Blast from the Past

When we were in New Jersey for Thanksgiving, we took advantage of a nice warm day after the holiday to explore Holmdel Park with Grandma and Grandpa.  The kids haven't been to Longstreet Farm before and we walked around to see the horses, cows, pigs, sheep, etc. and all of the historic buildings.  After the farm, we headed up to one of the many playgrounds to let the kids play.  While we were there, I wanted to do some investigation of times past.  James and I used to visit HP when we were dating, often having picnics there and hiking through the woods.  On one trip, we carved our names into a tree as many teenagers do.  I've always wondered if it weathered the years, and if we could even find the exact location.  So as we walked through the woods this November, I looked at the many trees and read names hoping to find ours.  After a few tries, and a bit off the beaten path, I found it!  I was so excited.  We hadn't dated the carving, but I estimate it to be about 19 years old - sometime from 1992 or 1993.  Thank goodness Grandma had her camera to snap a few photos of our historic find!  The kids wanted us to carve their names below, but we didn't have a knife so we will have to go back another time to add them to the record.

What a fun record of our relationship - as James and I embark upon 20 years together, I am glad to see that it has survived the test of time and I look forward to going back in another 20 years to see if it's still there!

35 and Other Ramblings...

On Monday, I celebrated the 35th anniversary of my birth.  35 seems significant, but as usual I feel no different.  Since it was a work day, that is how I spent most of my day.  After work, we went out to dinner.  Keeping in spirit with last year's birthday we found a Japanese Hibachi restaurant not too far from our house and really enjoyed it.  The chef was very funny and we all laughed a lot during the meal, plus the food was very good.  The bad part of a great dinner is that I was too stuffed for dessert...but the kids still sang to me, and I managed to fit in a few bites like a good birthday girl should.  My gift from James and the kids was a Kindle Fire, totally unexpected (well, until last Friday when I got a mysterious e-mail from Amazon welcoming me to the Kindle Club...oops!) and is turning out to be a lot of fun - not only can I read books, but it's a full blown tablet so I can watch Netflix, check e-mail, play games, search the web and lots of other things.  All in all, a great day and I am thankful to be starting another year of my life.

The rest of December has been fairly uneventful as we have been busy preparing for Christmas.  The tree has been decorated.  The stockings are hung by the chimney.  The house is decked out with Christmas decorations, and things are in all new places this year which somehow makes them feel new.  Gifts are purchased (not quite done yet, but there's still a few days).  Cookies have been baked (with more to come).  Cards have been mailed out.  Despite all of these preparations, I have been having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year.  I am not sure why, but I think it has to do with the weather.  It's not been cold at all here, even balmy some days.  Any precipitation is wet, and not white as it feels like it should be in December.  Yes, I miss the snow.  I said I wouldn't but I do.  I miss it now because it makes it feel more like Christmas.  In Utah, even if there wasn't much snow on the ground at our house we could always look up at the gorgeous snow covered mountains.  Not so much here in the flat lands of Virginia.  Luckily, my bah-humbug attitude hasn't rubbed off on the kids or James.  We've gotten pretty prepared despite the lack of good winter weather.  The kids are really excited, especially Keely.  Quinn even summoned a steadfast belief in Santa this year, making his list and leaving it by the tree for Santa's elves.  Keely chose not to make a list, saying she wants to be surprised.

I feel like today kicks off the Christmas week as we await a visit from the North Carolina Donovan family who are stopping in Virginia on their way to New Jersey.  Then we anxiously await the Florida Donovan family who will join us on Christmas Eve until after the New Year.  We are all very excited to have a little one underfoot for this special holiday season. On Monday, we will head up to New Jersey to spend a few days celebrating with the grandparents on both sides, and other extended family.  It's going to be a wonderful Christmas for sure, with the most important reason being that we get to spend it with family - both immediate and extended - and we are truly blessed!

A Trip Back in Time

We traveled back from New Jersey on Saturday morning so that we could have the balance of the weekend to spend relaxing at home.  That's one thing that I love about being so close, and there so much more often - there is no need to stay the entire holiday weekend, or pack as much in as we can - like we used to have to do when we were traveling from 2,000 miles away and only visited about once a year, if that - because we know we will be back soon.  So we had the best of both worlds with this long weekend - two days with the family, and then two days at home. 

Because of this, we found ourselves at home on Sunday looking for something to do on yet another gorgeous Fall day...sunny with highs in the mid 60s.  We decided to head to Mount Vernon, a destination we've intended to visit since we arrived back in Virginia.  James and I had visited when I was in college and I knew the kids would enjoy it.  It turns out they've added some features and you could really spend all day there, depending on the season.  We started with a 20 minute movie - an introduction to the estate with all of the places to explore, then a docu-drama about GW and his war times.  The mansion tour was great, we had some fun tour guides.  Keely wants to live there, although the next day in retrospect pondered where the bathrooms were :)  The only complaint was that we couldn't actually enter each of the rooms, only view them from hallways - the kids remembered the tour of Muckross House in Ireland where you could be in each room.

Because we were visiting in the holiday season, we got two special treats with regular admission - one, the house and grounds were decorated for Christmas (though I imagine that's more interesting at night) and two, the 3rd floor of the mansion was open.  About a million people visit each year, and only about 10,000 see the 3rd floor.  Martha lived on the 3rd floor after George's death, and you get also get a view up into the cupola which was used to cool the house back in its days.  Aside from the mansion, we saw the slave's quarters, various outbuildings, graves of both Martha and George as well as a few other Washington family members, and some of the farm animals that reside on the land.

Also a perk being that we were there after Thanksgiving was seeing the turkey pardoned by President Obama, as well as a camel that is residing there for the holiday season (apparently, George Washington had a liking for exotic animals).  We spent about 3 hours, a bit longer than I thought we would - and I could see being there longer if the gardens were in bloom.  We ended in the gift shop where we treated ourselves to some authentic 18th century chocolate - which was honestly some of the best I've ever had.


So we've checked another place off the to-do list (we don't actually have a real list, it's in our heads) but this is one I can see visiting again and again depending on the season.  We're even considering an annual pass, especially since I know this is a place we will take visitors.  It was a wonderful way to spend a warm sunny November afternoon!

Thankful

I wanted to write a quick note about our Thanksgiving.  It was monumental in a way, definitely different than most of the past eight years that we've lived out West.  With the exception of last year when Lois, Ryan and Adelia visited, we have spent the holiday either as just our family of four, or with friends and neighbors.  I didn't mind it, but I knew with the move back to the East Coast that would be changing.  So for the first time since 2002, we celebrated the holiday with both sets of parents, along with Annie and Joe.  The day was simple, the food delicious, the company delightful and we are very thankful for the opportunity to get back to these types of celebrations.  We continued the festivities on Friday, Italian style with Uncle Joe and J.R.  Again, a delightful evening with family.

The holidays may be a little more hectic, but days and years pass too quickly, and in the blink of an eye life can take unexpected turns - I never thought we'd move out West, and then I really didn't think we'd be back East, but here we are and we are taking advantage of all the perks that come with it - as evidenced by the first big holiday spent with those we love.

