Sunday, March 29, 2009

Valley Forge and Philadelphia

The latest in a series of trips up down and around the East Coast was this foray to Valley Forge, the winter residence of the continental army during the third of eight winters during the revolutionary war, and also to Philadelphia.

Valley Forge
An early (7:30) departure from the Barlow Center, our residence in DC, brought Emilie, the entire group of BYU interns and I to the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge where we would sleep that night.

We toured Valley Forge on the bus we rode up on and enjoyed not being able and having anything to do (above). It was interesting learning more about the struggle, sacrifice and also the turnaround which happened here.

Philadelphia
STILL TO COME....


You can see more picture from our trip here.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Gettysburg & Harper's Ferry



As a part of the BYU Washington Seminar Program we are lucky enough to be taken on two expertly crafted trips. The first was to Gettysburg and Harper's Ferry.

After a bus tour of the Battlefield, which included stops at such famous places as Little Round Top and Seminary Ridge, we enjoyed a mini-imax movie in the visitors center.

I think everyone's day was complete when we stopped for lunch at General Picket's Buffet. I wonder though if all the soldiers had such indigestion after eating there. This might shed some light on the reason for the confederate defeat...

Betrothed and Bewildered


Emilie will probably chime in with more information, but I know she would like every single individual to know that "no one should ever try to plan a wedding with out being there, much less two receptions on opposite sides of the country."

This picture, nor any picture can adequately capture the furry of hardwork Emilie has thrown into getting things ready.


If you are still starring quizzically at the title, see here.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

About Us . . .



How We Met . . .

While attending BYU, we met in a Political Science course during an exam review (not sure how helpful THAT was given the mutual distraction we created). Emilie came in the review room late and in a frazzled panic, as usual. Seeing a cute girl in a bright yellow shirt wearing a North Face backpack, Michael was intrigued and saw an opportunity when Emilie asked if she was in the right place. He reassured her that she would be just fine and cleverly pulled up a chair for her right by his side, a spot from which she would never leave, it turns out. We continued to chat after the review and opted to take the stairs to provide a little more time for asking for those precious 10 digits. We spent almost every day together after that. Emilie flew out to Seattle after Thanksgiving, and Michael flew to Atlanta for Christmas.

The Proposal and Engagement . . .

We decided that if we could still enjoy being around each other after spending 3 days stranded on the icy roads between Utah and Washington, we could pretty much weather anything. So, one frigid January day, Michael surprised Emilie on an early morning run with a beautiful diamond ring on the stairs of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. We spent the rest of our internships struggling to balance work, classes, the experience of our capitol city, and planning two wedding receptions far away from our homes and our families. We managed to survive, and we got married in the beautiful Seattle Temple, with one reception over-looking the Puget Sound and another a week later in a gorgeous antebellum home in Atlanta.

The Future . . .

After Em's MPH program, we will head to wherever medical school takes us. Michael will study medicine, focusing on global health issues and infectious diseases, and we hope to spend some time living and strengthening rural community health in developing countries.

Washington, D.C.

We've been meaning to start this for a while, but an overly hectic lifestyle and a few interesting twists have put us far behind. We will work hard now at filling in the details of the past.

Michael's plane landed just at sunset. The approach to Regan afforded him the most amazing views of Washingon. A short metro ride later and he, and later Emile, were in the heart of D.C., their new home. . .

Followers