Sunday Stroll

As church was cancelled because of the hurricane, (which turned out to be unnecessary as attested to by the blue sky and fluffy white clouds) Tyler and I decided to take a stroll down by the U.S. Capitol Building.

We walked across the street to the beautiful botanical gardens.

Baby bananas growing

I think the highlight of our trip, however, was that we captured this gem on the way home:

Tyler was proud to have a fellow patriot in his midst

Washington DC Temple

We feel so blessed to live so close to the temple. The DC temple is the only temple for over 150 miles in any direction and we are only 15 minutes away from it. It is such a privilege to be able to attend the temple regularly and we are so grateful that we can continue to do so.

Family Night

How lucky are we that this is what we get to do for family night?

Peaches

Making jam this year was a little bitter-sweet. My mom and I have always made jam together each summer when peaches and raspberries are ripe but this year I was on my own. A good ripe peach is one of my favorite fruits so after making jam we ate some raw and I also made a peach pie. Mmm-good.

Lunch in the Park

There's a darling little park near Georgetown and Tyler and I will sometimes meet there for lunch. There are a picnic tables and they're always empty so we get to enjoy each others company while we sit in the shade and listen to the cicadas sing away. I love all of the trees out here. They are so beautiful and I can't get enough of them.

Our Place

We feel so very blessed that we ended up in the apartment we did. After talking to people who have looked in the area we discovered that we found an amazing place for a great price. We have felt so watched over and blessed as we have traveled out here and our apartment turned out to be one of many blessings. Our move out here went so smoothly, we have an amazing ward and have already made some great friends. We are so blessed and grateful and so far are loving living in DC.

Our kitchen is pretty tiny but we got creative and were able to maximize space thanks to the help of Sandi and Diana and Blair.

Here is our living/dining room

Walk down the hall and into...

... our spacious bathroom with two sinks!

Last but not least our bedroom, which feels gigantic. I can do a cartwheel in the space at the foot of our bed.

We LOVE our closets! In our last place we shared one closet that was half the size of one of these. We now have four times the closet space we used to and we just don't even know what to do with ourselves!

Some of our other favorite features that are not pictured is the lovely view we have of a lush court yard with a pool, a fitness center on the first floor which means we have no excuse not to exercise regularly, and tennis courts around back.

Our place wouldn't be nearly as cute as it is without the help of our parents who helped us whip it into shape! Thanks so much for coming out to help us get settled. We love and appreciate you so much!

Parents

As I'm sure most people will attest, there is no possible way to repay or thank your parents enough for all that they have done for you. I know this holds true for Tyler and I. we have both been blessed with amazing parents and we are so lucky to have them come to visit us!

They came out for Tyler's white coat ceremony but boy did we do a whole lot of other fun things.

My mom came into town first and it was so great to see her and show her our new place. She's got a great eye for interior design and we shopped til we dropped. We drove to every home furnishing store from DC to Baltimore and got everything we needed to make our house look great. I'm so grateful for my amazing mom and how much fun we always have together!

Tyler's parents came out next and helped us put the finishing touches on our place. We also did some sight seeing and had a great time together. I've got the best in-laws! We are so grateful for our parents and are missing our families like crazy but we're having lots of fun and enjoying DC.

First Day

I know, it's pretty dorky, but I had to get a pic of Ty on his first day at Georgetown.

White Coat Ceremony

Well, it's official Tyler is on the road be becoming Dr. Kent. The white coat ceremony was really great. There were some great speakers and it's such a neat way to kick off the beginning of med school

You can barely see Ty being coated in the back.

Announcing his name and hometown, yay for Salt Lake!

Shaking the dean's hand

Getting pinned by our friend Kyle

Shields Family Vacation

The day after we got back from Europe we headed down to Southern Utah with my family for a vacation, how spoiled are we? We had so much fun being outside and celebrating Father's day and Father's Day in St. George, Bryce and Zion.

Hiking Angels Landing was not nearly as bad as I expected, it was pretty fun and everyone made it! Tyler had a cold and probably felt miserable but you would never know it.

One morning we were lucky enough to go on a rock climb/rappel/zip-line adventure. We love doing outdoor activities and everyone did so great!