My Parents Came to Visit

       During the first weekend in April 2014 my parents came to visit us in Pittsburgh. The first part of the trip was spent traveling DC with my parents and the second part of the trip we explored Pittsburgh with them. The trip was originally planned during the height of the cherry blossom festival, but due to the cold weather this winter it was only the beginning of the blossoms.

     The first day of the trip we drove through Baltimore and walked around Annapolis during the morning. Annapolis has some beautiful architecture. Matt often says it reminds him of Balboa Island. That night after exploring Annapolis and settling into DC we met up with the Glens for dinner and then explored the monuments. My favorite time to visit Lincoln Memorial and the World War 2 Memorial is at night. My parents loved walking around the monuments. The Lincoln Memorial is one of my favorites because I love that he is sitting there looking over the mall and capital in the middle of the building. On his right and left side there are two of his most popular ape aches written on the wall. 

We got crab cakes for lunch and my dad was pretty excited about it. 

On the second day we woke up early and took the subway into DC.  We started off by going to the American History museum. My mom and I really wanted to see the First Lady inauguration gowns exhibit. My mom also was taking pictures of things to show her first grade class such as the red slippers worn in the Wizard of Oz, or historic battle ships. We then went to the Natural History Museum to see the hope diamond. It was much bigger than I thought it would be. After visiting the museums we walked down to see the White House and grab some lunch. After lunch we went to the Air and Space Museum and then to the tidal basin. Even though the cherry blossoms were not in full bloom the magnolia trees were beautiful. We then took the subway back to the hotel and drove over to the Georgetown where we ate dinner and got toasted marshmallow milk shakes for a special treat.

We found some beautiful magnolia trees walking around DC. 

The whole group in front of the Washington Monument. 

We had to take my parents to Good Stuff Eatery for toasted marshmallow shakes. My mom was a little apprehensive at first because there was no chocolate after her first sip she realized it does not need chocolate.  

The third day in DC we went to Mount Vernon.  I have always wanted to go to Mount Vernon but have never been. We toured the property and the house. It was beautiful  and had a great view of the Potomac. A lot of the pieces in the home were still period to the time that George and Martha Washington lived there.

After DC my parents came to Pittsburgh with us. We went to Falling water their first day in Pittsburgh. Matt and I love taking our friends and family to visit Falling Water. I would highly recommend seeing it if you are ever in the Pittsburgh area. I love having family come to visit and show them where we live and what we do. It was so fun having my family visit and to be able to explore DC with them. 

Matt's 26th Birthday

Matt's parents came to visit us in the fall of 2013. During that time we were able to celebrate both Matt's birthday and his Dad's birthday. It was right in the middle of fall which was so beautiful this year. We were able to go see falling water during the fall which is my favorite time to go. The leaves were all different colors and created the perfect back drop to the house. We loved having them visit and enjoyed celebrating Matt's birthday with family. 

During Matt's birthday week he had a photo exhibit. His parents were able to see the photos he had taken for the exhibit. I am so proud of all the work he did and how the exhibit turned out during a busy semester. 

Christmas 2013 with the McCulloughs in the City

We stayed in Pittsburgh for Christmas again this year and were able to have the  whole McCullough family come visit. We love Pittsburgh at Christmas time and were so glad we could share the experience with them. We were able to go visit a lot of festive places and eat yummy food on Christmas. We also were able to talk to my brother in Atlanta which was so much fun. 

We explored downtown's Christmas lights and decorations. We also shopped at the cute international Christmas shops they have set up. We all got some adorable ornaments to remember our trip by. We also went into the PPG building to see the Santas Around the World display. This is one of my favorite things about Christmas here in Pittsburgh. Around the perimiter of the room there are the traditional Santa from countries all around the world and a description on what the tradition is. In the center of the room they have it decorated with gingerbread houses donated by people in the community. It is such a fun Christmas tradition that we enjoy in Pittsburgh and I like going back as much as possible. 

On Christmas Eve we went to the Hall of Architecture at the Carnegie Natural History and Art Museum. During Christmas time the decorate the hall with gigantic Christmas trees that each have a different theme. They also have a very detailed nativity in the middle of the room. After we saw the trees we took a quick peek at the dinosaurs exhibit. It is a huge exhibit that has more dinosaur fossils then the Smithsonian. If you ever come to Pittsburgh I would highly recommend visiting the Carnegie Natural History and Art Museum. 

