Photographs

I love having a camera (: even though I'm a total klutz with a technology. Never holding a camera in an antique store with a concrete floor without the strap around my wrist again... enough said.


My cute little work




My "handsome man armpit" car freshener. Yum.




I love summer!



(:

Navy banquet :)




Calamari!! It actually tasted quite good for looking so creepy!

 

vintage earrings



:)



DC

Washington DC

I always love going there.
I got to see the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights for the first time this weekend.
It was so powerful to see the original documents. My mind turned to the principles that they represent, and I stood, reading and thinking for a while. It was really interesting to see the reactions of other people, some just giving the glass cases a glance or two and then moving on.
Afterwards we went to Arlington Cemetery and saw rows and rows of white headstones of men and women
who gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect & defend those principles and freedoms. It reminded me how much I am given. It is a free gift to me, bought by the priceless sacrifice of many others. It is my job to remember it, to appreciate it the best that I can, and to do my part to protect and uphold those principles.
Pondering these things made me think about another greater gift, a gift that if we did not have, these things would not mean anything. A gift that enables families to live together forever, and to have eternal life. Another gift that is freely given, that is up to us to appreciate and accept.

 I took a ton of pictures, and am going back on Thursday with a friend for my birthday.
My family also celebrated my birthday early, with some pretty awesome moments at Ihop.. aka Grandma blowing straw wrappers at my brother, strawberry banana crepes, embarassing birthday song, opening presents (including a nice new camera - yay! and lovely Mt. Vernon things) and lots and lots of laughing. I have the best family. Also got my birthday 'ice cream' (frozen yogurt) at Crave. Yummy!
Seriously, it's been a great week.
Now I have a ton of huge decisions coming up. General Conference is this weekend. My birthday is on Wednesday. I'll officially be as old as my Mom was when I was born. Life is good!



Cherry blossoms!

Washington Monument

more cherry blossoms! These things are everywhere, and they smell so great!



Each star represents 100 men/women who died or were declared missing in action in WWII

 

Arlington. So gorgeous with the spring blossoms

Mt. Vernon

Things I've Learned As An Adult (and throughout life in general lately)

• Whether I decide to agree with it or not, what is right is right, and even if sometimes I like to think so, my opinion isn't going to change it. It's much better to be true to what I know is true.
• Declarations of love between boyfriend/girlfriend/significant other on facebook are tacky 99.999% of the time (I'll give a .001% chance for one nontacky incidence, but I've yet to see it.. and am quite skeptical of ever witnessing it. Haha)
• Owning my own set of markers makes me feel grown up (not sure why... it turned into a sentimental moment for me for some reason.)
• It's possible to get blisters when cutting York mints
• Carrying frozen yogurt can build strong muscles
• Baby chicks make the most lovely little peeping noises I've ever heard
• Unintentionally driving through downtown DC on St. Patricks day in rush hour traffic can be super stressful, but I am capable of doing it and surviving, and even still having a great time :)
• I'll never regret putting the Lord & people I love first
• It feels so good to work out! Mentally, physically, emotionally.. it's just great. I recommend it.
• A smile is a great way to improve your looks
• Think twice, drive nice! (saw that on a bumper sticker and I enthusiastically support that)

There's my bits of wisdom for today.

Awesome & Not So Awesome, but Not Too Bad

Awesome
- Spring Break
- Running 6 miles yesterday. Yup, 6 :) I haven't done that in forever! It felt AMAZING. Such a gorgeous day. I officially am still in shape!
- Going to the Holocaust Museum in DC. Honestly, afterwards I felt very sad, and stunned, and sick. I'll be honest, I cried. It's not a fun experience, but I think it's something everyone who gets the opportunity should do. It's important to know and to remember.
- Fun dates! Including hiking, tin foil dinners, and Sammy T's.
- My little brothers. Happy International Isaac day. Enough said.
- Getting enough sleep :)
- and.... getting accepted to BYU Idaho! For the Winter 2013 track. Definitely awesome :)

Not So Awesome, but Not Bad
- School starting tomorrow. Only 2 more months!
- Getting pulled over by a cop for the first time! When I saw the flashing lights, at like 1 in the morning on the way home from work, my heart just sunk. Dang it! Luckily he just pulled me over because my headlight was out. He was super nice!
- and a quote that fits part of my life, especially lately.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
Helen Keller

Awkward.. and Awesome (:

 Awesome!

