Time for Touring!

Broc and I were so happy and lucky to have Grandma and Uncle Rob come out for a visit this past week! Since my schedule is currently wide open I got to play tour guide for the week and oh boy did we have fun! We went trotting around the city and saw so many things! I still can't believe how quickly the week flew by but here is just a short re-cap!



They arrived late Sunday night and Monday Uncle Rob had some time so we went on a tour of the Capitol, saw the Library of Congress and the National Archives plus the National Gallery of Art. It was a packed day! Then on Tuesday grandma and I had some time together so we went and took a tour of the Masonic Temple and also stopped at the Air Force Memorial! We then went grocery shopping and I showed Grandma my couponing ways! Once we were done grocery shopping we picked Rob up and made our way over to Arlington Cemetery! Again it was a packed day! We ended the day right by making a family favorite Dutch meal, green potatoes, and watching the season finale of biggest loser! Talk about a fun day!



Then on Wednesday Grandma and I hit up the city once again! We started the day off at the Holocaust Museum! It made us grateful for this country and the freedoms we so dearly love! After the Holocaust Museum we hurried over for a tour of the Washington Monument! The view from up top is so spectacular! Once that tour was over we hurried on to the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History which were both packed full of interesting things to see! By the time we were done with all of that I think I can honestly say for both of us that we were exhausted! We made our way home and enjoyed a nice little picnic out front for a while! It was so enjoyable after a long day!



On our final day together we decided to go to the temple! Broc and Rob both had work off and it was a beautiful time! We love the temple and are grateful every time we get to go there! After the temple we came home for a quick lunch and then while I went off to an interview and grandma took a nap, the boys went golfing! Hard life we live wouldn't you say? Once all the afternoon festivities were complete we went out to eat in celebration of a great week together! We tried out a new place called Ted's Montana Grill and it was mighty fine! They even specialize in Bison Burgers! Pretty intense! Once the burgers were gone we decided to end our touring week by showing grandma most of the monuments! We saw the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean memorial and even the Jefferson Memorial! It was the perfect end to a perfect week! Grandma and Uncle Rob, we miss you both already so hurry up and come back soon! Please!?!

I'll Be Back Part 2!

Remember this? Well my parents thought it would be super funny to RE-GIFT their new, beloved Arnold! That's right they gave Arny back over as a graduation gift! So I admit, I laughed some but seriously?! We don't want a fish! ;) Haha! Ok but in all honesty, Arnold seems to have settled in nicely and is enjoying the humid D.C. weather! Thanks mom and dad for the re-gifted gifting! Unlike you mother, we love our little fish!

Kabob or Two?

Drooling yet? Remember when I said we already had plans for our next months dinner group? Well with all this beautiful summer weather we just could not resist a chance at the grill! And let me just say, grilling we dominated! Not only did we grill up some shish-kabobs but we grilled some corn on the cob and veggies! Wow! Talk about delicious to the maximum!



Have I mentioned before how much I love the ladies I cook with? These gals are awesome! Plus we had 2 more along for the ride this time! Katie and Mandy were brave souls to join us in our escapades! I think they both were pleased with the end result though so ladies come on back whenever you want to join us! You are more than welcome! :)



And in between some games of bocce ball we treated ourselves to yummy grilled peaches with vanilla ice cream! Yes indeed it was divine and the prefect treat to wrap up the evening with! Another success for our 6th dinner group! Looking forward to many more successes to come! But in the meantime I think I'll help myself to a leftover kabob or two!

Graduation Weekend!

So you know when you have a weekend that is just so perfect and wonderful it is hard to sum it all up in one blog post? Well that pretty much captures graduation weekend perfectly but I will try my hardest to give the weekend justice!

It started on Thursday the 12th at 8 a.m. I took my licensed graduate social work exam i.e. the biggest exam of my life! Pretty much if I did not pass this exam I would not be able to work in the District of Columbia as a Social Worker! Even better I would have to wait 3 months before taking it again! So basically...in other words...this really was the biggest exam of my life! Well by 10:30 on Thursday I had passed the exam and the weekend was off to a great start! Phew!



By Friday night my whole family arrived! I got to snuggle with this little man all weekend and that was seriously the best! He was such a trooper the whole weekend and we were all impressed with his great temperament! What a blessing little Edwin is to our family! I must admit he has grown a lot since we saw him last and he has lost all his hair! Hahaha! But we still love that little face!