First Quarter Review

The first quarter of school actually ended earlier this month before the 4 day weekend when we visited NYC.  We had conferences a couple of weeks ago and report cards came out last week.  I have to start with Keely, who has the biggest news - not about her but her teacher.  We were informed shortly before conferences that her teacher was leaving.  We knew she'd gotten engaged but her fiance took a job in San Francisco so she was moving there.  Keely was quite upset, she really liked Ms. P even though she'd only been in her class a short time.  We met the new teacher at conferences, Ms. Gialouris and she seems nice.  So far, Keely seems to like her.  So in just one quarter at school, the kids have had 4 teachers combined.  Hopefully things will settle down on that front.  In academics, Keely is doing great.  She's reading well and doing great in math.  Her report card grades were all S (satisfactory), G (good) and O (outstanding).  Nothing to complain about there.  She is a social butterfly in class as usual and has made a lot of friends, both in her class and others in the second grade.  She needs to make good choices for math games (some friends and/or games can cause more distraction than others).  All in all, she's adjusted well and loving second grade. 

Quinn has also made an adjustment throughout the past month or so in Ms. Ta's class.  She said it's like he has always been there and has really been an easy transition, for both her and Quinn.  The conference was very interactive with Quinn heavily involved.  It was really impressive to see him sit there and answer her questions, looking so grown up.  That said, he's a chatty cathy in class but really didn't have too much to say in the conference.  Too many adults to child ratio I suppose.  The interesting thing is that she had each child grade themselves in each subject, and then she showed up his grades compared with what Quinn thought he would receive.  On the whole, he was so hard on himself - with at least a whole letter grade low in most subjects.  When asked by Ms. Ta if he would not be so hard on himself next time, he said he still would be.  I think it's just in his nature...he most definitely gets some of that from me.  So he's doing great in his new class, all of his grades were A's and B's.  He needs to work on time management and not procrastinating his work.  He needs to find quiet places to work in class so as not to be distracted by friends.  The level of work in this class is much more than his other class, and we have to force him at home to sit down and do his work.  He'd rather play of course - but we're trying to teach him to do work first, then have time to play - and this is hard to a 10 year old to grasp.  The class had to read 'A Wrinkle in Time' in the 1st quarter and then write journal entries - this was hard for Quinn because it's wasn't his favorite book and he didn't remember to write anything down while he was reading each chapter - so when it came time to journal, he had a hard time finding things to write about.  We spent the better part of his last day of the 4 day weekend working on it, he worked hard and got most of it done.  The first book in second quarter is 'Bridge to Terabithia' - much more up Quinn's alley and he's finding it easier.  Plus he knows the expectations so it's not all new to him.  Fourth grade is going well...Quinn has adjusted well, and now has many friends in the 4th grade since he's been in two of the three classes :)   

Biking Around the Monuments

Like I said in my previous post, the weather this weekend was absolutely gorgeous...especially considering it is mid-November.  We spent much of the weekend outside enjoying it, because who knows how many more we will get like this until Spring?!?!  Sunday, we picked the kids up from CCD and headed out for a family bike ride.  The genesis for this was when I mentioned that the weather was supposed to be nice, so we should go see FDR and MLK memorials.  But James has been getting to know the bike paths pretty well, so we decided to bike into the District to see the monuments. 

We parked at Gravelly Point Park, which is literally located at the tip of Reagan National Airport thus right along the Potomac.  Being that it was a nice day, there were a lot of bikers, runners, walkers, etc. on the trail but luckily, we got a parking spot and headed off on bikes towards DC.  What a beautiful ride, with the Potomac on one side and the views of the Washington Monument ahead.  We biked over the Memorial Bridge, at which point Keely exclaimed 'This is amazing!" :)  The trail brought us right to the front of the Jefferson Memorial and then we headed around the Tidal Basin to see FDR.  You can't ride bikes in so we locked them up and walked around, enjoying both the memorial and the views around the Tidal Basin.  I can't wait to go back during the Cherry Blossom Festival, it will be gorgeous. 

Back on our bikes we went, and on to the newest addition to the Washington Memorials...MLK.  I think they did a good job with his likeness, and I enjoyed reading his quotes on the walls to either side.  After that, we biked all around the Tidal Basin and back over the Memorial Bridge into Virginia. 

When we returned to the park, we stood under the flight pattern and experienced a couple of plane landings right above our heads.  I think both kids will say this was their favorite part!  I thought it was a little scary, I am amazed at how those planes have to bank in and literally drop out of the sky to land on that tiny runway.  I know there's a science to it, but it still seems scary.  We had a fun family biking adventure.  I can't wait to do it again, we will probably extend the distance next time - it's so nice to use the many trail options to explore the Nation's Capital!   

Swag Brag

On Tuesday upon our return home from New York City, I e-mailed 'C' to thank her again for the fun time that we had with our first TV experience.  She e-mailed back later that day, saying that she wanted to give each child the toy they had played with on air as a thank you.  However, the unicycle people wanted it back...and would it be okay if she sent the scooters that were on set?  Actually, that was a blessing in disguise because Quinn was not crazy about that unicycle...but they both love scooters.  I actually didn't tell them, so were they ever surprised to come home from school on Friday to a huge box with their name on it!  As I suspected, they love them and were happy to get a gift that they can use to always remember their TV debut!  These scooters are similar to Razors, which they both already have - but made by Radio Flyer with a different (and Quinn says, better) design plus they are personalizable with plastic clips & stickers (letters and pictures) that attach to the handlebar.  They retail for about $50 so this was a pretty cool surprise all around!  Quinn loves his new scooter so much that he already gave his Razor to his best buddy Jack...what a generous boy. 

They wanted to test them out, so made an afternoon out of it on Saturday.  The weather was picture perfect, and surprisingly warm for November.  We headed down to the Potomac Yards area of Arlington and hit the Four Mile Run trail for some scootering (while Mom and Dad walked).  It was a fun adventure, we even saw a little snake on the trail, and the scooters proved to be a great addition to their ways to get around town :) 

Thanks Parents Magazine and Meredith Corporation!

New York City & The Today Show

About a week ago, I got a surprise e-mail from my oldest friend Jessica.  Jess and I have been friends since we were 10 years old - Quinn's age! - and no matter how far apart we are or how long it's been since we have seen or talked with each other, it's always like no time has passed.  Our friendship is so true and pure, and one of a kind.  It is really a friendship for the ages and I always enjoy whatever interactions we can get.  So the e-mail I got from her was a question asking if Quinn or Keely would be interested in making an appearance on The Today Show.  Jess' upstairs neighbor is a publicist for Parents Magazine and they were doing a bit on their article in the November issue about the best toys of 2011.  They needed kids to play with some of the toys while the editor and hosts (Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotbe) talk about the toys.  The date of the show being Monday would have been a problem, but the kids happened to be on their fall break.  We'd toyed with going somewhere for a long weekend (Florida, Boston) but hadn't booked anything - so we were free, and we decided to have both kids participate in the show and make a weekend in NYC.  I booked train tickets and two free nights at the Hilton New York. 

