3786 miles

Well, it has been a while to say the least. We’ve been in DC for nearly a month now, and I still feel like we haven’t had more than a few minutes to sit down and relax. Between trying to furnish and paint our pad (apartment for those who aren’t up on the lingo), Julie getting started with school, and me trying to get settled with being out here for work, and a million other things…it has been rather hectic to say the least. A few things we’ve learned; 1. The traffic here is even worse than everyone says it is 2. It is a lot harder and more expensive might I say, to furnish an apartment than I ever would have dreamed 3. DC is even cooler than I remember from when I have lived here in the past 4. The melting pot of cultures here is absolutely awesome 5. There is something so gratifying about running for 5 minutes and then being on the National Mall. And 6. The guy who designed the streets/layout of DC was not the sharpest tool in the shed – well he wouldn’t have even made it to the shed, crykee the streets are confusing and weirdly place here…it even confuses the tomtoms and garmins.

Let me not get ahead of myself here…I finally had a minute to put these pics of my computer, so you’re going to get a flyby of the last month of our lives which was highlighted by a car smashed full of stuff driving first from SLC to Big Bear Lake, CA for Julie’s fam’s reunion and then driving all the way to DC. We figured if we were going to drive across the country, might as well drive all the way across, not just the weak sauce SLC to DC route.

First is the car…it was a work of art. I cannot believe how much stuff we got into this little pup. Geometry has never looked so good. As you can see by the pics, we filled it up quite nicely, and after doing so, noticed that the car was considerably lower than before. But hey, it ran like a champ. Not bad for a car that was built when Julie was 2 and I was 5. Shout out to the Japanese. Notice the ample legroom.

From there we headed down to Big Bear Lake, CA, where Julie’s fam had an awesome cabin rented. It was like the calm before the storm. We just got to hang out, talk, eat, and enjoy some open space in preparation for being smashed in car for like 50 hours of driving. Julie’s fam is awesome…it has been so great to get to know them and get to know them better and better. Highlights included GI Joe with the brother in laws, hanging out on the beach, a baseball game, beauty sunsets, playing games and talking late into the night and wicked good food. Sorry I didn’t get a picture of the cabin.

From there it was this: and we were on our way

A look at all the landscapes across the country. From CA, to AZ, to NM, to TX, to OK, to AR, to TN, to VA, to DC there was definitely an abundance of different terrain. It was actually a lot prettier and more diverse than the northern route (I-80)

Stopped in Oklahoma City, which was actually a really cool city. Highlighted by the beautiful memorial for the Oklahoma City bombing. I can still remember sitting in my sixth grade class watching the news the day this happened.

From there, we walked in Memphis, and then stopped where I was most excited about…Nashville! That place is awesome. Here is it is proven, that is is still cool to wear tight jeans, cowboy boots, a flannel shirt, and cowboy hat and go out on the town. They just do their thing. The coolest part was the main street there that was full of Honky Tonks. I have always wanted to go to a Honky Tonk, and we got our fix that night. Just open bar/restaurants with fantastic live country, bluegrass, Nashville music. Country music and its followers are just in a league of their own, but it was so cool to see and hear. Jacks BBQ, supposedly the most famous in Nashville was quite tasty. They were also having a PBR (professional bull riding) event at the arena there in town which made the crowd even more awesome.

Thanks to my brother Josh we learned that the only life size replica of the Parthenon is in Nashville. So we went and had a look They built it for the centennial of the city, and everyone loved it so much, they reinforced it and left it for good. Also ate at this sandwich place called “Which Wich”, you should look up and see if there is one nearby you, cause it was really really good. Julie is sandwich master 3000 and she loved it, so it has to be pretty good.

From there we spent our final day of driving…we began seeing some familiar territory/signs that got us really excited about how close we were. We finally arrived here in DC and then spent the day unloading the car and getting all our stuff moved in. The Legend (the car) was pretty excited to have its burden lifted. We didn’t have a bed, or any furniture so we had our first romantic dinner in our apartment on a cardboard box, and then slept on the floor (didn’t sleep so well), although we did gain a new appreciation for beds.

