Cherry Blossoms & Easter

This weekend was lovely... weather, adventures, friends, the reminder of all that God and His Son did and continue to do for us...

Saturday Quinn and I decided to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC. I am glad because I wanted to see them so bad, but kind of sad because this coming Saturday is the closing weekend and the Sakura Matasi Street Festival, which is 6 blocks of DC transformed into Japanese culture, food, activities and more (maybe next year?). We decided to take the METRO, which ended up being a VERY good idea, even it had lines. The traffic was gridlock. We left the house around 11am, arrived in DC around 12:45pm (long line to purchase fare cards). The first place we went to was the National Archives, we waited about 45min to enter the building (enjoyed street vendor hot dogs while waiting) then had to wait another 20min to enter the Rotunda. It was worth it though! Seeing the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and the Constitution in person was awesome.

After that we wandered around the mall, people watched (so many people!), and wandered down to the Potomac to take pictures of the cherry blossoms. They were beautiful, I seriously expected so many more trees though... I guess the media just knows where to film. We learned there would be a fireworks show at 8:30pm and decided we wanted to attend. On the way to dinner we found a souvenier shop selling everything for 75% off, we went in hoping to find a towel/blanket for the fireworks show... unfortunately it was almost all Obama's Inauguration Stuff. However, Quinn bought me a cute cherry blossom candle and we asked the guy if he had any blankets or towels left. He said to wait and he would check in the back, he returned with (you guessed it) a travel Obama blanket. We looked at each other and smirked but not wanting to be rude we asked the price and to our amazement he said, "for you two, it's free!" Well...you can't turn that down... We then headed to dinner at the Greene Turtle, it was so nice to sit down.

After dinner we walked outside and I started to shiver, we found a nice street vendor that sold us a Washington DC hoodie for $16! It's a really awkward teal/blue color, but I liked it, it fit, and it did it's job! We sat (Obama side down) on our blanket under the flags at the Washington Monument because we knew the waterfront would be so packed with people it would be impossible to find a seat. Unfortunately half the fireworks show was directly off the water, and one of the buildings blocked the view, but I can now officially say I've watched fireworks in DC!

After the show we walked back to our METRO station, had to wait for the 2nd train (because the first was completely full), sprinted to the front and grabbed a seat. One guy got himself stuck inbetween the doors of the train while boarding (the METRO doors don't open like elevator doors) so Quinn had to press the "emergency" button and tell the operator that a man was stuck in the doors. They then reset the doors, and announced "please listen to door instruction, when the automated system says 'doors are now closing' they are, please do not attempt to board." Our entire car just smiled and the guy that got stuck turned bright red.

Here are my favorite pictures from the afternoon:








Easter Sunday we went to church and heard a great message, saw at least 10 people get baptized, participated in prayer stations, and were reminded of the greatest sacrifice ever made. After church we had Nate and Erin over for brunch, we even utilized our new patio set! The weather was perfect, and Quinn and I did a great job with the food (I say this because there were absolutely NO leftovers). I made a baked apple pancake and he made seasoned red russet potatoes, mmmMmmm good. We completed the meal with bacon and juice. I ended up taking a nap after brunch (Erin did too) and the guys played video games.

After my nap I got to talk to my best friend (although the circumstances of the call weren't the best- she lost her uncle in a boating accident, please pray for her family), and then my family for a good hour total. This was my second Easter celebrating without them, and my mom's cooking, this growing up thing is weird. Quinn and I decided that Easter brunch will be a tradition for our little family, we haven't decided about an Easter dinner, maybe later on.

Around dinner time Aaron, Tamera, and her son Isaiah came over... we hid 30+ eggs in our backyard and let him hunt, it was hilarious. Then he opened every egg to see what was inside. He found a chocolate, held it up, and said "is it milk?" What 3yr old do you know asks if it is milk or dark, much less knows the difference? The boys played football with Isaiah outside and the girls enjoyed the quiet time to talk with each other. We ordered pizza, and just hung out for the evening.

All in all, it was a great 1st Easter as a married couple!