Iowa Christmas

It was a hectic December in DC, what with trips to Japan, musicals, teas, beer, and concerts. So we were really excited for a quiet Christmas in Iowa (though the weather made it seem more like early October).

The balmy weather did make for easy travel and meant that in addition to all the Zimmermans, we got to spend some time with the Fawcetts (in typical Fawcett fashion this time was spent at the pond, cutting wood, eating and performing a modern take on Dicken's, A Christmas Carol) and with Uncle Bernie, who joined us for Christmas dinner and all the fixin's).

But mostly, Christmas was about hanging out with cousins and siblings while talking, playing games and recording the odd short film. Owen & Nora had been waiting over a year to film the sequel to Youtube's Dad and despite a few creative differences, they were ultimately able to achieve their vision while leaving an opening to make it a trilogy. Santa seemed to have a bit of a theme in terms of presents this year, and so there were competing contests of Codenames, Smartish, and the fan favorite, Chickapig (which Nora is weirdly good at).

Everyone gathered at Mom & Dad's just before Christmas Eve and Steve & Becky and Dave & Kara headed back just after Christmas Day. We stayed a day longer -- enough time so that Nora was able to get some quality time in with Grace's guinea pigs, but not long enough that she could convince me to get one. And then we headed back to DC for "fake Christmas" and a very real stomach flu.

(To see all our Iowa Christmas pics, click here.)

U2's Dad 2: Electric Bugaloo

Last year at Thanksgiving, Owen, Nora, Maura, Sam, Erin and Uncle Dave all collaborated on a series of movies: Island Adventure, Sponsored by LaCroix, and U2's Dad. This year at Christmas they upped their game, not only creating a sequel to U2's Dad, but also a pretty exciting trailer for the movie, as well as a promotional tour where they all read and reacted to mean tweets about themselves...enjoy :-)

Repertory Orchestra

This year Owen moved up to the Repertory Orchestra playing with winds brass and percussion for the first time. They took on more challenging music, and played a wonderful winter concert with selections from Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky and Brahms.

Young Artists Orchestra

A very special episode of Viola Radio Network!

Brewlights 2019

We weren't going to do Brewlights this year. Having purchased numerous tickets since the successful inaugural outing in 2017 that went unused or were given away, I hit delete when I initially got the email for this year's winter celebration of beer, Christmas lights and animals. But Grandpa Don later inquired about doing it, so after a lot of prodding and consultation with the weather gods, we eventually organized a crew of seven for the evening.

It took a while for us all to gather – Allen was enjoying his office happy hour a little too much and Molly & Adam, having never been to the zoo before let alone Brewlights, had trouble locating the small mammals house where we'd agreed to meet. But eventually, we were all able to enjoy the lights, some snacks and a whole lot of beer.

We're tentatively back on for 2020.



(To see all the picture, click here).

Tracks in the Flora

One of our favorite holiday traditions is seeing the trains at the U.S. Botanic Gardens, and this year was no exception.  This year Jacqui was able to join us after her high tea with Elaine and Nora, and the Romans joined us as well, so Owen and Nora had other kids to run around the jungle room with while the adults enjoyed wine and we all took in the enchanting trains.

Teaism

Back in 2016, our friend Jacqui invited Nora and I to continue the tradition she'd had with her late friend, Suzanne: an annual holiday tea. We greatly enjoy these outings where we ditch the boys, get dressed up, and enjoy sandwiches, pastries and hot beverages.

While Nora has always been enthusiastic about the excursion, her level of engagement has been commiserate with her age -- there was a lot of napping, dancing and generally questionable lady-like behavior in years past. At ten, though, a vastly more sophisticated Nora has emerged. One who orders tea instead of hot chocolate (she takes it with a lot of lemon and sugar). One who delicately eats her finger sandwiches (and requests turkey in lieu of PB&J). One who engages in conversation throughout the meal rather than reverting to a book.

And, since it's Nora, one who takes unsanctioned selfies.

It was a lovely outing and we're already planning next year's...

(To see all the pictures, click here.)

Frozen!

While Owen has generally avoided roles in Disney inspired productions by Stuart-Hobson (he ran the soundboard for both Alice in Wonderland and Beauty and the Beast), he decided that he wanted to join the cast for the Fall musical, Frozen. And since Ms. Pergerson didn't actual have auditions for the role he wanted (the Duke of Weselton), Owen ended up as "Jim, the servant boy" who aggressively passes hors d'oeuvres, doubles as set crew and is in a surprisingly number of scene that don't involve servitude. Adding to the excitement, this year Nora was part of the SWS crew that celebrated the concept of summer with Olaf.

The cast did an amazing job, and had a lot of fun despite the fact that we have not, in fact, built a snowman.

(To see all the pictures -- including some of our friends -- click here.)

Japan

I've been to Japan a few times before, so when another work trip to Tsukuba came up it wasn't quite as exciting as before, but at least I had a direct flight. The conference was productive, the weather was lovely, and the sushi was delicious, but I didn't have much time to see anything exciting beyond a quick walk past the rockets at the Tsukuba Science Center on my way to the bus station to catch my flight home.

Thanksgiving 2019

Nancy & Danny hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Nora made spring rolls, Adrien and her mom joined the festivities, Keegan's hair was amazing, Lee smoked an delicious turkey, Danny and Allen may have relived some moments from Thanksgiving past, and we all had a wonderful time. Plus the day after Thanksgiving, a bunch of old friends joined us for a little post-Thanksgiving night out at Pursuit!

