THE WEEKLY READOUT

May 17, 2011

Perpetual explorers: In our effort to continue discovering DC, last Monday we decided we should take FHE off-site. We went out to see Great Falls, an incredible series of 20ft. falls that drop over 76 feet in less than one mile. In addition, we hiked along a beautiful trail that runs along the river—all of this located less than 15 miles from D.C. You can trust we’ll be back to this place!

Top Chef Joni comes for a visit: So she doesn’t star on the Food Network, but our friend Joni really knows her stuff! On Tuesday she stopped by to teach KA how to make a caramel-drenched, chocolate chip bread creation.

KA’s coworkers love when things like this happen, as the two of us can never finish a whole batch, meaning her office-mates score some amazing goodies at least once a week.

Lots of love—but don’t cross the line: KA takes it upon herself to bring treats to the office, but not all of her responsibilities are so pleasant. In addition to managing her boss’ crazy schedule, KA makes and breaks appointments. In other words, she’s either the sweet voice telling you you’re good to go, or the stern one giving you the Heisman.

Clint can testify: she has both roles down, pat!

New callings: The amazing skills KA has will be put to good use in her new calling. Last week she was called to be the new Assistant to the Relief Society Presidency. Someone in the congregation turned to MJ (KA’s sister) who was attending that week, and asked: “wait, did they just call her to be scheduler for the Relief Society??”

Clint also received a new calling: Assistant Ward Clerk for Membership.

Giving talks on Sunday means we spent Saturday preparing. While it was a lot of work, we feel it paid off! KA gave a great talk on sacrifice. She told of a donation her grandmother had made years and years ago, and how when she learned of that sacrifice, she received an invaluable lesson on sacrifice, but also came to realize that we cannot fully tell what impact the small and simple actions we take now will have on generations to come.

Clint spoke on unity. He shared that unity doesn’t just come by belonging to an organization, but rather that we must “step forward” and individually adopt for ourselves the mission of the church (or for that matter, the Savior), as we cannot receive the collective benefits of unity until we are each personally committed to the cause.

Fun introductions: We should also mention that we started our talks- not by introducing ourselves, but with KA introducing Clint, and Clint introducing KA. Suffice it to say, we each took advantage of the opportunity to tell ‘our side’ of our story, and made a point to teach everyone: “we SAT on the EARTH to WAIT. Sat-earth-wait.”

Might as well give it a try—it worked for the primary kids: why not their parents?!

BUsY for BYUs big event: This last week Clint was busy preparing for a big networking event that BYU’s Political Affairs Society hosted in DC. Although it wasn’t as bad as appropriations season (ask KA about that) things were still pretty hectic. . .

It was successful: As over 250 students attended the Capitol Visitors Center on Thursday night, and several dozen students participated in Friday visits to the offices of select VIPs around the city.

For his part, Clint went to the Pentagon and the State Department, and met with a guy who has one of the coolest jobs. This PhD’s most ringing comment was: “if you want to see how much the US values diplomacy, just compare your surroundings when walking down the halls of the Pentagon, versus what you see walking through the State Department.”

Our group had just been there, so we could see it: the Pentagon looks like the LDS Conference Center, while the State Department looks like your run-of-the-mill chapel.

THE REST OF THE WORLD

Flooding on everyone’s mind: The Mississippi river and its tributaries continue to swell, prompting National Guardsmen in several states to erect temporary levees and issue evacuation orders to thousands of individuals. Current concerns center on the State of Louisiana.

Former Nazi guard convicted of murder: An aged autoworker who had moved to Ohio was found guilty last week of taking part in the murder of tens of thousands of people at a Nazi concentration camp. The conviction will likely be the last related to WWII war crimes, giving some closure to one of the darkest chapters of world history.

JUST FOR FUN

Planning our getaway: On Sunday we received some fun marriage advice from a recently married man. He told how after a tough week, he and his wife would lock the door and go on a “vacation to Hawaii”—right in their living room! Palm trees, island music, beach towels: he explained they didn’t have the money to really get away, so they just made it happen! Yep: $2 worth of free advice to all you marrieds there.

No shower? No D-O?? No sweat: Saturday morning was slow for us—although we had several errands to run, it was late morning and we had hardly made it out of our gym clothes. Did we race back home and get ready for the day? Nope--our local grocery store is located right next to a gym, so it’s become an accepted practice to strut your post-workout stuff down the cereal and snack bar aisle. Thank you unusual social convention!

Scored big: Cereal was on sale, and--we eat a lot of cereal! Check out our stash from one trip. It's a mountain of goodness:)

Hall monitors storm Capitol Hill: We weren't sure where else this would fit. We couldn't believe it either, so we snuck a picture of one of them as they ran by. Check it out!

Finally: since everyone is dying to know, here are the answers to last week’s Satterthwaite’s Smithsonian Quiz. A big congratulations to Mom Henshaw for taking the prize!

1) Which monument was half-finished during the Civil War and stands 555 feet, 5 1/8 inches tall? A: The Washington Monument

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!) A: General Tecumseh Sherman

3) Which federal agency’s (unofficial) motto is “we have what it takes, to take what you have?” A: The Internal Revenue Service

4) Which Smithsonian museum does not have an entrance facing the National Mall? Bonus point: why is that?? A: The American Indian Museum A: Indian tradition holds that entrances should face the east, so that they catch the first rays of the morning sun.

5) Which Smithsonian museum is the second most-attended in the world? Bonus point: which museum is number one (in the world)? A: The Natural History Museum A: The Louvre in Paris

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. A: Café Rio. So you all know, the other two happened when our good friend was sighted at his Italian place. The waiter was able to recount pieces of their conversation. . . that’s when you’re a regular!