After 5 nights of sleeping on the floor (ya, I am serious), although it did get a little more comfy when our boxes of clothes arrived and we slept on them for some added padding. Nonetheless, we’d had enough, we rented a Dodge Ram, and went and bought a bed and whole bunch of furniture (somehow still not enough make a dent in what we actually need for this place). The crowning achievement was the bed though… I’ve never slept so well. We tried to craigslist and warehouse mattress factory for the bed, but had no luck and only found stuff that wouldn’t be any more comfy than the floor, so we went to trusty old costco and got a bed.

So, we still need to get chairs for our table (getting a little tired of eating standing up), get our couch (it was backordered being delivered next week), we got chairs for the living room (twice, and took them back twice) so those are still on the list. But we’ve got the place painted, and looking a bit more presentable. As soon as I have some time, I will take some pictures of the finished product, and you can let us know what you think. This is really an awesome apartment and we are loving the neigborhood, the ward, the diversity, and all of the excited going ons of the nation’s capitol. Everything from a great Shakespeare play the other night, to huge rallies and protests on the Hill for the Health Care reform…(there were visitors in church that had flown in to be a part of the million plus protestors…yikes) to museums and restaurants galore. We are loving this place. More to come soon, hopefully this brings you up to speed on the crazy month we’ve had. Can’t complain when this is where this is just a few minutes away for your Sunday walk…

We got to go to NYC last weekend for Tal’s wedding which was so so great. All of the 9 kids were there, no crazy kids, it was just fun to be in the greatest city there is with the best people there are. I will put some pictures of that up soon.

we made it

We made it. DC is awesome. We have this awesome place with no furniture so we've been sleeping on the floor and eating on cardboard boxes (well, that was confusing, we have plates, but not table or chairs...we weren't really eating off the cardboard). We thought it would be a little easier than this to find furniture, but whoa, it is a little harder than expected. Pics to come soon, as soon as we have a spare minute. The last few days it has been, work for me all day while Julie looks for furniture, then drive all over the place looking at stuff, finding what we want and then it isn't in stock for a month...until 11 at night. Wake up, repeat. Hopefully we'll get things going here. Stay tuned.

on to dc!

Hey there. We are driving. I don't know if there has ever been a car that is so packed full of stuff. It was like the best game of tetris you've ever played as we jammed everything in with some nifty precision. Technology is cool. I am typing on my laptop that is tethered to my iphone which is working as a modem. I am the true traveling salesman this week with my "mobile office" aka our sweet car. We'll post pics as we progress. We're driving first to Big Bear Lake in California to meet up with is Julie's family for their reunion, which will be awesome. Then from there we're making the long trek across the country. You might be saying "why on earth would you drive to California and leave from there? it is totally the wrong direction!" The answer is simply, "if you're going to drive across the country, might as well drive the who distance, not just 3/4 of it."

These are exciting times. Nothing like a road trip...(for the first day or so at least.)

whoa...it's been a while

True to the title. whoa...it's been a while. A lot has happened in the last month and a half. Julie worked in the hospital on a Navajo Reservation for basically all of May, and wow, that was not fun (being apart for that long). I stayed busy on the road for work with trips to DC, Philly, New Jersey and New York so that made it a little easier, but man oh man, Julie is awesome and I really realized how much I rely on her. Needless to say, it has been great to be back together and have some fun times here in SLC for the summer. We'll be moving to DC the first week or so of August and we are getting really excited, but it is fun to have some fun here and be close to some of my best friends. It is fun now that most of us are married to get together and talk about life. We've all changed so much, but whenever we get together it's like we never missed a beat. I love those guys, couldn't ask for better friends.

So, I have been going through some pics on my computer and instead of typing it out, I will let the pictures describe the last little while.

We packed up and got the heck out of Provo. Just kidding, we had an awesome year there, but we are excited to be moving on. I thought we didn't have that much stuff, but man, we did some serious smashing to get it into the cars. Alpine Village, surrounded by a bunch of single college kids. Sweet. It was a great place.