Friday night consisted of eating, laughing, getting caught up and watching Edwin enjoy his new toy that grandpa got for him! It's a little froggy bouncer toy and he sure loved it! It was quite the night of happiness and joy! By 10 my family was heading off to Fort Belvoir where they were staying for the weekend and it was goodnight until the morning!



Saturday was pretty much everything graduation! We all met up at Fort Belvoir for a generous gift exchange from so many loved ones and then we loaded up the cars and drove off to Catholic University of America for all of the festivities! My favorite part was the cap and gown! I felt like a super-hero or something! Those wings were the best! :)



It was a really great ceremony! Not too long but not too short! I loved that I actually got my diploma right then and there! It is an official done deal! I also loved having my whole family there to support me because certainly I would not have survived grad school without each and every one of them!



After some celebrating and cap throwing we set out on another adventure that really, truly was the best part of the whole weekend! I won't go into much detail now because this story is worth a blog post of its own but my goodness was it special! We went on a mini-tour of Springfield where my grandparents lived for ten years! We got to see my dad's elementary and junior high schools plus their old house and even a special little baseball field! It was so neat to get a glimpse of the past! More to come later on that miraculous little adventure!



After the tour we went to the Chart House for a delicious seafood meal! Oh boy was it yummy! We took our time and enjoyed the evening out! We even got front row seats to a light thunder storm that came rolling through! It was quite the way to celebrate hard work! Thanks again mom and dad for that wonderful treat!



But the fun was not over yet! Sunday morning we had a big, yummy, traditional Merritt family waffle breakfast! We invited our neighbor Emily over to enjoy the yummy meal with us and it was oh so fun! Lots of warm waffles later we were all full and satisfied and ready for church!



Unfortunately Sunday night after dinner at Mary Carol and Andrew's house (my mom's cousin) most of my family left! But fortunately for us Carissa and baby and my grandparents stayed for an extra day! On Monday we took my grandpa to the Air Force Memorial which was so neat! We also did some grocery shopping, painted grandma's nails and enjoyed a big dinner together one last time! Like I said before, it was really hard summing up this weekend in one blog post! Saying goodbye Monday night was not easy but as my grandma likes to say, "we can't stay on vacation forever"!

Thanks for a glorious weekend family! We miss you all but feel so happy we got to make some memories this past weekend! Love to you all!

Ravi-avi-oli!

Well considering the Beef Wellington came and went without much of a challenge, this month the gals and I decided to step it up a notch! Seems a little intense to some but for our little group of domestic goddesses it was really quite simple! The task at hand: homemade ravioli! And even better still homemade sauce! Hardcore? I know! Making the dough seemed easy enough but when it came to rolling the dough...well that's when things got interesting!



After watching a video of an Italian grandma demonstrate her skills, we took some of her tips and got to it! We split the dough into different sections which made the rolling process so much easier! Getting the dough thin enough was hard but a few sore thumbs later and we had it all worked out! We even made a batch of gluten free ravioli! Now that is cooking!



Once the rolling, cutting, stuffing and concealing was done the little beauties were ready to boil! I was nervous that our forked edges would not keep the cheese filling inside but to our pleasant surprise they all cooked up nicely!



Even after some last minute experimenting with the sauce we were all pleased with the end result! YUMMY! Although presentation has a ways to go I think we pulled off another masterpiece! The kitchen was a mess but it was well worth it! And no worries...plans for next months dinner are already in motion! Stayed tuned for more cooking wonders from the three of us gals because personally I think we are basically pros by now! ;)

I long to See You!

So we got to spend our 2 year anniversary at one of the most beautiful places in all of Virginia! I know what you are all thinking...I've only been living here less than a year so how in the world could I make a statement like that? But seriously if not the MOST beautiful it comes in ranked pretty high as far as I'm concerned!



I mean seriously! I have been singing about this place for like my whole life! Longing to see it! Not to mention it is a National Park with parts of the Appalachian Trail passing through it left and right! Could it get any better? I submit it could not!



Thank you Shenandoah Valley for a beautifully blissful weekend! I'll sing it again Oh Shenandoah! But instead of longing now the tune is different...I loved to see you!