Monday, September 18, 2017

Back to the Woods

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Camping is like sailing to me (without the accompanying nausea) -- it's one of those activities I want to like in theory -- I know it's good for the soul and that the kids love it -- but I don't, and so Allen is lucky to get me to agree to it once a year. Having met my quota for 2017 back in June, I was confident that the rest of my year would include electricity and running water. So when we received an invite for annual Friends Meeting of Washington's Family Camping Trip for the weekend of the 16th, I figured we'd take a pass.

But then we learned that the "Mother of All Rally's Patriot Unification Gathering" had been scheduled in DC that same weekend, along with a counter-protest, the "Juggalo March on Washington," a parade for Fiesta DC and the H Street Festival. Suddenly, hanging with Quakers in the woods seemed far more appealing.

So Allen packed up the car while I took the kids to orchestra, after which we drove to Catoctin. Allen set up the tent while Nora searched for salamanders and Owen tried to paddle a leaky canoe. We dined al fresco on homemade pizza from the camp's pizza oven, had s'mores by the campfire, enjoyed the stars, and helped Owen digest the ending of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (he's going to need a break before book six...).

In the morning, we ate pumpkin bread, had Meeting by the campfire, found more salamanders, broke camp and still managed to make it back to DC (which was miraculously still standing) in time for Owen's climbing class.

It was kind of perfect -- Allen might even get me to go three times next year...

(To see a few more pictures, click here.)

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Sunday, September 03, 2017

Party Party

Planning birthdays day celebrations for the younger members of the Fawcett-Zimmerman household is always a stressful endeavor as Owen's birthday is always right before the start of the school year and Nora's is always Labor Day weekend. As the child of a teacher, I'm constantly surprised that Owen's best friends regularly choose to decamp DC just days before classes in order to extract the most of their summer vacation; the fact that Nora's friends also choose to leave town on the anniversary is less surprising, but no less frustrating.

While this year we were spared the drama of the venue cancelling on us the eve of the event, we found out early on that three of Owen's closest friends were not going to be around for his actual birthday. After a little debate, we decided to move the day to a more user friendly one and celebrate Owen's birthday after the first week of school. Fortunately, Zava Zone was able to accommodate the request (and 14 of Owen's closest friends).
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Having delayed Owen's birthday a week, we couldn't really handle putting off Nora's as well (not to mention that doing so meant that we would be encroaching on the beginning of all the extracurricular activities of her friends which would probably lead to even less turnout). In the end, we settled for a few really good friends and some classmates whose presence we enjoy -- which honestly, is more than most kids get -- celebrating her a mere day after the actual event at Climb Zone (her zone of choice). Which for us is pretty impressive.
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Anyway, both kids had a great times. Both parties were viewed as successes and so ends the Fawcett-Zimmerman summer/fall party planning responsibilities.

(To see Owen's birthday pictures, click here.)
(To see Nora's birthday pictures, click here.)

Friday, September 01, 2017

Great Eight!

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Nora really came into her own at seven, or rather, it became increasingly clear to the rest of us who she is. She is one to always have a bon mot (and has just enough French to know what that means), tends towards the silly, does not like it when you go off-script, is working on becoming a better loser, still likes a good cuddle, and really likes to shake her booty. Nora developed a core group of friends at school this year but kept her old friends close. She learned how to play the viola and how to do double-dutch. She boogey boarded for the first time. Nora discovered Zelda and Youtube. She had her First Communion and saw a total solar eclipse. In between, she wrote some plays, a few books, some questionable poetry, and a lot of songs.

We don't always know what Nora is going to do or say -- which makes living with her both exciting and at times exasperating -- but we know that it's something that will usually make you stop and think, and often smile (sometimes despite yourself). Happy birthday, baby girl, now have fun stormin' the castle.

  1. "I'm not sure which is better: hunting a llama or having a llama."
  2. We go high.
  3. Sometimes you just need a disco dance party, even if it's in the bathroom.
  4. Science is fun! Baseball, is more a matter of taste.
  5. "I'll wrestle sharks tomorrow..."
  6. Yippee-Kai-Yay.
  7. "Thank you, thank you very much."
  8. "This is the most amazing experience of my entire life! I have never seen anything as amazing as the solar eclipse!"
  9. Buckethead: Two buckets; one head! 
  10. Always remember, the "Importance of Balance."