Six Flags

We spent the whole day at Six Flags. We hit the roller coasters first which turned out to be a good thing because all of the crowds stayed in the water park during the day because of the heat. We ran as fast as we could to the biggest roller coaster in the park but got sidetracked because Ethan saw the train.

After a painfully slow train ride (Ethan liked it) we jumped onto the Ride of Steel. The Superman drop. :) 200 foot drop and speeds that reach 75mph. (pictured on the left) I've never been on a ride like that. I love roller coasters but that was insane. I could barely walk when we got off. We hit The Joker next which was low key but still a lot of fun and then we took Ethan over to the kiddy area where there were rides a plenty for two year olds.

He went on a Roadrunner ride which turned into the highlight of the trip. It's a small roller coaster and has no big drops or high speeds but the look of terror on his face was hilarious as the ride started. (pictured on the right you can see David and the top of Ethan's little head. The third seat back) David kept his hand on Ethan the whole ride to make him feel more secure but he had never experienced anything like that before. At the end Ethan said, "Whoa!" When David asked if he liked it he answered yes but when David asked if he wanted to do it again he said no. :)

Around 3pm we headed over to the water park to cool off. (pictured below is Ethan playing in the water and my legs in the background) I spent the next few hours catching Ethan at the bottom of the water slide and watching him splash water in his face. I loved just sitting in the water and doing nothing after so much running around. Just to end the day on a good note David and I ran over to the last big roller coaster in the park called the Mind Eraser. It's one where your feet dangle and the wind gets knocked out of you because you'er going around in such tight circles.

Because everyone was at the water park the longest we waited for any ride was about 10 minutes. Now that we're home (Just in time too. Rain.) we're making homemaid funnel cakes and reminising about the strangled look on our faces during the Superman ride.

Toads, toddlers, and botanic gardens

That's right! We have toads here in our Maryland yard! I went to take the recycling to the curb and almost stepped on a toad. I ran inside and grabbed Lins so she could see the creepy little guy. Linsay and I snapped a picture but by the time we decided to catch one they had disappeared. We searched through the bushes with flashlights and sticks but came up dry. I'm going to go out searching every night until I find one...just not in the backyard. I'm still too afraid of getting a tick. I only want to keep it long enough to show Ethan and then I can set it free. :)

The Botanic Garden
This morning we headed out for the Botanic Gardens and having only looked at a rough map got very lost. We ended up near the water front and had to walk about a mile and a half to get back towards the capitol. By the time we got to the gardens it was the heat of the day and things started to drag. I was the one who decided that the gardens would be fun because I thought Ethan would like running around and seeing all of the flowers.

Unfortunately Ethan hated it because he couldn't pick any of the flowers, play in the water, or keep the sunscreen out of his eyes. The heat and humidity eventually got to be unbearable so we headed home. Just in time too. It has been poring rain all day and it's expected to continue until late tomorrow. I love east coast weather. They don't mess around with rain storms here with droplets the size of golf balls and thunder that shakes the roof.

I'll keep you updated on the toad hunt and post pictures when I catch one.

Other Maryland delights: Our neighborhood ice cream man plays Christmas music and drives super fast down the streets. Ethan thinks deer are called "little guys" (For the full story see teammabey.blogspot.com). Fireflies are totally gross in the daylight. Metro stations make it impossible for people with strollers to get around.

Purpose and Meaning

Want to find purpose and meaning in your life? Follow my advice: It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you believe it.

Sidewalk chalk, sad sheep, and single's ward

Summer is here! Fireworks, corn on the cob, and swimming pools. Ethan loves to play in the water and tries his best to splash me but usually ends up just throwing the water in his face. Some gardening has started and the misquitos are out.

About a week and a half ago Linsay and I took Ethan outside to use his sidewalk chalk. While Ethan scribbled I promply decided that grown ups need play time too and took to drawing a sheep. Linsay immediately joined in and drew a lightning bolt. I asked if the bolt was in honor of the approaching Harry Potter film. She replied,"No. Your sheep is about to be struck."