We left for New York on Saturday afternoon.  The kids had never been on Amtrak before, and it was a fun experience.  It's a pretty quick trip - only a little over 3 hours - and much, much easier than driving to NYC.  When we arrived, we walked the mile to our hotel, through Times Square.  The kids loved seeing all the activity...we saw at least 5 Elmos, Shrek, Woody (Toy Story), Mickey, Minnie and some others I am sure I am forgetting.  We had beautiful weather the entire trip, and the night's walk was cool but not cold.

Sunday we planned to spend with Jess, Jon and Ethan.  We knew Ethan, now almost 2 years old, only through pictures and were so excited to meet him and see his parents!  We met up with them at Chelsea Market after taking the subway down from midtown.  Jess and Jon planned a walking tour of many NYC neighborhoods starting from the west side over to the east side.  We walked a really nice path called the High Line, an old elevated freight train track that has been converted into a multi purpose path.  We walked along the Hudson River, enjoying the views of NJ and Lady Liberty and let the kids play at a cool playground.  We walked through the West Village, SoHo, Little Italy, and Chinatown   We had lunch in Chinatown...our first experience with dim sum and it was so yummy.  We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and then down Court Street in Brooklyn, the kids enjoying some ice cream along the way.  We must have walked 5 miles and we saw so much.  We walked and laughed, and all enjoyed each other's company.  Somewhere along the way, Ethan and Keely bonded and he developed a name for her - something like Keeyak or Kiosk.  We ended up at Jess and Jon's in Brooklyn and hung out for a while.  Keely enjoyed feeding Ethan dinner and it's safe to say Ethan entertained us all until it was time for him to hit the hay.  After all, we all had a big day coming up with all three kids making their TV debut.  We took the subway back to midtown and found some dinner at Angelo's Coal Fired Pizza.

Monday morning dawned and we prepared for our walk down to the NBC studios.  After a few wardrobe changes (for Keely, obviously) we made our way to the studio.  We were shown into the Green Room...a place for those waiting for a TV bit.  They had food, TV, sitting area and a hair/makeup area.  Keely wanted Jess to do her hair, but Keely got lucky because the studio hairstylists had an opening and did her hair professionally!  She was thrilled to bits.  We waited patiently for the time to come to head up to the studio.  The kids only got about 5 minutes with the toys before they were on live TV.  The parents all stood off to the side and tried to stay quiet.  I watched live, instead of on the TV they had in the studio.  We didn't see the actual TV production until we got home last night and relived it.

All I can say is live TV is crazy.  I have a new respect for those who do this day in and day out.  When you combine live TV and kids, you never know what might happen.  And chaos is what ensued on this 3-4 minute bit.  The hosts and Parents editor were so cool and calm though, improvising and moving along as if nothing was everything was going according to plan.  Keely and another girl were on TV live in a teaser about 5 minutes before the spot, that went great from what I understand.  The actual bit was so funny, although mostly because we knew what was going on from behind the scenes.  Ethan decided he didn't want to play with Elmo as planned, he wanted to be near Keely.  Then he wanted to play Connect Four and he pulled it off the table.  Keely was such a natural, laughing and giggling and reacting to Ethan in the funniest way.  Things calmed down then when Quinn was last on his unicycle.  He only got 5 minutes to practice and it was hard to ride!  I'm impressed that he was able to move back and forth, and happy he didn't fall off.  We got his hair cut and gelled it for nothing though, since he was wearing a helmet :)  Well, not for nothing - he was in serious need of a haircut.  You can see the clip at this link, and we will be getting a DVD in the mail so we can preserve it forever.  It was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity, and one that we will remember forever!  Thanks to Jess for knowing the right people, and thinking of Quinn and Keely to help out.

After our brush with TV fame, we had the rest of the day to spend in NYC.  We went to FAO Schwartz and explored, the kids playing on the 'Big' piano.  We walked through Central Park, eating pretzels and knishes from one of the many food carts.  The kids played on the huge stone playground.  We went to the Stage Door Deli for lunch/dinner before our train departed for home.

We all enjoyed our trip to New York.  I love that we got to be tourists in NYC, something that neither James nor I have ever gotten to do.  The kids enjoyed it too, and I think we'll definitely make this a repeat appearance.  It's nice to be so close and have the train as an option.  A year ago, we were still in Utah and I never would have thought in one year, the kids will be on The Today Show and we will be visiting New York for a weekend...just because we can.  I'd say the East Coast is treating us pretty well :)

Happy Halloween!

Another Halloween has come and gone.  I often wonder when will be the last of the dressing up, trick or treating, carving pumpkins.  I'm sure we have a few more years.  I actually don't really like Halloween....it's gotten so much bigger than when we were kids. 

This year, Keely decided on a vampire.  Quinn was a wizard, only fitting after it became the year of Harry Potter for us.  We had no idea how many trick or treaters to expect, and I was disappointed because we had a lot of candy left over. 

The kids went out about 6:30 and got about 1.5 hours in, doing the circle near our house and a loop around our block.  Quinn went with his best bud Jack and another boy from his new class, Tyler.  Keely went with Julia and another little girl in the neighborhood.  Actually they all started out together but ended up splitting up.  I was the designated trick or treat parent, and James stayed home to hand out candy.  He dressed up for the first time in the 18 years I have known him (actually, I think he dressed up in college once but I wasn't there so that doesn't count).  He didn't scare many kids, despite the blood flowing down his scary mask. 

The kids got a lot of candy...as usual Keely ate a lot along the way.  Quinn ate not one piece.  When we got back to J&J's house, Quinn would not empty his bag and trade the way the other boys were doing.  Keely dumped out the remains of her bag and gave it to Jack.  She's so funny! 

Oh, another tidbit - Quinn got tired of his robe about halfway through, went home and changed into a ninja mask with sword.  The boys also had a funny experience at one home - it's actually our adjacent back neighbors - when they went up to say trick or treat, they were told that they needed to give candy to the homeowners instead of getting candy.  It's a group home so we aren't dealing with typical homeowners here, but we all thought that was a little strange! 

So Halloween has come and gone, and with it begins the official holiday season!  I can't believe it is now November and we are rapdily heading towards Thanksgiving and making Christmas plans!

iPhone Photos, Etc.

Ah, almost the end of October.  We are ready for Halloween...costumes check, pumpkins check, candy check, fall festival check.  Even James is getting in on the costume act this year.  I'll save a photo of that for the actual date.

