In the Springs

When we discovered the kids would have a week off of school in February, we immediately thought we should go skiing. And when we started planning a trip with some friends, we decided to go to Colorado. But when our friends announced they couldn't actually make it to Colorado until Monday of that week due to a synchronized ice-skating competition (which is really a thing), I was sad -- two whole days of skiing lost. That was when Allen reminded me that we had family in Colorado, and our ski delay would actually afford us time to see them. And that, my friends, is what we call lemonade.

So we called Dave and Kara, confirmed the dates worked with their schedule.  After we landed in Denver (in a snowstorm) and rented a jeep (which the 10 year old version of myself would have enjoyed more than the 45 year old version did), we headed to "The Springs."

We fit a lot into just a few days. Allen dropped the rest of us off Saturday night and immediately headed to the Springs Ensemble Theater to catch his friend, Paul "Jude" Bishop, in the title role of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance -- Paul was Liberty Valance as opposed to the Man. The next morning, the kids and Uncle Dave conceived, work-shopped and filmed (with help from Allen), Ripped from the Headlines, the latest AEON production. We all went out to lunch and then Dave joined us for a showing of Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse, while Kara prepared for an onslaught of Gradys as Caitlin and Brandon's family came over for dinner, cupcakes in honor of Quin's birthday, and a viewing of the previous AEON production, The Rebellion.

The next morning, we decorated cookies, made a massive grocery store run for the rental house, gave a lot of hugs, and then packed up and headed to Breckenridge for the next stage of our Colorado adventure.



(To see all the Colorado Springs pictures, click here.)

The Rebellion

Last year my 43rd birthday was on Super Bowl Sunday and of course we had a big birthday/Super Bowl party at Katherine & Lee's house. With my 44th birthday on Monday this year, it just made too much sense to do it again! Elaine and Molly had tickets to see a live taping of the My Favorite Murder podcast on Saturday night, so the kids and I headed up to K&L's early with grandpa to spend the night before Super Sunday. This gave them plenty of time to work on their latest production. In the past they've put on plays like, Rebels on Naboo, that have been impressive productions for their age, but do require a fair amount of patience and coordination from the audience. Over Thanksgiving they discovered iMovie with their cousins making the hit series of films: Island Adventure, U2's Dad, and Sponsored by LaCroix. This was a revelation! Now they can indulge their theatrical flights of fancy with editing! Needless to say, the grown ups all were able to enjoy a wonderful weekend long Super Bowl/Birthday party with only a few calls for appearing in cameos (a welcome distraction from the incredibly boring Super Bowl this year), the kids did a deep dive into how to craft a 'realistic fiction that strays from history', and you loyal blog reader can enjoy the fruits of their labors: The Rebellion!

2 Below in 7 Springs

It's become an annual tradition to go up to 7 Springs MLK Day weekend to ski with with a bunch of friends from the Hill. This year we organized the trip with the Sodermans, Violas, Romans, and Hogans, plus the Potter-Shones and Reubens came up to 7 Springs too, so all told we had 7 families at 7 Springs.

Usually we worry a little bit about snow leading up to a mid-Atlantic ski trip, but this year there was plenty of snow in early January, and the long range forecast was even calling for 10 inches on Saturday followed by bitter cold from a polar vortex. The forecast ended up shifting a bit, and we drove up a little early on Friday to beat the wintery mix that started falling as we neared the slopes. Everyone made it up safe and sound, and we started off the trip with our usual dinner at the Pizza Place accompanied by some stronger than we realized IPAs ;-)

The nice thing about the trip this year is that as 12 year olds, Owen and the boys are adults in the eyes of 7 Springs, which means they cost a bit more, but we can really just turn them loose to explore the hotel and ski on their own. Nora even joined them for lots of the hotel adventuring, including the pool when they were able to convince the attendant that Hayden was an accompanying adult!

Snow was falling most of the day on Saturday while we were skiing, and the conditions were pretty great for a solid day on the slopes. We put Nora in lessons, and I skied with the boys for a bit before turning them loose. Toward the end of the day, right as we were getting ready to go pick up Nora, we ran into her on Lost Girl with her group, and they let us join them on the lift for their last few runs. She was in level 6/7 and they ended up just having one double group with all the highest level kids in ski school together. Nora told her instructor Nick in the morning that her name was Pizza, and it stuck. She declared Nick's nickname was Pepperoni and they became quite the pair.

Around dinner time, the temperature rose above freezing, so the 10 inches of snow that had been forecast ended up falling as rain for several hours, then freezing rain until dawn before the polar vortex hit finally turning it into snow along with plummeting temperatures. The freezing rain left the slopes super icy on Sunday, and along with the cold, the kids mostly decided to call it a day after a couple runs in the morning, but the adults managed to get a decent day of skiing in.

Since the government shutdown was showing no end in sight, we decided to go ahead and extend our stay until Tuesday, to give us a full day of skiing on Monday. The temperature was a 2 below 0 on Tuesday when we hit the slopes, but the crowds were gone and the conditions were great. We managed to bundle up with enough layers to stay warm, being sure to take plenty of hot chocolate breaks at Tahoe Lodge. Luckily Owen and Hayden had the same idea about taking plenty of breaks to stay warm, and we ran into them at the Lodge and skied together for awhile. Most of us called it a day early afternoon, but Owen and Hayden decided they needed a little more time on the slopes, and bundled back up to go night skiing after dinner. Once again, thank goodness we can send them out on their own!

Now that we have our ski legs back, it's time to look forward to Breckenridge!



(click here for all our pictures, and click here for all the group pictures, password: ski)

Snowdown

With Allen furloughed for the past 16 days (EPA had some reserve funds which meant they didn't shutdown until December 29th), museums closed and the parks filled with trash owing to the partial government shutdown (fortunately, Elaine is still supporting and upholding the Constitution over at the Department of Labor), it's been a little depressing in our nation's capitol. Enter 10 inches of good packing snow over a weekend which was just enough to make us smile for at least a little bit (also, "snurlough" is a dumb name, millennials).



(To see all our pictures/videos, click here.)

Christmas 2018

After all the parties, plays and performances, we were finally able to settle in for a (relatively) quiet Christmas celebration. We attended Meeting on Sunday where First Day School performed its Christmas pageant with Nora as Joseph and Owen as stage crew (he's wanted to play a wise man but the kings were omitted from this version and narrator was already taken). Afterwards, we dropped the kids off at their Grandmother's (so that Nora could help make the Christmas cake) and Aunt's (so that Owen could play with Lee) while Allen and I began preparing the Christmas Eve dinner in earnest.

The next day everyone convened at our place for some Mexican mole enchiladas and some sanctioned, albeit limited gift opening. The kids lobbied to sleep on the couch in order to end the Santa debate once and for all, but were sent to their rooms protesting so that the magic could happen.

After a morning of opening presents and eating pancakes on some slightly morbid Christmas dishes, we headed up to Mom Mom and Grandpa Don's for even more presents, family, friends, a feast and a sleepover. A very merry Christmas was had by all.

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

Most if not All Aboard!

We weren't sure that out annual outing to the Botanic Gardens was going to happen this year, as the initial email we received from them described some alternative programming which coincided with Owen's DCYO concert and was decidedly not an evening holiday train viewing party (nothing against making terrarium ornaments, but that is not why we joined Friends & Family of the Botanic Gardens). But the programming options were eventually clarified, and while in the end Grandpa, Mom Mom and Grandpa Don all decided that they were maxed out on holiday celebrations for the day, we were able to meet up with the Romans and enjoy plant-based recreations of iconic train stations from across the United States... and  cocktails.

(To see all the pictures, click here.)

Dueling Concerts

We were so close to having Owen & Nora's DC Youth Orchestra winter concerts converging into a single event. Alas, at the last minute DCYOP decided to hold Nora's concert six days prior to Owen's at a different venue in another ward. And while that may imply we should have two separate posts for each unique event, we decided to merge them into one if, not as god intended, then at least we as parents with packed December schedules had hoped.

Nora, currently first viola in Sinfonia D, got to debut her glasses while playing Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and Mozart's Serenade and Dance. They were all really nervous beforehand, but did a pretty amazing job and I think even Nora was surprised by how good they sounded.



Owen, now second cello in the Young Artists Orchestra, was finally sitting where he was actually visible during a performance. Joined by his friend Gabriel, they played Gluck's Overture in D Major and Prokofiev's Troika. Later in the program, they combined the Repertory and Young Artists Orchestras to perform Tchaikovsky's Two Dances from the Nutcracker which was a festive way to end the concert and DCYOP's season.

Nora's Recital

Nora's third viola recital, this time with piano accompaniment! We all thought she did great, but according to Nora, Gavotte sounded much better when she played it for her audition to move up to the Young Artists Orchestra.

Beast of Burden

In September, the Stuart-Hobson drama department announced that they would be staging Beauty and the Beast for its fall musical and Owen announced that he wouldn't be acting in a Disney-based play. Knowing how much he regretted not performing in the spring's, Alice in Wonderland, we urged Owen to change his mind, but instead Owen, for the second time, ran the sound board for all four performances (while singing along to every musical number).

It was a pretty impressive staging with especially strong performances from the seventh grade class, which was particularly touching since we've known Belle (Alice), Gaston (Hayden) and LeFou (Adam) since pre-K, plus Lumiere (Patrick) and Cogsworth (Han) since third grade (we've also known the Beast (Owen B) since daycare, but he's only a sixth grader). Like so many middle-school productions, it wasn't entirely clear if they would pull it off (I think even Ms. Purgason was worried as tweens are not the most dependable demographic), but they all worked really hard and in the end it really was an amazing show.

And hopefully, the performance convinced Owen to emerge from the shadows of crew and back into the bright light of the stage, regardless of its origins.

(To see all the pictures, click here.)

Glasses!

Sometimes when you're too close to something you just can't see it. In our case, we were a bit too hyperopic to notice Nora's myopia. Nora never said things were blurry or hard to see, and her squinting always just blended in with Nora's myriad of funny facial expressions. But one well timed remark can snap everything into focus. Jacqui was visiting this weekend, and after the girls came home from High Tea, she saw Nora squinting, and asked if Nora needs glasses. All of the sudden we saw Nora's squints in a whole new light, and a quick quiz about reading a few things across the room made it crystal clear that Nora is nearsighted. Elaine sprang to action, and set up an eye doctor appointment the next day, and by Wednesday Nora was sporting a brand new pair of pink and rainbow glasses.

For her part, Nora couldn't be more excited about this development. She was so excited the first night we told her that she might need glasses that she couldn't fall asleep. When she got her glasses on Wednesday, it was like Christmas came early. A cool fashion accessory that gives her the super power of crystal clear vision, what could be better! I could try to keep describing her enthusiasm, but it's probably best to just watch the video below and let Nora put it in her own words :-)

Tea Party

For the third year in a row, Jacqui invited Nora and I to a holiday tea at the Ritz Carlton (this year Allen was even in town, but uninvited). Having been fully initiated into the ritual, Nora has now mastered ordering, pouring and keeping herself occupied while the adults continue to talk endlessly (especially when she only has a few chapters left of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows).



We were all very lady-like, had a lovely time and are already planning next year's outing.

(To see all the pictures, click here.)

Trimming the tree

We didn't get the tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving this year, but since Thanksgiving was so early this year, we were able to wait a week and still trim the tree before the start of December. Owen helped pick out a beautiful tree at Eastern Market, and Nora reassured me that despite what some may say, it really does have a lot of lights ;-)


(click here for all the pictures)

Brew in the Zoo Two -- Electric Boogaloo

Last year, John, Katherine and Allen had such an amazing time at the National Zoo's Brew Lights, that I went ahead and bought tickets for their summer version, thinking that Uncle L would also enjoy it, particularly if it wasn't 30 degrees. Alas, John had his surgery and so we ended up giving the tickets away.

Fortunately, John had recovered in time for this years Brew Lights, so I bought four more tickets thinking we could give Uncle L some hand warmers and he'd be fine. But then John ended up staying in Iowa for an extra week after Thanksgiving so he couldn't go. And Uncle L had to be at work at 4:30 the next morning and didn't think an extensive beer tasting the night before was a great idea. And then Katherine had a business meeting that was also going to conflict.

I was indignant -- we were not giving these tickets away again! But what were we to do? Molly and Adam had to work and none of my Facebook friends offered to step up.

