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!