Flight of Honor to Packing

Sorry for the lack of blogging the last few days, but I have been a very busy gal! A few really fun things occurred over the last few days so I want to recap with you now...

On Wednesday evening after finding out that morning that M. passed the bar exam we decided to go out and celebrate! We enjoyed an absolutely DELICIOUS meal at Founding Farmers (a restaurant that I really should have included on my DC Restaurants Post HERE, but I simply forgot!). I had ordered a cake for M. and so we enjoyed that for dessert back at the apartment. I'm still so proud and relieved that M. passed his bar exam! :)

On Thursday I took the day off from work so that I could be with my mom (who came into town) and Grandfather during his Flight of Honor. If you haven't heard of a Flight of Honor it's where corporate sponsors and donations pay for Veterans to visit the different monuments in Washington, DC most specifically the WWII Memorial and Arlington Cemetery. Luckily, my mom and I made it to some big events for the day. First we welcomed him at the airport when he arrived and then we raced over to the WWII memorial to be with him there as well. We didn't make it to Arlington (although we would've liked to) because we were afraid that with traffic we might then not make it back to the airport to see him off.

That evening though, M. joined us for a quick dinner and then we made our way back to the airport to see him arrive and then take off back to Wisconsin. What was even more special about this day for my Grandfather is that he was able to get on the same Flight of Honor as his brother, Jerry, who I have only met once (when I was much younger). It was so fun seeing my Grandfather interact with his brother and being able to listen to their many stories. The entire day was extremely special and I am so glad that I was able to be there with him. My grandparents live in Wisconsin and I don't get to see them very often so it meant a lot to me to be able to share that with him. My Aunts documented his send-off and arrival back in Wisconsin and my mom and I documented his arrival and time at the WWII memorial. I put together a quick video for him using still images and my new Flip camera (everyone should have one of these!). If you want to check it out...go to this link -- http://vimeo.com/16111071

I also took the day off on Friday so that I would have time to pack and make appointments with different apartment buildings in NYC. I was lucky and scheduled about 6 appointments for this coming Saturday and because my mom was still in town from my Grandfather's big day, she helped me pack up our entire kitchen while M. was still at work. I totally lucked out and saw someone who was moving into our building last week. I knocked on her door (she's on the same floor as we are) and asked if when she was finished if she'd be willing to give us her moving materials (boxes and paper). Luckily she agreed and we have a huge collection of brand new moving boxes and filler paper. She obviously had a professional moving company pack and move her to our apartment because the materials are SUPER nice and have been perfect for packing up our stuff! The paper, even though it is currently taking over our apartment, was super helpful in packing all of our breakables in the kitchen and around the apartment. So thanks to my mom our kitchen is completely packed up except for a few things -- we left out a few dishes so that we can eat of course and then we still need to pack up a few appliances -- the Kitchen Aid Mixer, the Cuisinart Rotisserie and our CrockPot. I have a feeling though that we'll be needing these things for a little while. Friday afternoon my mom and I headed off to the grocery store to pick up a few things including the ingredients for my mom's chili and some fresh bread for dinner that evening. My mom showed me how to make the chili and then not too long after she was on her way back to NC. I really appreciated all of the help from my mom -- she's a super packer! :)

Saturday morning we slept in as long as we could (especially with all that has been on our minds) and then made our way to return a few wedding gifts that unfortunately, we most likely will not have room for in our new place. I told myself that if I really want to, once we get to the city I can re-purchase the gifts using the money that was added to our gift cards. I was so amazed by how many kitchen related items I had acquired because of the wedding! After returning the items we enjoyed a quiet lunch together at Corner Bakery and then headed home to do some more packing and to watch some college football. I got a lot done as far as packing goes so I don't feel too stressed out.

We stayed up super late on Saturday night so sleeping in was a little easier yesterday morning. I did a little more packing here and there and then we decided we needed to get some air so we took a walk along the mall. There was some kind of science fair going on so it was pretty packed right in front of the Capitol -- there were kids EVERYWHERE! It was so nice though to relax a little bit and just talk with my husband. Those times together are always the best. We came home from our walk and I must have just been still tired from the night before, but I crashed on the couch for about an hour. M. was so sweet and covered me up with a blanket. Around 5 he woke me up and we got ready for our dinner out together. We visited "our" restaurant one last time before I make the move to the city. It was bittersweet because although I know I'll be back for visits, I know we'll have to find a new "our" place in our new home.

After a truly delicious dinner we walked down by the water in Old Town and saw the most beautiful moon and then headed back home, laid on the couch together and watched a movie. We made the slice and bake cookies I bought at the grocery store (yes, I was too lazy to make made from scratch cookies) and just enjoyed each other's company. It was the best -- probably one of my favorite nights. Sometimes the simplest of things can be the best.

It was a great last weekend in DC although I kind of wish that all of my stuff would magically just jump into boxes on its own and the stuff that I need to stay out would just magically stay out....turns out that's called hiring a professional moving company and unfortunately my bank account would be missing about $2,000! :)

I'm back at work today and finishing up about a million projects. It's going to be a crazy and busy week, but I'm getting more and more excited about the adventure we're about to embark on! :)

Until tomorrow!