Let's go on an Adventure: National Zoo, Cathedral, Fords Theater, Baseball & Georgetown (Days 1 and 2)

Are you craving adventure?  Don't feel bad. .. this enneagram 7 can't wait to pack a bag, jump on a plane and go some place she's never been! 

COVID numbers seem to be dropping and I am itching to for a grand adventure, so I am going to take you all on a little one over the course of the next month or so as I go down memory lane.  Let's travel back to 2019, when face masks were not something we had to think about and there weren't travel restrictions (ugh!).  

This summer will mark the 2 year anniversary of our Washington D.C - Baltimore - Philadelphia adventure.  We had so much fun and saw so much that we have very little regret from the trip, except maybe a day where we just rested.  But, really when we are some place new I have no desire to spend it in the hotel room.  I want to be out on the street walking around (My hubby can vouch for this. . . it drives him crazy!).  I always feel like I am missing out on something.  

This trip took 9 days, including 2 days to travel by plane (it takes awhile to fly from California to D.C.).  We spent most of our time in D.C. and then 1 day in Baltimore, and 2 days in Philadelphia.  This post will definitely be broken up into several posts because there is just so much to do!
  

We didn't get into Washington D.C. until around 10:00 at night.  We flew into The Washington Dulles Airport, which was a great experience! We found all of our luggage and found our Uber for the 30ish minute drive into D.C.  Our hotel, the Capitol Hilton, was easy to find and just 2 short blocks from the White House building.  (It's even a hot spot for past Innagural Balls!).  Our room was perfect for the 4 of to camp out this week.  We even paid a little extra for a mini fridge so we could keep sparkling water and some breakfast things cold.  

But, back to getting into D.C. at 10.  We were hungry, we felt like it was 7 and so we headed out to walk a few blocks to the nearest Shake Shack (my absolute favorite) since it was fairly close and still open.  Washington D.C. is very active at night (party, party!) and so we surprisingly had to wait in line to order!  Along the way, we passed the Longfellow statue, which was really cool.  One of my favorite poems is the midnight ride of Paul Revere. . . he wrote it!  So, at 10:00, my kids had a quick history lesson and Weston even posed in front of it for me.  You would never have guessed that it was almost midnight and we had been traveling all day. . . We were all pumped to be in Washington D.C.  

After a good night's sleep, we woke up to a gorgeous day and headed out.  Our first mission, was some snacks and breakfasty things at Whole Foods.  We walked there and ubered back to the hotel. On the way we found these statues and talked about political parties.  

We also enjoyed the absolutely beautiful architecture.  Modern buildings placed strategically between old homes, many that may have dated back to our countries beginnings.  It's really amazing to look at! 

After taking the food back to our room, we headed out for our next stop.  We went to Ford's theater, took the tour (so many awesome things in the museum part) and then sat in the actual theater (that has been redone since Abraham was shot) that the assassination took place.  We walked across the street to see the home in which he actually died, but chose not to take the tour.  We were hungry, hot, and needed a quick break.  So, we went in search of food.  

We found the coolest pizza place just around the corner from Ford's Theater.  &Pizza was a quick style pizza, where the are long and skinny, but so many different toppings and recipes to chose from.  Jon even was introduced to Mike's Hot honey and well. . . .we ended up ordering our own bottle because it is just amazing on pizza!  

From there we wandered towards the FBI building and then on to the National Archives.  This was something Ethan was really excited about, he loves the National Treasure movies!  There were so many documents to look at, including a copy of the Magna Carta.  It was all so fascinating!  

By the time we left, it was time to head to the Nationals vs. KC Royals game we had tickets for.  We love fitting in sporting events when we travel.  Ethan even started collected all the stadium pins while we were on this trip.  The  stadium was beautiful and had a great view.  However, it was our first day in the hot, humid environment, so we left after the 5th inning.  We had laughed about an area at the stadium that was closed due to inclimate weather when it was sunny and beautiful (we don't get a lot of "weather" where we live).  We ubered back to our hotel for a few minutes before heading out to go find a restaurant to eat for dinner. . .

 

We were up in our room for 10-15 minutes at the most and came down to a torrential downpour, thunder and lightning.  We just stood there, laughed, and enjoyed it.  Needless to say, we ordered Chipotle from around the corner via door dash! 

The next morning, we woke up to a sunny day and warmer weather than before! Our first stop was the Smithsonian National Zoo.  We enjoyed the Pandas and loved all of their different homes.  I think my favorite was the naked mole rats. . . they were so adorable! There are only 3 zoos in the U.S.  so that was super fun, plus the pandas are super relatable and seemed to love a good nap!  We enjoyed lunch at the zoo.  It was pretty basic zoo food, but Ethan said he loved his hot dog. . . he may have just been starving!

