Day Of Birth!!!

Happy Birthday to me!! haha! So i turned 22 last Thursday, yup i'm officially one year older and wiser too!! Ha! It was a wonderful day though! We went to the D.C. Temple which I've wanted to do before we left! It's amazing by the way! I love it!! Then we celebrated by going to dinner at a awesome restaurant called Brio's!! It was delicious! We then ended the night watching one of my favorite movies!! Thanks Ralston family for making it such a fabulous day!!

 I also just wanted to take a moment to give my family a shout out!! I'll start with my parents, i can't tell you how grateful i am to have them in my life! They each have raised me into a person that i love and am proud of! I love them so much and have missed them like crazy! This trip has given me the opportunity to really see the little things that can sometimes be taken for granted, and i can't tell you how excited i am to see them. They are my best friends and they each have taught me so much! So thank you Dad, Mom, Bud for giving me life and teaching me to be just like you! I could not ask for better parents! I want to also thank my amazing sister who has also been someone that has never let me down and has taught me so much! She is a wonderful sister, mother, wife and i look up to her in so many ways! She is incredible, i miss her so much! And she gave me the two greatest gifts that a girl could ask for, my two beautiful nieces! Nothing is better than being a Aunt, especially if they are as cute as Naleah and Hannah are! I can't wait to see them and to actually meet cute little Hannah! I have the best family, and as many of you know that leaving them was probably the hardest thing i had to do. It just makes coming home that much more exciting! Thank you family for all the love, support and acceptance! I love you!! I could not ask for a better family and a better life! These past 22 years, literally have been so amazing! I have done so much with it so far and am so excited to see what the future has in store for me! Thank you all also for the wonderful birthday wishes, it really meant a lot to me! I love you all!

D.C. Temple

D.C. Round 3...

You'll never guess what i did this past week... haha just kidding its an easy guess... we explored more of D.C. Yaaay!!We received our date for our tour of the capital and it was sooo cool! We got a special tour because of Rob Bishop and one of his interns gave us a great tour! We first stopped in Rob's office and we each got the chance to sit in his desk... ya we are kind of a big deal! ( please excuse the way i look this day, yikes haha) Then they took us everywhere, from the Senate side to the House of Representatives side. It was awesome, the art work in there was amazing! What an awesome opportunity!! After our tour we took the day to go see whatever we wanted! We went to the Museum of Art, The National Archives where we saw the original Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. We then headed back to the metro and stopped at a couple monuments! There are so many places and things to see in D.C. I love it! Next week we get to go to our tour of the White House... crazy right? So stay tuned...

Rob's Desk

The Capitol

Senate Side

One of Utah's Statues- Brigham Young

The Dome

The Rotunda

Coolest Hall Ever!! In the Museum of Art... and yes those are lights!

National Archives

Part of the Smithsonian

We got poured on, but it sure made for a perfect back drop!

Vietnam War Memorial

Those are names, they are all over the walls

The Korean War Monument

Faces on the wall... super cool to see at night

Arlington and General Lee's House

Just a cool picture with a lot of monuments in it!

D.C. Continued...

Hey Friends!! So I have a bunch of pictures to show you because we've explored more of D.C. this last weekend! The Ralston's had some family up for the weekend so we went crazy and did some super fun things! Enjoy!

Hiroshima Monument

The Famous Kennedy Center

Shear Madness- The Hilarious Show We Went To 

The Lincoln Memorial At Night

The Washington Memorial At Night

The Library Of Congress- Probably my most favorite thing in D.C.

This is why...

and this...

isn't it incredible? 

The most amazing building I've ever been in,
aside from the Temple of course!

The Union Station

Union Station

The Backside Of The Capitol

The View Of The Mall From The Capitol 

The Front Side Of The Capitol

The Natural History Museum

The Hope Diamond- Titanic Anyone?

The Lobby

National Air And Space Museum

P.S. Sorry about the throw up of pictures... i like taking them if you can't tell!

Philly- The City That Loves You Back

We headed up to Philly this weekend and what a blast!! I can't even begin to describe how beautiful the east coast is! I love it! For you history buffs and those of you who are not, Philly is what is also know as the 'Birthplace Of America.' Philadelphia is the first capital of the United States and it is full of amazing history! It was so fun to see it and to explore the city!!

The City 

Independence Hall

Famous Fabulous Cheesesteaks 

The Liberty Bell

The Revolutionary War- Unknown Solider Tomb