After seven hours of packing we came home in a nasty rainstorm, and...a flooded basement. Thanks wet-vac for making a 10 hour job last 3.

 

We went to one of the best Jazz games of all time. I will leave it at that. No congrats to the Fakers. Orlando gave it to them on a silver platter. Good luck beating the Jazz next year. Awesome poster of the ugliest man I have seen it quite a while. Seriously this game was awesome. Julie was SO into it, as was I. It was as loud as I have heard the place.

Julie and I made it to a year. This was our pre-anniversary dinner as Julie was in Chinle on the reservation doing rain dances and going to pow-wows on our actual anniversary (that was a joke) they really have an awesome culture and it was very enlightening to hear all about Julie's experiences. Pics of that to come.

And Parley, one of my best friends got married. It was so awesome to see him and Angela so happy...they are going have a great life together. Complete with a bachelor party with all of our best buddies...bowling. I bowled the best game of my life. I was "Ely" because apparently that is how you spell my name in Bowling. Seriously though, I was in a zone. I can't say enough good things about Par, he is the most loyal, quirky, intelligent, and friendly guy I know (and he is really really really good at Dance Dance Revolution)...not sure where he learned...

We're looking forward to an awesome summer and lots of water skiing and good times at Bear Lake.

Sight...it's all about watching out for the little things in life, seeing things in a different light. This is one of the most beautiful times of year...take some time to look around and appreciate the sight that you have and focus on the detail.

Eli is even better than Harry Potter

I have officially hacked into eli's blog for the first time to tell you what a guy he is. Sometimes he thinks i love harry potter more than him, but for the most part that just isn't true. Now you must know that I have no desire to be mushy (holding hands in public is hard for us), but just say a few wonderful things about this guy I have come to love more and more over the last year. I have never been more streched in my life since getting married, but it has been so worth it. I have learned more about myself and have come to realize that I am not as easy going as I thought. So lucky to have a guy that is so patient (except when the Jazz lose) and is continually looking out for me. Anyone who knows eli can testify without a doubt that he is faithful till the end and I have witnessed that day after day.

So here are a couple great things about eli: passionate, holy cow, up until last week, I was begging anyone in disagreement that the Jazz were going to win in the NBA finals (99.9% of the population) to please keep it to themselves. Next, loyalty, he truly cares and defends anyone he meets. Positive. If you are down he is the first person to cheer you up. He stretches me when I don't think things can be done and I am always amazed at his will. Loving. He has a huge heart and think constantly about others. Pretty sure he got that from his amazing mother. Patient, waiting in Provo for two extra years says it all. Adventurous. Oh my, sometimes i think back on the things I have agreed to do with him and I can't believe it (climbing to the top of a 60 story building when I am afraid of heights etc). Man I am pretty sure I would be so boring without him. Hot come one look at that picture and you can't deny it. ever seen a picture with of him with his glasses and buck teeth? Undeniably cute. Persistent. when he wants something he does it. Last year he wanted to live in New York and he found a way.

Life is just better with him.period.
loveyouE. first song for you. happy 1st!

i wish i could do this

this is a really cool piece that i pirated off of josh's blog. i especially like it when viva la vida starts at about 3 minutes. somehow when i was younger this guy was my piano teacher for a couple months. unfortunately it never amounted to much. how does he move his fingers that fast and play the piano... i can't even move them that fast just holding them in front of me. thanks for sharing josh! got my mind off the jazz for a few minutes. i still think they are going to win the series. call me crazy, but it ain't over until it's over.

all i have to say

this is all I have to say. julie and i were there for probably the best and most intense game i have ever seen. i am having a hard time hearing and talking today it was so crazy in there. to the naysayers….face!                   kobe was 5-24. I LOVE IT.

to all the naysayers.

I don't care what you say...there is something inside me that will love the Jazz to the grave. There are a LOT of naysayers and people that spend too much time watching ESPN (where they are all in creepy love affairs with the Lakers). The Jazz played pretty well today. Well enough to give them the confidence that the Fakers are indeed beatable. Boozer got a bit of his swagger bag. Dwill dished out 17 assists...picked the Lakers apart.

