I've been home a month, and really feel like I need to write about my trip Europe, but what I want to write about isn't the beauty of Michaelangelo's David, the deliciousness of the gelato, the enchantment of Venice and the grandeur of the Alps. I want to talk about spending ten days with your family in a nine passenger van traveling through three countries where you have no hotels booked, speak none of the languages, have no itinerary, and have lost the debit card. That my beloved readers, may seem like a recipe for disaster, but to the contrary it was delightful, stressful of course at times, but all in all a really great trip.

Spending time with those who love me most taught me a lot about myself and how at 25 I've matured more than I thought despite my childish tendencies. I remember in junior high I was a completely different person around my family and friends. I was trying so hard to be cool and impress my friends that at times I would end up treating my family horribly as I struggled to find an identity. We have all been through this awkward time and can relate to each other. Now after serving a mission and having lived with over twenty different girls I realize that I can't hide and that my true self begins to emerge as a person that is neither the person I was when I was fourteen and changing personalities as I switched between Jenny who was trying to impress (friends) and the Jenny who knew she was loved unconditionally and could act however she wanted with her family.

My point is that on this Europe trip all of this came together for me in my head. I realized that I am myself around my family, but it's that same myself that I am around my friends. My self-confidence has grown enough to stand up for myself when I'm with my friends, and my feelings of charity and love for my family have grown so much that I want to show that when I am with them and not just take advantage of their unconditional love which forces them to put up with my cranky moods. They still see my crankiness, but hopefully in smaller doses.

I'm not writing this to say I'm not hypocrite, I definitely still do many things that are fake to my friends and inconsiderate to my family. But spending a concentrated time alone with my family was great for me to see this evenness that is a part of my emergence to adulthood, expounding more on my theme of adulthood from my last post. And I'm interested to hear if you had similar experiences or if I'm just a little slow with my epiphanies.

And now a few pictures:

Here we are in front of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. We had an awesome bike tour by our friendly tour guide Marco. One of my favorite facts I learned from Marco is that all the industries in Florence are being taken over by the Chinese because the Italians just like to take naps.

Steph and I in Venice. Love her, a great travel companion and she is so non confrontational. She would be absolutely mortified by my dad when he would haggle about prices and demand tap water from the Italian waiters who tried to convince us that Italian tap water just wasn't fit to drink.

Cute, yes they are. The family in the Austrian Alps.Our beloved van. This was at church in Salzburg, I think it took about twenty minutes and an 83 point turn to get out of this predicament.

Today it finally happened. I was walking back to my office from lunch looking so professional in my black pin-striped dress pants and heels. And then, as I elegantly strode to the front door, thinking in my head how beautiful the sound of clicking heels is, I lifted my foot and my shoe didn't want to come with it. I fell forward and just smiled as I looked back at my shoe stuck in the crack between the two pieces of tile and the people around me who seemed to look more embarrassed than I felt. For some reason it just reminded me that I am now an independent adult in our nation's capitol, wearing heels, giving directions to people on the street who ask me how to get to the holocaust museum, paying into a 401K retirement plan, buying things like band-aids and neosporin instead of just stealing them from my parents house, and having a desire for the first time to buy things like furniture.

Don't get me wrong the silly part of me tends to come out more than the super serious, but it is refreshing once and awhile to be reminded of my continual emergence into adulthood.

*Disclaimer*

Sorry I just realized that the post below this is the longest post known to man.....I don't think even my mom will have the patience to read that, but have fun scanning through the pictures.

Snapshots and soundbites

So as I've started blogging, I've started reading a lot more blogs, and I am impressed with their wittiness and depth. And then I look at mine and they tend to be just a photo journal of what I did and where I went. I've always been the kind of girl that prefers to reads the op-eds first and then will skim the headlines for stories that interest me. So I'm a little ashamed that I haven't produced more posts of substance. And now, after stating my good intentions, this post is just going to be a debrief of my last few weeks accompanied by some choice pictures. Substance will come soon....I'm just might take me a few weeks to think of something clever enough that I won't be afraid to post it.

