Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Bowling with the Browns

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It was rainy and cold last weekend (or at least it felt cold after the 80 degree temps we'd had for much of the week) and we didn't have anything officially on the docket, so we decided to call up our friends the Browns and invite ourselves over. The original plan was to take the kids duck pin bowling again, but a church social (and hanging out a bit too long on Mia & Ben's new swing-set) meant that we could only get about 20 minutes of actual bowling in. This proved to be a stroke of luck as 20 minutes was just enough to fulfill our promise of bowling, but not long enough for any of our off-spring to seriously injure themselves while climbing on the ball return (though Ben and Nora tried their darndest).

It also meant that we were able to go to a real pizza place with a wood burning oven rather than partake in bowling alley fare, which made for a much nicer evening for everyone (except possibly those patrons that would have preferred to dine at the bar without the presence of four children).

(click here for the pictures)

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Friday, March 23, 2012

Spring?!?

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I guess it is technically Spring already, but it still is a bit shocking that we can be outside playing in the sprinklers in March. #YearWithoutWinter.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Kindie Rock

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A few years ago, I happened upon an article on parent-friendly kid acts that featured Justin Roberts. Intrigued, I ordered "Pop Fly" which was extremely well received by our baseball loving son and soon was a must-have for our road-trips. We brought it to Iowa for Christmas where Uncle Dave noticed it and remarked that he'd actually gone to school with Mr. Roberts, who'd been a huge hit at their 20th reunion (particularly with the THRS off-spring). We later picked up "Melt Down" and have been known to have Justin Robert dance parties among ourselves on the weekends.

So imagine our delight when we found out that he was coming to town (or to Vienna, VA which is semi-close to town). We ordered tickets ahead of time (which was good, since all three shows sold out) and drove to the 'burbs right after swim lessons where we grabbed some lunch at Jammin Java and settled down in the front row.

It really was a great show. I'd requested "Pop Fly" online and was delighted when they came on stage and announced they were starting their set with a special request from the Zimmerman family. Owen was pretty excited, but quickly turned shy and later complained that it was way too loud. Nora was completely freaked out at first, but eventually got into it and was even dancing in the mosh pit by the end (as well as lifting her shirt which hopefully won't become a habit at rock concerts...).

We're hoping to catch him again this summer when Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players take the stage at Wolf Trap... and that the outdoor stage will insure that Owen doesn't hurt his ears rocking out.

(click here for all the pictures)

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Mark Dean

In honor of Black History Month, all the students in Owen's kindergarten class were assigned a famous Black American whom they researched, created a visual aid of, and then presented their person for "Museum Day." Owen had Mark Dean, co-inventor of the PC who ironically now uses a tablet. We think he did a pretty awesome job.

Monday, March 05, 2012

Interjections!

We didn't realize when Uncle Dave and Aunt Kara gave Owen the "School House Rock" DVD for Christmas, just how adorable learning parts of speech can be.



Awe, that's the end.