to Wolftrap! Yesterday morning (July 29) I was looking for something to do on a Friday night. I looked at a lot of different websites and nothing looked interesting enough or there was nothing going on at that place last night. Then I saw something that talked about Wolftrap and I immediately thought why didn't I think of that earlier?!
So I looked up what was playing last night and it was the National Symphony Orchestra with Brian Stokes Mitchell and Stephanie J Block. And I contemplated going and heard that some of my co-workers were going and then contemplated some more and then decided I should go. I called up Emma (since I had promised to do something with her last night) and asked her if she would like to go with me instead of watch a movie and she said of course. We went and it definitely did not disappoint. It was awesome! Marvin Hamlisch and Brian Stokes Mitchell are highly entertaining and Marvin Hamlisch is hilarious!
And this Saturday (September 3), I am once again going to Wolf Trap with Emma. We are going to see Peter Pan. It should be good. I am way excited about it!
I have been to or will have been to four different events at Wolf Trap since I moved here in March. Our President's Own marine band on Memorial Day weekend, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert, the National Symphony Orchestra with Brian Stokes Mitchell and Stephanie J Block and then to Peter Pan on Saturday. Did I already mention that I love Wolftrap? Well I do. I'm glad that it is relatively close to my house. Well that is all.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
"A Quake! A Quake! The House Begins to Shake..."
Today I felt my first earthquake! It was crazy. I heard it before I felt it. I was washing my hands in the bathroom at work, when I heard a noise. Then I felt the shaking. At first I thought maybe it was a big truck that hit the building or something. I didn't think about it being an earthquake until I came out of the bathroom and the ground started shaking some more. I walked toward my office while the ground was still shaking and all of my co-workers congregated in the hallway. It's funny because none of us ran to a doorway or ran outside, we just all went to the hallway and started talking about it. (I guess the only thing is that my co-workers who worked upstairs ran downstairs when it started.) It didn't last for very long but it was undoubtedly an earthquake.
I went outside a minute or two after it happened to bring something to the recycling bin and all of the other people who worked in our building were outside. They excitedly talked to me about how they all ran outside as it was happening and they asked us what we did when it happened. It was all pretty funny in my book. Oh and the richter scale said it was a 5.9 earthquake, which is pretty big for this area.
Well I think that's all for now. I am tired and need to go to sleep. Good night.
P.S. Peter and Mika and family and Matt and Karey and family are all fine. Pete works on the 17th story of a high-rise building and he really felt it. Matt works on the 5th floor of a building and felt it too. Mika and Karey both felt it and were at their homes when it happened and all are doing fine.
I went outside a minute or two after it happened to bring something to the recycling bin and all of the other people who worked in our building were outside. They excitedly talked to me about how they all ran outside as it was happening and they asked us what we did when it happened. It was all pretty funny in my book. Oh and the richter scale said it was a 5.9 earthquake, which is pretty big for this area.
Well I think that's all for now. I am tired and need to go to sleep. Good night.
P.S. Peter and Mika and family and Matt and Karey and family are all fine. Pete works on the 17th story of a high-rise building and he really felt it. Matt works on the 5th floor of a building and felt it too. Mika and Karey both felt it and were at their homes when it happened and all are doing fine.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
"To Be, or Not To Be: That is the Question."
A couple of weekends ago (July 30), I went with some friends to Staunton Virginia. You ask, what is in Staunton VA that would make us want to travel the 2 hours to get there? Well only the most awesome Shakespeare theater ever!
No seriously, it was awesome! It was a smaller theater set up as it would have been in Shakespeare's time. We saw two plays and the actors that played in "Hamlet" were the same actors that played in "The Importance of Being Earnest" that same evening. During the intermission, some of the actors would entertain us by playing the guitar and sing modern songs, such as "Love Shack," "Going to the Chapel." It was awesome! The actors could act, sing, dance, and memorize lines for two plays. I was highly impressed!
I had a huge smile on my face the whole time :) Awesome plays, awesome company, awesome music, awesome little town of Staunton, Virginia.
P.S. In between the plays, we had a picnic in a park, on a gazebo, in the rain, and a duck pond. What memories! Thank you friends for inviting me!
P.P.S. This was my first time ever seeing, hearing, or reading the story of Hamlet. I was surprised by it. It wasn't as dark as I thought it would be. (The actors were good at lightening up the mood when they could). Hamlet was crazy, the grave digger was funny, and everyone died at the end. I found it very interesting.
