44 miles and still standing

I can't help but sit here and smile after yet another glorious week! All signs point to one more for the finale until we depart on Saturday already. For those of you in love with this blog, maybe we'll continue to leave some posts as the next few years will undoubtedly contain a few memories with both of us in CO!
Looking back to last week, I recall a cold start on Monday, intensified by a shivering experience at the National's baseball game. It was exciting to be there, and we had some great seats, but the cold was nearly unbearable, for how we were dressed at least! Tuesday Sean went out to eat after a long day at work. I had a tour that day of the National's new ballpark, which is now under construction, followed by a long night working on some remodel plans for my employer.
Wednesday, always an exciting day, we departed at 9:00am for the National Zoo, where we experienced the pandas, elephants, snakes, gorillas, among other animals. A zoo is always a good time, and we were able to thoroughly enjoy the entire thing by half-past noon!
After class Wednesday we went to the National Mall (park) for a picnic, followed by a visit to our cook's house where Sean and I were able to clean spotless! Needless to say, our evening was nearly shot so we returned home for some sleep.
Thursday I departed at 3:30am for Raleigh (by plane) for a day-long business trip. It was very exciting although I was a bit exhausted throughout the whole thing! I was home by 1:00am, and as you all know, Sean was fast asleep. I'll just say he had a boring day since I forget the details! Friday Sean was able to meet a few players at work, which I am constantly jealous about. It was my last day of work so I packed up my things, printed off a few final documents, said a few goodbyes then went out to a final lunch with my supervisor. Class went well - we had Steven Garber one more time, always a great speaker!
Friday night we relaxed, finishing a few papers. Today we woke for our weekly pancakes, then departed on a round-trip, 44-mile bike ride to Mt. Vernon which has left us exhausted for eternity! The ride was of the most beautiful experiences ever though, on an 80 degree day! We were along the Potomac the whole way, except for when we rode through Alexandria, where I believe we would both LOVE to live. Mt Vernon itself was spectacular. We paid the $13 entrance fee, one of our largest spending sprees yet, and got the mansion tour. We walked around for 4 hours, preparing ourselves for the trek home!
I feel the need to apologize for our amazing experiences here. Just remember that you all have many friends and family to spend time with, while it is just the two of us out here. So we are enjoying this at the expense many relationships! Luckily in a few weeks we'll be seeing a lot of you! Thanks again for your prayers. On many of the excursions we've needed them!