After the zoo, we ubered (we did a lot of ubering around!) over to the National Cathedral, which was just amazing!  There was even a choir practicing, which sounded so beautiful.  We probably could have wandered around the grounds and the church for hours.  They are even building a replica out of legos. . . we keep getting updates via email about the progress.  You can donate money and a lego piece or two will be added to help raise money for it.  They are not messing around with this Lego replica. . . it takes up almost a whole room!  Just to the back of the cathedral is a smaller, old church with a gorgeous gazebo and a view of D.C. that cannot be matched!  Look for the grassy area with a tall cross and you'll have a wonderful view! 

Can you believe, that day 2 is still not finished?  After this, we headed over to Georgetown to explore.  We waited in a little line (maybe 15 minutes?) at Georgetown Cupcakes. . . remember that show?  This stop was on our bucket list of things to do!  We bought some cupcakes and found a place to share them.  They were so good!  Totally worth the stop!  

 

 

Georgetown is the cutest little town outside of D.C! It was probably one of my favorite places to visit. . . probably because there were some really neat shops.  The buildings are old, the details were wonderful, the shops were both mainstream and local!  Jon started getting a headache partway through the afternoon, so we decided to stop and get a coke and rest for a bit (thank goodness for Chipotle!).  We walked the waterfront, played on a labyrinth and just enjoyed our time.  It was so much quieter there and so beautiful!  I could have stayed there for a full day just walking around (read: shopping. . . ha ha).  Before we left, we had bought macarons from Olivia Macarons, ate dinner at Good Stuff Eatery (this was our favorite new food spot of the whole trip!) and coffee at Baked and Wired (we would have totally gotten cupcakes, but we already had enough food!)  Needless to say, everything we ate was loved!  

We did so much in the first two days, that I think it's safe to leave you here for a little bit. Days 3 & 4 will be coming soon!  

Here's a quick At a Glance guide to all we did:

Day 1:

• Grocery shopping
• Ford's Theater
• &Pizza
• National Archives
• Nationals Game

Day 2:

• National Zoo
• National Cathedral
• Georgetown
• Good Stuff Eatery
• Olivia Macarons
• Baked and Wired 

Main Form of Transportation:  Uber, Lift, and our feet.  

Hotel: Capitol Hilton

Getting Creative during Covid: Dating your Spouse

 Let's travel back in time for a minute to our first Valentine's Day as a married couple.  I was in my second year teaching and Jon was working part time and working on his Masters Degree.  We both (foolishly) decided we were just too tired to cook and that we would go out to dinner . . . for Valentine's Day.  We chose one of our favorite Italian places. . . a popular chain in a popular area of town.  I am pretty sure that everyone else did too!  We waited 3 hours to get seated.  We were well trained in waiting in lines thanks to a recent Disneyland trip and hung out trying to make the best of it.  We even found a few friends who were waiting in line or had just finished eating.  By the time, we finally got seated at our table, we were so hungry that we just wanted them to bring us bread.  We quickly ordered. . . we had waited in line for 3 hours. . . we knew what we wanted. . . ha ha! By the time our food arrived, I am pretty sure we had consumed several loaves of bread. . . dipped in olive oil (It is soo good).  We ate a few bites of our food (we were now full), paid and headed back to our cute little apartment.  I can honestly say that we have never. . . ever celebrated Valentines Day like this since.  

The next year, we tried our hand at ordering heart shaped pizza from a local pizza place and just staying home. . . it arrived an hour late and not heart shaped.  Clearly, Valentines Day should not be celebrated on Valentines Day.  But, regardless of our very memorable Valentines Day failures, I can honestly say that we look back at them and laugh.  We love any excuse to celebrate and Valentines Day will always be kind of special because that's the day that Jon first took me on a date and expressed an actual interest to be more than just 2 friends hanging out.  We just had to get creative on how we celebrated.  

For 12 years now, this blog has been a place where we find ways to be creative as moms and busy women wearing all the hats we can manage (often feeling like we are wearing too many!).  I've always wanted to write a post about creative date nights and have never sat down to write it.  I've probably written several similar posts while in the shower, but never actually putting them down on paper.  Over the years, I have seen so many marriages crumble and it's just heartbreaking.  This year, amidst the pandemic, I've seen more marraige casulties than ever before. Between all the famous people "breaking up" or the friends that are struggling during this pandemic, it is still heart breaking.  

Jon and I have made a goal to be as intentional as possible to have dates.  We purposely set some aside money each month (going out to dinner is cheaper than a divorce!)  But, I will be honest with you, this was so much easier pre-pandemic when kids were at school or restaurants were open.  This pandemic made it hard and we realized we needed to be intentional about spending time just the two of us doing fun things.  Let's be honest, the kids (no matter how old) are always there!  I also want to mention that each stage of life and parenthood comes with it's own hurdles to jump to make dating your spouse work.  Don't get frustrated or discouraged.

This is where being creative comes to play. Here are some of our favorite ways to sneak in a date while in a pandemic.  Many of these we've adapted from our "Normal" life made them work with the current state of things.  We've been doing variations of these for years, but yesterday I stumbled across the word "microdate" and seriously it's the best name for all of these!