Doing well on midterms..

Hiking date this weekend...

March Madness General Conference talks...

Only 3 more months until summer...

My birthday is in 3 weeks...

Dance up at the Naval Academy in a month...

and awesomest of all,

Spring Break!!!

Woot woot (:

I'm soo excited for summer.

I love how my skin gets super warm from the sun

and waking up early to run when it's cool outside, but warm at the same time? if that makes any sense

and being tan and going to the beach... and doing so many fun things!

Now that is awesome!

Also  I'm going to be 19. Soon.

I'll officially be as old as my mother was when I was born.

That's weird!

Life is lookin' good!

Awkward

I don't have any crazy stories to share, so I thought I would share some hilarious family pictures!

(from the web- not my family)

I guess it's slightly awkward to try not to, but being completely unsuccessful, in not laughing too hard in the library.. hahaha... oh well... gotta love awkward family photos. Enjoy! (:

My heart is happy moments (:

These past few days have been so awesome! So many just fun, happy, awesome little things have happened. Little things in life really make the biggest difference. Some things that happened:

I picked up oreos & gift cards at Walmart, and counted out the money from church in my battered envelope to make sure I had enough, and this super sweet old man walked up and told me I look pretty and asked if I had enough money. So cute!
I went to Quantico for the first time! For all you who don't know, it's the Marine base. All different military branches kind of have their own feel, and I think Marines are my favorite! If I were a man, and weren't diabetic, I would totally join the Marines. Except I'm glad I'm not, because their so handsome (:
Having a coworker named Whitney - Whit squared! - who has so much in common with me! Both of our parents thought we were going to be boys, and we both think military guys are super attractive! She's hilarious!
Fire & Ice Dance - awesome!! I met tons of awesome people, danced a bit (which is a lot for me!), saw some amazing examples of decorating, and maybe have some fun dates lined up
I worked out to Frank Sinatra this morning, and my little brother Adam ran in, grabbed my weights, and started totally dancing his heart out to "How You Look Tonight"
then Peter came in and skipped and danced to Sinatra as well. Their adorable (:
While I was working out, my other little brother Jacob came in, and told me "Whitney, I've noticed your room is a bit disorganized. Would you like some help organizing it?" Hahaha. I love him! Disorganized is a bit of an understatement right now (life is so insanely busy, and I have nowhere to put anything because my 'room' is tiny.. but I'm not complaining! It's awesome!) and it was so cute how polite and kind he was. I told him no thanks, because it's my mess, I can clean it up. But it was so sweet (: He's a cutie
My Mom bought me a beautiful white calla lily plant. So gorgeous! Their the flowers that grew in the sidewalk in Oregon, and now I have my own! Soo pretty! I think they may be some of my favorite flowers. Their very elegant
Also my Mom made homemade bread, with honey and butter and sugar free jam (: Yum!
and now I'm off to stake conference & Logans, for some awesome spiritual moments, hanging out with friends, and cracking peanut shells.
I really love life (:
and my grammar and English were terrible, so please forgive me, but oh well!

I loooove DC (:

Absolutely love it.

Loved taking pictures, spending time with a great friend,

and seeing the Washington memorial, other memorials from a distance, the White House, the Capital...
and the atmosphere is so cool.
There's so many different people

I could spend soo much time here

Absolutely adore it (:

Things I want to do here in the future:

• Go to the Holocaust Museum
• Go paddle boating on the river
• See the Constitution
• Visit the Archives
• Go to every branch of the Smithsonian
• Visit the art museum

and I would love to go to Arlington Cemetery again, and Mount Vernon, and Monticello...
... okay, I pretty much want to see everything. Haha
I think I might even dare driving up there myself!

I love the East coast!



And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood




Capital at sunrise




I look like such a nerd haha


and these pictures brought back some old memories, so here's some of my older favorites (: