Pumpkin Time

I was on a pumpkin kick this weekend and made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin soup (thank you Kaitlyn!), and we carved our pumpkins on Monday night with our friends Brad and Jessica. Jessica made the ghost and I made the bat. Dan made the scary ghost and Brad made the cat. They turned out great and we had a lot of fun carving- just wish we took pictures of all us during the process!

Softball Champions......Again!

So about 2 months ago I did something that I never did during my whole time at BYU........I actually won an intramural sport. (I made it to the championship for like 3 different sports including softball, dodge-ball, and prolly like Frisbee golf) Technically this wasn't an intramural since it was through Orem City and I believe it's more of a Recreation League for Old People. However, the glory of winning an intramural activity at BYU is that you get the coveted BYU Champion t-shirt. I tried for 4 and a half years to get one of those shirts....and never succeeded. Much to my dismay, both Meghan and Erin have their t-shirts...(i think that Erin even has two now!) (i'm very happy for them both....yet a little bitter at the same time)

So anyways....that all changed 2 months ago when my team won our league tournament. When we won I threw my glove in the air and ran towards the pitcher and started jumping up and down (cause that's what the pros do) and I think that it ended up being just me and the pitcher jumping up and down in the middle of the field. It looked more like we were consoling each other cause there was a line of 40 guys in the restroom and we were holding in a pee that couldn't wait to come out. Finally the rest of the team got involved and it was a fun and glorious time with much rejoicing.



So.....two months later (which brings us to like a week ago) we were in our tournament again for our Summer league. We made it to the championship game again and we played this team full of Polynesian GIANTS.....seriously some of the guys on that team have calf muscles the size of my head. And i have a pretty big head......both literally and figuratively. They can crush the ball. Seriously. CRUSH. It was a double elimination tournament and they beat us the first game.....then we came back and beat them the next game 8-7 so we won the league again!!!!!



So this time not only did we get a very sweet trophy which will soon reside on our fireplace mantel.....or is it mantle....i'm not sure...anyways.......not only will the trophy go on the fireplace thing.....BUT WE WON T-SHIRTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally, 7 years after the pursuit of a championship sport t-shirt my quest has reached it's end. The fellowship has fulfilled it's divine purpose....Hobbits, giant eagles, and even crispy bacon played it's part in getting me my championship t-shirt. (if you don't get that last sentence....you are obviously not a Hollingshaus...and you probably need to watch Lord of the Rings sometime during the holiday season.

Seattle

FrWe had a fabulous trip to Seattle two weekends ago to visit our friends Blake and Sheena! The weather was beautiful on Saturday-not a cloud in the sky so we did a bus and boat tour of the city on the "Duck Bus"...hence our "quackers" around our necks :)







On the tour we saw the house used in filming Sleepless in Seattle.



After the tour we ate fish n'chips for lunch on the pier at Ivar's. Then we strolled through Pike Place Market and saw "the fish guys", lots of gorgeous flowers, fruits, and vegetables. I wish I had a market like that close by- I would have fresh flowers every week!



We had a good view of Mount Rainier on our drive into the Seattle.



I loved how green it was there and how close it was to the mountains and water. We will definitely have to go back again sometime! Thanks for the fun weekend Blake and Sheena!!

Lately...

Dan's softball team won the Orem City Championship and Dan was so excited to say the least! We celebrated after with the team at The Purple Turtle for milkshakes!





My mom and Ashley are here for the weekend so on Friday night Becky, Erin and Steven came over too. I had sparklers that never got used so we have fun with them.


I went to Dante's birthday party yesterday morning. I play with him every Friday and we have a blast. When he talks about me he says "my Meghan". How cute!


We went and visited my aunt and uncle that live really close to us now this afternoon and Dan had fun in their chicken coop! My uncle builds these and sells them...apparently it is kind of cool to have your own chickens. I didn't dare hold one...animals aren't really my thing, especially birds!

4th of July in DC

Ok so I was awful at taking hardly any pictures during my trip to DC. I was having too much fun and always on the go that I never really took my camera out. So this is going to be more like a journal entry. I spent my first morning with Dan's sister Melissa and her little girls. We had a picnic at the park and then I went to Marriott to visit lots of old coworkers. It was so great to be able to catch up with so many friends there and to here that I am still missed. In fact I was even told that they still have my old computer and would set it up for me if I would stay! That was flattering to hear but I had to decline. I was quickly running out of time because I had to make it into the city to meet friends for dinner and I knew the beltway (495) would be a beast. And surely it was but I made it into the city just in time for dinner with Anne, her hubby Grayden, and our awesome friend Matt. We ate at Coco Sala, a swanky Tapas and dessert restaurant famous for its three course chocolate dessert. After dinner Anne and I drove to Crystal City to see our friend Torrey. She always has great stories to tell and her latest was that two of the Russian spies that were recently caught had been living in the apartment complex where she works! She also let me leave my car there overnight which was super cool because parking in the city is not so cool. So Anne and I took the metro back to her studio apartment in Chinatown and crashed for the night. How cool is it that this is the view out her window?!



The next morning I had some time by myself so I got a Boston Creme donut from Dunkin Donuts and walked to the Sculpture Garden to have my breakfast and read for a little bit. The weather was gorgeous that morning and I walked around the mall a little bit to the National Archives, Capital, and Washington Monument. I got a kick out of watching a little preschool class playing t-ball on the lawn in front of he Capital!





The Portrait Gallery opened at 11:30 and I went there until Anne was done work. I hadn't been before so that was one stop I definitely wanted to make. They have an exhibit of all the American presidents and I have to admit there were a good five or six that I didn't know at all! I need to brush up on my American history! There was a Norman Rockwell exhibit too that I enjoyed. Once I met up with Anne we walked to 14th Street to check out a bunch of furniture stores. I loved this as well and we got a lunch and yummy chocolate shakes. I then had to say goodbye to Anne to go meet up with another one of my best friends Kate. I met her at the metro and we rode it out to Crystal City to pick up my car at Torrey's. We then went to dinner in Shirlington and talked and laughed and had a fabulous time. The thing you have to know about Kate is that she has the best laugh in the entire world. It is so infectious and I told Dan it was one of the things I was really looking forward to on my trip! I spent the next morning with her too in Georgetown shopping and eating. We went to Georgetown Cupcake and ate DELICIOUS crepes at a little creperie. It was so fun walking around M Street again because we had lived there for four months during our internships. I sadly then had to say goodbye to her and made my way back out to Virginia. I got to visit my cousin who has a new baby girl and stopped by my old townhouse and got to visit my old roommate Christina. It was so fun to be back! By this time it was Saturday afternoon and I went back to Melissa's house to spend the rest of the weekend with Dan's family. I had such a great time playing with nieces and nephews, playing games late into the night and laughing hysterically about who knows what, and celebrating my birthday! I am a hard person to surprise but they pulled it off. My birthday isn't until the end of the month but while I was going to be with his family they told Dan they wanted to celebrate. He arranged as well to have my present for me there. I really was so shocked. I was talking with his Dad and next thing I knew there was a cake in the kitchen and cards with my name on them. My cake was a Chocolate Truffle Bomb cake- haha Melissa knows me well!





My present from Dan and his parents is this amazing Panasonic camera! I am so excited to start using it. What a great early birthday surprise! The next day was Ellie's baby blessing and 4th of July. We had a BBQ dinner and set off some fireworks in the backyard. I watched from just inside the screen door because my feet were already eaten alive by mosquitoes. I was really missing Dan at this point and was glad I was going home the next morning. So after a very early flight I found myself back in Utah with Dan at our new little house and I was home!

DC here I come!

I got the very best gift in the whole wide world and I'm going to DC next week. In case you can't tell...I'm stoked! Dan's parents and brother's family will be there for a baby blessing so I'll get to see a lot of his family. I can't wait to hold these little girls:

And some of my best friends are still in DC as well so I'm anxious to get to spend time with them. I really love the city itself and am so excited to go to some of my favorite museums and monuments. I would be a little worried that I won't want to come home but I will be anxious to get home to Dan and to get out of the heat and humidity. I'll take lots of pictures!