Labor Day Holiday Weekend

Friday (04 September 2009) got off to a good start. Some government agencies had an early release day -- and the deputy and the chief strategy guy where I spend most of my days now were part of that group. Instead of going home early, we opted to have a "working lunch" (like those ever really work) that lasted from about noon until 1600 (that's 4:00 PM to those of you on 12-hr time).

I had arrived at work around 0700 that morning to get a few things done at my home office (i.e., the building where my company's headquarters is actually located). Then, I had a mid-year review with my Division Director. That went well (I thought); we talked about what I was working on, my plans for work and for school, etc. He offered to write a letter of recommendation for grad school; I took him up on that offer.

Hurried over to my off-site office. In some ways, it's nicer. I have two (and soon, three) huge (24" ?) LCD monitors, a bigger desk with more storage space, and my own office. No windows, though. But there's candy. The "guvvie" deputy brought back some Lindt and Toblerone chocolates from a recent trip overseas to share with the four (became five today) of us who are there. I miss being able to see the other people I work with, and having lunch in a lunch room, and a fridge to keep my lunch from home in. And JB's jokes. Anyway. Prepped for a meeting that started before lunch and lasted until I had to run that afternoon to pick up Jill.

Picked up Jill, went to the Distribution Center, got some new shoes, ate a quick dinner (courtesy of some leftovers from Jill's work), then started our first shift as ordinance workers at the Washington, DC Temple. It was a great experience, and the night went by so much faster than I anticipated (we're on the 1830-2230 shift).

Saturday was my day of labor on this Labor Day Holiday Weekend. A friend of mine has been involved in a family business ever since he was about 12. He even put himself through college with it, and still does some of the manual labor occasionally. Years ago, his family bought into a high-end wooden play set business, called Cedar Works. The structures use 100% northern white cedar harvested in Maine -- this wood was selected because of its natural long-lasting and splinter-free qualities. These things can be quite large, impressive, and expensive -- going for many tens of thousands of dollars.

However, they recently spun off a "Toyota" line to expand into a different market that their typical "Lexus" line wouldn't reach. This line, called Play-A-Round swingsets, comes in three standard configurations. [If you go to the website, you'll see better pictures than what I took after construction.]

Anyway, my friend picked me up at 0830 and we went to the first home in Arlington, VA, and built a Lookout structure, with the addition of the nicer tire swing and two child chairs. That took us until about 1230. We drove out to the next place in Laurel, MD, and grabbed some fast food on the way.

From Play Around

Thankfully, it wasn't as hot as it has been this summer. But, thanks to my genes and the general lack of exercise that's currently a part of my life, I was still sweating pretty good most of the day.

At our second (and final) stop, we built the Frontier Fort structure. This one is the biggest of the three Play-A-Round sets. This home also purchased an A-Frame swing to stand alone on the side. We finally finished this one up around 1930 or so. It was a little harder because the ground wasn't leveled off for us.

From Play Around

Got back home about 2030, nearly 12 hours later. I was so tired and sore - and a little bug-bitten. What a wimp, huh? And thus ended my Satur-day-of-labor.

Sunday is a day of rest and worship. For some, it's also a day of meetings. I participated in an elders quorum district leader training, a committee chair meeting, the typical Church block, and a Seminary kick-off fireside with Jill. She was able to meet all the freshmen she'll have in her class. They're in for a great experience; Jill is a wonderful teacher and has this way of connecting with the youth. After the fireside, Jill was set apart by a member of the High Council and a member of the Stake Presidency. It was a really touching setting apart. (Come to think of it, she's had three really good settings-apart lately, with Primary Chorister, ordinance worker, and Seminary teacher.)

We ended up playing Pinochle and enjoying some break-the-fast desserts and munchies with some friends. We're excited because we'll be moving very close to them soon. (Don't worry, it's just across town. No big moves here!) Thus ended our Sunday.

Monday was a real labor-free day / holiday. We slept in - yay! Then we got ready to head into the District to go on a tour of the Washington Monument. It was great - we got on-street parking right on 14th St NW, walked around a bit before our tour time, and were numbers 3 and 4 in line for our 1000 tour time. We read the Wikipedia article while we waited, and learned about how the walls were 15 feet thick at the base and 18 inches thick at the observation deck level. We learned how the project ran out of money and eventually became a government-funded operation. They weren't able to find the same quarry of stone to complete the monument with later, so the color changes about 150 feet up the 550 foot structure.

From Washington Monument Tour

We rode the 70-second elevator ride with a car full of other visitors and listened to one of the rangers tell us about the monument. Then, we were free to wander around the observation deck and look out the windows. There were two windows in each of the four sides for viewing. I thought the display by the window was neat because it not only identified the structures for you (so you know what you were looking out at), but had photos from the 1800s, early- and mid-1900s to show you what the District used to look like from the Washington Monument.

From Washington Monument Tour

(Us waiting for the elevator)

From Washington Monument Tour

The picture below is a good shot because you can see Jill's work (off to the left of the circle at about the halfway point, the small rectangular building with the half-circle driveway) and the White House:

From Washington Monument Tour

It was a little hazy still (some light rain throughout the day), but you could still see down to the Capitol building.

From Washington Monument Tour

This is where we went on the pedal boats the other day:

From Washington Monument Tour

Us at 500 feet up on the observation level:

From Washington Monument Tour

We weren't quick enough with the cameras, but Marine 1 (and its decoy) flew past the Monument as we walked back to the car.

From Washington Monument Tour

It was a fun activity. We walked back to the car (past a whole bunch of fat birds that were hanging around the popcorn stand!) and headed home. We spent the rest of the day doing chores and getting ready for Seminary. We made a yummy taco salad for dinner and watched some 30 Rock. Then, it was time for our holiday to be over.

It was fun to spend time with Jill (especially because I hadn't seen her pretty much all of Saturday). We've had some neat adventures around town =)

Enjoy some more pictures!

All the photos I took from building the swingsets:

All the photos from our Washington Monument tour: