Washington DC

I am back in Utah! Dave is finishing his summer selling in Georgia so I came home to find an apartment and start school. We left Florida a week before the hurricane which I was happy about. At church one week they dedicated Sunday school and Relief Society to hurricane preparedness. I was in Chicago that week so I heard about it from my friend and we were scared!!

This past week has been pretty rough. I got a phone call from Mike the dad of the boys I nannied for 2 summers. Alex, one of the boys, took his life. It was such a hard thing for me to accept. He is such a great kid. He was always so helpful and polite. I never had any problems with him. I keep thinking if there was something I should have seen...his mom says she thinks it was not something he thought a lot about but just a rash decision that day. I will miss him very much. It is such a comfort to have the gospel though and know that he is doing well now and that we will see him again. It still makes it hard in this life but the knowledge of the after life makes it somewhat easier to bare. My mom and I went to DC for the viewing and funeral. It was quiet the adventure getting there. Dave helped me book my flight and I thought we were flying into Dulles but as we were landing I saw the Washington monument and Capital building! We landed in the Ronald Reagan airport. We could not find a rental car so we had to call my uncle Doug and he helped us. It was a crazy few hours. I was able to make it to the viewing though which I was very grateful for. It was very hard because it made everything a reality. It was hard that week but seeing Alex and Tyler, Dana, and Mike made it real and not just a dream.

The funeral was good. It was different than funerals I have been to but it was very nice. Dana asked me to sit with the family and also go with them to the cemetery. It was nice to be with them. They are such a great family. Dana and Mike are so good to their boys. They provide them with so many opportunities to learn and explore their interests. It will be very hard on them but I know that they will be okay.

I have a lot of fun memories of Tyler and Alex. They were always playing together and having fun. Every morning they would eat breakfast and read the Washington Post. They were very up to date on politics and political issues. Sometimes they would ask me questions and I had no idea what they were talking about!! It was fun to listen to their political views even though I did not always agree with them. :) Alex helped campaign for Hillary Clinton's campaign Saturday mornings. I told him if my grandma found out she would not be happy! ha ha. She is very republican!!

I was able to go to the beach with them for a week last summer. That was sooo much fun!! I taught Alex and Tyler how to crab fish on a dock behind the condo we were staying at. I learned when I went to South Carolina with my family. We had a lot of fun. There were so many crabs in that area.

We had fun at the beach as well. We buried Alex. It was so funny. The tide started coming in so we tried to make a wall around him so the water didn't get him. He didn't like that so much!

Alex and Tyler got a dog named Sandra so we would take her to the dog park. That was my first experience going to a dog park. We didn't have any pets growing up. The car ride to the dog park was always the most entertaining. Sandra did not like to sit still. The boys tried to hold her still but usually did not have too much success! :)

We ventured into DC a few time to go to the Spy Museum, Holocaust museum, and to the old post office. Alex didn't like heights or the escalators but did so well and overcoming his fears that day. I really enjoy Mike, Dana, Alex, and Tyler. I am glad that I was able to spend two of my summers with them. I missed them this summer. At the funeral Mike told me I was family. That made me feel really good. I hope we are able to stay in contact as we have the past year. I am going to try to get them to come out to Utah next summer! We will see how that goes. :)