(click here for all the pictures)

FMW FDS Mobile Project

This year I volunteered to be co-clerk of the religious education committee at the Friends Meeting of Washington along with Jake Ritting. It's been a rewarding experience helping to organize the First Day School program in the midst of the major renovation. The highlight of the experience so far has been our mobile project. This fall, the First Day School children embarked on an exciting collaborative project with artist Kevin Reese to create a mobile for the new stairwell, thanks to a generous donation from Mark Haskell and Elise Storck, in honor of former First Day School student Annelise Haskell.



We began the project by discussing the artist Alexander Calder who first began creating sculptures that moved in the 1920s, dubbed ‘mobiles’ by his friend Marcel Duchamp. We talked about how a mobile will move with the air currents, allowing you to see something new with every viewing, which makes it a wonderful vehicle for abstract artistic representation. It allows the viewer to find meaning that may not be literally represented.



For our project, we needed to decide on the theme for the mobile. We try to tie all our First Day School lessons to the SPICES – the Quaker testimonies of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship – and these values provided a great starting point for us. As this mobile is the First Day School’s contribution to our new space, and this space is meant to provide a more welcoming and environmentally friendly place for our community to gather, we decided that a mobile evoking the values of community and stewardship of the land we live on and the air we breathe would be perfect. The children then began to create, drawing their ideas of community and stewardship that would provide inspiration for the mobile.



After that first lesson, Kevin took the children’s drawings and ideas and constructed a maquette, or small model, of the mobile for the second lesson. Some of the pieces of the mobile maquette were curved abstract shapes that would play against the clean straight lines of the stairway; others were leaves and clouds and stars more directly tying to our stewardship theme; and others were Keith Herring inspired people interacting with each other. Kevin and the children discussed ways they saw our themes in this design. The kids saw how the leaves and clouds and abstract shapes were evocative of nature and our commitment to stewardship, and suggested we use a blue-green color palate for them to further enhance that connection. They also appreciated how the people on the maquette were like a community, connected to each other and in balance with each other even as their relationships to each other changed and evolved, and how together they are greater than individuals set apart. We also discussed materials: some of the pieces would be made from a light foam-core that the kids could craft and paint themselves, and others would be made from an environmentally friendly, recycled translucent ecoresin – with one ecoresin piece being an orange leaf as a nod to the season of the mobile’s creation. Then the children started crafting, using the maquette as inspiration, they drew their own abstract shapes on foam-core. With the help of Kevin, they cut out the pieces, sanded the edges, and even began to epoxy them to the wires that would form the armature of the mobile. The kids also posed for Kevin to draw the Keith Haring inspired figures, coming up with the positions they wanted the people to be in on the final mobile.



The next two sessions were all about painting. Kevin finished sanding the pieces the kids constructed, flame-proofed them, and epoxyed them all to lengths of copper coated steel welding wire and thicker lengths of cold-rolled steel. The kids all learned the tricky art of painting mobile pieces: holding them in a way they don’t just spin in your hand and you don’t end up with paint all over yourself. The first painting day was especially exciting as the kids applied the first coat transforming the pieces from white foam-core to the vibrant palate of blues and greens they had chosen. The second painting day was the one that counts though, since the second coat is the one everyone will see. In between the painting days, we even did a First Day School field trip to the National Gallery of Art to see Calder’s monumental untitled mobile in the East Building’s central court.




For our final First Day School day lesson with Kevin, we held our balancing ceremony. Before we could begin, Kevin shared Alexander Calder’s first rule of mobiles: always build from the bottom up. So, guided by the maquette, we started with the ecoresin heart that would be the very bottom of the mobile and was connected to a teal tear drop piece. We found the point at which they balanced with the heart in place, and locked it in with a loop in the wire. Then one-by-one, the children came up to find the balance point between what we had built so far and the next piece of the mobile, using their aesthetic judgements to help define how the pieces would relate to each other. We all watched entranced as the mobile grew piece-by-piece, wires taking on new curves and loops, shapes cantilevering out into the air, new relationships found in three-dimensional space. It was amazing to see the joy and wonder on the children’s faces as the artwork we had worked on so long together sprang to life.



Now the mobile hangs in the new stairwell, a work of art to enliven and beautify our space for years to come. A mobile created by the children of the First Day School as an act of stewardship and a contribution to our community, embodying those very values in form and deed.

(click here for all the pictures)

We have a Pixie!

At the start of the school year, we took the kids to get haircuts. Just as we arrived at the salon, Nora announced she wanted short hair. Now, I am not opposed to short hair in theory (honestly, given the number of times Nora had lice in third grade, it's probably something we should have explored years ago). However, I strongly feel that it is not something to be done on a whim, having shorn my own locks in fifth grade per my father's suggestion only to be told by him afterward, "Hmm, maybe not."

So I informed Nora, that no, she couldn't get her hair cut short that day. But if she took some time to review styles, chose one, and documented it so she could describe and discuss it in an informed way with a stylist, then the next time she got a haircut she could get it cut short. (And then I added that I wanted to wait until after we'd had our Christmas photos taken because I am nothing if not risk averse.)

Today was the day. Having looked at bobs, shags, mohawks and all other manner of short options, Nora settled on a pixie cut modeled by actress Ginnifer Goodwin (see version 5). We went to Bravado, where luckily, Kay (my stylist) was available for the honors. 20 minutes later, our little pixie emerged with a huge grin on her face.

And no one has second guessed it.

(To see the before, during and after pictures, click here.)

