In God We (Still) Trust

We just returned from a long weekend in West Virginia visiting dear friends from Atlanta. We met Brian and Gina in 2003 through Sunday School, but grew close 3 years later when we unknowingly moved in right across the road from them in Marietta. We joke about the fact that we used to invite ourselves to dinner at their place on a regular basis but it's really no joke - we actually did:) We'd walk over to their house in the evenings, which was about a mile and a half from our house, and if they had dinner on the table, we were always welcome guests. Those were some fun times!

Anyways, Brian worked for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation as a Handwriting Analyst up until last year, when he accepted a position with the FBI at Quantico. We were already in Mississippi when they packed up and moved to Fredericksburg, VA. They are renting an adorable little (literally) house in the heart of downtown Fredericksburg and absolutely loving it. I'll admit I was a little worried about being pregnant and only having one bathroom at the house, but we are all so laid back it was never an issue. Unfortunately I didn't think to take any pictures of their place, but it's probably close to 100 years old and super cute.

We flew in to Richmond late Thursday night, and were up bright and early Friday for a VIP tour of Quantico. Now if you know me at all, you know I'm slightly obsessed with all things forensic/FBI/etc, so touring Quantico was at the top of my list! Brian set us up with tours of the special projects lab, cryptology (crackings spy codes), and of course tour the lab where he works on footprints and tire tread impressions. Brian always trys to downplay the "coolness" of his job, but I'm not ashamed to brag about it myself. Quantico is a beautiful facility, and although it doesn't have all the CSI lighting effects, it does have some really cool stuff going on behind the scenes. I'm already prepping baby Claire for the possibility of a FBI or forensic profession down the road:)

Friday afternoon we bummed around downtown Fredericksburg - wandered in and out of toy and candy shops, and also toured the local historic Apothecary. Unfortunately the weather all weekend was less than desirable (freezing), and in true Smith form we did not bring the most appropriate attire. But we survived, I mean I am from Alaska, of all places.

Saturday was headed to DC to tour museums and catch the first day of the Cherry Blossom Festival. We started out with the Holocaust Museum and LOVED it. Very heavy material, but one of the best museums we've ever been to as far as lay out, displays and content. We spent nearly 3 hours touring the place. We then headed over to the Native American Museum, and did not enjoy that one so much. There was some good information there, but it was not very well laid out, which made it much harder to process. Plus they completely shortchanged the Upiks (Alaskan Eskimos) as far as exhibit size, so that really sealed the deal for me. We finished our museum tour at the Museum of Fine Arts. They had some great French Impressionist paintings, but was largely displaying very contemporary Modern Art, which I'm not crazy about. I don't care how you try to explain it to me, no one is every going to convince me that a piece of toast painted and mounted in a frame should be considered art. Sorry.

Sunday morning we enjoyed visiting Brian and Gina's church and spent the afternoon at the Marine Corps Museum - another must-see if you're in the area. It is a beautiful facility with plenty of great exhibits and materials to take in.

So you probably think we're total nerds for spending most of the weekend walking around museums - and you're right. I am an unashamed sucker for a good museum, and West Virginia has plenty to choose from. Thankfully our friends feel the same way:)

Travel time to and from Richmond was not bad at all either. We actually spent more time at the airports than in the air. And because Jackson and Richmond are both very small airports, we were able to print our boarding passes ahead of time and walk straight to the gates in less than 15 minutes. Crazy, right? We did have a layover in Atlanta both ways, and it's amazing how insanely busy that airport is! It stressed me out just passing through!

Here are some photos from the weekend.

Baby Claire's first glimpse of Quantico

Goofing off in Downtown Fredericksburg

The Apothecary Tour

On the metro

On the metro

Baby Claire in DC

Baby Claire in front of the Capitol

Guess who is NOT winning at Domino's?

At the Marine Corps Museum

Thanks again Brian and Gina for a wonderfully fun and memorable weekend. We hope to see you guys back down here before too long!

Baby Update: We're calling her Baby Claire because her name is going to be "Something" Claire, we just haven't decided what yet. And at my 26 week appointment yesterday I've gained 22lbs. I'll be lucky to keep it under 60lbs by the end of 40 weeks! The crazy thing is I can still wear my old pants, with the rubber band trick of course, so most of the weight has to be in my belly. But I still feeling pretty big for 26 weeks. And last week I had my first experience with feet swelling/expanding. The shoes I wore to work Thursday tore up my feet, and when I got off the airplane Thursday night I had a huge indentation in my calves from my socks, and you could see the fluid build-up in my calves over that indentation. I should have taken a picture!!!

The biggest news of all is that I just accepted a new position here at the hospital - beginning in May I'll be a Sr. Marketing Specialist for the Office of Nursing Excellence. I know you all probably think I'm crazy for switching positions right before baby, but this was one of those opportunities I just couldn't pass up. Not only will I be able to tap into my creative juices once again and work with a great team of ladies, it's only 32 hours a week so I get every Friday off, have my own office AND will be making 7% more than I am in my current position working 40 hours a week. Almost sounds too good to be true, right! That's what I thought until I had the official "offer" in my hand, which is why most of you are just hearing about this for the first time. Bottom line - God is good and faithful as always!! I am thrilled and feel immensely blessed with this new position, and I'm sure you'll be hearing much more about it in coming months.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!!