Deron Williams is incredible. I like what Jeff Van Gundy said during the game today...something to the effect of..."if I lived within a four hour radius of Salt Lake I would have season tickets, just to see this guy everyday, Deron Williams in phenomenal."

Deron goes out and gets it done. He isn't cocky and full of himself like every other star in the league. He doesn't have "Chosen One" tattooed on his back like LeBron, or a kings crown on his arm like Kobe. He doesn't make faces that make you want to beat the crap out of him after he makes a great play. He just gets it done. He makes everyone around him better. His passing is only surpassed by John Stockton. And when he needs to...he can take a game over and throw down over 2 seven footers like he does in this clip. Click on the HD button on the bottom right so you can really see it.

Here's one more view of it. Check out the slow-mo at the end. Click on the HQ button to see better quality.



Jazz will win game 2 and all the naysayers will jump back on the bandwagon. I'm in no matter what. I can't help it. Here's a nice shot of the in your face dunk.

what the snow?

Utah is really weird. I'm a native of this place and I still don't understand the weather here. It was 70 one day, freezing cold and 8 inches of snow the next morning, then like 55 by that evening and all the snow was gone. Today it was 70. I just feel bad for all the trees that had their branches ripped off because of the weight of the snow. photo one: on my way to work photo two: on my way home. (taken at the same spot if you couldn't figure that one out)

tax day shellacking - photos compliments of the iphone

 

This is weird. This is our last Sunday in Provo. We're moving on Saturday. Fun times ahead. Lots of adventures to be had. Lots of things to See.

i make surprise.

julie and i went out to dinner for her birthday, same place we went on our first date. we came home and boy oh boy did she get surprised. i had talked to a few of julie best friends and old roommates and they were all there for a great surprise when we got home. they had the place all decked out and did much better than i could have. i opened the door and even though i knew they were going to be there, it scared me half to death...so i can only imagine how much it surprised julie. they had some cake and pie (julie is a pie person) waiting and we had a great night.

julie has some pretty awesome friends. happy birthday again julie!

JULIE!!!!!

A few years ago, my family started the tradition of emailing the things they love most about someone on the day of their birthday. Not everyone gets the email, but everyone needs to know how incredible Julie is in my eyes. I am not really into the cheesy blogger lists, but Julie is an exception to my rule.

The more I get to know Julie, I realize more and more how lucky I am. Here are a few things that I love about my girl:

222. Julie is extremely personable, no matter where we go, or who we meet with she always leaves a wonderful and lasting impression.
For an example of this, think of the first time you met Julie.

223. Julie is beauty...she knows how to dress...she can mix 32 different colors into one outfit and she looks so good doing it. More than that though when she smiles it lights up the room.

224. Julie is deep. Sometimes she asks me questions that I have a hard time thinking about cause they are so deep they've never crossed my mind.

225. Julie's sense for adventure is incredible. She is always up for something new. She'll move to New York and live in a little tiny apartment in the heat, she'll listen to a time share presentation with me to get free tickets to Sea World, she'll try just about anything.

226. Julie is wicked smart. I am pretty positive I would have flunked out of the BYU nursing program about 6 times by now. But Julie on the other hand does it with one eye shut and still gets straight As. She'll get mad at me for saying that, but crykee she is smart.

227. Julie is determined. When she sets her mind to something...it happens. Because of that she won't be stepped on or told what to do along the way. I love the touch of fiestiness that she holds, it keeps me on my toes.

228. Julie is REALLY good at remembering where I put my wallet, keys, and cell phone. I tend to lose them a lot, and she always just smiles and helps me remember where I left them.

229. Julie is a really good cook. I never liked pie until I met Julie, now...I love...unless its Rhubarb that stuff is nasty. Really though, she decides she wants to try to cook something, she googles it, and she makes a magnificent meal.

230. Julie is athletic. She can pick up a tennis racket, lacrosse stick, basketball and look really good playing the sport in a matter of minutes.

231. Julie is hot.

232. Julie has a testimony like a rock. I love having her to help me understand the gospel and share her insights with me as she reads.

