I've been giving some of my friends grief for not updating their blogs and here I am like a month overdue. Here we are!! We made it to D.C. and are already having a great time. Fortunately we already have a lot of friends and family out here so we feel right at home. Chase's brother and sister both live here with their families and my good friend from the college days (Jess Gardner)lives here with her husband who I actually went to high school with (John Gardner). The best part is they have a daughter who is two weeks younger than Sadie and they are already best buds.
They are in the process of learning how to share and are doing exceptionally well. Look at those cute little bellies. When we finally found an apartment we realized that we are in the same ward as the Mecham's and the Gardner's. It's a small world when you're a Mormon. We've been so busy getting settled that we haven't really toured the city yet but that will be this weekend. We're excited to show Sadie our nation's capitol!!
The TripTraveling to D.C. was actually really fun. We drove to Utah from San Diego and didn't arrive until 4 a.m. that Saturday morning. We hit a small bit of traffic through southern California and had to get a little creative to avoid going crazy with impatience. Anyone who has experienced "SoCal" traffic understands. Sadie was asleep so we decided to just keep on driving. She was such a great little traveler.
We didn't have to turn on a movie once!! At every pit stop she turned into a regular tornado and went ballistic in Chevron pulling things off the shelf and putting them back. I think she was just excited to be walking around.
Old Friends
Once we got to Utah we had a fabulous time hanging out with family and old friends. The best was being able to see our old buddies from San Diego that have moved back to Utah. We had a delicious little BBQ at the Poelman's new home and reunited with them, the Draney's, the Green's and the McDowell's. It was fun catching up with them and seeing how much all the kids have grown.
The WeberBefore Chase drove the rest of the way to D.C., we went up Weber Canyon to spend a day at our favorite place..the cabin. It was a day filled with throwing rocks in the river, feeding horses and hiking up to see the waterfalls.
The best part was when we got to a bridge, there was a HUGE bull moose standing in the water, not too far away. We didn't really know what to do. We weren't sure if it was going to charge or not but we decided to take some pictures anyway. Such safe parents we are! Sadie's first moose sighting!! As you can see she was pretty excited.
Daddy daughter hike..with Chad too:-)
My dad took my siblings and me up to the Uintas for a beautiful hike. We left Sadie home with CC and Pops (she wasn't complaining...she loves them!!) and explored the lakes and played log tag. Even when it rained it was still fun because we are such a lively bunch.
Thank goodness for baby wipesI flew out the next day to D.C. and other than the incident when a woman behind me threw up all over my neck and hair, it was actually a very pleasant trip. It felt like someone opened a coke can after shaking it up a bit. I looked behind me and this woman had her hands cupped over her mouth and then ran to the bathroom. Those of you who know me well probably would think that this type of situation would throw me over the edge. However, all I really cared about was that it didn't touch Sadie. I took a long shower when I arrived in D.C. It was pretty nasty though. The lady had pretty good aim. She reached my tray table all the way back from her seat!! Fun stuff. Sadie was a dream. She played the whole time and took a little nap. I really don't mind flying with her. She's a pretty good buddy to hang out with.
As for Sadie, there is quite an update. She is talking like crazy. In Utah she learned how to say Grandpa, thank you, please, and will pretty much mimic any words I say as long as they aren't too complicated. The cutest thing was how every time she saw my parent's cat she would go up to him waving and say "hi kitty." So, so cute!! The cat didn't care for her and hissed like crazy but it just made her love him more. Poor Walter. My sister Lizzie will be pleased to know that she has learned to say her name because Jess and John's little girl's name is Lizzy. Seeing that she sees her just about every day, she's learned the name pretty well.
We ventured out into the "great" (no pun intended)outdoors this weekend and had a fabulous time. Great Falls National Park has an array of different vistas in order to see the falls from every angle possible. I missed Utah for a brief moment when we were surrounded by smokers by the dozens. You go all the way into the mountains..I'm sorry.."hills" to get away from the smog and find that it's inescapable. Despite the death eaters around us Sadie had a "great" time...no pun intended once again:-) Here's what happened in a a few pictures or less: 
We are so fortunate to have the Gardner's here to play with us. It has made this transition to D.C. virtually painless for me and for Sadie. Jess and I hang out all the time and drag our little girls around with us. We even make them dress up in Target with ridiculous hockey helmet snow hats for our amusement. Lucky for us, they are awesome little buddies. They play so well together although Sadie covets Lizzy's cute little pigtails. One day she have her own. But until that day comes she's learning from Lizzy how to keep her clips in and not pull on her piggies. They are both such little smarty pants. It's so fun to see them learning so many new things together. 
Sadie cracks me up. Any time I ask her to smile she tilts her head to one side and says "ahhhh." I don't know where she learned this because before this all I could get her to do when I whipped out a camera was squint her eyes to avoid the flash. I'm happy she's decided to cooperate with the photographer because if any of you know me well, I take a lot of pictures:-) We finally went into the city and saw some monuments. Sadie loved the WWII monument because of all the fountains and tourist that were oohing and ahhing over her and her little stroller (best $5 I ever spent). She was attempting to sit down on the step and instead of just turning around and sitting down, she stopped about two feet away and backed (shuffled) into a sitting position. What a cautious little thing. I wish I had that on film. It had me and everyone standing around me in stitches.
Once we got to Utah we had a fabulous time hanging out with family and old friends. The best was being able to see our old buddies from San Diego that have moved back to Utah. We had a delicious little BBQ at the Poelman's new home and reunited with them, the Draney's, the Green's and the McDowell's. It was fun catching up with them and seeing how much all the kids have grown. 
The best part was when we got to a bridge, there was a HUGE bull moose standing in the water, not too far away. We didn't really know what to do. We weren't sure if it was going to charge or not but we decided to take some pictures anyway. Such safe parents we are! Sadie's first moose sighting!! As you can see she was pretty excited.