Night at the Opera

While at 46 I was sad to have never been to an opera, given Owen had a complete meltdown as a toddler when we paused a little too long on the public radio station's opera hour, we've haven't been particularly motivated to rectify the situation. Until we got an email from DC Youth Orchestra offering us discounted tickets ($10 each instead of the $160 face value) to see Mozart's The Magic Flute at the Kennedy Center. In English. With projected English titles. And the Maurice Sendak Staging. So despite our children's indifference, we bought tickets, convinced the Telfair-Chas to join us and packed the kids' Kindle just in case they got too bored at the show.

But they were mesmerized -- the costumes, the monsters the music. We were all a little confused by some of the plot holes and the multiple attempted suicides, but it really was an incredibly engaging and beautiful performance which did not make Owen cry.

Though now he wants to be a Freemason. 

Viola Radio Network: Hedwig's Theme

(click here to binge watch Viola Radio Network)

Everyone Loves a Parade

The great thing about winning the World Series is that the season doesn't just end with a sad, "wait 'till next year," but ends with a celebration. Hugs and cheers at the last out, trophy presentations, champagne celebrations in the locker room, and when the team gets home a huge parade down Constitution Avenue. Owen, Elaine and I donned our Nats gear and were joined by Grandpa Don to walk down to the parade, We found a spot near the Canadian Embassy and soaked in the celebration, double decker busses going by with the players, and lots of emotional speeches. It wasn't always easy to see (unless you climbed up a tree), but the crowds had great energy, and we all had a great time celebrating with our team and our town. We even managed to meet up with Billy amidst the throngs of people :-)

(click here for all the pictures)

Washington Nationals 2019 World Series Champions

With the Nats remarkable playoff run this year, a dramatic comeback win in the Wild Card game against the Brewers, two elimination game comeback wins against the mighty Dodgers for the Nats first ever NLDS series win, and rolling to a four-game sweep to claim revenge against the Cardinals in the NLCS, playing in the World Series was just icing on the cake. Everyone picked the 107 win Astros to win the series, so we were really just looking forward to seeing the Nats play on the biggest of stages, and maybe eek out a win at home to give us a reason to cheer.



Things changed though once the series actually started. In Game 1 with Max Scherzer going up against the AL's best pitcher Garret Cole, the Astros jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st, but Max locked things down after that. Zim hit a solo home run in the 2nd to cut the lead in half, and Soto tied it up a home run in the 4th, and the Nats jumped out to a 5-2 lead off of Eaton and Soto RBI hits in the 5th. The Astros started to claw their way back with runs in the 7th and 8th, but Doolittle came on for the save in the 9th, and somehow the Nats had a 1-0 series lead with Stephen Strasburg taking the mound for game 2, things were looking up.

The Nats jumped on Astros' starter Justin Verlander with 2 runs in the top of the 1st in Game 2, but Stras had a rocky first himself and the Astros tied it up with a 2-run homer. The game was a tense 2-2 tie through six innings, and we knew that the Nats needed to jump on this opportunity and put the Astros away. When the 7th inning started the Nats pounced. Suzuki hit a solo homer to give the Nats the lead, then the Nats loaded the bases with two outs and Howie Kendrick hit a slow roller to third that the Astros booted allowing another run to score. Cabrera followed that with a line drive to center scoring two more runs, a wild pitch moved up the runners, and Zim hit an infield single that the Astros threw away scoring two more, and somehow the Nats had batted around and led 8-2. With three more runs in the 8th and another in the 9th, the Nats were dancing in the dugouts on their way to a 12-3 win (their 8th win in a row!), and a 2-0 series lead. With a travel day to rest, we were all the daring to dream of a series sweep, or at least a chance to win the World Series on our home field!



Owen and I went to the ballpark early on Friday night to enjoy all the festivities leading up to the first World Series home game in DC since 1933. We strolled around amongst the crowds soaking it all in, watched the scoreboard show scenes from the 1924 World Series, with Walter Johnson pitching, and the Nats walking off the Giants in the 12th inning of Game 7. We watched Buzz Aldrin throw out the first pitch, and Chad Cordero and Brian Schneider from the original 2005 Nats throw out another. Aníbal Sánchez was pitching for the Nats, and we were hoping for a repeat performance from the NLCS, but the Astros scored a run in the 2nd and another in the 3rd before Robles tripled in the 4th driving in Zimmerman from 1st. That was the only run the Nats would score, as they couldn't seem to get a hit when the opportunities presented themselves, and the Astros tacked on runs in the 5th and 6th to win 4-1.

Mom Mom and Grandpa Don joined us for Game 4 on Saturday, and we showed up early again to get dinner at Shake Shack and eat up at the picnic tables near their seats. Owen and started the game in our usual playoff seats in section 318, but the couple sitting next to us asked if we could trade seats with their friends who were sitting in section 315 row A, so Owen and I upgraded to some pretty nice seats in our normal season ticket section. Sadly the Nats play didn't live up to the seats, the Astros scored two in the 2nd and two more in the 4th. In the 6th the Nats managed to load the bases for Soto, but he could only manage a slow ground out to first to score a run on a fielders choice. Owen and I tried changing seats to change our luck, moving over to some seats next to Mom Mom and Grandpa Don, but we just saw Houston showing everyone how it's done with the bases loaded hitting a grand slam in the 7th to put the game away eventually winning 8-1.