233. Julie is a great friend. She is about the most loyal and caring friend there is. I love getting to know her friends and hearing from them how much they adore her.

234. Julie makes me better. She makes me happy. I can't wait to see and experience the things we do and the places we go together.

I love you so much Julie. Life just keeps getting better with you. Have the Happiest Birthday and enjoy your day of a Nursing Professionalism Conference, a cooking class, and an entrepreneurial lecture class!

Love,
Eli

odnalro

that's backwards for orlando. last week I was in DC for work and had to go straight from there down to orlando for a conference. So we got Julie a ticket to fly down and meet me for the weekend. Julie had been making a lot of comments about the never ending winder and I figured that 80 degrees would suit her fancy. So she got to hang out by the pool in the sun all day while I was at the conference. In the evening we'd enjoy the warm evenings, the pool, and explored Disney's Empire aka Orlando. Holy Cow does Disney ever have a choke hold on that place.

We had a good old time full of unexpected awesome things. Like for example, on day we drove out to the coast, and it just so happened that there was a spaceship taking off that night! So we hung out at the beach for a while then went and watched a space shuttle take off. That is one of those things that I have always wanted to see and somehow we were there on the right night and got to see it. It was so cool. Pretty crazy that there are these people strapped to seats that get shot into space by rocket power. The Discovery was going to the International Space Station to drop a Japanese guy off who is going to live there for a while, and to bring some solar panels for the work that they are doing on the station. It was just one of those things where you think to yourself "did I just see that.

We tried to get in here to see it real close, but apparently we didn't fit the description and the guard didn't believe that I was late and supposed to be on the ship...and that was as far as we got.

So we drove down the road a bit to the place where the space nerd bloggers said was the best place to watch. Here are a few pics of the launch.

I just liked this place where we ate while waiting for the shuttle to take off. Didn't luck out and get any NASCAR though. I guess that is a draw for people...cause you probably want a great picture on the TV while you watch cars for 5 hours.

One of the days we took a trip down to Tampa to go to Busch Gardens which could very easily also be called WT Gardens (short for white trash). Something about those places (amusement parks) they attract a certain breed. I guess it would be pretty exilerating to drink a bud light while waiting in line for a crazy roller coaster. I mean those things make my head spin and I am totally sober. If you were a little buzzed it would be psychedelic, either that or you would probably be more inclined to lose your lunch. Anyway, there were some pretty cool roller coasters, mixed in with the African theme and all sorts of cool wildlife. It was kind of like a big zoo with roller coasters. Not too many people equated to short lines and we had enough coaster rides to last for a couple years.

So while we are at Busch Gardens I decided that even though Julie had been to Sea World a lot in San Diego, that we were going to go to Sea World the next day...and I was confident I would find a way around the 80 dollar per person tickets. So I went to work on the internet when we got back to the hotel. Long story short, the next morning we went and listened to a time share presentation and got some free tickets. Holy Cow though, those guys will not take NO for an answer. I finally had to be blunt and tell them that there was no possible way that we are going to buy a time share even it was a lucrative foreclosure cost...hahahaha. So we raced back to the hotel, got our stuff and we had about 4 hours at Sea World before having to head for the airport. Wow. Sea World rules. I really liked that place. Sea animals are pretty amazing. I can't believe how smart they are. Other than the fact that we were a few minutes late to the Shamu show and the dorks wouldn't let us in (they got an earful...in a tactful way...well not really that tactful, but I really wanted to see Shamu), we saw everything that place had to offer. Julie was an awesome tour guide.

I don't know what either of these animals are, but whoa. I mean they are probably walruses, but about the weirdest looking things I have ever seen.

New bucket list activity: waterski on dolphins like this guy is. check out the guy in the one right above to the left...I don't know how he did this.

So it was an awesome trip. It was so fun to have Julie with me to enjoy the warm weather. Life is good. Got a lot of big decisions coming up...we'll be back east before you know it. Tomorrow is Julie's bday (3.23) so give her a call or email her. She is one amazing girl. Life with her just keeps getting better.