A Christmas Carol...

I've spent my whole life thinking "A Muppet's Christmas Carol" was the ultimate rendition of Dicken's classic...but I turned over a new leaf and saw it on stage this year! And oh boy, while Kermit does a fine job, there's nothing like seeing real people (not a frog) act out this beautiful story. If you haven't seen it on stage, I highly, highly recommend you do!

A Christmas Carol testifies of redemption, forgiveness and the opportunity/ability to change. I came out with renewed hope that I, like Ebenezer, can become a better person, help those around me and look outside myself! Nothing better than A Christmas Carol to get me in the holiday spirit!

Gotta love a man in a skirt...

Here's some highlights from the Scottish Parade in Old Town Alexandria. It was freezing...but worth it to see those men in skirts :)



Bless their hearts...they came all the way from Scotland!

You Call THIS Mexican???

I'm really not a Mexican food fan...it's mostly just beans and rice to me. Bleh...but, I'm told the Mexican out here is sub par in comparison to Utah's Mexican. We've tried a few different spots...and have come to the conclusion that we're giving up.

Although, more than anything, isn't eating out about the experience? Forget the food, we're all about the fiesta :)

Up, Up and Away...

I screamed like a little school girl for the first time in my life! And who, you might ask, warranted such a reaction? Keith Urban? Nah. Justin Timberlake? Nope. George Clooney? You're getting closer...a different George! How about President George W? Ding ding!


My good friend Mike works at the White House and always hooks me up with awesome experiences...this time it was a Marine One (the President's helicopter) take off ceremony. The President, Mrs. Bush and daughter Barbara were headed to Camp David for Thanksgiving, and we got to see them walk out, wave and take off in the copter. It was awesome! They roll big red landing dots out onto the White House's front lawn and the helicopter comes and lands right on them. It is pretty wild how much wind there is from the helicopter. I'm not sure if I can blame the helicopter or the President and Co...but I was blown away!

Oh, and to make it that much better. My girl Dana Perino, along with Charles Gibson were also taking off with the President. Love it!

Stockton to Malone...

They're not quite as fan-friendly as in the Stockton to Malone days. But the Jazz still hold a special place in my heart, so I couldn't pass up an opportunity to see them play in DC. Wayne, Tabbi, Di and I sat on the second row from the top, paid $5 for a coke, cheered our little hearts out and had a great time...til the last 2 minutes. Not even wearing the good ole' purple and gold (old school Jazz colors) could spur them to victory! The Jazz blew it in the last 2 minutes and lost 95-87.

Pickin Crabs...

Our little trip to Annapolis was quite educational!

We discovered the best little crab shack, Jimmy Cantler's. It's a little bit outside of Annapolis and off the beaten path, but totally worth it. Cantler's has a little dock, so you can come by land or sea-how fun is that?!? Oh, and what would a restaurant be without ducks?!?


We learned that "pickin" your crabs does not mean choosing them out of an aquarium :) "Pickin" means you have to crack the shell and decipher between meat and guts to find the edible stuff...eek. I think I'll stick to crabcakes...much, much more appetizing!


After our photo shoot on the dock, and the boys hanging with the ducks, we headed back to the heart of Annapolis and the Naval Academy!

Mace (my long lost cousin. I'm finding lots of them out here, and I love it!) took us on a tour of the Naval Academy. He's finishing up his last year at the academy, and got us into all the cool places. (We even saw John McCain's son...looks just like his dad!)
We heart Annapolis!

4 girls, 48 hours, 1000 miles and a Mini Cooper!

How's that for an amazing weekend?!? Tabbi, Nicole and Carlie let me tag along on their road trip up north to Palmyra and Niagara Falls! It was a quick trip, but it was pretty fun to see Canada, eh!

Some of the highlights...

Our first stop was Palmyra, NY. It's a teeny town, with a very peaceful feeling.


The Sacred Grove in my mind...


The Sacred Grove in late October...good ole' Daylight Savings strikes again-it was only 5pm but seemed like 10pm. But even at dusk, the grove is so serene.


I sat in the Sacred Grove alone for a bit and through the dark and the trees, the Palmyra Temple just shone so bright-I love to see the temple!


Outside the Grandin Print Shop-where the first copies of The Book of Mormon were printed.


Inside the print shop with Nicole, Tabbi, and Carlie .


A copy of a period Bible along with a first edition Book of Mormon...the two most important books in the world side by side.

Our touring of the church history sites was quick, but worth it. I'm definitely going back in the summer...its just an amazing area.

OH, Canada here we come...we hopped back in the mini and left Palmyra for Niagara Falls, Canada! We got there after dark, so we grabbed some dinner and took a quick peek at the falls before crashing at our hotel.

The next morning we got up early and headed out to explore the falls...so beautiful!





Look at that mist...so cold!



We took a "Journey Behind the Falls" and went into some little tunnels behind the falls...so cool. The water is moving sooo fast...pretty amazing!


Aren't our yellow ponchos so fashionable?!?


The falls were beautiful...the rest of Canada was a eh. It reminded me of Las Vegas or Atlantic City-way too commercialized. That being said, it was still totally worth it...all 48 hours and 1000 miles.

Off to the races!

I love living in the city! Things happen here that you'd never find in little, old Tremonton-both good and bad! Not sure which category this fits but on the Tuesday before Halloween everyone gathers near Dupont Circle in DC for the annual Drag Queen race! These "ladies" dress up, throw on some high heels and strut up and down 17th street before racing down the street in their high, high, heels! It's definitely a sight!


