Sunday, June 24, 2012

Wipeout

On my birthday, Steve mentioned that he might be in town with Olivia for some school related outing this summer, but it wasn't a sure thing. Flash forward to Thursday night when an email arrived stating that they're leaving the following day and hope to get together this weekend. We had the air & heating people coming Saturday morning (as well as t-ball) and had already made plans to visit Allen's friend Chris and his daughter Hazel (who were visiting from LA) Saturday afternoon after which we needed to check back with the air & heating people. This left Sunday, and while Allen and Owen were off to Baltimore on for the Nationals-Orioles game with Mom Mom and Grandpa Don (the Nats lost), Caitlin, Nora and I could meet up with Steve, Olivia and their group at Ford's theater.

We had a great time at the exhibits (Nora was adorably drawn to Lincoln, and a little uncomfortable obsessed with a statue of Mary Surrat) and then lunch. Afterwards, they headed over to the Archives while Caitlin, Nora and I headed over to the Portrait Gallery so that Caitlin could continue her tour of free museums in DC and Nora could visit one of her brother's favorite stomping grounds.

Nora had a bit too good of a time (see below), which resulted in a lot of giggles and one very wet dress. After some debate, Nora convinced me she didn't need to wear her dress anymore, which made waiting for and riding the bus a bit awkward (nothing like hearing someone across the street point and say, "Hey, she's naked!" in reference to your child), but certainly was a conversation starter with the other passengers (and Nora's favorite part of the day).

Saturday, June 23, 2012

It's getting hot in here...

No AC

It's been a rough first week of summer. First the AC went out in the car (it had actually gone out back in April when we returned from St. Louis, we had it serviced but they weren't able to find a leak in the cooling system, so they refilled the cooling fluid levels and wished us luck). Tuesday night we discovered the AC in the house wasn't working. Wednesday a heat wave hit DC, we weren't able to get anyone to come until the following day, and we lost power for 2 hours. Thursday the heat wave continued, and the heating and cooling guy informed up that while we needed to replace the AC and the furnace in order to get the system working properly, they wouldn't be able to do that until Saturday. It being our anniversary, we asked Molly and Caitlin to watch the kids so we could have dinner and they could hang out in our 87 degree home.

At least Nora and I have been able to escape the hear during the day, but Allen's had to stay home to meet with contractors and shuttle the car to its appointment and poor Owen is spending his days at baseball camp with only the occasional popsicle break and hosing down (plus some indoor breaks) to cool him down. Our thanks to the many family and friends that offered to let us crash at their places until the heat subsided and/or the AC was repaired, but we figured this was one of those character building moments (because clearly, what our children lack is character...) and that with enough popsicles and cold baths, we'd muddle through. I'm not sure the kids fully agreed.

Things are looking up. Friday brought clouds, rain and a cool front (a high of only 97!), the car got fixed (under warranty no less and hopefully this time for real) and Mom Mom invited us up for dinner (as well as sleeping, though we declined). Saturday the crew at Jiffy Heating & Cooling should be replacing our 30 year old furnace and nine year old condenser with the highly recommended Ruud system. Hopefully, Sunday will bring a return to artificial climate control and far more restful nights.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Father's Day (or there abouts)

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I wasn't planning on writing a Father's Day post this year. Apparently, this is something of a tradition for me, for while I did write one in 2010 (although it was the second in a series and Allen wrote the first part), Allen has authored all other blog entries related to paternal commemorations (see 2007, 2008, and 2009).  Allen grew tired of this tradition (he has dutifully written a Mother's Day post every year) and as I was only passively celebrating it, I didn't notice that we didn't have a post for Father's Day 2011. As Father's Day 2012 past without any mention on this website, Allen grew annoyed. He grew hurt. He grew insistant.

And so because Allen is an amazing father and beloved by his children and we did celebrate this on June 17, 2012 by taking him and Grandpa Fawcett out for a lovely brunch at Smith Commons, giving him a Ryan Zimmerman jersey, and then letting him watch the Nats-Yankees game undisturbed (they lost, which made the fact that they were sold out by the time I looked into getting tickets less of a tragedy), I hereby do declare this to be his official Father's Day post. Even if it's a few days late.   

Friday, June 15, 2012

Summer Days

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Owen's last day of school was a half day on Thursday, and baseball camp doesn't start until Monday, so I stayed home with Owen on Friday to kick off the Summer, and there's not much better way to do that than eating ice cream on the porch with Grandpa, and seeing the gigantic prehistoric snake titanoboa at the Natural History Museum :)

(click here for the pictures)

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Last day at Peabody

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Thursday was Owen's last day of Kindergarten. It doesn't seem that long ago when we got the last minute call that he was accepted for pre-K at Peabody.  And if feels like just yesterday when our little boy started Kindergarten, but it really is amazing how much he's grown.  Looking back at the picture from his first day you see a little boy excited about having ridden his bike to school  for the first time, but still a little nervous, and oh so young.  He was wearing the same shirt on his first and last day, but his confidence had clearly grown, arms outstretched, a big kid on the Peabody Campus.  On the first day of Kindergarten all the kids shared their goal for the year, and wrote them down on a poster in the classroom.  Owen's goal was, "to read big words," and we're proud to say he's accomplished that and so much more. Thank you Peabody, we'll miss you.

(click here for the pictures)

Saturday, June 09, 2012

Owen's Kindergarten Graduation

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It seems like Owen just started at Peabody (and given that Owen didn't get in until the day before school started for pre-K, he kind of did...). The past two school years have been a bit of a whirlwind, and while we're not entirely sure when it all happened, we know that it's produced a very inquisitive boy who loves to read, sing patriotic songs, draw, journal, and who's much more outgoing (and is far more knowledgeable about Ninjago) than the scared little guy we dropped off in the Fall of 2010.

So it was a bit bittersweet when we gathered with Mom Mom and Grandpa Fawcett (who we neglected to get a picture of with the graduate...) to see Owen and all his classmates graduate from kindergarten and Peabody (he'll start first grade at Watkins Elementary in the Fall). Fortunately, the adorableness of it all kept us from crying (at least much). Congratulations Peabody Class of 2012: Now go conquer the world (and wash your hands before you eat).

(Click here for all the pictures)

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Crashing

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It has become something of a rite of passage for my younger cousins to crash on our couch for a couple of months while pursuing their career goals. Having gotten a taste of DC when she visited for a conference last February, cousin Caitlin pursued and was awarded an internship at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Which means, among other things, two months of free babysitting for us...

Sunday, June 03, 2012

Time to Get the Bagels

Ordinarily it is incredibly difficult to wake up Nora. It usually takes several rounds of, "go away daddy," "turn the lights off," and "I want to sleep a little longer," before she can finally be convinced to get out of bed. The one exception is Saturday morning when Nora and I wake up early before Mommy and Owen to go to the bagel place. At the first mention of bagels she wakes up with a smile ready to go.