Maybe I misjudged May. MAYbe.

You may remember how I feel about May.

I had my doubts again this year. May had a (typical) shaky start.

But I must say, the rest of the month sure did make up for it.

Why did I end up loving May? Let me just tell you.

REASON 1: Porta Parties.

You throw a mix on everyone's iPod, pick your preferred place, and dance. Our first one: the White House lawn. If Obama looked out his window, he had to have laughed.

Outside the White House - you just press play at the same time and you're good to go.

Jacqui! Sweetest girl ever.

 And to make it all a little more perfect, it rained on us the whole way home. I suggest everyone walk down Pennsylvania Avenue in the rain with good friends and good songs. Preferably John Mayer.

Rooftops work just as well as White House lawns. Stay tuned for future locations. 

REASON 2: The Temple

Third largest temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 

Bryndee and I discovered we have the exact same dating life. Good thing I love her or else I might miss my sense of individuality.

REASON 3: Love.

We helped Noah sweep his girl off her feet last weekend. She came to visit and he decided it was time they got themselves engaged.

We set up floating lights all over the tidal basin between the Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument, then set up flowers on a cute bench while the cute couple went out to dinner.

Jeanie had nooo idea. It was the best. Even when the homeless man came out of the bushes and scared us all, it was still the best. Even when mosquitos bit me a million times. Still the best.

Magic makers. She said yes.

Gotta be honest though, it did not all go as planned. We spaced a bottle opener. David said smashing bottles of sparkling cider on the ground works just as well as any bottle opener.

But...then this happened to his finger.

Love is pain.

It was disgusting, people. All the brave people that could handle blood quickly took care of the situation. 

Lesson: Just bring a bottle opener.

REASON 4: Memorial Day

 We kicked off Memorial Day weekend by going to THIS Memorial Day concert on Sunday night. It was extremely momentous because I saw my very first FIREFLY!

Fireflies are about 72% of the reason I moved to DC. I have never ever seen one, and I just want to catch some in a mason jar very, very badly. 

I unintentionally tackled Jacqui when I saw the little guy because it was so exciting, but when I got to it I realized I didn't dare catch it. Even if a bug glows, it's still a gross bug. But brave bug people caught it and I just watched it glow for a while. They really do look electric! Better than I ever expected.

I will catch a jarful soon. 

 Summer starts when you bust out the watermelon. And apparently when temperatures reach 100 with 100% humidity.

The next day, Memorial Day, we went out to Arlington Cemetery for the memorial services.

Everyone got a flag, and a rose to place on a grave.

I gave mine to Edna. The name has a special place in my heart because of an Edna at Hebrew Rehab that I just loved.

Rumor had it that Obama wasn't coming to the service...

But then he did! I promise. But you have to just trust me because I could only take a picture from my phone, and you can't see him too well.  I brought my camera, just no memory card.

That's ok though, it was just the first time in my life that I saw the President speak in person.

Dang it.

REASON 5: Old Town Alexandria.

Cutest place ever.

 Perfect place for a Sunday walk.

I liked that they left the same year. I think that's a good deal. 

They have old flags and new flags and cute doorsteps. 

A trolley takes you to the boardwalk. What more do you need than trolleys and boardwalks?

You're right. Nothing. 

Boats. I want to watch a sunset here.

REASON 6: Learning that you actually can lick your elbow.

That's all that needs to be said for that one.

REASON 7: Philly!

 Funny tour guides with three-cornered hats.

 Valley Forge

George Washington 

Pierre, my french frog. Acorn hats look good on him. 

Lib Bell

Signing the Constitution 

Founding Fathers. Kind of creepy. 

West Philadelphia. Where Will was born and raised. And on the playground spent most of his days.

Delaware River

See, May did a pretty good job of redeeming itself. 

And I'm definitely stoked for June :)

I like dirt.

Guys, I have a desk job.

I thought I loved desk jobs, because I had one in Provo. And I loved it. 

But turns out that wasn't quite a real desk job. It was a... go to work for two hours, go to class, go back to work, go back to class, go play at work, go work at work kind of desk job.

Now I have a real, true, 9:00-5:30 desk job. It comes with its challenges. 

That's why Elder and Sister Sowby thought we would be very excited to go to a Foggy Bottom service project.

Foggy Bottom is the name of the neighborhood I live in. It got its name from the way the river looks around here sometimes. (Foggy...on the bottom.)

So about 20 of us headed down the street, ready to play in the mud serve.

The project people were so surprised to see us all. They asked if they could help us with something, but we told them we were there to help them! They were so excited.

The picture above is our before picture. This is when the park and street still had lots and lots of leaves. And weeds. And trash. And a dead cat. (I wish I was making that up.)

Maybe you can't tell. But this is a plant with roots in a tennis ball. It was strange.