Enter Mom Mom and Grandpa Don. The former offered to watch the kids while the latter offered to join us. We had a wonderful time (though maybe not quite as wonderful as they'd had the previous year without Katherine there to egg us on to try all the stations...) and thoroughly enjoyed both the brews and the lights.

Though I'm still debating if I'm going to buy any more tickets ever.



(To see all the pictures, click here.)

Thanksgiving 2018

Thanksgiving was in Iowa this year, which meant we had to squeeze a lot into a short amount of time. Initially, we thought we'd need to spread the drive into two days owing to a storm heading east. But the weather gods were kind and we managed to make it in one day with only a few rest stops (and one beer stop when we dropped John off at Ken & Helen's).

Arriving Saturday night, we pretty much crashed on Sunday (though the boys did get in a sledding expedition at the Pond). On Monday, Nora, annoyed that due to her absorption in Harry Potter she'd missed the sledding invite, got in a few runs with Daddy before we were visited by Uncle Bernie (who we yet again neglected to get a picture with), after which we managed to fin it a play date at Leanna's with Grace & Grant, followed by dinner at Ken & Helen's with all the Fawcetts present. Tuesday we headed to the mall where we enjoyed the Coral Ridge food court, followed by a viewing of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, ice-skating, the Coral Ridge food court desert round and then a Mexican fiesta with Grandpa & Grandma Z.



Wednesday, the rest of the family started to arrive which meant that the preparation, eating, cousin time and film production portion of the holiday began in earnest. This year in lieu of plays, the kids have decided to create short movies which they then edit before their premier. I cannot tell you how much this approach has improved our enjoyment of the next generation's love of theater, but that's ok because now you too can experience Island Adventure, U2's Dad, and Sponsored by LaCroix (Not Really) from the comfort of your own home.

After a lovely Thanksgiving meal and post-meal snacking, we left Friday morning and headed to Pittsburgh to hang out with the Mettenburgs. It was arguably our best visit ever -- lots of games, lots of good food, no one got sick and we actually made it out of the driveway on our first attempt -- until we got home and realized that we'd stolen Hugh's winter coat (happy birthday, little guy) and left some coats of our own. Maybe next time...



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

Spooktacular

The weekend before Halloween is always a bit of a blur, but this year we decided to pack even more in. While Owen's baseball game was cancelled (again!) due to weather, both kids still made Youth Orchestra, (and Nora got a special "spa treatment") after which we headed up to the Brown's "12th Annual Hottern" Hades Chili Cookoff/Suds Revival" costume party. While Owen donned his Thor Ragnarok costume and Nora her "Holiday Confusion" ensemble (with Allen and I recycling our "Cereal Killers" masks), we couldn't really compete with Mario Cart or album covers or whatever this is. After partaking of the festivities, we headed to Katherine and Lees for dinner and a sleepover.



The next morning, we headed home in order to eat, change and were then off to the Kennedy Center where the kids had volunteered to help in the petting zoo before the National Symphony's Spooktacular Concert. It started off a little slow (the kids weren't supposed to bring their own instruments and the organizers were down a cello), but once the costume hordes entered, the kids really got into it. Both enjoyed showing off to budding musicians how to hold the instrument, the different strings, and proper plucking and bowing techniques.

Nora & Grandpa

Everyone looks good in Professor Marshmallow's glasses :-)

Professor Marshmallow's Magical Beans

Nora had the title role at Play-in-a-Day Camp today. And as her interpretation largely defies description, you should probably just watch it yourself. We hope you like it!

Food Prints

Wonderful morning of FoodPrints making Butternut Squash Provençal, Aloo Palak, Roasted Rosemary Chickpeas and Pumpkin Bread with Nora’s class at SWS :-)

Family Selfie in Portrait Mode :-)

Family selfie, now with more tounge ;-)

#SR15

Earlier this year, State Department convinced me to sign on as an expert reviewer for the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C, and after two rounds of reviewing hundreds of pages, they included me on the delegation going to Incheon, South Korea for the 48th IPCC meeting, and the approval session for the Summary for Policy Makers of the Special Report. The first three days of the meeting were relatively normal, then Thursday things really ramped up, and we went 20 hours straight, took a four hour break, then came back for another 38 straight hours of negotiations during which Typhoon Kong Rey blew through and delayed my flight home for a day. There were lots of fascinating stories from inside the negotiations, but probably best to just ask me about them instead of recounting them on the blog. Suffice to say, I mostly ate little seaweed rice and spam sandwiches from the connivence store, and I didn't see much of Korea beyond the hotel and the convention center, but we got the job done :-)

Dead Girls Run

Allen was originally supposed to get back this past Saturday, and we were set to celebrate his return by Nora and I running a 5k followed by a election postcard writing party with lots of adult beverages at the Telfair-Chas. Alas, due to Typhoon Kong-Rey, Allen didn't actually make it home, but that didn't stop the rest of us.

