Friends

We have been back in Utah for nearly a year and are still trying to catch up on the year and a half that we missed out on. This summer has proven to be the time to catch up.
During the first part of June I had my first break in school so Dannielle and I planned a trip without Bella! We chose to head east. I spent a portion of my childhood in Virginia as my dad was in dental school, but Dannielle had never been to that part of the country. Conveniently we have great friends that live in Northern Virginia and we planned to head there and see all that we could in 8 days.
Our first stop was Reston, VA. Cole was in my MTC group and has been putting up with me for nearly ten years now! I have to believe that JC keeps them on the move so our children won't influence their children for the worse, but they are great, great friends.
This picture was taken at Great Falls. We had a great picnic and a nice little hike, and as always we were entertained by the toddlers!

After a few days in Virginia, Dannielle and I headed to New York. We had a rental car and drove up through New Jersey. We stopped in Atlantic City to watch Le Grand Cirque at the Tropicana. It was a good show and at $30/ticket I think it was well priced. Atlantic City was SCARY! We have no pictures because we got in and got out as fast as we could!
During our time in new York we stayed on Staten Island and took the ferry into Manhattan everyday. Dannielle got some great pictures on our ferry rides.
The Brooklyn Bridge on a rainy night, after seeing Wicked.


The Met
Me in a Zen garden

Not found in Cambodia

I think they got the idea for this one from a Vegas hotel

Dannielle in Central Park

Dannielle at 30 Rock (We like the show too!)

Back to Virginia. We stopped in Arlington on our way back into town. I have not been to many places that have the reverent feeling that Arlington has. It was a highlight of my trip. My uncle owns a monument business and I have helped him place headstones for the past few months. I actually really enjoy cemeteries, and find them amazingly peaceful. I have great respect for those that serve our country, and the wives that many of them leave behind. I hope all of you have an opportunity to visit Arlington and pay respect to those that have died for our great United States.

Changing of the guards at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier



View from the Arlington House

Other things to see in DC




This weekend we were invited to spend time up at Bear Lake with more of our friends. We didn't pack the camera for the trip and only got a few pictures from Dannielle's phone. The pictures don't quite do justice to the amount of fun we had. It was truly a summation of everything we missed when we lived out of state.

We have been blessed with great friends that are spread all over the world, and I have learned through our travels that this world really isn't that big. I met a girl on the subway in New York that was from one of the areas I served in while in Cambodia. I heard her speak khmae with a friend and jumped right into their conversation. They were amazed and even took a picture of the white guy on the subway that spoke khmae. I think I'm on someone's facebook page now! While waiting in the airport to fly home from DC, I saw a childhood friend that I haven't seen in 6 years. We caught up on things as we waited for the same plane. As we were walking out of Arlington Cemetery a girl asked to borrow my phone because she had become separated from her family. She asked if it was OK to dial an 801 area code, I said that would be fine considering my phone was also an 801 area code. She lives just a short drive from my parents house. I have always been impressed by the connections we make during life and as I reflect on these things I believe that there is a higher order to things. Thanks to all of our friends that enlighten our lives!