bless the Barlow.

only four days left. farewell D.C

going to miss this. going to miss AA Jesse--lax and responsible at the same time. Brother Rowberry--bless his heart and his inevitable awkward conversations about interdigitation, . Jay. oh Jay. Ellsworths--excited they can watch the Simpsons again. Becky Hayes. that Becky Hayes. just adore her. will miss her borrowing my clothes, me borrowing hers. will miss visiting the gift shop before the rest of the museum, lying in her bed, smelling her feet, and chatting about Jonas Brothers with her. definitely miss Brooke's bubbly laugh at 7 a.m. and her lovely singing in church. will miss confiding in Allie when I need someone to talk to, and her liberal Boston banter. will miss Hannah's sweet disposition and willingness. Dane's pleadings for Haiti money and Amanda cooking with us in the kitchen, even though she's married! Chris's Toms. will miss Mandy playing with my hair and teaching us Lady Gaga dance moves. will miss Natalie's absurd statements every night, sarcastically asking me to write her paper for her, or to keep the door unlocked while she films a soap opera with the mafia gang outside our window (we actually had this conversation last night). and I'll miss her dvds/books/earrings/wedding invites pile up on her desk. I'll desperately miss Mira. my meerkat. her angrily speaking in Arabic, bringing home McDonald's every day, but still having the hottest bod in the Barlow. Randall's soft heart and delicious sandwiches. Dave + Jessica--so fit. never forget playing Apples to Apples with Dave before Jessica came out to D.C.--so funny. Annique, I love love that girl. will miss her excitedness and openness to me. will miss venting in her room after a long Sunday. will miss Andrea's flip-flops flip-flopping down the hall. and Adam's spicy dance moves. will miss Ryan + Emily more than anyone probably. (these two put up "wanted" posters all around our floor for the culprit who stole their Costco-sized box of taquitos from the freezer. end of story). David's playfulness, and Sweeney. Sweeney deserves a post of her own. will miss her, her lap, and her lap dances so much. Julie + Oliver are so fun, will miss their laughing and stories with belly dancers. Seth--an anomaly. don't know if I'll miss his offensive e-mails and sarcastic jokes--even though they're pretty hilarious. will miss Talyn's cleanliness and articulation. will miss Trevor's teasing and listening and storytelling. will miss the times when Jeff comes to dinner stinky and sweaty, but excited (or hiding disgust) to eat. that boy drives me bonkers. it will be a miracle if I ever understand one thing about him. Russell Frand. guess I'll miss him. perhaps. will miss Josh's tender administration at institute, not to mention him singing Keith Urban at keraoke! won't ever forget Grady's quiet voice and conservative opinions--but mostly him knowing random facts about Pittsburgh and singing--to a T--"won't you be, won't you be, won't you be my neighbor?" Papa Barfield's iPhone and everything that comes with it--like his brain! will miss asking a question and not having Russell there to know the answer. will miss riding to work every day with John Lenahan. will miss Peter's obtuse and oblivious mannerisms, his initiative to hang out with Bob Boilen. I'll miss skyping with him to Lucy and I'll miss his camera. will especially miss Andrew and his appreciation for me. if I spent every day with him, I'd feel like $1 million every day.

missing: my main girl Kailey. she deserves a post of her own that girl. never have I met anyone with more love in their hearts and on their sleeve. this girl knows how to care, knows how to love.

bless the Barlow.

phillips collection.

peter. the closest he's come to a bicycle all summer. (peter has a camera and I love stealing it to take pictures. oh how I wish I had my own! someday.)


kid-zone in the basement of the gallery. most fun we had all day. if anyone can find these soft, colorful, sculpting wires I will give them $1 million. they were so fun to play with!

andrea.

the Phillips Collection was one of my favorite galleries I've been to all summer. my favorite was the Pousette-Dart Predominantly White exhibit.

camping.

clarksburg, md.

this is enough happiness to last me forever.
peter behind the lens.

pictures of me. i love the white house.

me + andrew.


this is how I feel...all the time. especially when I'm with these boys. (Jeff, Andrew, John, Peter, Russell)

got to go inside the White House. it was incredible and though I did not see President Obama nor his family, I feel like we hung out all day. I love Barack. my friend Andrew was nice enough to take numerous pictures of me on his iPhone and what else would I do with pictures of myself besides post them in large format on the world wide web?

certainly, everyone feels some sort of connection to the White House and I am no exception. it belongs to the American people and I just wanted to hang out there for a while. the secret service officers were super nice! they get to see Presiden Obama nearly every day! Andrew made the mistake of calling one secret service agent "security officer" to which she kindly informed us that as a member of the top police force, she has jurisdiction over the entire world. awesome. we also met Agent Solis. he was incredibly kind and even took our business cards (I don't have any, of course) and e-mailed us about joining the USSS.

