Some friends came over to visit Heidi tonight. They had their daughter, Claire, in tow. She is 3 (maybe??) and such a doll! She wasn't keen on visiting with strangers (her parents have taught her well) and seeing as I'm a really BIG stranger, her excitement to interact with me was, well, lacking at best. But her dad coaxed her into letting me read her a few books. What a cutie! Oh how I miss my niece and nephew. Check out how cute they are: comptoncorners.blogspot.com.
Tues., June 29, 2010: Summers intersect and believing the impossible
Driving home from a religion class tonight, I thought it approrpiate to document the street that I live on: East Side Drive. It intersects with Ireland. My sister Lisa and I spent two summers ago in Ireland visiting our mom's ancestors' homeland. This summer, I live on East Side Drive and am spending the summer visiting places where my dad's family lived. They came to America from England in 1620. Pretty amazing how paths intersect, in a very real sense. I was also excited to get a picture of VA's speed bumps. They call them "speed tables."
As to believeing the impossible, yes, one should always believe the impossible. Why? Well, I'm talking with a friend of mine, Steven Morris, who I have never heard sing before. Not even sing along to country music in his shop. Suddently, out of nowhere, he bursts into singing--yes: singing!--a song from the LDS musical Saturday's Warrior. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday I couldn't believe my ears!
Sarah: Are you singing a song from the LDS musical every LDS girl watched like 1,000 times back in the day?
Steven: Yeah. It's called Saturday's Warrior.
Sarah: I am stunned that you, Steven Morris, (a) know the name of the musical, (b) have seen it, and (c) have seen it enough to remember the lyrics to the songs.
Steven: My sister watched it every Sunday growing up. EVERY Sunday. Until one day the VHS went missing. We never did find it.
Sarah: Really. It was never found again. Shocking. This conversation is making my blog this week.
Steven: Really?! Sweet! I'll tell my mom and sister to read it.
This one's for you Steven. Here's to believing the impossible! :)
Wed., June 30, 2010: Temples
Happy birthday Mom! My mom turns 30 again this year! I spent the evening at the Washington D.C. Temple. I love the temple. The DC temple is extra special to me because my parents were married there. But the MD/DC area also serves as a nexus for both the Cody and Compton families. My dad's family settled in Charles County, MD. My mom was born at Walter Reed in DC while her parents lived in MD. At the time, my grandfather was studying and then teaching at Catholic University. My boss asked me yesterday to share a bit about what Latter-day Saints believe. It was a great opportunity to share with her my beliefs about God, prophets, priesthood, temples, and prayer. You can learn more about LDS temples and the LDS faith by visiting http://www.lds.org/temples/faq/0,11264,1904-1,00.html and http://www.mormong.org/.
Thurs., July 1, 2010: Flying, floating, and driving objects
The weather here this week has been perfect. Low humidity, highs in the high 70s and low 80s. I skipped down to the Belle Haven Park (along the Potomac) and found some ducks to feed.
I then walked along a path that runs parallel to the Potomac. The path is encased with all types of flora.
At one point the path open us to a small marina. The sunset reflecting off the trees and the sail boats first caught my attention.
I stood on the shore for quite some time and watched planes fly over, cars drive over the bridge, and sail boats cruise along the river. It's fascinating to see the contrast between nature's tranquility and the rush of the cars, planes, and boats as they fly, drive, and float by. As I was snapping a few pictures an unusually large dragonfly flew right in front of my camera. You can see it captured in the picture. It's on the left hand side of the frame with a human "dragonfly" in the upper part of the frame (click on the picture for a better view). I couldn't have timed it better to capture both flying objects.
Fri., July 2, 2010: Kayaking on the Potomac
After work on Friday a friend and I headed down to kayak on the Potomac. I just can't get enough of the outdoors around here! We rented the kayas from Jack's Boathouse. It's housed right beneath one of the bridges and has a very Austin-ish feel. We were right near Georgetown (you can see one of the chapels in the background).
And I learned what a paddle board is (the guy on a board pushing himself along with a paddle):
Sat., July 3, 2010: Prince William Forest Park and the Capitol Concert Rehearsal
I met Paul Bickmore at a church activity the first week I was here. Turns out he was good friends with my brother, Matt, in Austin. Another intersection of sorts, if you will. Paul works for the Parks service identifying various flora in the parks around here. He took a group of us out to Prince William and showed us the different types of pine, oak, and beech trees that are growing in the forest. AMAZING!! We learned about forests' life cycles, blooming cycles, and how the vegetation is affected by access/exposure to sun. Thanks Paul!!
We found some blackberry bushes.
In the evening, Hanna and I went up to the Capitol to enjoy the dress rehearsal for the 4th of July concert that is held on the Capitol's west lawn. We ran into the little girl I had read to on Monday (and her parents of course!). Such a small world. Love it. Lives intersecting yet again. Hanna and I sat on the stairs of the capitol between a family from east Asia and a couple from Algeria. It was a culturally and linguistically rich experience. What brought all of us together was a love of our country--a land of liberty, prosperity, and a rich heritage of sacrifice, service, and goodness. It was an inspiring sight.
Sun., July 4, 2010: 4th of July
Happy birthday USA! It's pretty awesome to be in DC for the 4th of July. It's pretty much amazing to be here everyday of the year. Heidi (my roommate) and I took a drive down to the Potomac. We sat on the grass near Mt. Vernon and took in the beautiful scenery. After we'd been there a bit, she asked, "Are you ready to go?" "I could stay here until the sun rises tomorrow." I just can't get enough of the view and the peace of being outdoors in such beautiful country. It's no wonder George Washington made Mt. Vernon his home. It's breathtaking. We then headed up to a hill near our house and watched the fireworks. The best part? Seeing a fire engine parked right next to us. The firemen were all sitting on top of the truck watching the fireworks.
Thanks to all of our service men and women and their families for their service and sacrifice. Abigail Adams once wrote to her husband in January 1777, "Posterity who are to reap the blessings will scarcely be able to conceive the hardships and sufferings of their ancestors" (as cited in McCullough 's John Adams, 2001, p. 169).
We rounded out the evening singing patriotic hymns (hooray for having a piano in the house) and reading 2 children's books about the Constitution and Washington DC. (Heidi was a children's literature major so she had these on hand.)
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