She thought she was hilarious. I finished my sheep with a sad face because I figured being hit by lightning probably wasn't very fun.

Ethan was so cute with his corn on the cob. I'm afraid that I've been spoiled with Utah corn from the Harward Farms stands and I wasn't terribly impressed with the farmer's market corn here in DC. The only corn I've tasted that is better than the Harward Farms was in Kirksville, Missouri when Larissa and Jeff lived there. Still DC corn is better than no corn at all. For what is summer without butter on your chin and a nibblet wedged between your front teeth?

I've heard several complaints about how dry the heat is this summer in DC but I love it. I can handle the dry heat. It's the combination if humidity and heat that drags me down but so far while I've been here I've only had one day that was particularly sticky.

Summer is always fun but I can't wait to come home to Utah in the fall.







Something I've noticed about my east coast ward is they seem to be much friendlier than Utah wards. My first week in church was at my sister's family ward and by the time the block was over about a dozen people had introduced themselves and tracked us down to say hello. In my single's ward I shook hands with just about everyone in the ward (about 50 people), had an invite to go to the beach on Saturday with a group of girls, asked to played volleyball on Monday and had 3 guys ask for my phone number by the time the "linger longer" was over. I definitely love this area of DC and the ward that goes with it. I guess there are perks to being the freshest meat in the market. :)

Curse the Lybians!

How could our world have become so obsessed with making money?

Everywhere I go I hear people talking about how they can make the most amount of money possible with the least amount of work on their part. People are obsessed with getting rich quick and no one seems to realize that you can be perfectly happy without piles of money to roll around in and that the rewards are sweeter to reap when you know that you worked you butt off and deserve them.

Money. I know that, thanks to the Lybians (they invented the concept of money), we can't do without it. I understand that people have to survive. We buy food, gas, health care, clothing, houses, cars, cell phones, education, and the occasional vacation. Undoubtedly life would be a struggle without enough money to get by but then I know of so many people who have nothing and still find happiness in families and friends.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't mind not working for the rest of my life because I had just come into a lot of money but honestly I believe that if you want something then you work your butt off and sacrifice and that is when the rewards come. I think it is a good thing to have to work hard in order to get to the pay off. Honestly, I think that people have forgotten how to work hard or perhaps their parents never taught them a good work ethic in the first place.

And honestly everyone with half a brain knows that while money may bring more comfort to your life, it doesn't bring happiness. The things that bring true happiness take work. Family, true friends, purpose. None of those things can be bought. My money role model is the father of a close friend of mine. Mr. Ashby has extensive education and could have qualified for any pharmacy in the U.S. but what does he do? He sells guitars and DJs at dances. It is enough money to support his family and his missionary but more importantly it is a job he loves, works hard at and gives him plenty of time with his family.

Look at all of the movie and rock stars. Do you honestly think they are happy? Some are. But not because of the money. Because they have families to come home to. They walk off the set and have people who can't wait for them to come home. Some just think they are happy and I feel sorry for them. Because if their supply of money was ever interrupted they would have a sad awakening. They would realize how very alone they really are. They would see that all of their "friends" that are now gone were only there for the money. And that wife that was stunningly beautiful has left for someone else who still had a bundle in the bank.

Family. Friends. Purpose. Find the true and loyal ones and hold on to those people. That is happiness. Let me say it again: Money will not make you happy. Why focus all of your energy on schemes that rarely work and won't bring you joy?

I've been incredibly blessed to have an amazing family and close friends who care about me and wonder how I'm doing. That's what it's about. Get out of the world, people and into a home. Stop putting forth the minimum amount of effort and try working. 

Maryland Mayhem

Well, it's been a while since I've made a blog post because we didn't have internet here in MD until now so let me catch you up on what's been going on here.

I've visited the National Zoo and thought the Panda bears were sooooo cute. My favorite. Ethan had a great time in the bird house and then we had to leave for Ethan's nap so we didn't see the big cats or the monkeys. Next time.