No seriously, it was awesome! It was a smaller theater set up as it would have been in Shakespeare's time. We saw two plays and the actors that played in "Hamlet" were the same actors that played in "The Importance of Being Earnest" that same evening. During the intermission, some of the actors would entertain us by playing the guitar and sing modern songs, such as "Love Shack," "Going to the Chapel." It was awesome! The actors could act, sing, dance, and memorize lines for two plays. I was highly impressed!
I had a huge smile on my face the whole time :) Awesome plays, awesome company, awesome music, awesome little town of Staunton, Virginia.
P.S. In between the plays, we had a picnic in a park, on a gazebo, in the rain, and a duck pond. What memories! Thank you friends for inviting me!
P.P.S. This was my first time ever seeing, hearing, or reading the story of Hamlet. I was surprised by it. It wasn't as dark as I thought it would be. (The actors were good at lightening up the mood when they could). Hamlet was crazy, the grave digger was funny, and everyone died at the end. I found it very interesting.
Thank you stauntonbedandbreakfast.com for this picture.
This is the theater. We were sitting on the center balcony behind the person taking the picture and to the right. (This picture was not taken while we were there.) It was the perfect seat. The theater was so small, that really any seat would have been awesome, except behind a pillar or something ;)
There were audience members sitting on the stage too :) The actors would turn to the audience members and talk to them as if they were part of the show.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
I'm Stressed!
I'm a little stressed out right now and I'm having a hard time staying positive and realizing that what I am going through is a learning and growing experience.
How do I stay positive and submit cheerfully to the will of the Lord? Do you know of any good talks or do you have any thoughts on the matter?
I like this picture! Isn't it awesome?! Thank you film gab with Werth and Wise for this picture.
I also like this too. Thank you kkbn.com for this image.
How do I stay positive and submit cheerfully to the will of the Lord? Do you know of any good talks or do you have any thoughts on the matter?
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Masonic Memorial!
On Saturday July 23, I took a field trip. It was super hot that day but I went anyway. I hopped on the metro and went to Alexandria. There was maintenance on the metro, so at West Falls Church, we all had to get off the train and then catch a free shuttle bus to East Falls Church. It was exciting ;) Something different. (I am very glad that I brought my book with me for the trip (because I almost didn't), because I ended up doing a lot of waiting today and the book was lovely to have. Back to topic.)
I got off at the King Street metro stop and headed to the Masonic Memorial not too far from it. I loved it! I took a tour and it was totally worth it. It was so fascinating.
Freemasons encourage their members to be charitable to all people and to show charity by becoming involved in their community. When they enter their temples, they leave everything about themselves at the door. They leave their worries behind. They are not the President of the U.S. or a research assistant or handicapped when they enter the temple, they are just themselves. Just George or just Franklin or just John. In the memorial, they have one of the only photographs of Franklin Delano Roosevelt with his braces on his legs in his wheelchair. They have a picture of George Washington without his wooden teeth.
Freemasons strive to improve themselves and reach enlightenment. Their temples show the path they need to take to reach enlightenment. They believe their bodies are the greatest temple.
I learned a lot more on the tour today, but alas I cannot tell you all. (If you do decide to go, you should definitely take the tour. It's worth it (it's only $5) and it's fascinating!)
I would love to go there again! So if anyone comes to the area and would like to go, let me know and I will come with you.
I got off at the King Street metro stop and headed to the Masonic Memorial not too far from it. I loved it! I took a tour and it was totally worth it. It was so fascinating.
Freemasons encourage their members to be charitable to all people and to show charity by becoming involved in their community. When they enter their temples, they leave everything about themselves at the door. They leave their worries behind. They are not the President of the U.S. or a research assistant or handicapped when they enter the temple, they are just themselves. Just George or just Franklin or just John. In the memorial, they have one of the only photographs of Franklin Delano Roosevelt with his braces on his legs in his wheelchair. They have a picture of George Washington without his wooden teeth.
Freemasons strive to improve themselves and reach enlightenment. Their temples show the path they need to take to reach enlightenment. They believe their bodies are the greatest temple.
I learned a lot more on the tour today, but alas I cannot tell you all. (If you do decide to go, you should definitely take the tour. It's worth it (it's only $5) and it's fascinating!)
I would love to go there again! So if anyone comes to the area and would like to go, let me know and I will come with you.
Thanks to the Masonic Memorial website for this picture!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
What Was I Thinking?!...
I decided to take another trip down memory lane and look at my journal entries from July 31 (or somewhere close to that date).
