THE WEEKLY READOUT

June 24, 2011

Things were a bit cooler last week in DC, and boy did we need it! We had a fun celebration, met some amazing people, as well as a near-miss adventure that turned out alright anyway!

Happy Flag Day! On Tuesday we celebrated Flag Day, which means Monday night KA was busy making a special treat for her office. The creation of the day was a white cake with strawberries and blueberries on top in the design of the flag. Tasty and patriotic!

Part of being married means running errands together. On Tuesday we enjoyed one another’s company by visiting the mall, Costco, and FedEx Kinkos. Maybe not the most glamorous evening on the town possible, but you have to smile to yourself when you can enjoy spending time doing simple tasks like that.

We’d like to thank the people at: Speaking of FedEx Kinkos, they sent us a special package on Wednesday, the wedding Thank You cards we’re going to send to everybody! That’s right: watch your mailbox;)

Special Visitors: Thursday two members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stopped by KA’s office to visit with her boss, Congressman Chaffetz. She said it was a great experience.

The Adventure: As some of you may know, one of our wedding gifts was a tent. Being such, it is also one of the few items we have yet to use. So you can imagine we were pretty excited as we planned the inaugural Satterthwaite Camping Trip to Prince Williams Park just south of Woodbridge.

Being the wise campers that we are, we paid particular attention to the weather forecast—not necessarily to Weather.com, mostly to our friend Scott who is an amateur meteorologist. There was an admitted 50% chance of rain, but we were warned that “those low pressure systems are really destabilizing, and can wreak havoc if you’re not careful.”

As you can guess, we were within 2 miles of the exit when the first, second, and third raindrops hit the windshield. Three seconds later, the sky let loose, as a torrential downpour dropped more than an eighth an inch of rain.

Suffice it to say, these campers weren’t about to endure rain like that, so we pulled off the exit, found ourselves a Famous Dave’s, and ordered BBQ. We think that’s the next closest thing to roughing it in the rain, right? . . .

BTW- we’re still going camping sometime. Stay tuned!

Cruising the Parkway: Saturday we took advantage of an amazing opportunity in D.C. Every weekend, the National Park Service shuts down major sections of the Rock Creek Parkway, a narrow two way road that wends its way up through Rock Creek Park, one of the most beautiful and scenic places in D.C.

We parked our car at a lot just beyond the closure, and rode our bikes for a good 15 miles. It was filled with other runners and bikers, but in no way crowded, as we shared a two lane road rather than a narrow bike path. Plus, it was super peaceful riding next to the river. We highly recommend it!

Honoring our Fathers: Sunday morning KA made some amazing muffins for breakfast, and we each called to wish our fathers a Happy Fathers’ day. Thanks for being the best!

Dinner at friends: Later that night, our friends Jill and Jeremy invited us and another couple over to their apartment for dinner and games. We had a great time, and particularly enjoyed watching their little girl play. Supposedly CJ (their new baby) has been labeled a “recruiter baby,” one that is so well behaved that other couples become convinced that they too want to have kids.

That said: don’t mistake our words when we say, she was a really cute baby!

REST OF THE WORLD:

Record set close to home: The 111^th Annual U.S. Open Golf Tournament was hosted at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland- not too far from where we live. Rory McIlroy, a 22 year old golfer from Northern Ireland dominated the tournament, recording a record 16 under par to finish with the lowest score in U.S. Open History, and became the youngest player since Bobby Jones to win the tournament.

JUST FOR FUN:

Trivia Games on Sunday: Clint won’t tell you the result of the boys versus girls games, but he will tell you the guys were “generous” to their wives, and on Fathers’ Day to boot! Cough, cough.

What a person! On Sunday KA’s visiting teacher came by. She books events for Wolf Blitzer, a well-known news anchor on CNN, and just happens to be one of the most delightful—not to mention fast-paced people we’ve met. She and KA talked for the better part of an hour. Who knew visiting teaching could be so much fun?!