Todd Palin supportin his girl Sarah


And here's Sarah now


Princess Diana and her bodyguards


The FLDS Polygamist wives running around with all their kids


Mayor Adrian Fenty-DC's Mayor (the real guy-he is not a drag queen!)


Miss Coco Chanel


Oh, the sites and sounds of DC...gotta love this place (and these girls-Tabs, Jenny, and Carlie bravin' the cold with me!)

Home Sweet Home...on a budget

President Uchtdorf's talk at the General Relief Society Meeting renewed Diana and I's confidence in our ability to create a real home. After last fall's remodeling project (black paint+ fake wood dressers=headache), we'd taken a lil break from the decorating and home projects. But after some encouraging words, we figured it was about time to get back in the home decorating saddle. Di and I spent a whole day searching every possible cheap home store in northern Virginia and we found some pretty good deals.


We got shelves and a big star to put up on our bare walls, decorations for our mantle, and new pillows to add a little flare to our couch. The front room is really looking up-in fact the neighbor boys even commented on how welcoming our house is (SCORE!!). We'd whipped the room into shape, but we still had one BIG problem...


Hello ugly, denim ottoman in the middle of the room! It was simply not acceptable, so we took matters into our own hands and turned the eyesore into this...


That's right, we reupholstered our ottoman...not too shabby if I do say so myself!

The Leaves are fallin...

There's nothing quite like autumn on the east coast (it's right up there with autumn in Sardine Canyon-if you can believe that)! There's definitely no shortage of trees here so when they start turnin' colors its pretty spectacular. Diana, Jenny and I headed to Shenandoah National Park and took a little ride down Skyline Drive, this great road that winds up the mountain overlooking the Shenandoah Valley with little pullovers all along the way to stop and view the vista. The leaves weren't completely changed (we were about a week too early) but it was still so pretty and peaceful! Virginia is lovely!!!











This is the old barn we hiked back to see...so quaint and peaceful.

Cheesesteaks, Rocky, LOVE, and Walgreens!

Who knew King of Prussia/Philadelphia had so much to offer?!? Diana, Hope, Wayne and I took off for a weekend in Pennsylvania and we couldn't have dreamed up more amazing adventures! We knew we'd hit the jackpot when we rolled up and found a Super Wal-Mart (having its Grand Opening!) just down the street from our Motel 6! Heaven...we walked around that goodness for awhile then headed to the M6 to check-in. What can I say about the M6...uhh, it was really cheap ($13/a person!).
(doesn't my ugly face say it all!?!)

The next morning we took off down I-76 (gotta love the tribute to 1776-USA's b-day!) to the City of Brotherly Love-Philadelphia! We hit the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Important stuff happened here folks...this is where the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Constitution of the United States was drafted and the foundations of this great nation were established. Beautiful and historic-who could ask for anything more?


All that history worked up our appetites, so of course we had to try a Philly Cheesesteak! We put Pat's and Geno's steaks to the test to determine which is really the best! These two are across the street from one another and battle over the title of the original and best Philly Cheesesteak. Geno's is flashy, painted bright orange with an orange convertible parked out front, and Pat's is a little more dive-ish. We ordered 2 sandwiches from each, cut them in half, and held our own taste test. Pat's was the hands-down winner...super good bread, nice and juicy filling, and all around tastier! YUMMERS!



We took in more Philly sites...

The LOVE statue


Running the Rocky Steps

The man himself

and now for the highlight of our trip-Walgreens! We didn't know the excitement that would come from this little drugstore! We walked in and poor Wayne was just targeted by everyone around us.

Here's the story in Wayne's own words (with a lil Kami commentary in parenthesis)... "As I am waiting an 80ish year old lady steps right in front of me. She looks at me a little surprised to see me and the other people waiting. I tell her it is ok if she cuts, I really wasn't in a hurry and didn't mind. Dorthy (WE NEVER REALLY CAUGHT HER NAME) looks at what I am buying and tells me to take it and leave. Dorthy says she buys enough stuff from the store that I can take it and leave she has me covered. She then turns to Kami, who has joined me in line, and tells her drink is no good for her (COKE IS GOOD FOR EVERYONE, ALWAYS) and to take it and leave.

At this point I am mildly amused with this sassy old lady and so I strike up a conversation with her. She tells me she moved to Philly when she was ten and has lived there for 40 years. Thinking she is hilarious at telling me this joke she basically falls into my arms laughing.(TOTALLY FLIRTING WITH WAYNE) The conversation moves on and we talk about politics, her living two blocks down but still taking the bus because it is free, and how she is being a good neighbor for buying adult diapers for Mary (wink/wink).

During the conversation, Diana joined us in line as well as a cross-eyed fella. Dorthy begins to establish that Kami, Diana, and I are all together. She then proceeds to see which one of them is dating me. Dorthy discovers we are "just friends." She then says something about me not being their type but being her type and that she is more than happy to take me home. We all get a good laugh...but it is ruined by the cross-eyed fella. He had joined in some points of the conversation but when Dorthy said I was her type....he pipes up and says "Well he is my type."

Dorthy's eyes just go big and the store kind of goes silent. Not another word is said and we all buy our stuff and leave. Kami, Hope, Diana and I walk out of the store and bust up laughing."


Oh Philadelphia...good food, good friends, and good memories!