With the series tied a two games a piece, the Nats had lost the chance to win the series at home, but with Scherzer set to pitch in Game 5, we were confident the Nats could get a win in front of the home crowd and send the series back to Houston only needing one more win. That confidence was shattered when word came out that Max's neck was locked up, he could't even get dressed by himself and our star pitcher who even pitched during the season with a black eye the day after breaking his nose was scratched from the line up. Owen and I decided we needed to mix up our World Series game day routine, so Owen changed hats for the game, we picked up our Red Carpet Rewards radio lanyards, ate dinner at the Red Porch restaurant, and hung out at the 106.7 booth in Left Field watching Grant and Danny broadcast the radio pre-game show. Joe Ross was pitching instead of Max, and the crowd was ready to try to will him to a win, breaking out in a raucous, "Let's Go Joe!" chant as he walked out onto the field to start his warm-up tosses. It wasn't to be though, the Astros scored two in the 2nd and two in the 4th jumping out to another 4-0 lead. Soto hit a solo homer in the 6th, but the Astros came right back scoring in the 8th and 9th for a 7-1 win and a 3-2 series lead. The Nats went 1-21 with runners in scoring position at home during the World Series, and that one hit was an infield single that didn't score a run. 21 times coming up to the plate with a chance to do something that would let the crowd go wild, and it just didn't happen. The crowd was electric for the World Series, the team took care of business in Houston giving us the chance to see something special at home, but the big hit never came. Now if the Nats were going to win the World Series, they'd have to do something no team has ever done in 7 game series in any sport, win four games on the road.



The mood in DC on the Monday travel day was on the dark side, sure we all just wanted to make it to the Series, and no one really expected to win, but after the first two wins in Houston hopes had soared, only to be dashed in the three brutal home losses. If there was a bright spot, it was that we had our playoff ace Stephen Strasburg taking the mound in Houston for Game 6. The Nats took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st on a Rendon sac fly, but Strasburg gave up a monster 2-run home run in the bottom of the inning to Alex Bergman who carried his bat all the way to first base. Luckily for the Nats, Juan Soto saw what Berman did and thought it looked like fun. Strasburg worked through whatever issues he was having in the first and started mowing through the Astros, and after Eaton tied things up with a homer in the 5th, Soto came up to bat and hit his own monster home run so he could carry his bat to the first base coach too, and the Nats had a 3-2 lead. Things got heated in the 7th, with Yan Gomes on 1st an no one out, Trea Turner beat out an infield single because of a bad throw from third base that got away from the Astros first-baseman  putting runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. But the umpires somehow called Turner out because of the archaic interference rule, the game stopped for what seemed like ages as it looked like a bad call/poorly written rule could cost the Nats the series. Thankfully though, Anthony Rendon wasn't having any of it, and when play finally resumed he promptly hit a huge two run homer to give the Nats a commanding 5-2 lead. Rendon wasn't done making his point though, and drove in two more runs on a booming double in the top of the 9th for a 7-2 lead. Then Strasburg came back out for the first out in the 9th before turning it over to Doolittle for the save. For the first time ever, the road team had won each of the first six games of the World Series, and it was time for Game 7!

After a cortisone shot, Mad Max was somehow ready to pitch in the winner-take-all Game 7, but while he came out throwing heat, he couldn't quite locate his other pitches, and the Astros were hitting the ball hard off of him early. Max was able to gut it out though and somehow limit the damage to a run in the 2nd and a run in the 5th, before turning the ball over to Corbin, but the Nats looked completely baffled against Zack Greinke, and the Astros looked ready to cruise to victory with ace Garret Cole lurking in the bullpen. In the top of the 7th though, the storyline changed. With one out, Anthony Redon hit a home run finally getting to Greinke and cutting the lead in half. Juan Soto then came up, and with his precocious batting eye and his intimidating Soto shuffle with each take, he drew an epic walk. The Astros then pulled Geinke, bringing in their best middle reliever Will Harris instead of Cole since they didn't want their Ace to come into the game with runners on base for his first ever relief appearance. Harris got strike one on Howie Kendrick, and located his second pitch exactly where he wanted it, on the corner low-and-away where a right hander can't do much with it. But Howie was having none of it, he took what he was given and hit a liner the opposite way down the line that banged off of the foul pole. Boom! Two run home run! Nats take the lead 3-2! Owen had been too nervous to watch, but as Elaine and I were jumping up and down, he rushed back in to join the celebration. Now the Nats just needed 9 more outs... Corbin came back out and took care of the Astros in the bottom of the 7th, 6 outs to go... The Nats tacked on another run with Soto single in the 8th, 4-2 Nats. Corbin took down the Astros 1, 2, 3 in the bottom of the 8th, 3 outs left... Eaton drove in 2 with a single in the top of the 9th, 6-2 Nats! Hudson came out for the bottom of the 9th, Springer pops out to second, Altuve strikes out swinging, one more out... 3-2 count to Brantley... Swing and a miss! Swing and a miss! Swing and a miss! The Nats won the World Series! Jumping up and down with tears and screams and hugs in our house, our Washington Nationals are World Series Champions!!!



(click here for all the pictures)

Buen Provencho

The Fawcetts like to place wagers on various cultural events. The Fawcetts also like to eat. And so the Fawcetts (and associated branches) decided to pool their collective winnings to host family and friends for a meat extravaganza with El Gauchito Grill serving a celebration of traditional Argentinian slow-cooked steaks on the grill.

Originally, we planned to combine the event with Father's Day, but then life started happening: Katherine got a new job that resulted in a lot of unplanned trips; Sharon became the President of the Smithsonian's Women's Committee which meant a lot of meetings and dinners; and, well, the kids. So we kept delaying and delaying the event until we finally settled on the weekend of the 19th, and then moved the actual event to the 20th after Sharon and Don had a dinner. Once we finally had a date, we sent out invites to our 30 closest friends and neighbors, who all were very excited to come.

And then Tropical Storm Nestor came to town.

