Goodbye DC...

I moved to DC in August 2007. Having just graduation from college, I was looking for an adventure,  a place to add to the fire of life. 

I certainly found it. 

I cannot begin to tell you how incredibly wonderful my time in DC has been. 

(I am just going to warn you right now, there are a lot of pictures coming up. But you might find yourself in one or two, so take a quick look...)

I started my DC adventure living in a house in Pentagon City with these fabulous women. We could not believe our luck in finding each other...it was truly an amazing house!

I was able to get a job on The Hill working for a Congressman from California. I felt on top of the world! 

My first Cherry Blossom parade experience!

 The first of many "Mary Sponsored Activities"...

...which lead to this magical weekend in Deep Creek Lake.

And my only trip to Harper's Ferry...

Our Emo Halloween...

...followed by a trip to King's Dominion.

I made some amazing friends along the way.

And all of a sudden it was 2009!

Which was the year the Gators won the National Championship. Again.

 That year was also the year Barack Obama became President of the United States and we were able to go to Inauguration and hang out with all the celebrities! 

I started my Master's the year before and quit my job in April 2009 so that I could complete my student teaching that fall. Laura and our moms were kind enough to come up and help me move for the summer...

I came back and was placed in an amazing school but still managed to have some fun

 And fun was had!

The DC Temple was always a great place to visit, especially at Christmas time...

Let's not forget Snow-magedon!

Another wonderful year started with the a bang!

 And a wedding, which allowed for a roommate reunion!

Deep Creek Lake that year had a Havana Nights theme...


 I got a job at my dream school!

And in the fall we went and picked apples

 There were quick trips to NYC

As well as a St. Patrick's Day parade in Harrisburg...

One more visit to Deep Creek Lake

And another wedding...

Suddenly, completely without warning, this man entered my life

But he lived in Canada...so we couldn't see each other that often.

And I kept chugging along

I moved into a new house with these fabulous ladies

Let's not forget the Halloween kinda-sort murder mystery dinner

 And the Super Bowl!

Then that Canadian asked me to marry him

And we will be married on July 28th, 2012 in the Orlando LDS Temple.

So now, as I pack my things and prepare to move to Canada, I am so grateful to all of you who made my DC experience as wonderful as it was. 

Thank you for all the wonderful memories...

Nearly there...

I am getting married in

days!

I was going to try to think of a clever intro, but I am too excited/exhausted today

This means, my dear readers, that I am finally closing out the school year and getting ready to leave DC. I am making finals, packing all my stuff (I still have furniture to sell if you are interested...), and starting to say my goodbyes.

Thankfully, the stress of my school life, Prom 2012, was a total success, as you can see...

I was the guinea pig for the photo booth.
And yes, I am part of a zombie apocalypse group. You always have to be prepared!

Let's check with my countdown
Last day with students: 11 days!
(although after today I see each class 3 more times, and that includes the final!)
Leave for Miami: 13 days

I have decided to break down my trip to Miami into three days so I don't get there in total exhaustion. And the best part is, my mom and I are going to meet in Gainesville (GO GATORS!) and then drive the rest of the way to Miami together (there may be some shopping going on, no biggie).

I can't believe how fast the time is flying...

A road trip

I'm not sure if you are aware, but I am moving to Canada. Though I never thought I would say those words, I am excited to see what Canada has to offer.

My mom likes to joke that she used to pray for me to find the right man to marry. Apparently the Lord answered her prayers entirely. She blames herself for not naming the location.

For Memorial Weekend, Rich and I had this great idea to pack a bunch of my stuff in my car and drive it up to his house. Nine and a half hours away. We figured if we could handle being in the car for that long together, we could handle anything that marriage throws our way.

See the smile? I believe this was hour two or three...

I am happy to report that we made it with no problems (beside the fact that we were stuck in a car for a million years. That gets old mighty quick). We sang songs, told stories, ate a lot of Muddy Buddies and Goldfish..and made it to his house a little after midnight.

In awesome news, we didn't even have trouble at the border. See, I am not supposed to look like I am moving to Canada. I managed to pack all my stuff in vacuum pack bags put in suitcases so you couldn't tell what I was bringing up. Magically, the border control guy didn't even get up as he was questioning us. Rich and I were both pleasantly surprised how easy it was to cross the border.