July 18 1997 Living in Oklahoma when I was 13 years old.
"I've decided when I grow up I either want to be a realtor, an architect-builder, a teacher, a police officer, a scientist, a marine biologist, or a spy. I want to be a realtor because I love looking at the inside of houses. Especially big houses. I want to be an architect-builder because I love to draw inside of houses and when I build the house I will know what to put in the rooms and I will know exactly what it's supposed to look like etc. etc. I want to be a teacher because I love children and want to teach them and be around them. I want to be a police officer because I want to save people's lives and catch crooks and kind of I guess be a hero. I want to be a scientist because I might discover something new that will change the world. I doubt it, but that's allright. I want to be a marine biologist because I would love to work with ocean animals but especially whales and dolphins. And, I think it would be cool to be a spy or someone in the government. Although, it's life threatening sometimes and I would be away from family alot I still think it would be cool. I want to become one of these things someday. But for all I know I may get a totally different job when I get older than any of these. I am 13 years old. So, I still have a while to think about it."
(On a side note, isn't it funny how life turns out completely different than we imagine?!)
July 30, 1998 Living in Oklahoma when I was 14 years old
"It has been extremely hot lately. It's been in the triple digits for almost two weeks in a row. It hasn't rained in almost 2 months. I would have to say we are in a drought. We can not water our lawns. We can only water shrubs and flowers outside. We pray and hope it will rain soon.
We may be going on vacation to Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Star Valley Wyoming (where my mom grew up and her mom still lives today), Salt Lake City, Utah and up on into Canada..."
(As a side note, we only ended up going to Utah, Star Valley and Yellowstone on this trip)
July 23, 2000 We just moved to Utah. I was 16 years old.
"On Saturday morning, my parents woke me up at about 7:20 AM to show me something out the window. I go to their room and look out the window and see a hot air balloon. It was probably about a block away. Then I went back to sleep. They woke me up again about 20 minutes later. By the time I got to the window the balloon was already over the roof but they told me the hot air balloon was literally 3 ft from our house. The people in it were looking in my parents windows. (My parents sleep with their blinds open.) I went to my room. (The windows were on the other side of the house.) The balloon came down right down in front of my window. It was so cool. I would've waved to them but they were facing the other way. It was funny. Having the hot air balloon so close. My mom said the blowing fire woke her up. It was cool seeing it so close."
July 30, 2002 Visiting Virginia for the summer. I just graduated from high school.
"Now half my family lives out here (almost) Lara, Glen, Nate, Kristina, & Heather. Peter and Mika are even thinking about moving out here. I am so sad everyone is moving so far away from me. I have become friends with my siblings now that I am older and more mature (somewhat) and then they all move away. I know, I know that's just what happens as families get older and married off and things, but it's still sad. Atleast I'll still have Matt, Tim, Peter & Mika (atleast for a while) nearby when I am in Rexburg. They'll be four short hours away. And of course Mom & Dad."
I wrote the entries exactly how I wrote them in my journals. I hope you enjoyed another trip down memory lane :)
July 18 1997 Living in Oklahoma when I was 13 years old.
"I've decided when I grow up I either want to be a realtor, an architect-builder, a teacher, a police officer, a scientist, a marine biologist, or a spy. I want to be a realtor because I love looking at the inside of houses. Especially big houses. I want to be an architect-builder because I love to draw inside of houses and when I build the house I will know what to put in the rooms and I will know exactly what it's supposed to look like etc. etc. I want to be a teacher because I love children and want to teach them and be around them. I want to be a police officer because I want to save people's lives and catch crooks and kind of I guess be a hero. I want to be a scientist because I might discover something new that will change the world. I doubt it, but that's allright. I want to be a marine biologist because I would love to work with ocean animals but especially whales and dolphins. And, I think it would be cool to be a spy or someone in the government. Although, it's life threatening sometimes and I would be away from family alot I still think it would be cool. I want to become one of these things someday. But for all I know I may get a totally different job when I get older than any of these. I am 13 years old. So, I still have a while to think about it."
(On a side note, isn't it funny how life turns out completely different than we imagine?!)
Probably when I was about 13 years old.
July 30, 1998 Living in Oklahoma when I was 14 years old
"It has been extremely hot lately. It's been in the triple digits for almost two weeks in a row. It hasn't rained in almost 2 months. I would have to say we are in a drought. We can not water our lawns. We can only water shrubs and flowers outside. We pray and hope it will rain soon.
