The Gray Report

We had another awesome trip this weekend. This time to Valley Forge and Philly. I am obsessed with blossoms I guess. It was pretty great to see the place where the constitution and the declaration were signed. In the Medal of Honor memorial area there were these really awesome little yellow flowers everywhere. I think I took too many pictures of nature - where are the people anyway?

This was a grand week and though there was some early fog (see pic below) we have had some amazing sites of the beautiful blossoms here in the nation's capital. We enjoyed some time at a view films for the Environmental Film Festival that comes to DC each year and feel we need to treat the resources God has given us with a little better attention. We also went to Mt. Vernon and felt pretty inspired by George Washington and his amazing life and accomplishments. This is a shot of the kitchen area - the mansion is just off to the left of this picture. The blossoms are amazing. This shot is near Georgetown and I hope you can feel a small sense of the awe I have every time I see one of these trees. Next week is Philadelphia ! That should be lots of fun.

Another grand week! We had the amazing chance to go see Gettysburg with the class yesterday. A tour guide boarded our bus and told all sorts of interesting things. In the background is little and big round top - and the area in which some of the largest carnage in American history occurred . Supposedly, here on little round top, if you touch the statue's nose you get good luck. Kassie was filled with instant joy when her finger connected with the special thing (as can be noticed from her expression of supreme bliss). The Civil War is something that seems to stay with us as the years go by. I was very touched by it all - and it was amazing to hear that in the three days of battle here, more Americans died than in the 15 years of Vietnam. This is the view from little round top of Devil's Den (or the slaughter pen as it is called). Little and big round top again.

This week we decided to go to the National Cathedral. It is an amazing building and very inspiring. It took 83 years to build, and is going under construction right now because of the earth quake. However, it still looks amazing! The Gothic architecture is always encouraging you to look up, which I thought was pretty neat. The sheer size of it all was overwhelming. It was interesting to find out that Woodrow Wilson's tomb is in this Cathedral too. We tried to catch a performance at the Kennedy center in the evening, but we were to late and it was all full. However the deck by the Potomac was beautiful and it really started feeling like spring. I like the picture below but Kas says she looks like she is 16 and I am 18. While that is true . . . is that a bad thing? Ha ha It was a stunning and beautiful evening, and we had a great view of Alexandria across the river. I am almost glad we missed the performance so we could walk around in the beautiful evening and I could snap some pic...

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.