(Ask me about crossing back into the US. When the guard asked me where I was born, for some reason I said Miami, which is totally not true. He looked at my passport, looked at me like I was a crazy person and said "Your passport says Texas". I tried to explain while that was true, I grew up in Miami, blah blah blah...he just laughed at me and waved me through)

I drove back to DC on Monday and was making great time until hitting traffic about an hour and half outside the city. But I made it safe and sound and now I am in the process of selling my furniture and kitchen stuff and packing the rest of my stuff. 

And I leave for Miami on June 21st.

Some Updates

Randomness:

1. Heading to Phoenix on Thursday to see this lovely couple get married

My cousin Brian and his bride Meredith

2. 50 days until school is out for the summer (well, 47, but I have to come in for the last few to report grades and to take down my classroom). 36 days if you don't count weekends!

3. Laura finally gave birth to Noah! He was actually due the 14th, but was born yesterday (4/29) around 1 pm. Welcome to the world Noah!!

4. I get married in 89 days. Sometimes it seems the days are flying by, sometimes they are crawling.

5. The Warrior Dash is in19 days! Here is the video I am using for inspiration

Inspiration -Powerful Beyond Measure - (User Gen.) - Click here for more home videos

A glimpse...

Last week was my Spring Break and I was able to spend the whole week in Canada with Richard. 

 We were able to take engagement pictures on Sunday. Don't let the pictures fool you, it was absolutely freezing.

And then it started to rain. 

But we had a lot of fun, running from car to field to building. We tried to take some pictures with an umbrella, but that proved to be a failed idea.

It was an amazing week and helped me get to know Canada a little better. I was able to have Easter dinner with Rich's family and got to them better as well.

All and all, I call the week a success.

An introduction...

Ok.

It is time to introduce him into the blog-o-sphere.

But not too many details...just enough to keep you informed. 

Walking around Old Town

Not his name

After our second date

I will tell you he lives in Canada

At Arlington Cemetery

And I will share pictures

Niagara Falls

Because I kinda like him

At the top of the CN Tower

And he makes me happy

We shall call him Manfriend (shout out to The Apron Stage)

I'm Alive!

Its true. I am alive.

I don't even know how I got so behind on blogging. The summer exhausted me and by the time I recovered, I had too much to catch up on.

So, very briefly, this is what you missed...

From Spain, I flew to Paris with five of the kids I worked with. I met up with the group that had summered in Florence and we had fifteen kids in total. That number was so much better! I love Paris!

My next stop was London. Remind me again why I don't live there...I was able to visit inside of Westminster Abbey (I was too cheap to have done that before) and saw Wicked. Amazing!

This is not Westminster Abbey. This is Buckingham Palace.

When I got back from Europe, I had one day to recover and the Pando family flew to California to attend Derek and Stephany's wedding. It was an amazing day!

We were able to do all sorts of fun things, including hiking (yes, that is us in a tree) and biking the Golden Gate Bridge.We even got to visit my aunt in Antioch.

When we got back from California, me and my mom joined the Nielson/Nipper clan for a quick trip to Gainesville. We now have the tradition of celebrating Laura's birthday out there...

And while I was walking around the mall, I bumped into this good looking guy...it was fate. 

After getting back from Gainesville, we had to deal with Hurricane Katrina. I had planned on staying in Florida an extra week, but the hurricane changed those plans. I quickly gathered my things and flew to DC, only to have Katrina hit the DC area three days later. Thankfully, the damage wasn't too bad. 

I then had to start getting ready for school. I set up my classroom and attended lots of meetings.

For Labor Day, a group of us got a house in Cape May. It was so relaxing and wonderful, I didn't take any pictures! But I did take pictures on the ferry on the way to Cape May. And that will have to suffice.

 My ward had a retreat a few weeks later and we had a blast. It was a little cold and rainy, but I think we all enjoyed it. A big thanks to those who set it up!

During the Games. We named ourselves "The Nunnery"

This was while we were watching the BYU/Utah game. My Gators had won
earlier in the day, so I was just happy.

And so here we are. All caught up. You should expect some posts about a new house I am moving into (next week!), some Gator football (we play Alabama on Saturday), and a quick trip to Miami to see the Dolphins/Broncos game. 

Its gonna be great!