anddd i'm back! (with updates, part 1!)

hey guys! sorry to have been MIA for an entire month. the past few weeks have been really crazy with the end of yet another semester at school, my birthday (!), and SO much traveling between philly, baltimore, dc, nyc, and upstate ny. on top of all of that, when i moved into my new apartment in the city at the beginning of june, i didn't have internet for a whole week.

needless to say, i'm a bit behind on what everyone has been doing. i can't wait to catch up on what you've all been up to lately, and i'm really excited to share what i've been up to!

here's part 1: my-super-sweaty-super-hot-one-day-trip-to-dc-in-a-car-that-insists-on-pumping-out-heat-24/7-on-a-104-degree-day.

despite the scorching hot weather that day, an emergency trip to radio shack for a lost memory card replacement, and a $100 parking ticket (AGHHH), dave and i had a lot of fun on our day trip.

our first stop was the national zoo!

while at the zoo, of course we had to check out the pandas!

one of the pandas, mei xiang, was closed off so she could have a stress-free pregnancy

no matter, though! we stopped to chat with this lil cutie on our way out from the panda exhibit

we also saw one red panda, who insisted on being too cool to look at the camera

we also saw zebras...

a very tired ape...

an orangutan cozied up in her snuggie while chatting with her buddy on the right...

a very ferocious lion who roared for about 10 minutes straight...

a tiger snoozing in the shade...

a camera-shy groundhog (who knew the national zoo had groundhogs?)...

an alligator (crocodile?)...

and a VERY chill iguana.

then it was off to the national museum of national history!

dinosaurs and ice-age behemoths are awesome, but we all know the real "gem" of the nmnh ;]

the hope diamond!!! this was about as close as i could get to trying it on

we also checked out the washington monument...

the world war II memorial...

various washington dc ducks...

and the lincoln memorial.

all in all, a very fun day. my favorite part of our day trip, hands down, was when dave surprised me with this little fella when we were walking out of the gift shop at the zoo.

his name is ralphie, he loves singing classic show tunes and disney songs, and he's keeping me company while i work in nyc and dave does research in baltimore.

update part 2 (which isn't nearly as image-heavy) is coming soon!