Historical Moments

So the awaited day, Jan. 20th of 2009, came with its crowds and all. The grand total on the number of outhouses was.... 5,000- whew! I admit, I gave up on counting them, even doing a running estimate as I quickly discovered that there were multiple layers on either side of the reflecting pool. Therefore, this information came from a written report on the inaugural accommodations.

Prerun PreparationThe bridge... Blocked off to Vehicles

Rather than cycling into the district, I ran in via Arlington Mem. Bridge with Randilyn. It was blocked off to everyone except pedestrians, which was pretty sweet. With about 4 layers and another wrapped around our waists for later use, we prepared for the low temps of the day. Honestly, the crowds were not as intense as I anticipated, but it was packed enough by the time we chose to arrive that we stayed near the Washington Monument rather than finding the long detour to make our way closer to the capitol... It would have potentially added on about 3 miles to an already lengthy run, considering the crowds.

Mega trons for viewing the happenings at the capitol... that's Pres. Bush on the screen That's the crowd forming at the Wash. Monu... about 1 1/2 mi. from the CapitolAbout 1 1/4 miles from the capitol... see the dome, a dot left of the flagWatching the former presidents arrive was pretty sweet, and standing in a crowd of pleasantly upbeat neighbors from across the nation was exciting. Disappointment came only as the majority of the audience booed at the departing President Bush. While there are arguable reasons for many to disagree with his choices and actions executed during his terms as president, I feel that we all owe him more respect and gratitude for what he has done for our country during some very difficult national challenges.

I look forward to what this new presidency will bring and hope that we can move forward with unity as a nation, appreciating what has been done in the past.

My Second Niece is Here!

"Skeens- Firstborn" blog tells the story.
Congrats to Abes and Rach who are new parents to a beautiful daughter, Kaili Michelle Skeen! She appears to have the hands of a great basketball player and the feet of an all star swimmer. I am anxious to meet her this spring!

Chesapeake Beach, MD

Quiet town, only a short drive from home.

Why these seagulls didn't fly further south for the winter? I don't know.

Beautiful sunset. Good timing.

Kari, Crystal and I. Cold but happy to make this discovery.

Snowy icy rocks and frosty water. We're clearly not in the Pacific Islands... the palm trees are a bit deceiving.Ducks that could walk on that water... no need for swimming when there's ice!MLK Day... No work. Restful morning. Refreshing run into a busy but historically significant DC on this day. Enjoyable road trip. Improving health!

Sister Whittemore

Connections. Tali, Kaylie and others used to love rock climbing up Rock Canyon together, not to mention playing in other ways when we lived in the same ward at BYU. Kaylie leaves for a mission to Singapore very soon, so she drove Tali back here to VA and stayed for a short visit. She's already such an excellent missionary, so the people of Singapore are sure in for something great when she lives out there in the next couple years.
What great friends to have no matter where life takes you... orchestration! :)

National Symphony Orchestra

Last week I got an opportunity to attend a concert by the NSO at the Kennedy Center in DC. I took my friend, Randilyn, so we could both enjoy our first performances there... and she minored in music :) It's a beautiful hall, and it was an excellent concert featuring a guest conductor who was quite entertaining... eccentric. To our pleasant surprise, there were dozens of people we knew from church at this same concert! I even ran into a former home teacher friend and his wife, Dave and Emily Sudweeks! What a small world in DC! It was a late night, but well worth the enriching performance- my favorite symphony was Beethoven's 4th... love it!

The Ultimate of "Ultimat-ers"

Ultimate Frisbee... I'm a convert of 8 years now and plan to stay so indefinitely. Whether on free-play fields around BYU's Provo campus, at the neighborhood park with Dad and Joey, on the high school football field with old friends, under the dim light of the moon in the summer, or on the fields of Virginia Highlands park, I love playing "Ultimate."

Associating with other such ultimate-files, I have come across some whom I might deem as "die-hard"... To mention a few...

• Brother Lawler diving into a brick wall to save a catch... did that cause a concussion?
• Joey sprinting tirelessly yard-by-yard only to realize his defeat... the disc is just too big for him.
• Rob taking out an innocent young lady who was merely reaching to catch the disc delivered by a teammate.
• A dozen + playing during a tropical storm in Arlington, drenched in water while others are fearful to leave their homes.

Nonetheless, I have yet to see what I pulled up behind as I parked my car last week...





























The irony of this picture-taking is... I thought it might look a little funny if someone were to see me snapping photos in the rain of someone's license plate and truck-interior, but there was no need for shame... I walked in the door of my apartment only to learn that the man to whom the pick-up belongs had just left by apartment after buying a piece of furniture from my roommates... wow- good timing!

I spy with my little eye...

1. Something alarming...
Did you hear that inauguration day is coming up in a mere 10 days? We are being told to prepare as if there were to be a tornado coming through... From the Arlington County Alerts website...