Our trip to Palmyra was quick, 36 hours to be exact, but that doesn't mean it was uneventful. However, I was appalled at some of the commercialization that went on to suck all the money out of the mormon tourists, that just reminds me of one of my biggest pet peeves. When church becomes more a cultural part of your life than a spiritual (and I'll admit I've been guilty of this from time to time myself). However, the gift shops sold shirts that said things like "Mormon girls, worth the wait" and "99% Nephi 1% Laman, I will go and do, but I'll complain the whole time" those things just make me sick. So being surrounded by that I was becoming very cynical right before we went to the sacred grove. I told my friends I did not want to go into the sacred grove with this kindof attitude because it would ruin previous experiences I'd had there. So Jeanette, Grayden, me and Staci sat on this bench with the sacred grove behind us and the Palmyra temple in front of us and talked about how we gained our testimonies of the prophet Joseph Smith. It was a great conversation and made my trip to the sacred grove much more meaningful.

I love this man. He parked next to our car at "Pageant" (we were politely informed that you do not refer to Hill Cumorah as "the pageant" it is simply pageant) and told me that even though he's not Mormon, these Mormons sure know how to put on a good show. And every year he rides his bike out to watch it, and this may or may not be what it looks like, the beginnings of a torrid cross country romance.

Here we are meeting the cast. They really had a tent set up so you could go and meet the stars prior to pageant. Really awesome. It's actually pretty intense. I didn't realize you had to apply to be in pageant and a lot of people are rejected, not only that but you apply and goes through this selective process only to live three weeks in tents rehearsing in upstate New York. Wow, What a perfect family vacation.....
On Sunday after church we stopped at Glen Watkins state park to do some "hiking". It was East Coast style hiking with paved trails, guard rails, thousands of people. Regardless of that it was beautiful and I just feel like this picture needs to be a family Christmas card or something. Pictured is Lincoln, Matt, Holli, Staci, Jeanette, Joe and then me and Grayden in the front.
Hollie is quite the aspiring photographer. This is one of the bridges and 17 waterfalls at Glen Watkins.

Sarah is an amusement park girl. She absolutely loves them. The really ironic part is that she hates rollercoasters, obviously my feelings are a little different. I think this picture says it all.

At the end of Sarah's birthday party we had a countdown until her real birthday (which was actually Sunday) when we threw confetti, lit sparklers, and blew noisemakers. The picture was beautiful, the neighbors however were not so appreciative.

Scotty (as in Des's husband) was in town last weekend. It was fun to see him and he requested that we eat at Marrakesh, it's a Morroccan restaurant that feeds you seven courses, requires that you eat with your hands, has a belly dancer as entertainment, and best of all here is our waiter such an adorable man and pouring us delicious mint tea.

This is me at work. Sortof. I know you can't see me, but I was there. One of my favorite day's at work recently, they put most of our bus on a building and drove us next to the capital where we had a celebration for the new minimum wage law that went into effect on July 23. The day wasn't too hot and muggy, but they had ice cream and Popsicles and I sat on the grass and stretched while I listened to Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Ted Kennedy speak along with our President and other union leaders. Really hilarious, quite a day.

And even us type A uptight east coasters get crazy from time to time. It has been a dream of mine for a long time to create a jell-o slip and slide. So with the birthday of my friend Matt Fischer I knew it was the perfect opportunity. If there is anyone in DC who would appreciate this kind of crazy behavior it's him. The party was a hit and here we are slipping and sliding down our jello runway.

Earlier this week I had the chance to go to an amazing concert. It was Guster and Pete Yorn at Wolf Trap. Wolf Trap is an outdoor concert venue that is actually a national park. It's beautiful and only twenty minutes from home. We had seats at the front of the lawn and laid our our blankets, had a picnic and listened to Pete's soothing voice and the bongo drums and happy music that Guster makes that I so love. This was an usher and this is what I'm going to do when I'm old. Volunteer for these types of events. He told us he's been waiting all year to hear Guster because "all the other bands, like Earth, Wind and Fire just make noise and all sound the same" he was totally tapping his toes and shaking a little to the music.

Virginia is ca-razy!

Sometimes I feel like I don't live in the real world. This is what I'm constantly telling myself and others. I live surrounded by highly educated young single adults ages 24-32 who are from middle class Mormon families mostly from the west. One of my roommates just got a job as a Presidential Speechwriter, another travels to Singapore, Germany, and other exotic locations around the globe working for trade shows, I'm no longer shocked when I meet people who attended prestigious Ivy League schools. It's pretty ridiculous. I don't know why I'm saying this to introduce this post, it's just something I've been thinking about a lot. What I really want to show you I guess is while I do live in this world that isn't very representative of the population as a whole. Once in awhile I am brough back to reality and realize that I live in good old Virginia. For example in our quiet neighborhood here in Arlington there was a recent rabies outbreak. 23 people were treated for rabies here in our quiet neighborhood. And the culprit was a rabid kitten of all things. Shocker. http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/Communications/11998.aspx
And then today I received an email from my friend Ryan, informing me that MacBeth is playing in a nearby theater. Please look at this poster and you will realize this is not just any regular production of MacBeth.Yes, in case you can't read at the bottom it says Warning: Fully Nude. And yes the star does look like a werewolf. Nothing like a hairy naked man to bring in the masses.

