Clint’s Cinco de Mayo, Segs in the City, non-stop Saturday, Competitive KA
School’s out for the summer! KA celebrated the end (well-almost) of her Naval War College class by going out to dinner with classmates on Monday. If you’re looking for a great way to get to meet interesting people, taking a class is a great way to do it.
It’s always a good deal doing dinner at Costco. Tuesday was one of those days. We trade turns making dinner, yet oddly enough, Clint can never manage to beat KA in saying “I’ll take care of dinner tonight”…after we decide we’ll eat out.
Kind friend: On Wednesday Clint’s friend Al took us out to dinner at Savios, a small Italian diner in Alexandria. We’ve come to find that great restaurants are often “off the beaten path,” but this one was so “on it” we might otherwise have missed it! Who knew great Italian can come from the restaurant at the corner of a 1980’s strip mall . . .
Oh, and don’t forget to ask KA about cannoli’s!
Feliz Cinco de Mayo: Since we began dating, Clint has learned something about KA’s expectations for her birthday—namely that it’s a really big deal. In case he was still missing the point, KA put on an amazing all-day birthday celebration that helped show him the right way to celebrate. Here are just a few details:
Morning at the gym—meet hot breakfast: Clint returned from a morning trip to the gym not only to find a hot breakfast, but balloons and mini Snicker’s bars (his favorites) spread across the floor, his beautiful wife there to greet him with a smile (which he happened to greet with a bouquet of flowers he picked up on the way home). A pretty good start!
Worth the drive: After KA left to work, Clint departed for a trip to the temple and—you guessed it, a “jaunt” up to Café Rio in Olney, MD. Never mind the extra hour and fifteen minutes this added to the trip. We met one another in front of the Botanical Gardens and enjoyed an awesome picnic on the bench. Things were going well!
True confession time: As a couple of DCists, we can’t help but poke fun at some of the silly things that DC tourists do when they come visit our city. Anyone who has lived here has laughed and pointed at groups of helmeted do-gooders zooming around like mall cops on one of the many Segway tours of the city. Dorky, right?
Guess who went on a Segway tour this week.
BOOM! Don the helmets, put in the earpiece, and strap on the vests—we followed KA’s maxim that you have to do something on your birthday that you wouldn’t usually do any other day, and we purchased a pair of DC Segway tours.
Really true confession time: We both had a blast. Who knew?
Strange addictions? On Friday KA celebrated the one week anniversary of our relay race by engaging in a marathon writing session to finish off her final paper for her Naval War College class. Way to go, babe!
Speaking of marathons…Saturday we had a “Mormon marathon.” See if you can keep up with this!
9am Depart for community service projects in conjunction with the grand opening of the new 23rd Street chapel (Clint) and set up for ward activity (KA). Work all morning.
12pm Finish service, stop by to grab a free chili dog at the chapel (Clint- I think KA ate a salad)
2-4pm Start and finish chores, go shopping for a mattress.
4pm Get cleaned up and depart for 23rd Street Open House
5:45pm Leave Open House to go to King Street Chapel for Ward Activity
6-8pm Ward Activity (we helped watch our friends’ kids, one of which has potential with the US Track and Field team…or to replace the Energizer Bunny when he poops out).
8-10pm Clean up Ward Activity
10:30 Return home, and consider we’ll be back at church in approximately 12 hours.
Bring it on. . .
A new season: On Sunday we attended our newly ward—same name (Crystal City Ward) slightly different boundaries. Honestly, it’s a great opportunity to refocus on getting to know members of our ward, and building up new relationships.
Sister time: Later that afternoon, KA attended MJ’s Relief Society lesson. She did a fantastic job! She taught on womanhood, and described how we need the gospel to heal us, as we can be physically alive yet spiritually dead—ie disconnected from our Father in Heaven. Nice work, RSP-
Beef Brisket: After the lesson, we went to Pete and Nicki’s house for what turned out to be heavenly grub: homemade rolls with perfectly prepared beef brisket. There was a great group of people there that we got to know better.
Also, Clint’s friend Jay made angel food cake in honor of Clint’s birthday. It’s a healthy dessert if you can refrain from loading on the cool whip, strawberries, banana pudding. . .
THE REST OF THE WORLD
Fallout from bin Laden death: News networks ran near continuous coverage on what his death means for al Qaeda, the war on terror, and significantly—our relationship with Pakistan. For a nuclear armed subcontinent, the relationship with Pakistan and its neighbor India have far-reaching consequences.
Presidential politics warming up: Last Thursday, several Republican candidates gathered in South Carolina at the first of the season presidential debate. If you want a good time, google SNL’s mock debate of non-candidates…
Flooding continues: Parts of the Midwest continue to battle severe flooding, with Memphis facing a 70-year peak. Further up the river, a portion that customarily is half a mile wide, swelled to three miles across!
JUST FOR FUN
Satterthwaite's Smithsonian Quiz:
1) Which monument was half-finished during the Civil War and stands 555 feet, 5 1/8 inches tall?
2) Which Union general requested that—for sculpting his statue, his face be towards the North, and his horses a** towards the South? (Here’s a hint: the South—particularly the area from Atlanta to the sea, doesn’t care much for him either!)
3) Which federal agency’s (unofficial) motto is “we have what it takes, to take what you have?”
4) Which Smithsonian museum does not have an entrance facing the National Mall? Bonus point: why is that??
5) Which Smithsonian museum is the second most-attended in the world? Bonus point: which museum is number one?
6) How do you know you’re a regular at a restaurant?
a. They recognize your face
b. They know your order
c. They recognize you…and they’ve only been open one week.
(PS- all of the above happened to us this week—bonus point if you can name the restaurant alluded to in part c).
How did you do? Highest point total earns a special prize. . .
Happy birthday indeed! Clint’s good friend from high school Hannah lives here in DC with her husband, Neil. A long running joke between them has been how they are “twins” (her birthday is May 11th, so it’s close—besides that, Clint can’t remember how it started).
As it turns out, Hannah just had her baby—guess when? May 5th—right on Clint’s birthday! Way to take that joke seriously, Han!
Competitive Streak: Anyone who has met KA would have a hard time believing that this sweet girl has a mean bone in her body, and also know that she doesn’t care much for athletic competition. Her sports of choice include distance running (“for the sense of accomplishment”) and ballroom dance. Granted, the latter isn’t bereft of competition, but on the competitive scale it falls somewhere in the range of the recent relief society-sponsored, sisters-only pinewood derby. Let’s just say I don’t think anyone was anxious for an edge, or thought to put weights in the front of their car. . .
But we digress…as it turns out, we found a game called Quiddler that brought the eye of the tiger out of KA. It’s a card game, similar in purpose to Scrabble. Turns out KA goes for the jugular when she really wants it! (ask her how to make a word from the letters Q-U-I-N;). Unfortunately for her, when she has a move in mind she can hardly disguise it. Think of how her face lights up when you talk about scheduling or ice cream. You got it? Well, that’s the exact look she gets when she’s schemed a plan.
As for Clint? He loves it. He now realizes that she doesn’t play poker—not just for religious reasons, but because she’d be really bad at it. . .
hooray I made the blog!!!!! :)
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