us, as of late

So, if you didn't already know that we moved to the DC Metro area, read a bunch of the previous posts to get up to speed...ok, now for what we've been up to:

We stayed one night with our friends, the Demartin's in Woodbridge, VA. The Thursday before we left to DC, Kim went to one of her friend's bridal showers and made a random connection with her friend's aunt who just happened to live in McLean, VA. Kim mentiond that she was moving in two days and she (Sally Evans, the aunt) asked if she had a place to stay. Next thing we know, we're staying in the Evan's basement the day after we spent the night with the Demartin's. The Evans' family are so cool! We'll have to get a picture of 'em to post on here.

Ok, we stayed with the Evan's family for about a week (approx 30 Aug to 5 Sep). We mentioned to the Evans' clan that we were looking for nanny positions so we could save some money (rent out here averages USD$1,200 for a relatively nice, one bedroom apartment). So, she asked around to some families in the LDS ward. Then she mentioned to us that he knew a family in the ward where the husband has brain cancer and isn't very mobile at all, and that the mother had mentioned it might be nice to have some help around the house. So, we went and met them (the Carraway family), and it was as though we had the job on the spot ("this is the kitchen, you'll sleep here, etc). Kim had another offer from a lead from www.craigslist.com on Capitol Hill that we wanted to check out, so we told them we'd get back to them.

Well, the Capitol Hill people lived in a really dodgy neighbourhood (cops at every corner...) and they let their 2 year old have beer (ok?!). So, the next day we moved in with the Carraway family and we've been here since.

We live about 8 miles from downtown (the White House), and 0.48 miles from CIA headquarters. Yup, they are literally across the street (and behind thick, high barbed wire electric fences, and dense forestation of course). The neighbours all have stories of going for a morning stroll and being followed by guys with earpieces in golf carts. Funny, eh?!

The Chairman of the Board of the National Geographic Society (Gil Grosvenor, the same guy who won the Presidential Award the same day LDS President Gordon Hinckley did back in '04) used to be the next door neighbour...how crazy is that? Anyway, to say that this area is well off is an understatement. According to the locals, we currenly live in one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in America (per capita). The house up the street just went for $2.4 million, and its one of the cheaper ones because its not set away from the road surrounded by trees...so its weird for us middle-class Utarians to be living here to say the least. Its even more weird when your stuck in traffic because each intersection up to a mile away is stopped by police, and you start hearing deafening sirens and see a helicopter with a huge spot light follow a long motorcade and realize the President of the United States is driving by to go to a dinner function out in Virigina somewhere. Or, when you look overhead and see 'Marine One' taking off from the CIA.