The 4th of July celebrations started with a parade full of liberal ideals and even a float that said, "Arrest Bush!" (pictured below). We had a BBQ with David's family and then headed downtown to see the fireworks. Ethan hasn't stopped speaking of fireworks since then. We sat right in front of the Washington Monument and had an amazing view of the show.

Today we went to the Aquarium. My favorite part was the dolphin show and the shark exhibit.

Other than that life had been fairly calm. The house is almost set up and we even bought paint to cover up the florescent blue shutters. I'm starting to get a feel for the streets and the metro and now that I'm all settled in I shall begin my explore of the city. Not much to blog about today but stay tuned for the amazing explorer journal of Elyse the Magnificent as she ventures forth into the great capitol of the U.S.

The cruise and the move

Wow! It's been a long time since I've blogged but I honestly haven't had time. These past 3 weeks have been crazy! First of all my family went on a cruise to celebrate David's graduation from medical school. Congrats, Dave!

The first day we went to Disney World's Magic Kingdom. It opened at 8am so Linsay and I set our alarms and got into the park right as it opened. Those who wanted to sleep in (Callie, Wendy and David) met up with us at about 10:30am. We did all the classic rides: Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and of course Pirates of the Caribbean but Space Mountain was closed until winter. Sad.

The second day David's family met up with us and we all went to Epcot. I must admit I loved Magic Kingdom more than Epcot. It was just okay as far as things to do. I think it's great if you like shopping all day long. I don't.

On Saturday the 13th we boarded the Carnival Glory and got all settled into our cabins. Callie, Wendy and I shared a cabin on the inside of the ship and Linsay and David had a balcony cabin right across the hall. Mary, Brent (David's parents), Lauren (David's cousin), and Cassie (David's sister) we all in rooms next to us as well.

Sunday was a full day at sea so I spent most of my time on deck looking at the ocean. I absolutely love the feeling of solitude you get when you can't see anything on all sides except water. I unfortunately fell asleep on deck and got sunburned to death. I had blisters all over my shoulders and legs. Ewwww...

On Monday we docked at Grand Turk. The whole island was hit by a hurricane not to long ago so the only thing to do there is play on the beach. It was a short day as well. We only docked from 8am to 2pm.

On Tuesday we hit Jamaica which was by far my favorite place to go. We hiked up (not up to... up) a waterfall, went ocean kayaking, and rode a chair lift up to Mystic Mountain.

Wednesday was Grand Cayman Island. We swam with stingrays and snorkelled a bit on a reef and then spent the rest of the day shopping. And of course, we hit the Hard Rock Cafe.

The last two days were at sea. I spent a lot of time on Linsay and Dave's balcony watching the water. A pod of dolphins swam next to the boat for a while and one night we had some lightning. That was the best part of the whole trip. When the lightning touches the water it lights up everything below the surface. It was night so I could see everything in the water hundreds of feet down. Amazing!

The last day in Florida we debarked and went to the Kennedy Space Center. That was pretty scha-weet and I bought myself a Star Trek t-shirt. It was so hot and humid but I guess it's good practice for Maryland.

Total count for the cruise:
Number of Churro's eaten: 2
Number of soft serve ice cream cones eaten: 7
Number of boys who flirted outrageously with me: 5

Which brings me to the move.

Linsay and I left on Monday the 22nd at about 7am and headed to Maryland. We took our time getting here and so only went as far as Omaha, NE our first day. The second day we went as far as South Bend, Indiana where my sister lives. We slept there and then spent the whole next day hanging out with Larissa and Beck. We went to the beach on Lake Michigan and then shopped the outlets. Beck took so time before he warmed up to me and Linsay but by the end of the second day we were BFFs. Thanks, Lars for letting us stay!

Yesterday we made it to our new home: Hyattsville, Maryland. It's not too humid yet but it's only June. I can't wait for July and August. We are still getting settled and we have a lot of work ahead of us. My room is totally set up but pretty much the whole rest of the house is in boxes. I'm excited to get to know the new area and see all of the museums and monuments. We are about 20 driving minutes away from downtown Washington DC so I have plenty of things to do. I love this area and my new home. Below are some more pictures from the past few weeks.