Since I last wrote about life in general, Quinn was moved out of his class to the AAP class.  It was all a bit fast and surprising, because as I mentioned the discussions I had with the teachers at school were that he would be evaluated at the end of the first quarter and not moved until January.  After some conferring though, we got a surprise phone call on Saturday saying that he would be moved to the new class that Monday.  Only problem was the message was on my work phone, meaning I didn't get it until Monday morning after Quinn was on the bus to school.  No problem though, he was suave as usual and took it in stride.  I knew he would be thrilled, and he was.  The main reason for the abrupt change was that the class was starting advanced math lessons that Monday, and the later Quinn joined the more he would have had to catch up.  So they concluded that he was ready and moved him.  He's been there for 2 weeks now and really likes it.  I can tell the work is more challenging and he seems to like that.  His teacher said it's a pleasure having him in class, and hopefully that continues.  He also got an A on his geography test so quiz him on Virginia facts when you see him next :)

On another note, because I like to talk about both good and bad things...Quinn seems to be sewing his oats a bit.  On Saturday, he got upset because we were going to the fall festival (Keely's choice for her birthday).  He wanted to go to a party at his friend's house but we were having family time.  When I say he got upset that is putting it lightly.  Picture a 10 year old boy having a full on temper tantrum...irrational, screaming, hiding in his closet.  It was not pretty.  I handled it poorly.  Thank God for James.  He calmly talked Quinn through it, and got him to come to the car on his own accord (albeit nearly 30 minutes later).  Quinn even calmed down and enjoyed himself, which I was really happy about because I didn't want him to ruin our activities by being a spoilsport.  We suspect lots of reasons for this outburst...but are not happy with how irrational and irrate he became.  Perhaps he is just testing us.  He's always been the child who is pretty calm, mellow, sort of low maintenance.  I didn't expect this from him.  But children grow and change, and he's coming into a new stage in his life.  He's a pre-teen I suppose although I don't want to admit it.  I've seen flashes of independence from him, but this was scary.  It is not how a maturing 10 year old should handle a situation he does not want to be in.  Anyways, James got him through it and hopefully we can tackle things slightly different next time so that he doesn't act the same way.

Now back to good news.  A benefit of living near the Nation's Capital and our rich American history.  Class Field Trips have begun.  Last week, Quinn went to the National Symphony Orchestra.  He said it was pretty boring, although his favorite part was when the audience got to make a "rainstorm" using noises from their hands and feet.  Today is another field trip day.  Keely's class is headed to the DC Aquarium downtown.  Quinn is at Jamestown.  We had to have him at school at 6:15 AM and he won't return until 5 PM.  They got a nice sunny day, albeit chilly.  I am so excited for him, and he was so excited too - he jumped out of bed at 5:30 AM.  He is not a morning person so I know that a sign of true excitement!  I'm sure classes in other places go on cool field trips, but these seems a little out of the ordinary for normal class trips.  I'm excited for the kids to have these experiences and hoping that they not only enjoy it but realize that they are lucky to explore such interesting places and activities.

One more thing before a couple of pictures...Quinn will participate in the 'Human Development' class at school in December.  You know, the one where they take the boys in one room and the girls in the other and talk to them about the changes of life.  It was in 5th grade when I was younger but I guess they have pushed it up a year - considering that girls are developing earlier that makes sense.  He was like "ewww, I don't want to learn about that" at the mention of the word puberty...haha, but he has no choice.  Like it or not, it's coming and he'd better learn sooner rather than later!

And now a couple of photos I have taken with my phone over the last week.  A sign that your son needs a haircut...and proof that siblings can snuggle (taken from my view on the treadmill, and notice Rudy cuddled up with them).

Eight

On Sunday, my baby turned eight years old.  She was so thrilled for her birthday weekend.  On Friday, she brought cookies into her class to kick off the celebration.  Nana, Papa and Annie joined us for the big event, arriving on Friday night...oh, Henry too of course.  Saturday she had a soccer game and scored her very first goal of the season...actually, not only her first goal but I believe the team's first goal (no, they're not very good - a lot of first time players on their team).  She was so thrilled, and believed her pre-game banana was most definitely the reason!  After soccer, we ordered her cake.  She picked Barbie Ballerina and chose it to say Happy Birthday KCD (initials, just like her big brother had chosen a month ago).  After discussion of a number of choices for the day's activity, Keely chose Cox Farms.  This is a big fall festival out in Centreville, about 45 minutes away from our house.  There was a corn maze, slides, hay ride, animals, apple cider...and a LOT of people.  Everyone seemed to know this was the last great weather weekend before Halloween and they showed up in droves.  We didn't get there until about 3:30 and by that time, the parking lot was jammed and lines were long for slides and the hay ride.  The cost was also quite ridiculous at $15 per person.  I don't think the adults should have to pay that much, given that most of it is geared towards kids.  We stayed for a couple of hours though and both kids had a fun time.  The adults even rode down some of the slides to get our money's worth!  We got to take a small patch pumpkin home too, and shopped a bit in the store before leaving.  Keely's choice for her birthday dinner was Silverado, a local restaurant around the corner from our house and what some proclaim to be the best restaurant in Annandale.  I haven't tried enough others to agree, but I do agree that the food is fantastic.  We had a lovely meal, even though we had to wait a while for a table.  After dinner, we let Keely open her presents even though her birthday wasn't until the next day.  She got Crocs (to match her little cousin), earrings, a "K" necklace, sticker book, Barbie cell/camera/purse set from Mom and Dad.  From Nana and Papa, she got a Hermione wand and a charm bracelet and Annie got her the first charm, an angel.  Quinn got her 6 packs of gum, and her excitement at this was hilarious - she's definitely easy to please!

On her actual birthday, it was a pretty typical Sunday with CCD in the morning.  We then went down to Old Town Alexandria to enjoy a lovely afternoon, with shopping and a late lunch/early dinner (linner as Quinn called it) at a very good Irish restaurant.  Then it was back to our house for her cake before our guests departed.  I took a video of her birthday song, which was one of many times she was sung to over the weekend.  She is definitely a lucky girl!  

In so many ways, Keely acts much more mature than her 8 years.  I have to remind myself that she is still a child with a lot of growing to do.  I wish she could stay sweet and little forever, but I know that will not happen.  She is still a handful but her personality is unmatched.  She is a very loving girl, constantly kissing and hugging us and telling us "Love You".  She loves to sing, dance and most definitely lives life to the fullest.  As we all should...and I hope that she keeps that as she grows and develops into a young woman and beyond!

Random Updates

It's nearly the middle of October and I have not done any updates this month.  Truth be told, there hasn't been much to say.  Our weeks are filled with gymnastics, football, soccer, and cub scouts.  Wednesdays are the only free night.  On Tuesdays, there are 2-3 things to be at with each child so James and I have to divide and conquer.  I can't imagine how people do this with more than 2 children!  I guess you just schedule less activities.

Last weekend, we traveled up to NJ to visit the families.  Since it was Columbus Day, soccer games and CCD were canceled so it made sense to head out of town.  We stayed at Grandma & Grandpa's.  No pictures, there just wasn't much to photograph.  The weather was gorgeous, actually even a bit hot for a fall weekend but we didn't really get out to enjoy it too much.  We spent our time divided between Nana & Papa's, G&G's, and Annie's new condo.  Keely enjoyed trying on shoes from Nana and Annie's closets.  We brought Callie, and the kids enjoyed playing with Henry and Karen's new puppy.  One funny Quinn-ism that I have to share from our drive...while Keely was sleeping, we got to have some interesting conversation with Quinn.  I love that he can have almost adult conversations.  We talked about science, math, weather...all kinds of things.  Quinn then opened up a book he had in the car called "The Founders" about the founding fathers of the United States.  He was reading out loud some of the facts in it, including some about Benjamin Franklin.