We threw it in front of a dog. It wouldn't play fetch.

And this, this is after. Forty bags of leaves and weeds and trash after. Noah looks beat in this picture, but don't let him fool you. He was singing Justin Bieber at the top of his lungs just moments before this pic. Plus dance moves.

There were other groups of BYU students with areas just like this all over the street. So many bags!

Luckily it was one of those other groups that found the sad, forgotten cat.

So gross.

The whole crew! 

This is a cute news spread about the day, plus another article here for your reading pleasure.

What a good day. 

No desks. Lots of dirt. AND they sent us each home with an azalea. Mine is still alive because last time I let a plant die, Michael and his green thumb judged me. 

I should go water that...

Sisters M.

There's a party going on right now. 

A birthday party. I wish I was there! 

Yesterday was my sister's big b-day, and I MISS her. We are just on the same wavelength, you know?

Ever since these days.

I think we bugged Logan sometimes. But we sure love him. (He loves us too.)

Ali never wanted a dog. Obviously we had different opinions on the subject.

But for most things, we're pretty much on the same page. She has ALWAYS set an example for me. And I'm always trying to follow that.

I know we're not twins or anything, but we have the same vibes. If one of us is ever feeling an unexplainable emotion, it's usually because the other one is feeling it then too. 

I hope I don't throw up when she's pregnant.

I cannot explain to you how much I love my sister. We have the same random aspirations in life, and no one is more fun to check those off with than this girl.

For example, yelling off the Brooklyn Bridge just like (the beautiful) Jack and Spot Collins.

Or going to a Keith Urban concert just because.

Or touching all 50 states (getting there).

She moved out to the East Coast a few years ago because she's just fearless like that. And extremely cool. I love visiting her in Boston SO much. So much. 

Who else would take a night tour of NYC in the rain with me, on the top level of a double-decker? We frequently find ourselves in random situations like that.

We have mastered the art of the self-timer.

And the art of ridiculous nicknames. And inside jokes.

Kookaburra.

(No one laughed but Ali. Don't feel bad.)

She's an (extremely) avid NBA fan. Particularly the Jazz, but...well, it was a rough year for Jazz fans. Celtics are up there too. I owe her all my basketball interest, she keeps me posted.

I also owe her my stick shift abilities. My dad gave me a good foundation, but she taught me how to shift and turn the steering wheel at the same time.

That's kind of essential.

Sometimes people tell us we look like twins. Other times people don't believe we're sisters. ? 

I promise we are.

I love her because she will do illogical things with me. In fact, I think she is the person who taught me to do illogical things. Like, jump in the Atlantic ocean on New Year's Day.

It doesn't make sense to do that.

I loved doing it.

I love how open she is to traveling. I think I learned that from her, as well.

Spanish steps in Rome! 

Venice! If you ever go backpacking, take her. 

But if a bird poops on her again, don't laugh too hard. I mean, you can laugh later, but don't laugh right then.

It makes me sad that we went from sharing a room to living in different states, but we still talk just as much as we did then :)

Church in Rome! Just another area I've always looked up to Ali in -- she has such a strong testimony and dedication to the Church.

Like I said, take her backpacking. Some people just look at the Colosseum.

She has gladiator fights there.

(But it looks like I won.)

Easter Sunday in London! I love that she's always open to have an adventure with me. 

Fourth of July in Boston. I lived with her that whole summer, and I loved it.

We were sisters, roommates, friends, coworkers...pretty much everything. 

That's why I learned so much that summer!

She is one of the few people in my life that understands my love for driving.

She'll frequently take the long way home for me. It is definitely appreciated.

This is our future :) These lovely ladies are sisters, and residents at Hebrew Rehab (where we worked that summer).

She lets me wear her clothes. I miss that shirt.

This is right before she conquered a half-marathon in New Hampshire! I can honestly say she is my true source of inspiration in this area of life, too.

I read Harry Potter for two hours that day. She ran that whole time. 

It blew my mind.

She is always open to a road trip (this may go back to the "willing to do illogical things" principle). 

This was the Hill Cumorah pageant in New York a couple summers ago. We even slept in a car for it.

That's not really as adventurous as we thought it would be. Especially when you set the car alarm off at 6AM the next morning. 

I prefer my cell phone alarm, thank you.

DC and my dad's photography skills. He sometimes chooses to not count, which is never helpful on bright days.

I love that my sister has the same family as I do. That might sound slightly ridiculous, but I really do appreciate that we love and understand the same people in a way that no one else does.

Ali always understands what I need. Like this day, she committed to being my personal photographer for as long as I wanted. She followed me around to find all my friends even though she had just sat through a long and boring ceremony.

I love my sister. Always have, always will.

Happy birthday, Ali!