Okay so as of late I just feel like we've been hosting a lot of parties. And I feel obligated to put up more pictures than just naked wolf man. So here are a few random pics for you.
Notice my face if you can make it out in the back. Sheer joy at the dance party for my dear roommate Sarah. And party hats make everything more enjoyable and easily make you look at least five years younger, right?
Well this is the least scandalous of my (I have removed the word sd because I found that people who were searching for sites with that word were finding my blog on google, ew) in the Potomac pictures. Yes, we did it, the night before my old roommate Jenny Miller moved back to Utah. Regrets and disease caught are at a strong zero. Even though a friend was kind enough to forward me an article in the Washington Post after that said "The Potomac is a river with levels of fecal bacteria that frequently exceed federal standards." Ew. What's done is done though.

HC is for hard core. You better believe it. Ok, not that hardcore, but this is me paddling a duckie on the Cheat River in West Virginia. Yes, I survived those crazy class II and III rapids.

big city life

It's funny living in the city. Some things are so convenient. We've got great public transportation, a number of great cultural events, ethnic restaurants, and more. But what did I really need this week? A dollar store and a fireworks stand. Let me tell you DC really dropped the ball on this one. The capitol of The United States of America, independence day is less than a week away and there is not a fireworks stand to be found, take me back to the west please.

And my dollar store debacle...I decided to search online for a dollar store, I found one that was in walking distance of my work to go to on my lunch break. So I walk about seven blocks onto streets I've never been. Suddenly the streets smell like urine, everything is a bit more dingy, and everybody is looking at me like I don't belong, even though I'm only seven blocks away from downtown and it's the middle of the day. I unconsciously take off my headphones and put my ipod away as my senses are put on alert. I find the hole in the wall dollar store, and the only thing they had there was cleaning supplies and those brown paper rolls that banks have to keep change in. Ok, that's an exaggeration, they had more than that, but this was no Utah dollar store where you can find pretty much anything you need. And nothing there was actually a dollar.

All in all a hilarious/maddening situation. I'm still searching for sparklers and little containers of bubbles....anyone? anyone?

Why I love summer

Summer, we all love it. It's a great season, and I was recently discussing with my roommates that even though we all have full-time jobs, no more summers off, there is still a general feeling in most offices that summers are a bit more chill. Well aside from a reduced workload here are a few of the many reasons that I love summer.
*snowcones - Snowie is a personal favorite and yes I did work at a snowie at the warped tour and a snoop dog concert
*random road trips - most recently last weekend we took a trip to Assateague island in Maryland. It's an island where there are wild horses roaming and the beach of course is always incredible. I sure do miss my mountains, but it's great to be close enough to a good beach that it's doable as a day trip.
* watermelon - Not the perfect fruit (that would be a grape) but there's something about eating a watermelon, with the juice dribbling down your face and hands that is so distinctly summeresque
* BBQ's - I've already been to a few this summer, and I'll go to another tonight. It doesn't matter if the food is mediocre for some reason when you cook and eat it outside it's so much better. And I love to just see boys come to life around a grill, it's hilarious.
* Fireworks - So many good memories of laying on a blanket with friends watching explosions above us
* Firebugs - Another east coast find that reminds me of my childhood in Iowa
* Long Days - It's amazing how much more I seem to squeeze into a day with those extra hours. This week I've been taking sculling classes on the Potomac and it surprised me that at 5:30 when my alarm went off the sun is already rising.
* Swimming Pools and Water Parks - Even though this does bring some painful summer memories of hours in the pool screaming at kids as I taught swimming lessons, it's more good than bad. There's nothing like jumping into a pool on an hot muggy east coast day. And I've been craving a trip to seven peaks, I need to find a local water park ASAP.

Well there are a lot more reasons to love summer, but that's a start. And here are a few random photos from our trip to Assateague.

Octopus Odie, Staci, Ryan and I had a lot of fun burying him and alive and creating this sand masterpiece

Yep, Wild Horses, that's what brings the masses