It rained all day Sunday which meant a run to Ikea to pick up more chairs since Katherine and Lee's extensive outdoor seating space was no longer a viable option. It meant all of Katherine's planned lawn games were kaput. And it meant that more than half of the guests suddenly had a "conflict" (including all nine people were were responsible for).

But we forged ahead. Katherine broadened the definition of "closest" to include any neighbor that was willing to come over. A tent was was erected to keep the grilling area dry. Surplus chairs were removed to increase living space.

And it was amazing. The meal was delicious (The chorizo! The ribs! The flank steak!), the company was great and we now have enough leftovers to take us through New Years (apparently flank steak freezes really well). And so while it wasn't exactly the celebration we'd envisioned, it was the one we needed. Or at least that's the official story.

(To see all the pictures (and salivate), click here.)

The Nats win the Pennant!!!

After a dramatic come-from-behind win in the Wild Card game against the Brewers, and another equally dramatic come-from-behind win in game 5 of the NLDS against the 106 win Dodgers, the Nats finally played in their first National League Championship series. We faced the NL Central Champion St. Louis Cardinals after they took care of the Braves, in a rematch of the Nats first playoff series back in 2012. Another chance to vanquish ghosts of playoffs past.

The series started out in St. Louis, and the Nats took care of business in Game 1, with Aníbal Sánchez throwing 7 and 2/3 scoreless innings and the Nats shutting out the Cardinals 2-0. Not to be outmatched, Max Sherzer didn't give up a hit until the 7th in Game 2, and the Nats won 3-1 taking a commanding 2 games to none lead with the series shifting back to DC. Owen and I were there feeling the buzz in Nats Park with Stephen Strasburg on the mound starting the first ever NLCS game in DC. The Nats jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the third and never looked back, with Strasburg dominating and the Howie Kendrick leading an outburst of timely hitting, they beat the Cardinals 8-1.

Owen decided to have Elaine go to Game 4 instead of him since it was a school night, and of course Elaine was super nervous that somehow she would thus be the cause of some epic collapse that would keep the Nats out of the World Series. But she really had nothing to worry about. The atmosphere was electric and the Nats must have fed off it as they exploded for 7 runs in the first inning, chasing Cardinals started after just 15 pitches. Those 7 runs were all they would score and all they would need. The Cardinals scored one in the 4th and 3 in the 5th to make it a game again, and the crowd was anxious just wanting more outs so the real party could start. Of course these Nats delivered, Rainey pitched a scoreless 6th, Doolittle and Hudson each pitched an inning plus, then Victor Robles caught a high fly ball to center for the last out of the game and the Nats won the Pennant! Elaine and I just stood there cheering along with the rest of the sellout crowd, basking in the celebration. Fireworks burst in the sky, as the Nats celebrated on the field, they rolled out a stage and lofted the trophy high in the air. For the first time since 1933, a World Series is coming to Washington, DC!


(click here for all the pictures)

They're Back

It's been a couple of years since Grandpa and Grandma Z have visited our nation's capitol -- oddly, DC just isn't the draw it used to be. But this fall they were back with a vengeance. They got here just in time to see the Nats win the Division Series and got to watch (or hear in the background) a couple of games of the National League Championship (strangely, Allen and Owen didn't offer them their tickets to Game 3...). In addition to all the baseball, they managed to cram in visits to the African American museum and the Reach, concerts at the Kennedy Center and the Atlas Performing Arts Center, and gathered with us on Sunday morning at Friends Meeting of Washington. Grandpa and Grandma Z got to see Mom Mom, Grandpa Don and Molly and eat a lot of food while doing so. And as a final treat, the pair enjoyed some paddle-boating in the Tidal Basin on a lovely fall day (well, Grandma Z got to enjoy it; Grandpa Z shared a boat with Owen and Nora and was just relieved that they made it back to shore... eventually).

It was an amazing visit and we can't wait to see them in Iowa for Christmas!

(To see all the pictures, click here.)

NLDS 2019

After storming into the NLDS with a wild card win against the Brewers, the Nats were ready to take on the best team in the NL, the 106 win Los Angeles Dodgers. Unlike past Nats NLDS series, we didn't have home field advantage, so the series started out with two games in LA. The Nats went down quietly in game 1, losing 6-0 with Patrick Corbin on the mound. The Nats jumped on Clayton Kershaw early in game 2, Strasburg pitched a gem and Scherzer even pitched a perfect inning in relief getting the Nats a 4-2 win to even the series heading back to DC.

Owen and I went to game 3 and it started out great with Juan Soto hitting a two-run homer in the first. Aníbal Sánchez stepped up his game and pitched 5 innings of one-run ball and handed the ball to another starter coming out of the bullpen, lefty Patrick Corbin, for the 6th. Corbin gave up a lead-off single, then got two quick outs before the wheels came off. A long and painful series of 0-2 counts with two outs all leading to hits, and somehow the Dodgers scored 7 in the 6th putting the game out of reach and taking a 2-1 series lead.



Nats fans were a bit deflated coming into game 4 -- there was rain in the forecast, and people must not have wanted to potentially witness the visitors celebrating a NLDS series win on our field yet again, because for the first time in Nats playoff history, it wasn't a sell-out. That didn't deter us of course. Owen and I were in our usual seats, and Mom and Katherine somehow scored tickets in one of the Jefferson Suites behind home plate. Max Scherzer gave up a home run in the 1st putting the Nats down early, but then he found his groove keeping things close. Katherine and I decided to switch off sitting with Owen in the stands and Mom in the suite, so Katherine came up to the "cheap" seats in the third and I made my way down to the box. The Nats loaded the bases in the third, but the Dodgers limited the damage to a long Anthony Rendon sac fly that tied up the game. Then the rains started falling, and Mom's friends that had the suite told us to go get Owen and Katherine sneak them into the suite...sweet! With all of us together, we enjoyed the shelter, free food and beer, and even better the Ryan Zimmerman's epic three-run home run in the bottom of the 5th to blow open the game! Scherzer managed to go seven without giving up another run, and passed the ball to Doolittle and Hudson who closed out the win sending the series back to LA!

