The District

Eliza and I spent last week in DC and Maryland with the handsome man above, Reuben, and Katy, Aaron, and Robby!

We had SUCH a blast! The best was the time we got to spend with family at...

1. The Park!

Eliza, Reuben, and I spent HOURS at the two parks that are both just blocks from Kate's house. Since Katy got put on a form of bed rest, the three of us tried to give her a break a couple times a day. I know it was really hard for Katy to stay at home while the action was elsewhere.

Reuben LOVES his walks. He periodically would point out the door to us, saying outside and knock on the door until we let him out. He would climb right into the stroller and say, "Go!"

Reuben knows how to say Eliza and my name now which is AWESOME and adorable!! The first day I was there, I heard Reuben saying my name over and over, and then he walked into the room I was in with one of my sandals. I found out quickly that it is very important to Reuben that everyone wear their shoes! You have to be ready for those walks at all times!

2. The Backyard!

Katy and Aaron's house is such a neat place! It's got lots of room, some great color, and a fantastic backyard with a deck too! The BALLER!

Katy said that this picture makes it look like Eliza lost a horrendous game of dodgeball. Haha! Instead, it's Eliza playing Sleeping Beauty.

3. Bookstore!

We got to go to the church bookstore, and here are some CD's that I wish I could have gotten...umm... but not really.

3. Georgetown!

On one of the evenings, Eliza and I took the train into the city to visit Robby! Eliza was SO excited to ride the train- excited enough that she actually SMILED for the pictures!!

Robby and his friend, Myra, walked with us into Georgetown and got some dinner and YUMMY cupcakes!

It was a really long line to the cupcake place, but soo worth it!

(Myra gave Eliza a ring pop which won Eliza's heart and tummy!)

4. The Zoo!

We did a congested version of the DC zoo. We tried to choose parts of the zoo that had places to sit down and not do a ton of walking... not our best idea for the whole bed rest thing, but Reuben managed to fit some rest in.Katy was "behaving" herself by sitting down at the aquarium for a while.

Eliza spotted this stuffed Cheetah and froze, asking me if it was real. I reassured her that it was not alive... I was not exactly sure how to explain that it was dead but stuffed? So I told her that it couldn't hurt her. She pointed it out for the camera.

There was the Amazon Rain Forest floor where there are these monkeys just out and about. Eliza was kinda freaked out by them. I asked her to take a picture with it in the back, but she did NOT want to turn her back on that thing!! haha. But she wanted a picture of it to show Oma.

5. Food!

I didn't get any pictures of myself stuffing my face, but boy did I ever! I got spoiled with Peruvian chicken, treats and shakes from the Brazilian market, Dim Sun yummy-ness with Kate, the cupcakes, a bday cake with amazing homemade frosting by Katy, Greek sandwiches, some of the best Indian food I've had, and homemade crepes almost every morning! It's a good thing I was burning some of those calories off by pushing Eliza and Reuben around in the double stroller!!

6. Family!

Eliza was THRILLED to see Uncle Robby! She was so sad when we dropped him off at the Metro on Friday morning. She kept telling me that she was sad that we said bye to Uncle Robby and kept asking me why he had to go to work.

I also LOVED getting to see Rob! I went to institute with him on Wednesday night too. He's the BEST brother EVER! He really made my birthday week the best one I can remember! He is such a generous, giving, and FUN person! I'm not always very good at being "fun," but Robby helps me out! It was also WONDERFUL to get to spend time with Kate this week! I know she was really bummed by the bed rest order. She still tried hard to make our DC week fun, but I LOVED just getting to hang out and talk with her. I've missed her SO much since she moved up to Maryland in April! She is such a hard worker and an incredible mom! I don't know how she does all that she does. Despite her and Aaron's busy-ness, they were amazingly kind to let Eliza and us invade their house and make our time special!! Thanks for having us!