Cherry Blossom Ride 2012

WHEW! What a day it was!
Last Friday, I was able to get the day off and we rode our bikes from our home on Bolling AFB to the National Mall for the very peak day of the Cherry Blossoms. It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day so we planned to make the most of it.
After leaving the tidal basin where most of the cherry trees are planted, we headed to the old Quigley's Pharmacy...now a restaurant that specializes in...TATER TOTS! We were there for Happy Hour which meant $4.00 baskets of hot tots!
From there we looped around near Arlington Cemetery to the Mount Vernon Trail and Old Town Alexandria, VA. There we stopped for ice cream and a potty break. By this time it was starting to get dark and Jay and I debated on reversing our course or continuing on to the Wilson Bridge and home via the 8th Ward in Anacostia (I challenge any of you to Google Anacostia to see what comes up!) We decided on the adventure and pressed on.
Even though there were some scary moments, we made it home at 9:30 at night...THANK YOU, LORD! So...25 miles, 3 states, and 3000 calories later, we had a GREAT day!

Great Falls National Park

What a fabulous day! Have you ever been here? You must visit this area next time you are in DC. It is only 18 miles from our Nation's Capitol...who knew? Well, actually, I knew...we just never committed to getting out here! Great hiking and dog friendly, too:-)

Spring-time Running

Spring has sprung on the East Coast...not that we really had much winter in these parts. Part of the enjoyment of living in DC during this season is the Cherry Blossoms. This year commemorates the 100th celebration of the gift of these beautiful trees from Japan during President Taft's term (don't worry...no quiz at the end).
Yesterday, my running buddy from work and I ran the inaugural Rock and Roll USA 1/2 marathon. It was a gorgeous day (although warmer than most folks expected) and I ran it much faster than I had planned (finish time was 1:57 and am paying for it today!)
Above is a picture of my fellow running divas at the finish line.
Today, I took Rhett out for a walk and we noticed that the cherry blossoms on the Potomac literally popped out over night.
Finally, last month, I had to attend a conference in Philadelphia and the weather there was also unseasonably warm (tho still cold to this Texan:-). I had some great runs around this very historic city. On my second to last day, I rose before the sun to run along the Schuylkill River trail. It just happens to run past the art museum (you know, the one from Rocky where he bounds up the steps). I don't know if I could classify it as "bounding", but I did run up the steps in time to catch the sun rise. It was beautiful! The last day, my conference ended at noon, so I took a drive up to Valley Forge. I had always wanted to see it and was too close to pass it up. It just so happens that there is a 5 mile trail loop that hits the major historical points and it was SOOOO worth the trip. Getting that run in before the drive home was just what the doctor ordered. The above shots are a few of the scenes!
Come see us soon, if you're gonna...we transfer to Millington, TN in June...WOOT WOOT!!

Happy Birthday Kai!

Today is Kai's 2nd Birthday!
Boy! We sure thought we would have hime home, by now to celebrate in person:-(
But we ask that you all continue to pray for his health and safety and that the time will pass quickly!
We FINALLY received our FBI fingerprints so that our home-study can be completed. We sent off our i800 paperwork the very next morning. For those of you who have never adopted internationally, this is the paperwork that must be approved by our government that says we can bring our son home from China...takes about 30-45 days to complete. After that we will get one more set of fingerprints...blah blah blah....you'd think that our fingerprints would be all over the State Department by now...ugh!
Anyway, it will all be worth it when we get him home.
So until then, Happy Birthday Kai...can't wait to celebrate in person!
Love,
Mama, Baba, GeGe 1 and Ge Ge2!