James: Quinn, did you know Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying, "Beer is proof that God loves us."
Quinn (without missing a beat): I didn't know that Benjamin Franklin was a Christian. :)

I cracked up, I just love his quirkiness and witty remarks.  He definitely gets that from James!

Anyways, what else is going on? 

I went to a meeting this week to learn more about the Advanced Academic Program (AAP) at the kids' school. I went mostly at Quinn's insistence.  His best buddy is in the AAP class in 4th grade and Quinn feels he should be in there too.  Because we just moved here, Quinn missed the testing (CogAT) that happens in 2nd grade.  Keely will take the test this year and we will know early next year if she's a candidate.  Quinn will also take the test this month when they test the 2nd graders.  The test results are not the only way a child can get moved into the AAP class.  We've told Quinn the kinds of things they look for.  At this point, the AAP head and his teacher are monitoring him for the rest of this quarter (about another month).  We have 1st quarter conferences in November and will discuss it then.  No changes would be made this year until 3rd quarter.  I doubt that's going to happen, but he can be considered for full time placement in 5th grade.  I don't think this is all a big deal but Quinn seems to think so and that's why I'm researching it.  I don't want him to be bored in school - so far he is not, but he does seem to be acing the materials they are studying (especially math).  In the AAP class, they do one year ahead math curriculum which I am pretty sure Quinn could handle.  On his college applications, no one will ask if he was in AAP classes so this is not a big deal.  Parents really push this on their kids, along with so many things - I think that's what bugs us most about the program.  It's not only based on teacher recommendations and test scores, but parents can nominate their own children to be considered.  For us, we'd rather the recommendation come from the school.  So that's what we have told Quinn - we are not applying for him, he needs to show his teachers that he should be in AAP.  Time will tell if that's to be the case this year or next, but it's not worth stressing about.  For now, Quinn is enjoying learning all about Virginia...its regions, bordering states, products, rivers, etc. :)

Boy, for not having much of an update I am sure writing a lot.  When I don't blog, I don't feel as balanced.  I guess I just miss writing, even if it is about mostly mundane stuff.

Oh also, on the book front I am now on Book 7 of Harry Potter.  I have been reading these since June and have really struggled to get through some of them.  Not because I don't like them but because they are just so darn long.  I just don't have that much time to read on a daily basis.  So far, Book 4 and 6 are my favorites.  I'm having a really hard time getting into Book 7 but I hope the action will pick up soon and I am sure I will enjoy finding out how it all ends.  Then I can watch the movies - I have only seen snippets of a couple of the movies and I can't wait to see it all play out in film though I fully expect that I will have liked the books better.

So that's what been going on in our neck of the woods.  Now back to busyness - we have 4 soccer games this weekend and we are trying to fit in some pumpkin picking and some other area sightseeing. 

Double Digits

On Saturday, Quinn entered the world of double digits when he celebrated his 10th birthday.  It was actually an extended weekend of birthday fun with Nana, Papa, Annie, Karen and the twins visiting us to help celebrate.  Yes, that's 6 extra people, and an extra dog (Nana and Papa's newest addition, Henry) in our little house.  Needless to say, there was no more room at this inn :)  Considering we had 10 people, 2 dogs and 1 cat sharing a house it all went pretty well.  Thank goodness for finished basements!

Quinn's birthday started bright and early with a soccer game.  He had a banner day, scoring 2 goals in the team's 4-3 win!  After that, we had Keely's soccer game and then it was time for some fun.  We headed downtown on the Metro to Quinn's choice activity, the International Spy Museum.  Turns out only Quinn and the twins wanted to see it, so James and I took them while the others checked out the National Portrait Gallery.  The boys seemed to enjoy the museum...it's a pretty cool premise, as it's the only museum dedicated to espionage.  But it's not all that interactive and involves a lot of reading, so the boys zoomed through most of it.  I'm sure their favorite part was spending money in the gift shop.  Even Keely took part in that, despite not having visited the museum.

After the sightseeing, we headed back on a very crowded Metro to our cars and then on to Quinn's choice for dinner, Silver Diner.  He wanted breakfast (french toast, of course) thus the choice of a diner.  Silver Diner has great local food all around, so it was a nice meal for all of us.  After dinner, it was nice for cake and presents.  He got gift cards, Legos (all Harry Potter themed), the HP illuminating wand and a Lego watch.  His cake was store bought at his request, Transformers themed (he wanted HP but didn't like the grocery store choice and all the bakeries were booked up by the time I called to order a special design cake).   

So that was Quinn's big day.  All in all, it was a crazy birthday weekend filled with lots of activity...which tires me out, but Quinn had a blast and that's what matters most.  As for having a 10 year old, I have mixed emotions.  I love the boy that he has become, he is a sweet sensitive child with a zest for imagination and creativity and I really wish time could stand still.  But that will not happen, and sadly we are more than halfway through his childhood (assuming he leaves for college before he turns 18).  I'm sad about that, but happy we are raising a confident well adjusted young man and really love watching him develop and flourish.  He teaches me about as much, if not more than I teach him.  Time will move forward, but I'll enjoy each moment and love him more with each passing day. 

Three Months

It occurred to me last night that we have been living in Virginia now for over 3 months, and that led me to some thinking about how things are going.  With all change comes mixed feelings and emotions.  My emotions about the move are still up and down, ranging from happy to sad sometimes all in one moment.

I miss our house in Utah.  I miss the community that we had around us.  I miss the comforts of a place I had lived for 6 years. I knew it would be hard to start over, and that's been true.  For the first year or so that we lived in Utah, I struggled to get settled and found it hard to integrate in the new area...but that was exacerbated by my working from home, which is not the case this time around.

After three months, we are settled in our house.  By settled, I mean the boxes are all unpacked and most of the pictures are hung on the walls.  But now the list of things that I want to do to the house and yard are growing.  These things all cost money, and with only one salary we have to be cautious of spending money.  Patience is a virtue here, but I always struggle with that.

In contrast to the small town feel of Utah, I feel much like a small fish in a big pond here.  I wonder if it will always feel like that.  I'm sure it won't as we integrate in with the kids' school and activities, and eventually I will get more involved again (i.e. PTA) but for now, I am taking a much needed break. 

The kids seem to be doing fine.  Gone are the days of complaining about leaving Utah as they become immersed in school and new friends, new sports teams and new adventures.  I know that time will help a ton for me with getting to know their friend's parents.  Like it or not, that's how friends in adult life come to fruition. In Utah, it took us a good 4 years or so before we had a nice group of friends to call for help, hang out with and have some fun adult time.  So again, patience is a virtue.

As with any change, there are ups and downs.  I am sure had I been capturing my thoughts after living in Utah for 3 months, it would have definitely been a mixed bag.  I feel all over the place in writing this post, it's really hard to compose my thoughts into a cohesive format. I will revisit the topic in a few months and see how things feel with a little more time.

More Weather Woes

Well, it seems an earthquake and a hurricane were not enough - we endured Tropical Storm Lee last week from Tuesday through Friday.  I'm hoping this completes the trifecta of natural disasters for a while!