I took home a $1.06 souvenir: a small notebook with Misty Malarky Ying Yang (Jimmy Carter's cat) on the front. needless to say, I wanted to stay forever.

growing up, turning 21.

isn't this so beautiful? this is one of my best friends from elementary and middle school. my best friend, actually. and look at her--she is amazing! her little Harlo is also just beautiful. a friend, Errin Andrus took these photos and I am just breath taken.

also on Errin's site and on Mikki's are pictures of another childhood friend, Brittany. she is stunning. and I am so happy for her new little family. I just can't believe I grew up with them.

my time in D.C. is wrapping up and it goes without saying that I have not been a diligent record keeper on this surface--the blog. however, my journal remains full as does my camera memory card. I am promising myself to post everything together, here.

I have done a lot of growing up this summer and this year. 365 days ago I was in India, realizing how little time I had left with the sweetest children in the world. today I'm realizing how little time I have left in D.C. and to be young in general. I'm living it up the best I can. hopes and dreams drape my mind as usual and I find myself content, happy as a clam.

really, I am hoping to see more people in person than I have been recently. I'm sick of facebook stalking and gchatting. I want to spend a few hours on Phoebe's couch, and hold that little Elijah in my arms. I want to write in my journal on Melissa's bed, and eat Katie's cafe rio salad. I want to go to breakfast with Megan and Carly, and play mini-baseball with all those boys I haven't seen in 2 years! I want Emily to paint my fingernails and my mom to make salsa with me. I can't wait to visit baby Olive and all those Larkin children who perhaps forgot me by now. I want to see Ariel's newly-wed home and have a dance party with Lene, Audrey, and Dani. ready for some face time.

more pictures of brotherly love.

annique is a sweetheart and just started playing these kids.

me, kailey, natalie and jeff in front of Constitution hall.

i messed around with Peter's camera a little.

ryan and emily are the best married couple. i want them to adopt me.

our professor's girls.

me and natalie

my lovely roommate natalie took lovely pictures of philly. i thought i would share some of them.

national cathedral.

the national cathedral is so amazing. i know i keep saying things are my favorite, but this is one of the coolest things i've been to in dc. i feel like Catholic masses are part of my heritage, and something about them makes me feel like home. it especially makes me miss my mother.

Nats' game.

me, becky, hannah.

andrea, natalie.

andrew, seth, talyn. so typical.

go Nationals!

me at the u.s. capitol.

press conference.

Nancy Pelosi's office.

a few weeks ago, one of our briefers was Kay King (read her awesome BYU Marriot school commencement speech here) who works with Nancy Pelosi on the Council of Foreign Affairs. in addition to speaking with us, she allowed us to hang out in Speaker Pelosi's office and balcony for a while. it was incredible! definitely one of the coolest things i've done in d.c.

the view from the speaker's desk.

these fresh flowers were everywhere. doesn't she have great taste?

this amazed me. this is a birthday present from President Obama. it is the original manuscript of a hearing for a bill that Speaker Pelosi's father sponsored in 1940, and that Eleanore Roosevelt testified at. isn't that the most thoughtful gift?

another thoughtful birthday gift.

did you know Nancy Pelosi has five children, who she raised at home until they were all grown, after which she became the 60th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives? so incredible.

on the balcony.

bike ride to mount vernon.

on May 14, a bunch of us BYU interns rented bikes in Virginia and rode them to Mount Vernon. I can't say I really appreciated Mount Vernon until I visited it, but George Washington's former estate is beautiful.

the path there was absolutely beautiful. it made me feel like home again.

me and becky en route.

i loved these fields all over the estate. i had to wonder if George and Martha every had a Saturday afternoon picnic there.

or tea out on their back porch,

looking at this view.

i loved this tree in their backyard.

the mansion

General Washington planted this tree. couldn't believe it.

in the museum they asked, "how many cities and counties are named after Pres. Washington?" of course, i knew of one...

the tomb of George and Martha Washington.

I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet he shall live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. john 11:25-26

i saw these boys several times throughout the day at Mount Vernon and sort of fell in love with them. this is them down at the wharf.