Happy 4th of July 2009!

This July weekend was full of activities. There was a mid-singles conference in DC. I didn't sign up for the conference, but I ended up attending most of the events. I was able to spend a little time with my friends. I am so grateful for them and the happy memories we have shared together.

On Friday, Julie and I went to the Capitol Rehearsal. Below is a picture of the stage and shows where we were sitting. I got there about two hours early and didn't really pay attention to people coming in. When we left I was shocked by the number of people that were there. All the lawn space (even the areas where you couldn't even see the jumbo-trons) was covered with people. I was so glad I had gotten there early. Barry Manilow sang--he is so not my favorite. I had a great time making fun of him and his actions. (Sorry to all of the fans out there.) You could see the generation of women who grew up with him. They were out there dancing. One group of women had a whole dance routine to one of his songs.

Aretha Franklin sang a few songs. I do like her, but she seemed tired. I also made fun of her as she would do a dance move, but would only move her arms. It was funny to watch. As this was just the rehearsal we thought she might put more into it the next day, but it just seemed like she was going through the motions. We saw the Jersey Boys who were very good. It reminded Julie and I of our singing group when I was in sixth grade called "The Backyard Kids." We sang old songs and had poodle skirts. It was fun and gave me a great appreciation for that era of music.
Another performer was Natasha Bedingfield who sang "Pocket Full of Sunshine" and the la la song--"Sing a Song" with the Sesame Street characters. I really like this song as it brings back a very happy memory. My sixth grade teacher taught us a few songs in sign language. The chorus of "Sing a Song" is "la, la, la, la, la" etc. That was my favorite part in the sign language song and I still remember how to do it. :) (Its' not hard. You just do the 'l' sign in sign language with both hands and wave them back and forth.) It made me laugh to remember.

I really like going to the rehearsal because it's more casual and the security wasn't nearly as bad as it was on Saturday. Something happened with the Sesame Street characters part and they had to stop. It was funny to hear Elmo tell us that he would be happy to start over. Julie and I had a great time. We laughed, danced and talked. I even got a stamp on my hand that said I was ok.:) (he, he)On Saturday I met Tiffanie and Monica (on the left side of me in the picture above) at Eastern Market. Below is the rest of our group. I got there later because I wasn't interested in getting up early on the 4th. We headed off to the Folk Life Festival. Wales, South America, and African American pavilions were set up. The picture below is of the balloons that would be in the parade. We wandered around a listened to some live music for awhile and then headed back to Alexandria for a BBQ.
Since I didn't pay for the conference Peter took me (actually he let me drive his way cool jeep toyota--I don't know it's name) to Panera. I picked up a salad and then joined the BBQ. I felt a bit awkward because I wanted to talk to people, but I didn't know how to segway into conversations. I basically hung out with my friends--which was really nice, but I always feel like I should be talking to guys at these type of events. Awkward, Awkward, Awkward! This is what I don't like about going to single events. I always feel so anxious and nervous. I don't think people know that I am because I really try to hide it, but it just makes those settings so uncomfortable for me.

That night we went into DC and parked near the capitol. I left my friends there to wade through security and I headed off to the Washington Monument. I brought cards with me and soon we had a huge group playing phase ten. There was a concert going on. The weather was perfect--not too hot or humid. I had a great time talking with friends, meeting a few new people and listening to the music. Around 8:30 I left them and walked to the GW parking lot. It has a great view of the fireworks and is right across the street from the metro. I am totally fine with crowds if we don't all have to leave at the same time. Watching the fireworks there allows me to enjoy the show and get home quicker. It ended up that Karen (my housemate) and two of her friends were there so I watched the fireworks with them and then they drove me to my car. The fireworks were awesome! So gorgeous! Without the humidity you could really see them and not just flashes of color.

On Sunday I went to church at the temple visitor center. Melinda sang which was beautiful! I wish we could have just sat and listened to her sing for the whole time. :) We had a picinic afterwards and everything went well. My stocker (Lee) was ever present throughout the whole weekend. I am always so rude to him (trying to get him to stop trying to talk to me), but he is so dense! He just doesn't get it. Ahhh!

Overall it was a good weekend. I am blessed with wonderful friends and live in a great place to experience so many fun things.