1.  Take walks together.  Whether the kids are strapped in a stroller or they are old enough to leave at home for a bit, take some time to leave your house and go for a walk.  Each night, we walk around our neighborhood and just talk.  We dream, we vent, we laugh, we listen. Sometimes, we just listen to the geese flying home to go to sleep.  It's one of my favorite parts of the day! (We do this while the kids are reading before bed. . . they are calming down and we are walking. . . it's perfect!).  

2.  Coffee Dates. Prepandemic, we loved going to a local coffee shop and chatting over our favorite lattes.  Since life shut down almost a year ago, we order our coffees and one of us (mostly jon, because he's already up) drives to pick it up.  The kids watch their Saturday morning shows while we sit around our fire pit and drink our coffee.  

3.  Take out and a movie.  Our restaurants just opened up for outdoor dining, but we still get take out because even when you can't get a babysitter, you can still have take out!  The kids get to watch a movie in one room while we watch a movie and eat our dinner in the other.  Pre pandemic, this was our Sunday night tradition, but now we have to be more intentional, because we found ourselves rushing to eat to get to the next thing.  Don't do that. . . . separate yourselves from the kids and just enjoy each other's company.  

4.  Go golfing together.  I know that many of you will laugh, but golfing. . . even just hanging out at the driving range is a lot of fun.  It's a slow moving sport and allows conversation and talking while you play.  Plus, if you have some rage to get out. . . just take it out on the golf ball. . . ha ha!  Golfing has been one thing we could do while social distancing.  Sometimes we go as a whole family and sometimes we go just the two of us.  

5.  Game night. Put some of your favorite candy and snacks (or get the fixings for a charcuterie board) and maybe a bottle of wine on your next grocery order.  Grab your favorite game and put the kids to bed.  Once their asleep, head the bedroom for a game night date night.  If you want some extra fun. . . highest or lowest score each round has to take off an article of clothing (wink wink). 

6.  Target run.  Give yourselves each 5 dollars, split up and buy each other something silly.   Set the timers on your phone and go!  

7.  Sneak out to run some errands and pick up some ice cream or a donut and just sit in the car and talk. 

 I know that sometimes you might be feeling like you are spending too much time together, but often times, the reality is together but not together.  There are days when Jon and I both home and we're all doing our own thing we forget to take time for each other.  We need to make sure we are investing in our spouses.  Find their love language.  See what makes them really feel loved and go with it.  Take time to do things alone together. . . use that creativity that God gave you to invest in your marriage.  It's worth it! 

 happy valentines day!  

p.s. Aaron and Jamie Ivey are coming out with a really cool book on marriage next Month.  Jon and I can't wait to get started! 

p.p.s. Need more ideas?  Check out this book. It has tons of ideas!

KAF 2021 Recipe of the Year

I must confess that this post is drool worthy.  I am drooling just thinking about these cinnamon rolls!  If you've been here long, you might notice that cinnamon roll (or anything remotely resembling a cinnamon roll) are our favorites over in the Klassen house. . . just check the "breads" tab at the top of the page.  

Cinnamon rolls are kind of our Sunday morning tradition. . . even if they are a tube of pillsbury (because this mom doesn't always have time to bake up something homemade. . . true story).  I think it started out as an easy way for Jon to make breakfast before church so I could have some time to get ready in the morning.  In fact, I usually ate my breakfast in the car on the way to church!  Back when our man cub was in third grade (wasn't that yesterday?), his class had a feast and was asked to bring something that represents the culture of his family.  We thought long and hard about this one, and we realized that cinnamon rolls were one of our family traditions.  We baked up a batch of my then favorite cinnamon rolls. . . which sadly, I haven't actually blogged about (someday, I promise. . . because they are delicious), and took them to school to share with his class.  His cinnamon rolls sat next to delicious crepes, curry, tamales, kringle, and so many other delicious foods. 

I follow King Arthur Flour on Instagram and am a flour snob when it comes to baking (King Arthur Flour is seriously the best!).  So, when they awarded this particular recipe as this year's thing to make, I knew that we would give it a try and didn't doubt its fame. Last year's recipe of the year. . . deep dish pizza was amazing and all of their bake-a-longs have been on point!  My family devoured them so quickly that there were no leftovers and they are already begging to be made again!

  This recipe uses a Tangzhong, which can seem a little daunting because it's weird, but it's worth it.  It doesn't take much extra time and it results in the most soft and pilllowly cinnamon rolls that almost melt in your mouth.  A tangzhong is  Asian bread making method where part of the bread is cooked on the stove top. . . just a bit of flour and water.  Don't let this scare you. . . it's worth it! 

And so with that, I am going to leave you with the recipe and go cheer my boys on their final stretch of distance learning for the week.  I am READY for a weekend. . . a 3 day weekend at that!   Make sure you follow me on instagram or Facebook, because I am hoping to make these live in the stories tomorrow. . . Keep an eye out! 

BEST CINNAMON ROLLS & 

KA Flour recipe of the year

from King Arthur Flour 

(Click here for original recipe)

The recipe is perfect just the way King Arthur made it. . . 

go there and follow there incredibly well written instructions :)

 

Happy Baking!