Since we missed the last couple of months I wanted to catch you up on some things we did but never had the chance to write about.
First, the last few months were a whirlwind with a lot going on.
In September my dad and I took a golf trip to Ireland. We took a couple extra days to tour around London.
We spent a week playing some great links courses in the north of Ireland and next door in Northern Ireland. Some days were perfect and some we had to endure blistering wind and rain. It was a great bonding experience and something we'll be talking about for a long time.
In November after only a few months on the job, Allison was a victim of the world-wide credit crunch when her firm downsized and gave her have an early retirement. So, she took advantage of her time off and went to Arizona to escape, I mean, spend time with her sister. Two weeks in the desert with her niece and nephews helped rejuvenate her soul.
Now she's back in the game and ready for the next big thing. We'll keep you posted on whatever that may be.
In addition to that great bit of news the November elections didn't go quite as well as hoped and come January I'll be looking for a new job too. Thanks "Change we can all believe in".
Next, Allison's brother Kevin took a big step in his life and received his mission call to Carlsbad California. It was fun to see him prepare and get excited about it. He left in December for the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, and will be in California by the second week of January. Things just won't be the same without you Kev, or should I say, Elder Toskovich. We'll miss you.
Thanksgiving brought family into town and we were able to have a great time with the Toskovichs in VA. The food was great and there was plenty of it. It was nice not to have to travel during this crazy time of year.
Another tradition around Halloween is going downtown DC to the Drag Races, or High Heel Race, or whatever it's called, but the idea is to watch guys in drag run a couple blocks and then strut for pictures afterward. This year I had some friends dress up, but although I will show the pics I can't release the names. Needless to say I was very impressed.
Another tradition is to visit and orchard and pumpkin patch outside DC. This year we went our friends Eric and Kristy.
Allison and I love concerts and one that I really wanted to see was Coldplay. So when they came to DC in December we joined our friends Dayne and Myhoa for a night of good food and music. They put on a great show and didn't disappoint.
Finally, my parents came into town to spend Christmas with us and Allison's parents. We met in Charlottesville and spent the night at a place we like just outside the city. We had a great dinner and enjoyed the time together. The next day we toured Jefferson's home of Monticello. Needless to say it was a little cold. The next night, Christmas eve, we went to the Washington DC temple to see the lights. It was amazing and really helped us get into the spirit of the season.
Elaine and Lynn
Allison and Tyler
Darin, Jennifer and Gavin Ross.
Rachael and Alex (boyfriend)
Tyler, Tammy, Lindsay and Beau.
Office mates: Beau, Mike and Tyler.
The brain trust: Beau, Curtis and Tyler.
Regardless, we have still managed to jam a lot into our weekends. Here we are at the Kreeger Museum, home of the former GEICO chairman. The home houses their private art collection and is now a full time museum. It was part of Museum Week in DC so went and checked it out. We even talked Al's brother Kevin in to coming along; the culture was good for him.
And just this week we found a new place in DC that looked interesting. It's called Coco Sala and it's billed as Chocolate Bar - how could you pass that up, right? So we tried it out and would probably give it a B- overall. They had small topas style dishes and then tons of chocolate platters. Here is the Allison looking at the prices on the menu.
Apparently Annapolis is known for being the home of the Naval Academy, a fine institution with a long and storied history. But little did I know that right across the street is one of the oldest colleges in Maryland, or the east coast for that matter. St. John's is a small liberal arts school that isn't exactly known for its athletic programs - except for the croquet team. And I'm not even joking. They hired a coach - in fact they both have hired coaches. They have uniforms, kind of.
