ciao bella...

So my family was in for the weekend and that was fun. Unfortunately, it was the Cherry Blossom Festival, the National Marathon, some kite flying tournament, and the opening game of the National's season, so it was a little busy to do anything downtown with eight people. We did get to go to the temple, though, and watch the Joseph Smith movie together. Even though we couldn't do anything in the temple, it was fun just to have the whole family there, together. We attempted to drive through downtown DC to catch a glimpse of the blossoms... But things were, well, let's just say a little hectic. An hour and a half later we saw the trees from a distance and were heading back on I-66!!

So Tony and I are thinking about buying a big screen LCD-HD TV in the next couple of months. Prices seem to be down, and our tax return is more than we were expecting. (Also, I won't let myself feel too badly about it because we were going to get ourselves one for Christmas, but then Tony was laid-off). Does anyone know if the brand makes a HUGE difference? Is one way better/worse than another? Of course we'll do our research, but if you've seen those brands at Costco/Sams/BJ's that aren't necessarily the brands I have heard a lot of, do you know if they're any good??

So here are some pictures of the Courthouse Expansion project. We just moved into the new section this past week. It's really nice- twice as much room at our desks. However, it now takes forever to go anywhere since there's so much space. But it's much more aesthetically pleasing. From what I heard, the last time the Courthouse was expanded, no one thought we would ever fill it up. The entire staff fit on one floor (out of five). However, not even 20 years later or so, we were busting at the seams. It will be interesting to see if the county keeps growing exponentially or if things are finally slowing down. They are now renovating our section, and we are supposed to be moving back over next year (yeah right! like anything is done on time!). How it TRULY effects me, though, is that now it takes me a whole 7 minutes to walk from my car to my desk. That's an extra three minutes of sleep I have to lose. Man...

So today we had our ward conference. It was pretty neat. It started out with an extended ward council meeting, in which we split into groups and really just analyzed the heck out of like three verses of scriptures. It was really neat, though, how much you can glean from just a small phrase. I'm actually really excited to start a journal, now, because the more I think about it the more I believe every single little thing in the scriptures has been put there for a reason.

Our choir sang, but only songs out of the hymnal. Man I miss the days where we had a choir that would tackle, say, Handel's Messiah, for Christmas and what not. But those days are seemingly long gone and with a split ward there's not much hope in the near future for a return. All in all, it was ok, I guess...

We got a new bishop today, too. It was a little sad for our youth because Bishop Landrith has been the bishop for their entire time in YM/YW. But I'm really excited about the new bishop, as well. He somehow figured out who I was a long time ago, though, so that's a little scary that he always addresses me by name in the hallways and stuff. Just kidding...as long as he doesn't have my name pop up when he thinks 'new primary president' or something...

So here's my synopsis of American Idol tonight:

Luke is going home. Nothing new, nothing inspiring, kinda scary-ish. So is either Chikezie or Danny. Preferrably Danny because he bugs the heck out of me!!! My favorite performance was absolutely Aussie man. David Archuletta (my top 2 this season, along with Brooke) did pretty well, also. I am very disappointed to say I really liked David Cook's rendition tonight, though I can't stand his personality and the way he acts like he's so proud of himself every time he graces the camera with his presence... Dreads was pretty good, love that song. And some of you may hate me for saying this but I absolutely do not want Hernandez to go very far at all!! I can't put my finger on it, but there's just something about him that doesn't quite click for me.

We'll have to see how my girl does tomorrow!--

It was a fun weekend, all in all. It's always good to get out of town and see grandma and what
not. Some of our friends went with us, too, so it was kinda cool to hang out. Plus, who doesn't like Japanese steak house restaurants? It's grandma's favorite...and I can't complain...

How long have you been together? two and a half years
How long did you date? five months when Tony proposed, another five months after that
How old is he? 28
Who eats more? Usually Tony, but I can eat a lot of certain things (gummy bears/candies, olives, chocolate, etc...)
Who said "I love you" first? If I remember correctly, I did. Then Tony left and came back later and said he loved me too...but it's a little foggy in my little brain...
Who is taller? Tony. By five inches or so.
Who sings better? I sing on key. Tony sings louder.
Who is smarter? I'm book smart, Tony's real world application smart
Who does the laundry? Almost ALWAYS I do...
Who does the dishes? yeah, see previous question
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do
Who pays the bills? Whoever gets to them first. Tony set up most of them to automatically pay, though.
Who mows the lawn? We rent :)
Who cooks dinner? We are probably fairly split on this one. We both like to cook.
Who is more stubborn? If I KNOW I'm right, why back down?
Who kissed who first? Another debatable subject. But the truth is he kissed me
Who asked who out? I asked him out. Totally random stranger, just went up and asked him to help me with a 'class project' for marriage prep class
Who proposed? Tony did. During a period break at a BYU hockey game dressed as the mascot (and no, he was NOT the mascot usually!)
Who is more sensitive? Can you SAY hormonal? Definitely me. Actually, my dad warned him when he asked if he could marry me...
Who has more friends? Tony has more friends from college because he was there a lot longer than I was. I'd say I probably have more friends otherwise
Who has more siblings? I do (four versus three...Jones trumps!)
Who wears the pants in the relationship? Battle...Tony says it's that 'first born child' syndrome...
Who else are you tagging? Michelle, Sara, anyone else who reads my blog hoping I'll post!