It rained seemingly non-stop for those three days, and mostly they were heavy downpours.  The ground was already pretty saturated from Hurricane Irene so there was nowhere for the water to go.  Well, nowhere very pleasing to most homeowners as water flooded basements, garages, etc.  We were safe last time but not so lucky this time.  We took water in the basement...not in the sump...but leaking in from the foundation.  Our wet/dry vacuum picked Thursday to die, so I was one of the many homeowners purchasing one from Home Depot in a downpour on Thursday night.  Luckily, the water in the basement was minimal.  However, there was also flooding in the garage from the water ponding in our backyard - at one point probably 6-8" of water directly behind the garage.  The water flowed from the backyard through the garage and down the driveway.  James was able to unclog the french drains, but they were most likely not really clogged but overwhelmed by the volume of water.  We also flooded in the laundry room a bit as the drain outside the door was clogged with debris.  None of this is good, but it certainly could have been worse.  We had 8" of rain on Thursday, on top of 3" on Wednesday on top of whatever fell on Tuesday (all approximate numbers).  The picture is from an intersection down the street from our house...the park overflowed directly across the street and look closely for the car that got stuck while trying to drive through...oops! 

The rain impacted school and soccer too.  Quinn's first soccer practice and game was canceled.  Back to School Night was canceled.  Schools were closed on Friday.  They only build in 3 "snow" days and there goes one of them!  We talked with the kids about the possibility of schools closing for weather here in Virginia (it wasn't even a thought in Utah) but who knew it would be on Day 4 of the year?!?! 

Jack O' Lantern

Keely has now lost seven teeth total...the last two recently, one in early August and one on Saturday night.  I still have the voicemail that she left me when she lost the one in August saved on my phone because it was so cute.

"Hi Mommy, it's Keely, I just wanted to let you know that the bottom tooth on the other side - I lost my tooth it today, Bye"

She's beginning to look very appropriate for Halloween because her adult teeth seem pretty stubborn to come in.  She's now missing four teeth, two on top and two on the bottom.  As she says, only one more to go until she's done losing teeth for a while!

The tooth fairy is becoming a little passe in our house as well (not that I mind at all).  Keely told me that if the TF did not come the first night with this last tooth, she would not believe in her anymore.  The TF did deliver though...the only cash we had in the house...$1 and a quarter.  The next morning, I asked Keely if the TF had come and she said she hadn't checked yet.  So obviously it's getting old.  Quinn also asked me point blank on Saturday night if I was the TF.  What was a mom to do with a question like that?!?!  I obviously fibbed (that can't be considered a lie, right?!?!), but without looking at him because I have no poker face.  So I'm pretty sure the fairy days are coming to an end in our house!

The Last Hurrah

We've had an incredibly busy summer.  We kicked it off with a move across the country.  We traveled the globe to Ireland.  We flew to Florida while Quinn went to the opposite end of the East Coast.  We traveled to NJ three times.  Wow, I'm exhausted just typing that.  We weren't done though.  We had long planned a trip to visit Judith and the kids for Labor Day weekend, and nothing was going to stop us from doing that - not even a hurricane :)  It would have been nice to see Tom too, but since he is on deployment that wasn't possible.  He calls quite frequently though and James was able to chat with him for quite a while on Saturday morning.

We headed down there on Thursday directly after the kids' open house at school.  We took Callie with us to avoid boarding costs.  We were a bit worried about how she and Max would get along but it worked out great.  They were very friendly with each other and caused no issues whatsoever.  We arrived there a little after 10 PM, it's about a 6 hour drive and we didn't hit much traffic.  Needless to say, the kids were super excited to see each other and we let them run around for a couple of hours before trying to force them to go to sleep.

We visited the beach on both Friday and Saturday.  Friday we took all the kids so Judith had some time to work or relax.  The beach was pretty torn up from Irene.  The shelf of sand that's usually right when you wade in was gone, and you'd walk a few feet and be up to your chest in water.  The waves were also very rough, not rolling in but crashing.  The shells were incredible too, most likely because the storm stirred up things that are usually at the bottom of the ocean.  We must have taken 25 shells back Friday but more like 100 on Saturday!

Other than that, it was a pretty calm visit.  The kids played and played and no one wanted to leave.  Cassidy and Keely love to play dress up and do the girly stuff and Quinn and Aedan played Wii and trains and boy stuff.  Aedan's broken elbow made for some tough moments when he couldn't do the other things the kids were doing (i.e. swimming in the ocean or pool in their backyard or jumping on the tramp) but I know he was happy to see his cousins and enjoyed his time with Uncle James.

Much to everyone's dismay, we decided to leave on Sunday afternoon in lieu of driving back on the holiday.  We figured we would miss some traffic and have Monday to recoup before the big first day of school.  Boy, that couldn't have been a better decision because of what happened on our drive home.  We were doing great, making great time and didn't stop until we came close to Richmond.  As I pulled off the highway, I hear the car make a strange noise and immediately know something is wrong.  We pull off the exit ramp and decide to try and get to McDonald's so we can eat dinner while trying to figure out what is wrong.  The car is leaking some mystery substance at the McD's but we think it's just water, and so we try to forge ahead after dinner.  We get about a mile up I-95 and all hell breaks loose.  The battery light comes on, then another light is flashing and beeping.  The car sounds horrible and we can't imagine what could be wrong.  We seriously thought the car was toast and I'm imagining the worst at this point.  Thank goodness James is driving...he loses power steering and has to manually navigate us off I-95 and onto a side highway and we pull into a closed car dealership.  When we stop, the engine begins overheating and smoke is coming out of the hood.  Meanwhile, I am on the phone with AAA telling them we need immediate assistance and a tow.  The kids are scared, I am shaking and we know the situation is serious. Our top priority is getting home that night, because we know that auto shops are not going to be open on Labor Day.  Also, car rental companies are not open on Sunday nights...but we are lucky, we are near a major airport and that is the only place we could likely rent a car.  I call a cab to take us to the airport, and our tow truck driver takes us and all our stuff to a location right near I-95 so that our cab driver will be able to find us easily.  Remember that us means 4 people, a dog, two hermit crabs (yes, Keely got one in NC) and our luggage.  Crazy!  The tow truck driver was fabulous though, he was there in about 10 minutes and had us dropped off for the cab in about 1/2 hour.  The cab found us and we were at the airport in about 20 minutes.  I had called Hertz and rented a car while we were waiting for the cab.  We did a one day rental, with return to Washington National Airport because we knew we had a car to use at home.  We get in the car and back on the road at about 10 PM.  We were home about 11:30 with no more issues.  So all in all, we made the trip in less than 8 hours even with all the drama of losing our car.  And another thing I am thankful for is smart phones - I seriously don't know how I would have done any of this coordination without that technology!

We found out on Tuesday morning that the issue was the water pump.  It failed and caused a belt to slip off, thus losing the fan for the engine, the battery wasn't charging (causing the battery light to go on) and the power steering to go off (I think that was the other light).  The car was fixed that day, but because it's about 1.5 hours from our house we are going to pick it up tonight.

