Charleston, South Carolina Day 1

My brother flew to Atlanta and we picked him and drove him Charleston, SC for his work.  It was so nice to see him.  We stayed at the hotel with him for one night and took the opportunity to be tourists in Charleston.

This building stretches back four or five blocks.  During the day it is a street market where people sell their wares.  There were handmade baskets, jewelry, food, etc.

Here's a beautiful church, and I wasn't sure the camera could get the photo since it was near sunset, but I really like this photo.  My husband, brother and I took a leisurely Sunday stroll down to the waterfront and took several pictures.

Here we are at the waterfront.  The photo isn't very good because the sun was setting...but I like it.

Me and my brother.

And here's the waterfront.  Check out that moon in the background.  We walked along the waterfront and even saw a young man pull in a very small shark on his fishing pole.

Here's an Old Slave Market which is now a museum.

Here's an opera/theatre building.  Isn't it beautiful all lit up at night?  I really enjoyed walking around Charleston my first evening there.

Memorial Day Fun Run and BBQ

Monday May 28, 2012  Monday morning we ran down to the center of Falls Church to run the Fun Run.  It was warm but a nice run.  We ran into some of our friends.  Enjoy they photos!

Here SM is with Dallin.  Dallin took second place in the Fun Run.  He did it in nine minutes and some seconds and ran a mile and a half!  It was awesome!

Here I am with Shelyn after the race!

Here's a terrible photo of Dallin with his sweet wife Autumn.  We spent most of the day with them.  Fun, fun!

I didn't take enough photos of the BBQ...only two.  So, here's the one that works.  We had a very great BBQ at the Gibbs house and had many different friends show up and eat and visit.  Thanks to the Gibbs for hosting their annual Memorial Day BBQ.  We had a great time!

Memorial Day Concert at the Capitol

Sunday May 27, 2012  Memorial Day Concert at the Capitol

Sunday evening we drove down into DC and when to the Memorial Day Concert.  We met up with two families from our ward and had a picnic lunch before the concert started. 

I took a photo of the sun setting from the grounds of the US Capitol.

What a cute family!  I'm so glad they are our friends.

Check out our patriot friends!  I love this photo, it says so much.

We have great friends!

We only  heard 40 minutes of the concert before the grounds were evacuated because of a sudden rain storm.  We got into our car and about ten minutes into our trip home when the heavens opened and just let down a river of water.  I'm glad I wasn't stuck out doors when the rain came down.  Though I did miss the concert, I enjoyed the forty minutes we did have.

May Graduation

SM attended George Mason Law School Graduation as a faculty member.  Here he is in his robes.  Look how nice his nose looks...no longer swollen.  Notice the boxes in the background, you can see some of our preparations for our next move.

SM loves his job and I'm glad all the work we have done has paid off.  We are both very happy and looking forward to the next step in our life/his career together.

Butterfly Brunch

Our primary girls earned a party because they sat in their chairs, participated in Sharing Time and sang, they treated each other with respect and participated in our Primary lessons.  My co-teacher put together this Butterfly Brunch.  It was so cute.  If you look on the plate you may notice that the fruit looked like a body of a butterfly.  The croissants were cut to look like the wings.

Here's one of the girls putting more fruit on her stick.

After eating our yummy brunch and listening to a story about butterflies and Jesus' Atonement, we went into the front room and made butterflies.  Each girl loved making multiple butterflies.

This cute girl had fallen the day before and scraped her nose and really banged her forehead.  Luckily she didn't let it get her down.

My co-teacher was an awesome partner and I loved working with her.  Look at all of that fun!  We were missing only one other girl.  The Butterfly Brunch was a success!

Washington DC Temple in May

SM and I had the opportunity to visit the Washington DC temple with another couple (the Messengers) and a non-member friend of theirs in the month of May.  We went to a Hawaiian performance at the Visitors Center and afterwards came out and saw this beautiful view.

This is not one of my most flattering photos...but I love that I am on the temple grounds!  There is always a great spirit there.

Nose Surgery



Last month SM had surgery on his nose for a deviated septum that was caused when he was 19 or 20 years old and the septum didn't stop growing when it was supposed to and it tweaked.  This caused blockage in the nasal passage and made it hard for him to breath.  He had a 90% blockage on one side and a 50% blockage on the other. 

I think SM was very brave to do this surgery.  He was motivated by the thought of being able to breath easier, especially when on a run.  The surgery required him not to exercise for two weeks but for the first three days he was not feeling very well at all.  After the first three days he was able to lay down flat and began feel a little more normal.

This is what he looked like after a few days and after the bleeding slowed down.  His nose is a little swollen in this photo but he's now back to normal, with the ability to breath a lot easier!  I love that man!