Game 5 this time was a different experience this time, what with not being at home, and maybe that was just what we needed. Strasburg was pitching for the Nats and the game started off eerily similar to the Wild Card game with the Dodgers getting a 2-run homer in the first and a solo shot in the second to jump out to an early lead. Like Max in the WC game though, Stras found his grove after the rocky start and kept the game close. Soto drove in a run in the 6th, like the WC game again (and also game 7 of the 1924 World Series for what it's worth), and the Nats were down 3-1 in the 8th. Then Rendon and Soto hit back-to-back home runs to tie the game. After a scoreless 9th, the game went to extra innings, and the Nats loaded the bases in the top of the 10th. Then Howie Kendrick game up to bat and hit a cathartic grand-slam, slaying the Dodgers and the Nats first-round curse. On to the National League Championship Series!!!

(click here for all the pictures)

A Paved Paradise

Back in December, there was a partial government shutdown that found Elaine fully-funded and Allen with a lot of time on his hands. Without his shutdown buddy, Allen spent his time contemplating ways to improve the environment outside of work, which involved proposing some new regulations to the City Council and replacing our aging (and rapidly deteriorating) minivan with a plug-in hybrid. Alas, the City Council passed some other legislation instead and our backyard couldn't accommodate the dimensions of the preferred Chrysler Pacifica plug-in Hybrid.

So naturally Allen suggested we redo the backyard.


At first it was just moving the retaining wall a few inches so a Pacifica would fit. But then, since we don't really use the grass in the back, why not hardscape the yard so we could have an outdoor eating space? And maybe add a couch? Also, we should take out the bushes and then we can have extra room for storage and the grill. And move the garage door poles out to make more room for parking. And railings for the stairs. And a planter in between so no one falls off the hardscape. And we should totally add a garden and tree. And since everything dies when we go out of town, let's install a sprinkler system. And also have the landscaping crew quarterly clean up said garden because we're really bad with flora. And since they're doing all that, let's have them go ahead and stain the decks and fence because there's all this new wood now and they're professionals!

And then I asked for some bike storage and a mural.


And so, 10 months (and a horrifying number of checks) after Allen originally conceived of our renovated backyard, it is complete (sans some additions to the mural that Nora plans to make at her leisure).

Now if only Chrysler would release their 2020 Pacifica Hybrids...

(To see all the pictures, click here.)

Oh, and I guess we should include some before pictures ;-)

Let's Get Wild

Owen and I have gone to a lot of Nats playoff games over the years, and there have been plenty of highs -- like Jayson Werth's game-winning season-saving walk-off home run in game 4 of the 2012 NLDS, or umm...okay maybe that was the only real playoff high so far. But there really have been plenty of lows: like the soul crushing loss to the Cardinals in game 5 of the 2012 NLDS; or the 18 inning loss to the Giants in game 2 of the 2014 NLDS; or the heart wrenching loss to the Dodgers in game 5 of the 2016 NLDS; or the astronomically improbable meltdowns in the curse confirming loss to the Cubs in game 5 of the 2017 NLDS.

This year is different though. The Nats didn't win the division, so we started off the playoffs with a new way to potentially lose, the one-game crapshoot that is the Wild Card. After a dismal 19-31 start to the season, the Nats had turned it around and played like the best team in baseball -- winning 93 games and even finishing the season with 8 straight wins. Our future Hall-of-Famer, Max Scherzer, was starting against the Brewers and we were feeling good. His fastball was amped up to 99 MPH for the first pitch of the game and the crowd was already rocking. Problem was, that fastball was a bit outside, and Max walked the first batter, then quickly gave up a 2-run home run to the second batter, briefly settled down, then gave up another homer to lead off the second. Trea Turner hit a solo-shot in the bottom of the third, and Scherzer really did settle down after that, not giving up any more runs through the 5th, but the crowd was tense. Then Stephen Strasburg came on in relief and pitched three brilliant scoreless innings to keep us in the game.

But the real drama started in the bottom of the 8th. Michael A. Taylor was hit by a pitch, Ryan Zimmerman hit a broken bat bloop single, and Anthony Rendon walked to bring up the 20 year-old phenom Juan Soto with two outs. Soto delivered a line drive to the right field and the crowd exploded as Taylor and Zim rounded the bases. Then the ball hopped over the right fielder's glove and rolled to the wall allowing Rendon to score the go-ahead run all the way from first as the crowd turned it up to 11. Owen and I were screaming and hugging and jumping up in down in the stands as Soto was tagged out trying for third. We had the lead going into the 9th in a winner-take-all elimination game, and Daniel Hudson took the mound. He struck out the first batter, but then gave up a line drive single to center. The next batter popped out to Kurt Suzuki behind the plate and we were one out away from advancing. Surely this is where things fall apart, but no: when the last batter hit a fly ball to deep center, Victor Robles gathered himself under the ball and made the catch to secure the win.

As Owen and I walked out of the stadium, basking in the glow of victory, he said it was the best baseball game he'd ever been to, maybe even better than the Jayson Werth walk-off way back in 2012. Maybe this year really is different. Bring on the Dodgers!!!