I'm glad it was not major damage, but all in all the whole night is going to cost us about $1,000.  I guess that's better than a totaled car, or engine trouble, or more transmission trouble - but we were so lucky in so many respects, and so fortunate to be able to make it home that night safely.


Even with all that trouble though, we were happy to visit North Carolina and it was a fantastic end to a very busy summer!

First Day of School

The long awaited day finally arrived.  Keely was super excited, Quinn said he'd rather stay on summer break.  It's a funny juxtaposition because Quinn loves school, Keely not so much - well, I should say Quinn loves learning new things and Keely loves the social aspect.  She was quite eager to make friends.  I was nervous for both of them.  More nervous than them, I am sure.  My favorite comment from James on Monday..."you do know it's not your first day of school, right?" :)

There are so many differences about their new school.  First is the time...they don't start school until 9:15 AM now - over an hour later than they started at BS.  Because of that later start time, school doesn't end until 3:55 PM.  This is public school, so no uniforms.  I miss them.  Not because of Keely's drama about what to wear to school (thank goodness James is handling that most mornings) but because they looked much like any other summer day when they dressed for school yesterday morning.  Aside from the huge backpacks filled with school supplies and sweatshirts because it was cold and damp, they looked pretty normal.  They now take the bus to school.  We are within walking or biking distance but there are buses for all children.  They are on Bus #1 and there are about 8 children at our bus stop.  They've never ridden a bus to school, I have always dropped them off and picked them up.  Again, there were more nerves for me on this front.  I just had to trust that they'd make it to school alright...and they did :)  The bus was really late picking them up and they got to school late but I'm sure it will be more timely after the first day or week passes.  They have much smaller classes than at BS - Keely has 19 in 2nd grade and Quinn has 21 in his class.  We met their teachers on Thursday and they both seem really nice.

I couldn't wait to get home and ask them all about their days.  They both seemed to have good first days, making some new friends and getting adjusted to their new classroom and new schedule.  Keely was much more forthcoming but Quinn answered all of my questions and I think I got most of the details from him as well.

Can't believe another school year has begun.  I'm hoping the good vibes from the first day continue as school goes on.  Life is getting busier too.  Both kids are playing soccer...games are on Saturdays, Keely has practice on Tuesdays and Quinn on Thursdays.  Keely is doing Gymnastics on Monday nights, Quinn is doing a football skills clinic on Tuesday evenings.  Because we are not in Catholic school anymore, they now have to take CCD which is on Sunday mornings.  So there won't be many dull moments as we dive right into a jam packed school year!

Weather Woes

I don't normally write about weather, but the past week has been pretty eventful in that respect.

A week ago today, I was sitting in my cubicle in the project office on the 3rd floor when I started to hear a low rumbling that sounded like a cart was being pushed downed the corridor. It kept getting louder, and the furniture shook. I stood up, thinking it was an earthquake but didn't know what to do. By the time I could think of where to go or what to do, it stopped. We were told to get out of the building and most of the people huddled outside by the trees waiting for instructions. Most people were trying to make calls on their cell phones. Only a few were able to get calls through and those that did spread the information around to others. What we learned in the next few minutes was that a 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered about 80 miles outside of Washington (near Mineral, Va) had shook the earth from Georgia all the way up to Toronto and as far west as Chicago. This was the first earthquake of this magnitude on the East Coast since 1897. So in a word, historic. Another word was scary. Not the actual earthquake but the moments after. The cell service quickly became overloaded and not many people were able to get through to their loved ones. That was most definitely the scariest part. For 45 minutes, I was not able to get through to James to find out that he and the kids were okay. Now damage was minimal so I suspected they were fine, but to not know was frustrating and difficult. I finally was able to get a text back from him but calls were impossible for at least an hour. They were in the house, the kids doing their school preparation workbooks - Quinn in the dining room and Keely in her room. James got them and the dog outside in the front and waited it out. We had no damage to our house, just some items fallen off shelves and pictures crooked from the shaking. Unfortunately some other buildings in the area had structural damage including the Washington Monument and National Cathedral - both are closed for repairs indefinitely and that is upsetting. I can't imagine the damage from anything over a 6.0. The effects would be huge and far reaching. Hopefully though we won't see one like this for another 100 years!

After that excitement, the media was immediately focused on Hurricane Irene. Actually, it had been the focus for a few days but the earthquake sidetracked the news for a day or so. Hurricanes are much different than earthquakes, and the predictions were for Irene to have a major impact on the East Coast from North Carolina to Maine. What actually happened was a powerful storm that did have impacts although they seem to have been greater for those up North in NJ and Vermont. As predicted the storm hit us on Saturday all day and on into Sunday morning. Keely was so funny when she got up on Saturday - she went to the window, saying 'Irene is coming today!' as if we were expecting a house guest :)

On the home front, we had a lot of rain and wind but were lucky not to lose our power (except for a few minutes on Saturday night) and only had a few downed branches and leaf debris throughout our yard. Others weren't so lucky, from our neighborhood to other areas in Virginia and Maryland. Since we had power and an inland location, we became a bit of a refuge. I joke that Hotel Donovan was at capacity :) Grandma and Grandpa arrived back in town on Friday afternoon ahead of Irene. They left North Carolina that morning to miss the brunt of the storm in a coastal location. Good thing they were there to help Judith prepare the house though! They intended to leave Saturday but decided instead to ride out the storm with us. They ended up with basement flooding, power outages, and downed trees at home in New Jersey so I guess it was a good decision. We also got another house guest on Sunday...Kyle's friend Marisa who was without power at the University of Maryland. She spent Sunday night with us and headed back to campus Monday when power was restored. It was fun to have her, the kids love her and Keely had fun playing with her 'big sister'.

So now Hotel Donovan is cleared out and we are back to normal. When we lived in Utah, we never had a major earthquake despite living on a major fault. Living out west we heard about hurricanes but they were so far away that we didn't pay much attention. So these are some of the weather related things we've been dealing with in the last week...and I really hope we are quiet on that front for a while now. Enough natural disasters!

Busy August

After a busy start and middle of the summer, I was hoping August would be fairly calm. But it doesn't seem to have been in the cards. And would I really like it calm? I don't think so.

We began the month with the tail end of our 3rd trip to NJ in 6 weeks. That hasn't happened since I was in college. I intended to stay home for all of August until our long planned trip to NC for Labor Day. But, things changed.

Quinn was invited to join Nana, Papa, Annie and the Wolter clan in Maine for a week. We wanted to take Keely somewhere as a special treat (i.e. consolation). We also wanted to see Aunt Lois, Uncle Ryan and Adelia in their new house in Florida. So we took the opportunity of only having to purchase 3 airfares and planned a trip for a long weekend with about 10 days notice.

