It's America

Day 198: I spent today at the lake house of former Attorney General Ed Meese. It was a fairly small group and therefore I actually had the opportunity to talk to the Meese’s and enjoy them in a relaxed setting. It was wonderful. Went water skiing for the first time this summer and just relaxed on the lake. The highlight of the day was definitely when I went down into the basement and found a treasure cove of pictures, newspapers, and other items from Mr. Meese’s past. Pictures with the queen, Michael Jackson, and the Pope hardly came close to the numerous ones with Reagan, my favorite being the one with a hand written note (recognized from book after book of reading that relaxed cursive) that said, “Dear Ed, it’s been a long trail, but the company was the best. Warmest Regards, Ron”—it was written on the famous picture of him in his cowboy hat that happens to be my favorite…definitely teared up at that one. He’s only human, but Mr. Meese is such a kind and humble man who truly loves America. Currently lacking a leader like what we had in Reagan, seeing someone with this genuine care and will to keep fighting was an honor and a blessing.

Day 197: Chinatown Subway..love the Chinese on everything

Day 196: Came upon this walking past the Nats game recently and thought it was pretty perfect.

Day 195: I finally got a bookshelf for my room! Nothing fancy, but I was sick of my books in piles on my floor. I couldn’t believe how quickly I filled it…and when I sat back to observe, I was startled (why, I don’t know) to see that every book was about God or America…There are 9 different “boxes” and they are arranged as follows: 1. Piper books; 2. Classics (the only one NOT technically American/God I guess; 3. Bible study books; 4. Books on America (9/11 Commission report, etc.); 5. Books about President Reagan or Washington; 6. Books about other Presidents; 7. Books about Economics, Finances, and other things that I should care about but struggle to understand in America ; 8. Political Science books from school; 9. Journals and more God books….I actually do read for fun! I just didn’t bring those books out with me… Man.

Day 194: Looking for a bookshelf. For some reason I saw this and thought of Michelle…Do you have fam there or something? Oh wait, that was New Ulm. Oh well. Anyway, I was happy to see Minnesota repped in Marshall’s in Virginia.

Day 193: You know how you always see commercials or hear stories about cleaning up red wine spills? Well, they don’t tell you how to deal with knocking it off a table and it dripping all down the wall…Thanks Jackie, you’re always a life saver when I’m getting myself in trouble! I am fully confident Lauren has never read my blog and never will, but no one else needs to tell her about this incident!

Camden Yards and Danny Valencia

Day 192: BALTIMORE GAME!! Fifth and probably final new ball park of the summer. The drive in was fairly easy and parking was a breeze and up close to the stadium. K, so crazy hot day in Baltimore. Ash and Jackie come with me to the game, thankfully, though I was nearly willing to go alone. Bought the cheapest possible tickets and moved down to 5th row after the 1st inning cuz' the stadium was empty. We're bathing ourselves in the free ice they're handing out and my shirt is tied up like a 5th grader and "we're baking like a toasted cheese-it", to steal a phrase from my favorite baseball movie. Storm comes out of no where, cheers go up for the sweet relief, but then the game was delayed. Come back after the delay and get in the 2nd row cuz' everyone had left (we were winning 10-2)...so the Twins are done warming up and heading to the dugout and I catch our cute 25 year-old 3rd baseman's eye. I mouth in complete sincerity, "Can I please have that baseball?" He nods, points at me, I point at myself and mouth "me?" and he nods again. He walks past all the people pleading with him and tosses it to me. I'm beaming until the man in front of me nabs it! In shock, I look at the man, while my roommates note that Valencia paused to make sure the guy gave me the ball! I got it, and said thank you and Valencia smiles and nods. AHHH. Since then he has hit his first MLB homerun, which happened to be a Grand Slam), went 4/4, and is now the 3rd player since 1993 to hit 14+ hits in a 4 game span. I'm sending him a thank you a letter. Aaaand am debating including my number. haha, not to date him, but to talk baseball. Seriously, I'm excited for him. You can watch his grand slam on the web site, he is trying not to smile the whole time and then just can't contain it once he rounds third. So cute.

Day 191: Tonight, though I could care less about him, we went to hear Vanilla Ice sing “Ice Ice Baby” at McFaddens, in D.C. Haha, and I’m not gonna lie, it was kinda sweet. Unfortunately...I have no pictures of this event, so this is a sunset my last trip out to Stafford.

Day 190: This demonstration parade lasted outside of work today for over a half an hour. Unfortunately it didn’t do much because I can’t even remember what they were promoting or the name of the group. Apparently they were anti-communist China, but their symbol appears to be a swastika...everything else was in other languages. Hmmm…

Day 189: I found this picture in a pile that I brought from home last week. The funny part was not so much Bekah, but my caption written on the back, “Becca being a valleygirl”. Dad always hated when we did our valleygirl impressions. Something about having too much attitude I think.

Day 188: I got jipped with this gum. I bought a 3-pack and by “mystery” I assumed that meant it simply included all different flavors, so I thought it’d be perfect! Unfortunately, “mystery” turned out to be some fruity nonsense, which while briefly tasty, doesn’t give the minty fresh breath we’d all appreciate.

Day 187: Whistles from the BFAC. Oh the memories. Shouldn’t have ever complained about that high paying job where I could tan with friends all day…

Day 186: This crossword was a family affair while camping, but look how good we did! I didn’t want to throw it away…

"Minnesota, hats of to thee!"

Day 185: One final piece of Minnesotan beauty!