We may be going on vacation to Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Star Valley Wyoming (where my mom grew up and her mom still lives today), Salt Lake City, Utah and up on into Canada..."
(As a side note, we only ended up going to Utah, Star Valley and Yellowstone on this trip)
July 23, 2000 We just moved to Utah. I was 16 years old.
"On Saturday morning, my parents woke me up at about 7:20 AM to show me something out the window. I go to their room and look out the window and see a hot air balloon. It was probably about a block away. Then I went back to sleep. They woke me up again about 20 minutes later. By the time I got to the window the balloon was already over the roof but they told me the hot air balloon was literally 3 ft from our house. The people in it were looking in my parents windows. (My parents sleep with their blinds open.) I went to my room. (The windows were on the other side of the house.) The balloon came down right down in front of my window. It was so cool. I would've waved to them but they were facing the other way. It was funny. Having the hot air balloon so close. My mom said the blowing fire woke her up. It was cool seeing it so close."
July 30, 2002 Visiting Virginia for the summer. I just graduated from high school.
"Now half my family lives out here (almost) Lara, Glen, Nate, Kristina, & Heather. Peter and Mika are even thinking about moving out here. I am so sad everyone is moving so far away from me. I have become friends with my siblings now that I am older and more mature (somewhat) and then they all move away. I know, I know that's just what happens as families get older and married off and things, but it's still sad. Atleast I'll still have Matt, Tim, Peter & Mika (atleast for a while) nearby when I am in Rexburg. They'll be four short hours away. And of course Mom & Dad."
Probably when I was about 17 or 18.
I wrote the entries exactly how I wrote them in my journals. I hope you enjoyed another trip down memory lane :)
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Sing Choirs of Angels!
Sing in Exultation.
Just about a month ago (June 22), Emma and I went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert at Wolf Trap. Can I just tell you how amazing the choir is? Well it's amazing!
They sang a variety of different songs. They sang:
Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah
Awake and Arise, All Ye Children of Light
Gloria
Nunc Dimittis (The Song of Simeon)
Cum Sancto Spiritu
Pilgrim Hymn
Down to the River to Pray
I Want Jesus to Walk with Me
Rock-a-My Soul
He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
Glory! (Russia)
¡Ah, el novio no quere dinero! (Spain)
Betelehemu (Nigeria)
Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep
It's a Grand Night for Singing
Sunrise, Sunset
I Got Rhythm
Seventy-Six Trombones
Come, Come, Ye Saints
Battle Hymn of the Republic
I loved every minute of it! I was entranced by the beautiful music! One of my favorite songs was "I Want Jesus to Walk with Me." Alex Boyer sang the song and he did with such soul and energy! He danced and made us laugh. He's definitely highly entertaining!
At the end, the choir got a standing ovation. No one would stop clapping. They sang three extra songs. After the first one Lloyd Newell got up and said, "I wouldn't encourage the choir to sing more, because they have over one thousand songs in their repertoire." Of course he was trying to be funny and he was successful :) Everyone cheered some more and they sang two more songs.
Thanks to the LDS Church News Website for the picture.
Overall it was fabulous and I loved it!
Just about a month ago (June 22), Emma and I went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert at Wolf Trap. Can I just tell you how amazing the choir is? Well it's amazing!
They sang a variety of different songs. They sang:
Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah
Awake and Arise, All Ye Children of Light
Gloria
Nunc Dimittis (The Song of Simeon)
Cum Sancto Spiritu
Pilgrim Hymn
Down to the River to Pray
I Want Jesus to Walk with Me
Rock-a-My Soul
He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
Glory! (Russia)
¡Ah, el novio no quere dinero! (Spain)
Betelehemu (Nigeria)
Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep
It's a Grand Night for Singing
Sunrise, Sunset
I Got Rhythm
Seventy-Six Trombones
Come, Come, Ye Saints
Battle Hymn of the Republic
I loved every minute of it! I was entranced by the beautiful music! One of my favorite songs was "I Want Jesus to Walk with Me." Alex Boyer sang the song and he did with such soul and energy! He danced and made us laugh. He's definitely highly entertaining!
At the end, the choir got a standing ovation. No one would stop clapping. They sang three extra songs. After the first one Lloyd Newell got up and said, "I wouldn't encourage the choir to sing more, because they have over one thousand songs in their repertoire." Of course he was trying to be funny and he was successful :) Everyone cheered some more and they sang two more songs.
Overall it was fabulous and I loved it!
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