The Gray Report

We had a great week of good things. Stake Conference was amazing and very inspiring. We learned about the importance of modern prophets, the Disney song "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins, and the divine nature of womanhood. We had a great President's day, and went to the Library of Congress' reading room. I snapped some pictures, and as always some are of Kassie while she waits for me to finish shooting. Here is another shot of the Barlow Center. We are on the top floor on the right. This is where I get off each morning from the bus. I walk through the smokey hallway of Union Station to the Thurgood Marshall building which is on the far end. We went for a walk today. It was very nice compared to recent days and the sun was pretty strong. It is nice to see what our running path looks like in the day time! It was with great joy we went to the National Archives and watched the Academy Award Nominated Short Films for 2012. See all the titles and info go here . I enjoyed

February, as it turns out - is really a very festive month for our small family. Particularly between the 7th and the 16th. We had a fun Valentine's Day and enjoyed the kind cards from good folks. Kassie's birthday was great - though she was a wee bit sick. She got some new scriptures with her full name inscribed on them! Wahoo! Flowers and cards dot our little table that sits by our little everything else. As I said - things are festive and we are grateful for such caring family and friends. We went to the Holocaust Museum yesterday, and if Kas is feeling alright we will probably go see the reading room in the Library of Congress tomorrow, or if the weather is nice enough we will go to old town Alexandria. We saw the Vietnam wall, and walked home on the path that we normally go running on in the morning. There is a nice view of the old bridge and the Potomac. Things are going well - though I hope Kas gets feeling better soon. We love you all!

Perhaps the greatest thing about my birthday - was the simple and satisfying eclair cake made by my wonderful wife! Mmmmmm! This was a great week - and though it has gotten a bit colder it is still a much warmer, calmer, and dryer winter than we would be having in UT so we are grateful. On Saturday we went inside the White House! We weren't allowed to bring a single thing so I have no picture evidence. It was a neat experience and one that was (maybe) worth the wait! After the White House tour and some lunch we went to the Native American Smithsonian. It was perhaps one of our favorites thus far. Kassie actually looks like one of the natives! It was my birthday this week - and Kassie thoughtfully purchased a 2 Terabyte hard drive! Wahoo! Now we have no worries about backing up everything. It was a great birthday present, and I has/am super grateful.

The weeks are really starting to fly by as we have grown more accustomed to the fast-paced lifestyle of the inner city. On Saturday morning we had an excellent breakfast at a French bakery but I had unfortunately forgotten to bring an SD card for my camera so there is no picture evidence of the trip. The memory of it will live forever I am sure. So as we often do, we looked at the map and made a plan. We went to the American History Smithsonian and saw all sorts of neat things. We saw Judy Garland's original ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz as well as the original Muppets. There were many other things like Michelle Obama's dress, Abe Lincoln's hat, FDR's glasses, and Washington's shoulder thingies. Also the flag that inspired Mr. Keys to write our national anthem was on display there - which was pretty remarkable. I am homesick. . . or whatever. One display they have at this Smithsonian is one gown from the first lady all the way back to one of th