Washington DC--It's a Barlow/Chiles weekend!

I just came home from a 4-day trip to our Nation's capital, Washington DC. While I was sad to leave all the boys for the weekend I was soooo excited to hang out with my lil sister's fam and my Uncle. The trip went so quick, with pretty much 2 days of flying but it was so worth it!

Day 1:
No pics sorry. I flew to Denver (about an hour) and then to DC (3 and a half). I don't remember the last time I flew alone without children, a long time ago. It was surreal, I felt half sad and half glad. Denver to DC was a really bumpy ride, and I felt SICK! Needless to say I was glad I didn't have a toddler to entertain afterall! I arrived at 4:30pm and met for Fran, Dev & Violet who came in soon after. We drove to our hotel in Rosslyn, VA and it was SO green and humid. I loved driving the winding roads and felt a little like I was back home. Fran and I went out to grab some take out dinner (Dominos pizza) and in truly American style a big gulp from 7/11 for Devon!

Day 2:
Fran & Dev were up at 4:30am with Violet, honestly she did SO well with it being her first night, it could have been a lot worse. But lucky me, I slept in! This was one of the funnest days ever....we walked to the metro station and took the train downtown. Let's just say DC is a ghost town at 10 in the morning, but it was amazing. We walked to all the monuments we possibly could, until we were all exhausted, the 100% humidity didn't help! The we met Adam & Noah (my uncle and nephew) at the Washington monument and went to a museum restaurant for lunch. This was followed by museum fun and more stops for drinks. I cannot remember the last time I was this truly exhausted, or the last time I've walked this much in one day, especially being 13 weeks pregnant. But we had a blast, took in some amazing culture and best of all chatted all day. Violet, my 3 month old niece, was truly a patient little angel and was perfect! Here's some shots from our day:

Me & my lil sis Fran next to the White House

The Lincoln Memorial was amazing

The man himself--he is huge!

Gorgeous WWII war memorial

Fran & V chilling in the fountain

At the end of the day all tired!

Day 3:
Today was SO fun too. We went to the Iwo Jima Memorial right next to our hotel which was truly spectacular, and Adam gave us a driving tour of the things we probably wouldn't have seen otherwise on our tour of DC. We drove up to where my Uncle & Aunt used to live up by Capitol Hill, by the way the state Capitol is pretty amazing too. We had lunch outside and walked through the inside and outdoor markets, and checked out the gorgeous houses. I would definitely live in this area! We then drove by the Pentagon and on to Old Town Alexandria, VA which I also LOVED. Tons of cute boutiques and market sellers in the road lead to a cute pier where we sat for a while and chatted. What an amazing day! We finished the day off heading to "Ben's Chili Bowl" downtown DC, a famous hot dog place. Pics (I'm so mad i didn't take more!):

Iwo Jima--Spectacular

Capitol Hill markets

A taste of old town alexandria

Ben's Chili Bowl!

Me & Uncle Ad

Devon (my sister's husband) devouring his chili half-smoke

Fran & Violet

 Day 4:
Today was sad because we were both flying out, me back to Lubbock, Fran & Dev to Vegas. We had a few hours in the morning so we went to H&M (we don't have one in Lubbock so I'd been dying to go there) and shopped around a little bit. Then we went straight to the airport. Luckily our flights were leaving around the same time so we ate lunch at Dulles and then said goodbye, it was sad! I was really excited to go home and see the boys but we really needed a couple more days!

My gorgeous niece

Right before boarding :(

So we had an amazing trip, I would definitely go back and I felt like there was so much more to see! I arrived home late night so the boys were already in bed but the house was surprisingly organized and tidy, thanks Tim! And thanks Adam & the Barlow's for a fantastic weekend!

Families are Forever

Today I found out that my lovely friend from BYU, Britian Soderquist, lost her tiny baby boy. He was in the NICU immediately following birth with heart and lung problems and passed away a few days after he was born. The picture is of her husband's hand, her hand, and baby Frederick's hand. Her strength and faith is astounding. I have to believe that she will see her little boy again, I know she will. Here is what she said about what happened:

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you so much for all the prayers, fasting, love, and support you have given us this past week. We feel truly blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.

Little Frederick returned home to his Heavenly Father on Friday afternoon. We now know that he was an especially valiant son of our Heavenly Father, because all he needed out of his mortal life was a physical body. As Joseph Smith taught: "the Lord takes many away, even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man, and the sorrows and evils of this present world; they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth; therefore, if rightly considered, instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil, and we shall soon have them again."

We wish we could have kept him here with us, but we feel very privileged that Heavenly Father would send us such a choice son. We feel very grateful that he was willing to stay with us in his adorable little body for a whole week so that we could get to know him a little better. We love him and miss him, but we know that he is sealed to our little family and that we will have the joy and satisfaction of raising him in the resurrection. Until then, he will go about the Lord's will on the other side, and we will strive to live worthy to join him there someday.

We have received several messages offering help in the last few days. We are grateful for your thoughtfulness and are touched by your concern. An account has been set up with America First Credit Union for those who wish to help provide a nice headstone for Frederick's grave. We would ask that this be used in lieu of sending flowers or other gifts. You can contact any America First and tell them that you wish to contribute to the Frederick Soderquist Memorial Fund.

Once again, thank you so much for your prayers and support. We have felt your love over the last week and are so grateful to each and every one of you.

We love you all,
Andrew and Britain

12 weeks and it feels like forever...

I am officially 12 weeks and still feeling sick, sick, SICK! It's time for life to get back to normal and for me to get some energy and usefulness back! For the past two months Tim has literally been doing EVERYTHING around here. Poor guy has been cooking, cleaning, changing every single nappy and basically been doing all the things I can't do because I spend 2 seconds in the kitchen and then have to go throw up.....smells are evidently my downfall. I cannot wait until I can take charge again around here and get stuff done, plus being able to eat would be wonderful! I would rather go through a thousand labours than these 3 months again....seriously!!! Thank you Tim for being a stand up guy.