Be Prepared – For Weather and Crowds

• Dress appropriately -- listen to weather forecasts.
• Wear warm, comfortable shoes because you will have to walk long distances and stand for long periods of time.
• Consider whether you can stand outside in large crowds for up to six hours.
• Be ready to walk long distances — especially in the District of Columbia — because some Metro stations and roads will be closed.
• Be prepared for extremely crowded buses, trains, roads and highways, and long delays to get where you’re going.
• Bring with you any medications that you need because there will be very long delays in getting to and from events.
• Be aware that it may be difficult to talk or send pictures from your cell phone, according to wireless companies. Send text messages instead of making calls when possible.

According to the Washington Post, "Between 4 million and 5 million visitors are expected during the four-day inaugural celebration next month. That number represents about 20 percent of the 20 million visitors who came to Washington during all of last year."

2. Something necessary...
Running along the Reflecting Pool this evening (between Lincoln memorial and the WWII Memorial), I noticed I was next to an extraordinary wall of Honey Buckets (Portable Toilets)! It was incredible! I have seen some pretty long lines of these outhouses, but never quite like this before... They are literally lining both sides of the reflecting pool, which is 2029 feet long (which, is just under 2/5 of a mile)!!!

Here's the trivia inspired by this scene... There are about 3 gaps from 5 to 10 feet long separating sections of the toilets. Each section is tightly lined with toilets. How many outhouses would you estimate to be lining the Reflecting Pool? Closest estimate wins!

Use the pictures (above) I took by the pool to give you an idea of what you're estimating... some of the pics are actually really pretty from this time of day... hidden are the porter potties :)

3. Something beautiful...
The young night sky was so beautiful, and I got to run around the capitol building! (sadly, it was my first time back right next to it since this past summer)... so pretty! I love the buildings and monuments in DC!

Holiday Chills and Thrills

Life in Bellevue was quite different this December with all the snow storms. White covered the ground the first few days I spent with Dad, Mom, Kristen,Kev and Madi, Brian, and Maea... Oh, and Joey (Joseph Carlos), of course.

• Snow...One of my wishes for going home during this season was to play in the snow, as it's not as accessible in VA, so that I did for a couple days... Built a roofless "igloo" with the help of Kev (day 1) and Kristen (day 2)... then watched it melt just in time to rake up the bulk of the remaining leaves on the front lawn (day 10)... We didn't quite make it to the mountains this year as Snoq. Pass was closed on the day we had planned to venture. I like the snow as long as I am either warm inside looking at it OR equipped with dry warm clothing playing in it.
• Distance running ... I found a new loop that I titled the "Temple Run," which had the most cleared roads that I could run in the middle of during the snowy days without trekking through great amounts of deep or muddy snow.
• Laughing with Madi... She loves funny faces as well and looking in her reflection while perched high on my head pretending she's superwoman. Madi sleeping was also a novelty that Kristen and Kev enjoyed on occasion- I think there was just too much for us to catch up on (she's 7 months old).
• Volleyball with the Dixon family- non-contact sports are the safer way to ensure that friendships will last from year to year. Any game is fun with the Dixons!
• Christmas lights and a real Christmas tree- something about the classic colored Christmas lights stapled tightly to frame the facade of the house is nice to see, and Mom's favorite Evergreen Noble in the front room smells so good.
• Downtown Seattle- the Gingerbread house village at the Sheraton is always a quite view but fun to see... there's a really cool interactive digital table map that we enjoyed before we headed to enjoy dinner in Chinatown... House of Hong.
• Gingerbread house making... So, it wasn't much of a "contest" this year, but the Skeen girls did not fail us with Mom's stained glass windows, Maea's marshmallow igloo, and Kristen's fetuccini-noodle siding.
• Whirlyball with the McDonald family- competition was high as we rammed each other in bumper cars and raced to outscore our oponents with the whiffle ball in our scoops. This is a family tradition the McD's shared with us this year, and I think we are all convinced it ought spread to more states. Check it out HERE. Diane and Bill gave us a personal tour of the Bellevue Botanical garden lights they helped set up this year to cool us all off after the intense game.
• Swimming with diving sisters... I love swimming!!! Madi and Kev even joined us on one of our excursions- she loves the water.
• Sewing... this is something I still need to work on improving at, but I managed to complete two custom pillow cases- and there's more where those came from! :)
• Breakfast with the Popes- I love catching up with them, and they are always so nice to visit with... can't wait to hear news about their mission soon!!!
• Bowling... matched up well with Kristen and Kev, as we each left plenty of room for improvement on the second game... Mom, Dad and Maea were all stars next to us! (Dad and I wore shoes that made heads turn)
  
• Bowl Games... Kev and I bonded as we caught a few good games- my favorite to watch was Utes vs. Alabama... Honestly, it was fun to be cheering for Utah for once- they played a really good game and dominated against Bama... Should they be in the Champ game? Don't ask me.
• Board games... my oh my is "Life" outdated- still a great game, but it is quite eye-opening to observe the change in salaries and expenses from the time the game was made to now!

Great visit with the family and friends. I will ever be grateful for the relationships that were formed growing up in Bellevue and they continue to grow as time proceeds, families increase in size, and distances spread. Thanks for a great time Dad and Mom!