Day 184: So mom is making me clean out my room while I’m home. I say “making me clean” like it’s a really hard thing to do, but I do realize she’s been waiting 4 years to do it. She keeps giving me hints like “I wouldn’t mind if you went through some things while you’re home” or “I can help you go through your room if you want” or “Ben, go ahead and tell Lupus they can stop by here on Friday to pick up some items”. Anyway, that being said, I waited pretty much until today to start any of it and I leave tomorrow. This picture is of my sand from different beaches I travelled to in high school…Okay, so I guess I can see why mom is ready for me to move on. Hawaii, Florida, and South Padre Island.

Day 183: Fourth new park of the summer and finally the one that was most important to me! I felt a twinge of guilt as we passed the Metrodome standing alone in the setting sun; I really will miss that place. Phew though, walking up to the new park was pret-ty sweet. Met up with the Laurion’s and Michelle met me, my dad, and Dave there—all my favorite Twins fans (minus Bekah and Ben, yes). Anyway, the park is beautiful with the Minneapolis skyline making a beautiful backdrop with the sun shining on it. I found the organist I have been wondering about for years (she’s real!) and took a picture with the infamous Wally the Beer Man. The Marines raised the flag and every single Twins team and player ever had a picture around the outside. We had great seats on the first base foul line and sang loud to the stretch. Unfortunately, my record stayed strong in seeing the home team lose this summer, but they put up a good fight and the company and Minnesotan atmosphere definitely made the night!

Day 182: Beautiful update picture of Baby Engebretson!

Day 181: Baked some delicious Mrs. Field’s cookies with dad!

Day 180: Camped at my favorite spot on the Temperance River! When I see these wonders up North, I can't help but think what an amazing God we have who creates this beauty...oh it's just breathtaking sometimes!

Day 179: Trekking through a river somehow adds extra adventure to a hike. Starting at Lake Superior, a trickling river can be followed deep into rock formations that grow into ravines that soon tower over you, with each curve threatening to produce a hidden waterfall. We tried a new one this year and had quite the bonding experience with Ike. The river was moving pretty fast, so there were times he was pretty worried about us crossing the rocks, and he wasn’t strong enough to handle the current on his own. We went a good hour and half, before crossing one pretty big rapids via a family chain (passing Ike from one person to the next), and finding a small falls. Dad went ahead (much to Ike’s great concern) to look around the next bend, but the high falls were further up, waiting to be found on another day.
Day 178: One of my favorite memories of camping with the fam is the early morning drives with dad. Whoever was willing to get up before the sun was treated to a donut and hot chocolate from down the street and then we’d drive into the hills in search of whatever wildlife the Northern woods could offer. These moments have grown more and more cherished as I’ve gotten older and now I rarely miss a ride. Didn’t see much this week, but we did get this moose!

Day 177: New puppy, Ike! He loves small places, so he’ll crawl under your legs when you’re sitting in a chair or under this table whenever he’s in the basement. I’m not a huge animal person, but this little dog is quite the sweetie!

Day 176: Writing about home will hardly do it justice. I spent a wonderful week at home relaxing with the fam and really didn’t do much aside from spending time with them! This picture is Ben driving with his permit! I definitely noticed that while I think girls are excited to drive just to drive, boys are excited to drive and really learn to do it well. I was pretty impressed with his questions throughout the week no matter who was driving! I took him out for the first time and we went to Walgreens, Festival, and the Post Office, all on busy roads. On the drive home we saw a cop about a block away and he got pretty nervous. He made it back, but much to my horror, pulls into the driveway and says, “EB, there is a cop behind us”. My heart plummeted as it often does when I see the po-po behind me and no excuses came to mind because I knew he hadn’t done anything wrong! To my relief, I suddenly realize that it was Courtney’s dad, chuckling and thrilled at the scare he gave the Heil children…poor Ben was still shaking when we got inside!

Only in America...dreamin' in Red, White, and Blue

Day 175:
Day 174: I enjoyed the fireworks from a boat on the Potomac the other night. I’ll be honest, I would have probably rather been at the lake in Minnesota with my family, but this was a pretty neat place to spend the 4th. The only others on my short list are Boston and Philly!

Day 173: Mmm mmm, margaritas from Guapos in Shirlington!

Day 172: 100 degrees in the shade.

Day 171: Happy 4th of July! This morning I went down to the Archives to hear the Declaration read and it was definitely the highlight of my day. I can't help but worry that things like that won't happen forever and this is how it should be in America! John Adams said of America's birthday, "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more." Anyway, this is something I'll attend as long as I am in DC and as long as it is done..."And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." (Last line of the Declaration of Independence)

Day 170: I’ve been riding through Quantico for months on the train, but today I got to go on base for the first time to see Brian graduate from OCS! There were 4 classes finishing up and it was a pretty awesome thing to experience them all marching across the tarmac with the Marine Corps band playing. Afterwards we got to walk over and look at the obstacle course which of course I was dying to do but couldn’t and the rope that I COULD have climbed Jack said I couldn’t in my dress. Haha, good call, sir. Anyway, afterwards we hosted everyone back to our place and had about 20 Hillsdale people enjoying a beautiful day in Virginia.

Day 169: I realize that this picture is not attractive…but you wouldn’t believe what a free pop on a Friday afternoon can do for people. We also came across a girl sitting at the fountain at Dupont Circle with a sign that simply said “smile”. Cheesy? Perhaps, but it did the trick!

Day 168: FDR had some things right:

Day 167: Sunset on the Potomac