Women's Camp 2019

Periodically the stars align (as well as schedules, flights and childcare) to allow the former residents of Ridge and Davis, Northwestern Class of 1995, to join together and celebrate a little thing we like to call "women's camp." Apparently Mercury had been in retrograde for a while, as the last time we converged was 2013 in Michigan (the fact that Tracey's daughter broke her arm the first night might have been a sign that Mercury was going to be a problem). Back then, Tracey lived in Thailand, Audra was married and, well, let's just say the state of our union was different.

But this spring, Tracey announced she was crossing oceans and hemispheres for a family wedding, and hoped to tack on a reunion if possible. We all agreed we needed to make this possible. We considered multiple sites (Lexington, Portland, Michigan -- oddly DC wasn't topping anyone's list), but ultimately settled on where it all started: Evanston, IL (or EVIL for those in the know). So we booked our flights, gassed up Audra's car, and rented an Air BnB near the lake for a post-Labor Day ladies long-weekend.

The first order of business was to find our old digs, followed by a tour of downtown Evanston and South Campus. On the walk back we took a walk by the lake which inspired Audra, who regularly swims in the Michigan side, to take a dip off the Illinois shore before meeting the rest of us out for drinks -- as well as Cecily's friend Greg.

Interesting thing about Women's Camp this year -- we had interlopers. Both Tracey and Cecily had old friends still in the Chicago area which added a decidedly male element.

After a night of drinking and a quick grocery run in the morning, we headed back to campus where we took in Deering Library (where we all decided we did't spend nearly enough time in undergrad) the Shakespeare Garden (same), the math department (which despite skipping a non-trivial number of my diff-eq classes, I actually felt like I spent more than enough time...), the library, Norris, the lakefill (where we were treated to multiple concerts by the NUMB drumline) and then met up at the Rock with Jay (Tracey's friend).

Jay had worked on the new visitor's center interactive wall, so he gave us a tour of that as well as the expanded Regenstein Hall of Music afterwhich we decided to head back to our place for more drinks before catching an Uber in order to meet Greg for more drinks, a show by the Neo-futurists followed by cocktails at the Green Door Tavern. We made it home around 3 am.

Things moved slowly on Saturday. Audra managed to go swimming on campus, Cecily took a long walk and Tracey and I did some yoga before we all finally felt like we could face the day (or what remained of it). We decided to take the El downtown to see the "Bean" and the Riverwalk andd then enjoyed a lovely dinner downtown (arguably our first of the long weekend), after which we Ubered back to Evanston for a healthy dose of girl talk and Vitamin C.

Sunday was short. Tracey had to leave early the next morning, followed by me a few hours later. Cecily and Audra were able to catch an art show before Audra dropped Cecily off at the airport and headed back to Michigan.

It was sort of a perfect reunion -- the kind that makes you remember exactly why you love and admire and enjoy these people that despite time and distance, you've have managed to keep in your life all this time. It also makes you recommit to doing so. The current plan is to reconvene in Australia for the year of our 50th birthdays (which isn't as remote a date as you might think). Any maybe, if we're very lucky, we'll sneak something in sooner...

(To see all the photos, including those I stole from Cecily and Audra, click here.)

Perfect 10

Nine was kind of perfect for Nora. She had a core group of friends, a spirit animal for a teacher, and after our friend Jacqui pointed out that Nora was squinting a lot and we took her to an optometrist, sight! Nora ran 5ks and composed songs. She authored a series of comics (though she never did get that subscription service off the ground). She started climbing club and acting classes. She founded a network (sort of).

Granted, this year has been a decade in the works. Years where she struggled finding her tribe, or the right outlet for her creativity. But as Nora will happily tell everyone, you can't help but eventually notice her awesomeness. Whether it's acting, singing, writing, directing her latest musical comedy production, turning boring old viola practice into soap opera drama of musical relationships (not to mention a youtube series), or simply surprising you with a new joke or clever turn of phrase, she can't help but light up a room with her imagination.

As Nora turns ten, leaving single digits behind and starting fifth grade, there are plenty of changes and growing up for her on the horizon. But as stressful as all that may seem to us watching our little girl grow up, we just have to remember,"don't worry, we have Nora." Happy birthday, baby girl, we love you so much.

1. I'm undulating!
2. Nailed it
3. Stop sinking, Smith!
4. Boop! (No boop-backs).
5. Free samples are amazing!
6. Do you believe in magical onions?"
7. Always be yourself... unless you can be a unicorn. Then definitely be a unicorn.
8. It's not a violin!
9. Awesome, awesomeawesome, awesome... Old Navy.
10. And in the immortal words of Marcel Proust, "The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

For Mother's Day this year, Aunt Katherine organized a "paint and sip" party where the whole Fawcett-Feige-Suggs-Zimmerman family embraced their artistic sides (to varying degrees of successfulness). Nora, in particular, loved the experience and asked if we could recreate it with her friends for her birthday. So after a lot of planning, some borrowing of tables and chairs (thanks Katherine and Mom Mom) and prayers to the weather gods (which mostly worked -- it was clear but a little on the warm side...) Ms. Brandi returned to give a painting lesson to twelve young ladies while they sipped sparkling (non-alcoholic) rosé and pear cider.

At our previous sip-n-paint party, things may have gotten a little competitive with some of us not feeling so great about our trees or root systems and secretly wondering what was so great about Allen's leaves. The girls, however, were extremely supportive of each other and genuinely admired each other's work while still maintaining their own viewpoint (and they all have really strong views). The result was a veritable bouquet of perspectives and a bunch of really happy budding artists who couldn't wait to show off their masterpieces (once they cooled off inside, and had pizza and cupcakes).

