Chelsea Gonzalez: capitol

Hello, helllllo, hello!

This past weekend has been the warmest and brightest weekend the DMV area has seen this far. It was so pleasant and beautiful. We woke up on Saturday morning and just had to get out and enjoy the day. We had no exact plans- just a craving for the sun. So we decided to head to my favorite place in DC- Eastern Market- for my favorite lemonade and pretzel. We totally forgot about the Cherry Blossom festivals and what not- so we were in traffic fir a while.. But it was totally worth it, honestly. I love Eastern Market. It is a little farmers market on Capitol Hill near Barracks Row. It is super cute, full of awesome stands, fresh fruits and vegis, and best of all- tons of local food vendors! A pregnant gals dream! Afterwards, we walked around our favorite little neighborhood on Capitol Hill all the way down to the Capitol. It was refreshing and just so nostalgic for us. We grew up together in this city. We explored this city together. This city has been the only common ground and home for the both of us. It is really strange thinking about leaving here for good.

My favorite stand at Eastern! I also love Big Poppa's Popcorn, but we didn't get a bag this trip.

My main pregnancy craving! I got a strawberry lemonade and pretzel- yum!!

I promise it didn't last long.

Thank goodness for selfie sticks! We would have never got the Capitol in the shot... let alone all 3 of us!

After the Capitol we headed back to the car and let Opal stretch her little legs at our favorite park.I love seeing her explore here. It was at this very park that the yearning for a family started to grow within Dillon. He would talk about our future kids- and beg me to ditch my plan to wait many years. So to see him now playing alongside her has been a treat. I feel so blessed every time we go. I sit on the park bench and let the two of them go nuts.

At our favorite park.

Her daddy picked her this flower- she was loving it so much.

They seem to be a little crazier these days while we are out of the house because of how cooped up we have been lately due to the weather. Anyone else experiencing a lot of rainy weather lately? We sure are here in Virginia/ DC! It has been really gloomy... but I don't want y'all to be down in the dumps! So, as a little ray of sunshine for your life I have a free printable rainbow for you.

Excuse the signature being so off. This was my practice print. It is adjusted and fixed in the downloadable version.

Download HERE- via dropbox.

THIS PRINT IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. FOR YOUR HOME OR AS A GIFT. DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK. DO NOT CLAIM AS YOUR OWN.

I hope this is something you can tape up or frame somewhere in your home to remind you that after each storm is a rainbow and some sunshine!

This is super relevant to my life right now because today is the day Dillon and I have been WAITING FOR. We should be hearing ANY day now in the next week to month about our future. I know it seems crazy, we're excited to still be waiting.. but that is how the military is sometimes. You wait... just for another waiting period to begin. But this should be the last waiting period for major news... until the next waiting of where we will be going next begins (hahha!).

I hope you have a blessed Wednesday!

xoxo, Chelsea.

P.S. YAY FOR ALSO BEING 32 WEEKS DONE WITH MY PREGNANCY!

Today we decided (very last minute) to go out and re-visit some of the open air memorials in our city to celebrate the end of the government shut down that lasted 16 days this October. One of our favorite things to do is pretend we are tourists and take tons of wacky photos throughout Washington, DC. We have lived here for just over a year and a half, while Dillon has been stationed at 8th & I Marine Barracks Washington, DC. He serves in the Marine Corps and works alongside some pretty great people.. including the Commandant of the Corps. (I will have to write a post later on sharing some of his rad moments here at 8th & I.)

Two memorials I wanted to revisit especially were the WWII & Vietnam Veterans. Coming from a long line of family members who have served in the US Navy, these two mean a lot! They've traced our family being men of the sea, all the way back to the viking days! But- most recently, my great grandfather served as a Navy Corpsman during WWII; & my grandpa was a mechanic during Vietnam. I have a cousin serving now, and even I had planned to enlist!

The Vietnam Veteran's wall is really special to my Papa, so we called him and got two of his war buddies names and found them for him! Both of his buddies were MIA.

The Vietnam Veteran's Wall

Life in DC has definitely been something to remember for the both of us... and will most certainly be something we talk about and share for the rest of our lives. Last year we spent many months without a car and had to rely soly on public transit.. (WAY different than back home for either of us..) If you don't know what the public transit here is, here you go:

Metro system: basically a subway system that can take you all over the DMV (DC, Maryland, &Virginia) area

Capitol Bike Share: Rental bikes that are on a lot of corners. You just swipe your card and drop the bike off at any check point when you're done.

Taxis: a bunch of smelly guys who drive you anywhere you're willing to pay to go... If you take a taxi here... GOOD LUCK. Most of these people shouldn't have licenses, don't use turn signals, drive 50 mph in a 25, and are crazy weird!

Public Bus: The first (and only) time we rode a bus here we got lost for 6 hours and ended up somewhere far in Maryland looking for a furniture store. We never rode a bus again.

While using the metro we walked everywhere! For the first month I was in tons of pain from my feet and legs being shocked by the amount of walking I did. (This is coming from the girl who had a door to door job before moving across the US!!!!!) And by everywhere I mean everywhere. The grocery store was a mile away from where we lived, so I had to pull a cart (the kind you take to flea markets) all the way there & back. We finally got a car in September... that by November died and we had to suck it up and purchase a newer car. That's how we ended up with our cute Mazda 3. Nobody will ever be able to tell us that we didn't struggle! (ha-ha!)

We have experienced so many neat things while living here. My husband has met President Obama and has visited the White House.. He also worked the Inauguration! We try to go to as many events as possible, because were living where history is made! How thrilling is that? There is so much to do here, I definitely recommend to whoever is considering visiting the Capitol to do so! This year we went from living on Capitol Hill in a tiny one bedroom studio apartment, to a larger home 5 minutes away from the Nationals Stadium on an AFB. We found out we were pregnant only a couple weeks after moving! It excites me that my daughter will be able to tell people that she was born here. She will never have to worry that her life isn't interesting! I hope to bring her and (her future siblings) back one day and show them where mommy and daddy spent their first years of marriage.