After Christmas and before the McCullough family took off we went to the National Aviary. Pittsburgh has a great Aviary that has a great penguin exhibit and finch exhibit. I could sit in the finch exhibit all afternoon it is so peaceful. We went to a few feedings and enjoyed walking around the exhibits before we had to say goodbye to the McCullough clan. 

During the McCullough clans visit we went to the Phipps Conservatory's Christmas flower and light show. The Phipps has a different flower show for each season. At Christmas time they have extended hours and incorporate lights with their seasonal plant and flower exhibits. It is beautiful and one of my favorite things to do in Pittsburgh at Christmas.

Biking Pittsburgh

After Matt finished his first year in Law School we decided we wanted to explore more outdoor activities in Pittsburgh. We decided to hike and bike more frequently. Pittsburgh has a lot of great paths to bike and also has great mountain biking tracks in the Frick Park. We love to take long bike rides on the weekends downtown especially. One time when The Duck was stationed at the point of the rivers we decided to ride our bikes down to see it. It was absolutely packed but it was fun to see how excited everyone got about The Duck coming to Pittsburgh. 

Pit Stop on the Hot Medal Bridge and then we finally got to see The Duck. Can you believe how many people were there? The Duck had already been there for 3 weeks at this point in time.  

After the coldest winter of my life Matt and I decided as soon as it was warm enough we were going to be outside as much as possible. So on one of the first warm Saturdays in 2014 (which sadly was not until April) we went for a nice long bike ride. It was a beautiful day and everyone was out enjoying the sunshine. I love that people in Pittsburgh go outside and enjoy the warm weather and activities to do around here. 

At the point. 

The start of the bike ride. 

Visiting Friends in DC

       One of the things we love most about Pittsburgh is the close proximity we are to so many places and people. We especially love being close to DC and visiting some of the good friends we have made over the years. 

        Our first trip out to DC was over New Years 2013 and we visited our dear friends Mitch and Emily. I was able to work with both Mitch and Emily at the MTC and have always enjoyed spending time with them. We spent a lot of time laughing and playing games. Our first day there we visit Annapolis Maryland which is the cutest town. 

We also spent some time in DC at the mall visiting some of the Smithsonian's. Matt loved the air and space museum and I loved the American History museum. 

We had the opportunity to go visit some of our dear friends that we met in Pittsburgh a few times in DC. I just love DC and how much there is to do there. One of our visits to DC was in May. The weather was beautiful and everything was so green. During this trip we went to the Arlington National Cemetery, DC, and Gettysburg. We were able to see and do so much on this trip during such a short amount of time. 

Arlington National Cemetery 

TOASTED MARSHMALLOW MILK SHAKE is by far my favorite thing to eat when I visit.

In front of the White House.

Inside the hotel that coined the term lobbyist. 

Gettysburg was so much bigger than I realized. The battlefields were spread out so much that you could not even walk from location to location you had to drive or take a horse. It was beautiful and much more hilly than I originally pictured in my mind.

Over labor day we went out to DC again to visit Brad and Amanda. We had so much fun exploring the city with them. We ate lots of yummy food and explored the Mall and monuments together. It was so hot during this trip but so much fun. On Monday we were able to do a Temple trip together before we had to return to go back home. We miss Brad and Amanda and wish they still lived in Pittsburgh with us. 

We took boats onto the Tidal Basin to see the Jefferson Monument. We also went to Serendipity to get Frozen Hot Chocolate. It was a great treat to cool off with on such a hot day. 

No trip to DC is complete without a little Cafe Rio. I miss having one so close like we did in Provo but at least DC has one. 

The DC temple is beautiful. 

Austin's Visit to Pittsburgh

     In August of 2013 Austin came to visit us in Pittsburgh. We love showing our family and friends all the fun things we love about Pittsburgh. Austin had just come back from a summer in Ughanda when he came to stay with us in Pittsbugh and we enjoyed hearing stories about his crazy adventure. We made sure to take him to Falling Water, take him on an incline and eat some yummy food.