It was great party and a wonderful, albeit exhausting, day. Which culminated in Allen and I enjoying our own sips later that evening... absent any paint.

(To see all the party pictures, click here.)

Men and Lasers

Owen has wanted to laser tag birthday party for years. And we've tried: We actually booked Owen's 10th birthday party at Ultrazone, only to have them contact us the night before to say they forgot to pay their rent so, "oops."

We made due with climbing and ultimate warrior and baseball. But despite the intervening years, Owen still really wanted lasers, so we booked Ultrazone's competitor, Shadowland, invited ten 13 year old boys and Grandpa Don (plus Nora and Mirabel) for a rumble in the suburbs.

The first game started out slow -- a couple of people (Grandpa Don) weren't paying attention during the pre-game briefing and picked the wrong equipment and may also have been hampered by being color blind -- but Owen made a respectable 5th, Grandpa Don managed to defeat Adinath to get 11th and Allen just lost first place to Max.

For the second round, Owen really wanted to just team up with his father, but Allen was not again to be defeated by a bunch of teens. So while Owen struggled to find Allen and join a welcoming team (sometimes the equipment is a little slower than the intent, which is why as Owen was in the process of joining the green team, they all shot him), Allen turned things up a notch, using all his cunning to dominate a bunch of kids at a birthday party, resulting in him getting first place (take that Adam and Max!).

In the end, it was a good party. The venue was solvent, Allen demonstrated his mastery and Owen finally got to play laser tag with all his friends.

(click here for all the pictures)

Teen Titan

Seventh grade got real. Our sweet, innocent sixth grader was replaced by a cynical tween who sometimes forgot to turn in assignments, didn't always own up to mistakes and even elicited a meeting with the principal. Age twelve included curt conversations, locked doors and a lot of deeps sighs on both sides of the generational divide.

But despite the unintended drama, there was much to celebrate this year too. Owen got straight As (even after skipping ahead an entire year of math), a starring role in the spring musical, participated in honor ensembles, made the school baseball team (again), and was second chair in DCYOP. He wrote a 20 page tome on the hero's journey (which may or may not have been semi-biographical), learned to sail and ate 10 ears of corn in a single afternoon. Owen grew up a lot.

And that's the thing: despite having entered that period of life when familial tensions seem to be heightened, we navigated it together, learned a bunch and, overall, had a really good year. Given Owen's our oldest, we're new to adolescent angst and have struggled a bit with a more independent and opinionated Owen. But we're optimistic that we'll all come out of it ok, because the truth is, that while at times maddening, Owen is a really good kid and our "real boy" is becoming a pretty cool young man. Happy birthday, Owen. We love you so, so much and hope that thirteen is truly lucky for you.

1. We're gonna make a change, in about two years time...
2. Bowling is the second fanciest sport. Golf is obviously the fanciest.
3. Screen time limits, nemesis of the you-tube generation.
4. "I don't mean to brag, but I'm somewhat of a fish expert." 
5. You can take a lot of literary license as long as you remember, Arizona is not the land of gangsters. 
6. If you're going to live rustic, why bother showering?
7. Never underestimate the importance of a well established root system.
8. Bring on the double black diamonds.
9. "T-Rexs do not abide by the five second rule."
10. And always and forever, let your freak flag fly.

Carmen - Ode to Darkness

(Lyrics by Nora and Owen Fawcett)

The world seems sad

The world seems grim

The walls are crashing

And their closing in

The world is gone

A light is near

I would approach it

But I'm filled with fear

Is this the end

Or a brand new start?

The curtain's closing

And the lights go dark

Is this death

Or just a dream

Nothing seems to be

What it seems

The sun is dead

The world's gone too

Tears are streaming

And they stick like glue

(musical interlude)

OBX 2019

Our fourth year at the Pelican Perch in Duck had to be right up there with some of the best beach week weather ever. The temperatures were comfortably in the mid-80's all week, the water was warm, and the few storms that we had come through all kindly waited until the afternoon after a long and beautiful day on the beach. The big innovation for this year was a kegerator for the house with a keg of refreshing Weeping Radish OBX beer, and Katherine grudgingly consented to Lee opening his present from us on the first day, a 128 oz vacuum insulated DrinkTanks growler, the perfect companion for sitting out on the beach. 



If there was one drawback of the gorgeous weather, it was that we didn't get in quite as many games for the Pelican Cup. I won the opening night bocci tournament, Don won mini-golf, Grandpa Fawcett won the marble game tournament, the boys won the sand castle competition, and Makayla won the closing bocci match. Aside from those games, there were just a few scattered throughout the week, and my winning two games of cornhole was enough to give me the Pelican Cup for the second time, putting me in a tie with Owen for the all time lead. Can't wait to go back next year!



(click here for all the pictures)

Snoring Beauty

As if Camp Shenanigans putting on a musical camp wasn't catering to Nora's preferences enough, Ms. Shannon also scheduled a comedy camp. There were some concerns amongst the camp councilors the first couple days, but Ms. Shannon put them straight, "Don't worry, we have Nora!"

Bon Appetite

As much as we missed Owen during his week of hard labor at Aunt Katherine's (also known as the week his mother neglected to schedule a camp for him or the week Owen made $200 learning to weed, pick up sticks and power wash), it did provide us with the opportunity to exploit Nora's more adventurist palate by enjoying dinner at Le Grenier. Nora loved her Crepe Provence, baguettes et buerre, jambon fromage, elderflower citron and the piece de la resistance, profiteroles. She's anxious to return with Owen (assuming he's ok with Bavette à l'échalote -- aka hanger steak and french fries) just so she can order Escargots de Bourgogne (Ooh la la!).