THE WEEKLY READOUT

May 25, 2011

Catching the fever: It’s with mixed feelings that we admit this (mixed mostly on Clint’s part;): Tuesday we sat down to watch Never Say Never: The Justin Bieber Story. It was memorable to say the least! To give you a sense of what was going on, here are a couple of real time reactions:

Clint: man!- that kid’s got some great hair

KA: oh look at him! He’s kinda cute. . .

Clint: Am I seeing this right? Is Madison Square Garden literally packed full of 9-17 year old girls??

KA: sniff, sniff—it’s just: it kinda reminds me of my first Backstreet Boys concert (her eyes draw misty). I made a sign for them and wore their t-shirt. . .

Suffice it to say, it was a memorable two and a half hours! Check out the memorable dinner we had to go along with it—yum.

Riding around: On Wednesday we went for a bike ride together—our first of the year. It was a beautiful day and it felt great to ride. We’ll admit: we ended up a little saddle sore, but it was totally worth it.

Can you feel the rhythm of the night? KA sure could. On Wednesday she attended the First Ladies Luncheon at the Washington Hilton. She couldn’t decide which was better: being in the room with the first lady or having a flash back to her 12 year-old self while dancing to Gloria Estefan as the entertainment. Here are some pics!

Temple trip: On Thursday we were able to make it up to the temple for a session with KA working and Clint attending a session she helped out with. It’s impressive the peace that descends upon you when you enter that building…incredible.

Preparing for interviews: Clint was blessed to have a couple of interviews this last week, and spent a good bit of time getting ready. Luckily, he has an expert interview preparer in his wife! Although she can be a little tough (Clint found the question “tell me about your weaknesses” unusually difficult), all in all he found it extremely helpful.

Getaway to Annapolis: Right after work on Friday, we left straight from Capitol Hill to drive 22 miles east to the capital of Maryland, Annapolis. It’s a beautiful sea-side town, and is home to some amazing sights! Here are just a few we checked out while we were there:

Cheesecake factory: Ok, so this isn’t that special, but the food there tasted extra good.

Downtown: Main Street Annapolis is a quaint little street filled with art, jewelry, and boutique clothing stores. It starts just off the harbor and rises up the hill leading to the capitol building. We strolled up and down, and found some incredible pieces of art. We can’t think of the artist’s name, but we’ll get back to you on that!

The Capitol: On Saturday we took the self-guided tour of the Maryland State building. It is the oldest legislative building in continuous use in the U.S., and also has the largest wooden dome made without nails! (thought you’d like to know;).

Significantly, it was the site where General George Washington resigned his commission as commander of the Continental Army to the Continental Congress, thereby restoring civilian control of the government, something that had never been done in history. King George, when he was informed that Washington would relinquish power replied: “if he does that he will be the greatest man in the world.” We owe a lot to Washington for setting a precedent that has provided unprecedented stability in our government and our country!

USNA: The Naval Academy is set right on the water in Annapolis, and is composed of buildings inspired by French architecture, meaning it looks like you’re walking through Paris! We saw the crypt where the coffin of John Paul Jones lays, as well as the USNA Chapel, complete with stained glass windows of the risen Christ and Admiral David Farragut—an entirely acceptable combination in the Navy.

Big dormitory and Beat Navy: Couple other fun facts: the USNA is home to the largest dormitory in the world (over 5 miles of hallways), and—the Navy prides itself on a lot of things, but nothing more than beating Army in their annual football game. Check out the shrine they erected to track their football games!

The Admiral: didn’t just happen upon that nickname- here’s his picture in the USNA hall of fame.

Whole Foods: we stopped there on Saturday morning for a little breakfast. Three cheers for their cinnamon rolls and bagels!

REST OF THE WORLD:

Politics and TV: Although his run for the presidency didn’t pan out, Donald Trump was recently given a contract extension by NBC for his show “Celebrity Apprentice.”

Storms: A violent tornado touched down in Missouri this weekend, leaving more than a hundred dead and a town in utter ruin.

President in Europe: Last Friday, President Obama set off on a tour of Europe. During his time there, he’ll visit his ancestral homeland (a small town in Ireland) and will discuss the U.S./British security partnership, and specifically Libya.

JUST FOR FUN:

...and then there were the cadets: As many of you may know, Annapolis is also home of the U.S. Naval Academy, the training ground for a large portion of our country’s naval officers.

As such, downtown Annapolis is often filled with cadets strolling the streets in their dress white uniforms. We’re not sure the reason, but Clint kept grabbing ahold of KA’s arm when passing the boys in white, perhaps out of fear that “a man in uniform is irresistible” might come true?

Thankfully she wasn’t too swayed by the 19 year-olds, but it was enough to make Clint nervous. . .

The Ring Dance: Speaking of those cadets, we happened to be in town on a very special day. Every year, cadets finishing their junior year attend what’s known as the Ring Dance. It’s a formal event, and each cadets’ date picks up the cadets’ newly-minted class ring and attaches it to a ribbon tied around her neck. At a certain time during the night, the dates give their cadets their rings, at which point the cadets ceremoniously dip their ring in a bowl filled with water from the seven seas (no kidding- Chaplains across the world ship water bottles of seawater to Annapolis for the event!). It’s considered by some to be the most important event in a cadets’ four-year experience at the Academy. We snapped a picture of a couple of them preparing for the event.

Ego Alley: Last but not least, we spent our last few minutes in Annapolis seated on the edge of “Ego Alley”—a small inlet jutting into Annapolis harbor, that is the boaters’ equivalent of ‘cruising the boulevard.’ Check out this picture of KA as a massive boat tries to make the tight turn at the end of the Alley behind her!