Doing the Family Bonding!

Hello Muffins!
I have had quite the time since my last post. I picked out the highlights to catch y'all up to speed. I hope you enjoy my family/friend/food/photo mashup as much as I enjoyed experiencing it all!
Ready. Set. Go!A pre-St. Patty's Day salad, eaten with a spoon because no forks we're clean. Hitting the town in all our green glory. At 5PM. No comment...moving on.
The arrival of company means real food eaten with forks at nice restaurants!
Greek salad and the best sweet potato fries EVER from Chef Geoff's!
Friday night's in D.C. with two sister's is rough on the liver, but oh so much fun, and definitely memorable! :)
The next morning......all I know is thank God in heaven for large sunglasses and even bigger cups of coffee. Oh, and great company... ...and perfect veggie sandwiches. If you live in the area, check out Jetties for a magical food experience.
After the perfect picnic lunch, we did the touristy thing, sister style, where we literally ran into a HUGE anti-war protest! Saw the Washington monument in the early afternoon in perfect weather. While walking toward dinner, we saw Obama's motorcade taking the Prez from the White House toward the Capitol so he could shmooze politicians and get that healthcare bill passed. If you squint really hard, I think y'all can see Obama waving at us :)

Dinner was shared with lovely company in the form of Cousin Kristin who we just love so much! We ate at Jaleo which is quickly becoming one of my favorite spots in this town.
Since we go big, dinner was followed by a sweet treat.
Cupcakes from The Red Velvet Cupcakery so what else was a girl to try? I was not disappointed with the Red Velvet, I only wish it had been a little bigger for $3.25!
After all that food, we returned to primp for another night out on the town. Good thing we both had new clothes :) We didn't make it out very late because we were so exhausted from the day and our previous nights antics. Worth mentioning though, the friendly cab driver who thought we were highly entertaining.
After a restful night's sleep, we ended Rach's trip with the only thing she was dying to see...
The PANDA'S!!! I almost had a hernia with all the little children running around me, but I love my sis just that much that I braved the swarm of chitlens.
I am so glad Rachael came to see me this weekend. I really enjoyed getting to spend some one on one time together. It doesn't happen often since we live so far apart and are constantly fighting our schedules to even have a conversation let alone a weekend together. It weird to think that someone you grew up with and spent every day with can become someone you see no more than 4 times a year. It is a shame, but it makes me all the more greatful that we were able to have this time together! Sis, if you're reading this, I love you and thank you for coming! It meant a lot to me! Okay, sappy emotional stuff aside, normal food posts will resume tomorrow!
~Jenn
P.S. so glad to see everyone had such a good time at Fitbloggin' but I have got to say, I am mad jealous of all the free swag y'all picked up! I could really use one of those Gruve gadgets! Such a great way to remind yourself to stay active!