by thanking everyone for all the prayers on our behalf.  They were felt and greatly appreciated.  As most of you know Jason has been looking for a more permanent job for many months now.  We both graduated in May and were ready to move on to see what the future held for us.  After many phone interviews and a few in person  interviews and a few rejections....we finally got the call we were hoping to hear from.  We went to Arlington, Virginia for what we thought was a job offer for the Arlington County Human Resources Compensation Analyst position, but it ended up being a more in depth in person interview.  They told Jason that they would let him know their final decision in a week. 

We were both a little distraught but we went apartment hunting just in case it worked out.  We found many we liked and decided we wanted to live more in the suburbs. The cities down there are a little faster paced than we are used to. On August 29th Jason got a phone call saying they wanted to offer him the job.  He called me and I was in shock, and I said that we should say YES!!!! So, we did and feeling very blessed by our Heavenly Father. He really does listen to our prayers and loves each one of his children.  Many times answers do not come right away but they will come in God's timing. 

Unfortunately the apartment we really liked had bad reviews.  So we found another one and Jason's mom went to check it out and said it was nice. So, we put in an application and they are saving it for us.  We will be moving out of our apartment here in Murfreesboro, TN on Sept 17th.  We started packing and I am having mixed emotions. I am excited to see what the future holds but Murfreesboro has been a good place for us and it will be hard to leave but with faith I am moving forward.  We are packing up a U-haul and taking it to a depot in Nashville where we will be packing a pod that the company will ship for us.  Jason and I will drive separately but following each other in our cars to Virginia and do the same thing there.

This should be a fun adventure.  It will be an experience but I am so grateful that we have a full time job and will be closer to family.  Thanks again for all your prayers and kind words.

Mrytle Beach Family Reunion 2012

We took a much needed vacation to Mrytle Beach, South Carolina for a Family Reunion on Jason's mom's side.  We were gone for a week July 20-28th.  We began our drive to Greenville, SC and celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary eating Great Steak at a mall and stayed the night there.  Our anniversary landed on the day we were meeting everyone so we celebrated early. Saturday we drove to Mrytle Beach and went to the grocery store. It was crazy, everyone was shopping and arriving that day.  It was nice to see everyone again. The last time we were all together was at Jason and my wedding. Sunday we had a small devotional and squeezed 32 people in one room.  As a family we all spent the day at the beach and relaxed, which was needed for me.  

Monday we went to the beach and shopping at Tanger Outlets. Jason and I find deals and got two polos for $10.  Monday night we tie dyed shirts and had a competition going that Grandma and Grandpa Fairholm were going to be the judges.  Tuesday night we had game night which was so much fun.  We were divided up in teams and rotated.  I got to play catchphrase and one of Jason's cousins was so hilarious trying to explain words.  He would say half of the word and try and get us to say it.  I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt.  Wednesday night, as a family, all 32 of us went to Medieval Times. We were assigned the green knight, Lord temple. It was so fun. It was a dinner and a tournament.  Thursday afternoon we went mini golfing in this molten mountain. Jason of course won, mini golf is not my thing but I have fun doing it.  

Thursday evening the adults went to dinner at a great seafood restaurant. It was really good. Friday night we took family photos and enjoyed each others company.  It was a fun vacation and we had a blast.  

Entrance of Medieval Times

Jason and I with our crowns

Mrytle Beach

Jason and I on the beach

Our heart in the sand

Tournament

Lord Temple, the Green Knight