I went back to walk.

WHERE: Provo, Utah
WHEN: April 2007
WITH: Mom and Dad
WHY: I technically graduated in December 2006, but I came back so I could walk for graduation.

MEMORIES:
-Seeing all my teaching program friends.
-Having President Hinckley present at commencement.
-Vice President Dick Cheney spoke at commencement.
-My friend Steven Pearson speaking at commencement.  He was in my ward my sophomore year.
-Even though they said "no yelling" when announcing people as they walked, mom and dad yelled for me :)

On campus.

President Hinckley!

Receiving my (cover for my already received) diploma.

I got it!

My best teaching buddy Laura - couldn't have survived without her!

I have great, supportive parents.

New Zealand crew and Lloyd!

I had a special symbol next to my name saying I had graduated in December.

Where I spent most of my life.

The zenith of 4th of July celebrations.

WHERE: Washington D.C.
WHEN: July 2013
WITH: Kelli Arnesen (Baker), Matt Coss, Courtney Hansen
WHY: Our friend Courtney moved to DC that year, so we went to visit her and is there a better place to celebrate Independence Day?  Probably not.  Kelli came for the first part of the trip; Matt and I stayed a little longer.

MEMORIES:
-Day trip to watch a Gettysburg reenactment; it happened to be the 150th anniversary of the battle during the time we were there.  (Even though we were far away and didn't really see much it was fun to be there.)
-While walking in Georgetown at night touring the campus I saw my first firefly close-up.  It was the coolest thing!  I was pretty giddy about it.
-Georgetown cupcakes.  We went twice.
-A lot of time spent on the National Mall: monuments, museums, Holocaust memorial, national archives, U.S. capitol, White House, etc.
-Washington Nationals baseball game, with Shake Shack for dinner.  There were these people behind us (a somewhat large group) who smuggled in their own tuna sandwiches and accessories for dinner.  It was amusing.
-4th of July: We spent the morning touring a quaint suburb of the area (can't remember the name), then took the metro into the Mall.  It was hot and busy so we spent some time waiting in the museums (saw an IMAX movie on stars), had dinner, and played shuffleboard at a bar.  Just before dark we quickly found a spot with the National Monument in front of us and the Capitol behind us.  They didn't wait until it got completely dark, and there didn't seem to be music to go along with it, but it was a good show.  As Matt said, "This is going to be the zenith of my 4th of July celebrations."

Gettysburg: big deal.

The viewing crew.

Kelli, Me, Matt and Courtney

Cupcakes before dinner.

So many delicious cupcakes.

World War II Memorial

White House

Some favorite paintings from National Gallery of Art

Favorite fossil from National Museum of Natural History

First Lady garb and china inside of National Museum of American History

Kelli and I waiting for the tour at the Capitol

United States Capitol

National Archives (no pictures allowed inside).

Washington Monument was under construction from an earthquake a couple of years ago.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Supreme Court building

FDR and MLK memorials. 

(It was rainy some days.)

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

National Cemetery; I actually really enjoyed this tour.

Mount Vernon.

Play ball!

We made a "4th of July People-Watching" scavenger hunt.  We saw a lot on the list!

Waiting for the fireworks to start - prime watching spot!

Happy 4th of July!

Jam-packed weekend.

WHERE: Chicago, Illinois
WHEN: October 2011
WITH: Casey Chapman
WHY: My roommate Jesselah was able to get me a "buddy pass" (flight anywhere for barely nothing).  My friend Casey had recently moved to Chicago and I had never been and had a free place to stay, so why not?

MEMORIES: 
-Millennium Park and the "shiny bean."
-First time seeing someone doing "parkour."  Thought it was weird then and still think it's weird now.
-Art walk in the Chicago Art District.  Lots of great art in a lot of great buildings.
-Breakfast at the Bongo Room (amazing pancakes...they were pretty much like dessert).
-Tour of the Chicago Tribune Building.  It was actually some special weekend when I went where they were letting the public go through some of the buildings that they usually don't; this was one of them.
-Authentic Chicago deep dish pizza
-Seeing a comedy show at Second City
-We did and saw much more than I listed; I got some pretty bad blisters from all of our walking!

View from the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier

This guy was at this pond at Navy Pier.  It was so weird - he was a grown man crawling around six inches of water hissing and catching this bone with his mouth.  Highly entertaining.

Lots of cool structures/sculptures/architecture.

Marilyn Monroe statue, Casey, and Me

There was a building (can't remember the name) where there are various rocks/stones from all over the country embedded in the walls - here is some OR love (part of Fort Clatsop).

A late night listening to Jazz music at Green Mill Jazz Club.

Swim-up bar dreams were crushed.

WHERE: San Juan, Puerto Rico
WHEN: March 2009
WITH: Diana
WHY: Spring Break

MEMORIES:
-We got really, really burned.  It was pretty bad.
-They were filming a Disney Channel movie with Selena Gomez at our hotel, thus closing off part of the pool that included the swim-up bar.  It actually became an annoyance.
-Visiting Old San Juan - some pretty buildings.
-Visiting the rainforest.  We saw some other people filming a movie with Johnny Depp.

It got a little bit cold...but those hammocks were nice!

Selena Gomez filming Wizards of Waverly Place movie.

Fortress or something in Old San Juan

Rainforest - see...we were burned.

Treats. San Francisco treats.

WHERE: San Francisco, California
WHEN: March 2010
WITH: Jill Macdonald (Hill) and Jessie Willes (Beesley)
WHY: Spring break!

MEMORIES:
-It was a long drive.
-We stayed with Glenn Germany (college friend) for a night and Steve Pearson (another college friend) for a few nights.
-Watching the second Twilight movie on Steve's wall when neither Steve nor his roommate were home.
-We met up with Ryan Hill (Jill's future husband) for some sightseeing as he was also driving down to San Francisco.  
-It got too confusing with two Jessi(e)s in the car, so Jessie Willes renamed herself Carol.  We still call her Carol, or Jessie Carol when we are both around each other or talked about in conversation.
-Pier 30, Ghiradelli Square, Trolley rides, Lombard Street, Chinatown, Full House house, Golden Gate Bridge, and Golden Gate Park (my favorite)
-Jelly Belly factory tour on the way home!

Ryan, Jessi, Jill, Jessie

Ghiradelli Square

Lombard Street

Trolley ride.

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Bridge

Watching Twilight on Steve's wall.

Jelly Belly Factory!