Quinn left on a Friday and did not return until this past Saturday. It is the longest he has ever been away from us. He was fine...I took it a bit harder. We all missed him, but it was made worse because of his lack of telephone skills. He promised to call every day, but that turned out to be an empty promise and when we did speak to him, it was mostly 'one word' answers. He'll be getting better at this because we will now be forcing him to speak on the phone, I won't deal well if this is what it will be like when he goes to college! Of course, he'll have a cell then so I guess I can always text him. In any event, we all survived the separation and Quinn had a fabulous time. He made up for his lack of phone conversation by telling us all about his trip upon his return. He went fishing twice, sailing on a schooner, candlestick bowling, puffin cruising and much more. He came home with a gift for himself...a new hermit crab he has dubbed 'Jaws' because of its shell. He also brought something for everyone else. For James, a coffee mug filled with salt water taffy. For Keely, a stuffed puffin bird and a 'mermaid tear' (a hand blown crystal heart with red stripes). For me, a pair of earrings and a paper weight (again, hand blown crystal). His gifts were all well thought out and showed a lot of love and consideration. Even if he wouldn't talk on the phone, I know he was thinking of us while deciding what to purchase!

Back to our time without Quinn. It's really easy to have just one child :)

We were in Florida from Friday until Monday night. We soaked up the Florida sun, and our time with Adelia. She is just such a cutie and we loved being able to see her twice in one month! Keely loved the one on one time with her, and us. We hit the beach at least once a day, if not twice. We even saw a dolphin swimming along the shore on Monday! It was really relaxing and fun. We always enjoy our time with L&R, we have great conversations and it was good to see their home and surroundings. And evident from the pictures, Adelia was enthralled with Keely's DSi. Don't worry, that's not the only thing they "played" together while we were there :)

The rest of the week went pretty quickly. We met up with Mark, Liz and Matthew on Wednesday night for dinner in Arlington. It was fun to see them and catch up a bit while they were on vacation in DC/Virginia.

Nana and Papa spent the night on Saturday after dropping Quinn off. They left, and about 4 hours later Grandma and Grandpa arrived on their way down to NC. They spent two nights with us. We took them downtown to see the World War II memorial since they had never been. It's one of my favorites, especially at night. So it's a busy time. I think things will calm down once school starts. But the crazy is really what we were craving. The increased time with family...the ability to see them more...it's quickly come to fruition and the impetus for our move back East is most definitely confirmed. It may be crazy busy, but I really wouldn't want it any other way!

The Mall

Saturday, we decided to venture down to "The Mall", and by that I don't mean a group of stores with anchors and a food court :) What is even cooler about this decision is that we did our usual Saturday morning routine of breakfast and the gym...then ventured by Metro into the District and visited a bit, and were home to make dinner in our own house! I don't know when the awe factor will wear off, but I still think it's so cool that we are so close to these mostly free amenities and the historical National Capital city.

We took the Metro from East Falls Church. This was the first time we have taken the Metro together as a family since we moved here. The kids love that part, it adds to the experience. I honestly love it too, as an option. It's gotten more expensive than when I rode it often as a college student but it's still a wonderful system and so clean and user friendly. If we didn't want to Metro in though, we could be there in about 20 minutes. But then you have to find parking and perhaps walk longer to see the sights. So anyways, this day we decided to use the good ol' Orange Line.

Once we got downtown, we got off at Federal Triangle and walked to the Old Post Office. James and I went up the elevator in this tower when we were in college and it's quite a view, so we wanted to (a) see if it was still free and (b) show the kids this unique view of the city. We were delighted to find out it's still free (!) so we waited about 15 minutes to ride up. I love looking out each of the four sides to the sights below and beyond...including my old campus and the gorgeous Basilica. The Old Post Office is the 3rd highest building in DC, behind the Washington Monument and (we presume) the Basilica.After venturing down the elevator, we bought some shakes from Ben & Jerry's and walked down to the Mall. Quinn begged to go to Air & Space...or even Natural History (we need to finish that one up one of these days, there is just so much to see in there!)...but we made an adult executive decision and toured the Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art. I love the circular building and it's quirky art. I loved the view from one of the floors out onto the Mall and the comfy seats and large tables where you can read or relax. The kids enjoyed it too. Although Keely did find the nude sculptures "inappropriate" :) It was great to expose them to modern art...I think next time we will have to do the National Gallery of Art, because Keely wanted to see what she called "real art".
It is so nice to be able to see a museum, and not feel bad that we didn't get to the many other museums. We have the option of seeing them at our pace, and as many times as we like. Again, the awe factor is still in high gear here :) All in all, a lovely Saturday afternoon!

Potter Mania

I am sure we are not alone, but we are a bit Harry Potter crazed in our house right now. Up until the end of May though, we were completely out of the loop. Quinn had zero interest in the books or movies and neither did I. Keely's a bit young to read the volume of books so I didn't expect her to be into it. People have always told me to read the books saying that I would enjoy them. There's plenty else to read though so I figured that when Quinn showed an interest in reading them is the time I would read them too. We've never read anything together before so I figured that would be neat. Anyways, I still thought that time was a ways off.

But at the end of May, when the movers were packing up our house Quinn and Keely hung out with our neighbor, Mark. We also had dinner with them the night before and that's when Quinn discovered that Mark had some of the HP movies. The kids watched one movie that night and another couple of movies the next day. Now that's not my MO - I'd watch the movies after I read the books but watching the movies sparked Quinn's interest. Flash forward to our first weekend visit to NJ in early June. Quinn discovers that Grandma has a few of the books in her house, including the first 2. So into a bag they go with us back to Virginia and the rest is history.

Quinn read all 7 books from the beginning of June to finishing up on our trip to Ireland. That's just over a month of reading, and I've had to add up all the pages because I was curious - 4,176 pages! Crazy. He is a voracious reader. He loves to read and obviously has a lot of time over the summer to do just that. He is almost lost when he doesn't have a book to read. Someone recently asked me how I get him to read. I don't get him to read, he just loves it. I suppose James and I being readers is a help, but Keely just doesn't seem to have that same love of reading. He also reads so quickly that I used to wonder if he 'gets' everything...but the level of detail that he remembers is astounding so I'm not wondering that anymore.

So as promised, I am now reading the books - although at a much slower pace :( Unfortunately I just don't have the time to read like he does. I've just finished up Book 3. They are getting better with each book, and I'm curious to read the rest. It is my goal to finish up the 7th before the latest movie comes out on DVD. That's likely to be before Christmas and then I hope they will release all 7 movies in a box set. I haven't seen any of the movies...I'm not sure if I want to watch them as I read or wait until the end to watch any of them.

James took the kids to see the last movie on the big screen. Quinn loved it. Keely is now a fan by default. James has whittled wands for them, and they both have spell books with all the spells from the books and movies written down. It has taken over our house...Quinn loves to pick up whatever book I am in and start reading from wherever I am. He asks me what just happened while I am actually reading, and will tease me when I act like I know what has just happened (are you sure?!?! he will say lol) . It has given us something more in common and I am glad that I'm sharing this series with him.

This week, the mania is at a height because the kids are attending Vacation Bible School - Harry Potter style. I signed them up for this back in June - I knew Quinn would love it - and it was free so I figured even if it was bad, it didn't cost anything. It's been fun for them though. They have Transformations class, today they are making Potions, they have meetings in the Great Hall and got sorted on the first day (Keely into Hufflepuff - a huge travesty - and Quinn into Gryffindor - a huge coup). They've each made some new friends - kids that go to their school and live in our neighborhood. So far, it's a success in my books!