Washington DC

I went to Washington DC last week for a work conference.  I was very nervous to leave as Grace wouldn't be coming with me.  I really don't like going out of town without my family and I was really struggling.  We spent the day before I left together though, painting:

 And playing bardies:

 And then before I left, we posed for a picture shoot.

 In Washington DC, this is about the extent of the sites I got to see. This sandwich is known as a Muffaleta and it is delicious. 

 I saw the National Mall only through my taxi window. Which was dark going in and out.

 I did get to hear the yellow jackets perform in person.

 Sue and I presented to a full room which was over capacity by about 20 people who sat on the floor and in the hallway.  It was very humbling and I think we did a really good job.

 The US Secretary of Education spoke to us as well. 

 I missed some of the other speakers as travel didn't sit very well with me.  I pushed myself a little hard I am afraid and ended up spotting a little so I spent an entire day on bedrest in my hotel room.  There really is nothing good on daytime television and I wanted nothing more than to be home.  I missed visits to the Capital and meetings with Senetor Hatch and Congressman Matheson.  They would have been great experiences.
I did send Grace a postcard.  This was her reaction when it came (she cracks me up)

 She drew pictures for me and put a sign to welcome me home. She was waiting on the porch when I got there.  Grandma Box came into town to help take care of Grace while I was gone.  Grace did pretty well and we got to skype a little, but we missed each other a lot.

 I brought her a sweatshirt which she thought was pretty cool-as well as a tshirt and silly snow globe.  I caught a few "stress ball" busses at the conference, no surprise they ended up being her favorite.

It turned out to be an experience to show me that I can do it if I need to, but I really didn't like and I just wanted to be home with my family.