The race, called Dead Man's Run, is held annually at the Congressional Cemetery around dusk. Costumes are strongly encouraged, so Nora and I chose a cat and mouse theme... with capes (which might have been a mistake: polyester on one's shoulders -- on a humid night while running -- does not make me happy). Mirabel joined us though not in spirit as she wisely removed the cape early and didn't want to wear our extra set of ears.

I hadn't run with Nora in a while (she ran her last 5k with Aunt Katherine) so i was a bit surprised with how much better she's gotten -- it probably didn't hurt to have Owen there to cheer us on as well as the creepy guy in costume that jumped out at us from one of the gravestones (which I think was sanctioned, but regardless, did make us run). We made reasonably good time and would have probably finished under 40 minutes if the girls hadn't collided around the 3k mark resulting in Mirabel falling down and injuring her arm.

After the race, we headed back to the Telfair-Cha's for pizza, some election outreach, Halloween candy and Marvel movies while intermittently checking in with Allen to make sure that he finally made it onto a flight home. He did!



(To check out all the pictures, click here.)

Supernora

Some time early in the summer, we mentioned the possibility of a "planetarium" birthday party to Nora, who immediately leaped at the idea.  We said, "great" and then headed off for various family trips, figuring that since I'd seen a blog post on kids' birthday parties in the DC area that mentioned such a party, I'd nail down the details closer to her actual birthday.

But once we got in the birthday window, I discovered that planetarium shows are only about 30 minutes (birthday parties are generally at least 2 hours) and the place referenced in the blog, doesn't allow you to to bring in food, had nothing convenient nearby to facilitate a party, and didn't respond to my inquiries either way. I had a little more success with the Air & Space Museum, who will give private tours to members (and an annual membership is a great present for a budding astronomer!), has a conveniently located snack shop just outside its doors, and whose 230 seat planetarium runs 14 shows a day.

A membership was purchased, the tour arranged, and invites sent out. All we had left to do was get 18 tickets to the planetarium show, Journey to the Stars. Only the Einstein's Planetarium's computer system had some sort of glitch which wouldn't schedule showings after August 31st.

Fortunately, on the eve of Nora's birthday, the computer gods shined on us and so the next day, 12 kids, and six adults joined our docent Vince on a 1.5 hour tour highlighting air and space, a pretty cool show on the lifespan of stars, and some kid friendly snacks and space ice cream sandwiches (followed by a three hour playdate with a few friends afterwards at our house).

After which, we pretty much collapsed, like so many red giants before us :-)

The Nines

At the end of third grade, Nora's teachers told us how amazed they were at Nora's maturity in the past year. Sure she still likes her "stuffies" and "huggies" and reverting to baby-talk when the mood suits her, but at eight, Nora became much more adept during times of conflict at articulating her views and frustrations, listening to others and resolving her issues without having to resort to hitting someone or running away and slamming a door. At least most of the time.

Having learned how to properly express herself, Nora proceeded to do so. A lot. On a wide variety of topics: politics, music, literature, the time-space continuum, video games, cinema, food, personal hygiene, etc. Sometimes in meter, sometimes in song, occasionally via mime or an array of giggles, but always clearly and with certainty.

But while being vocal in her feelings, Nora has also become more open to other world views. And so while constantly complaining about the conditions, she still finished two 5ks (and one 3k). Sure, Nora threatened to go back and live in a cave a quarter of a mile into a hike, but in the end she raced ahead of the pack and climbed to the top of the Grinnell Glacier Trail. She now eats brisket! And despite years of eschewing it, Nora finally started reading the Harry Potter series in earnest.

So as she starts her ninth year, we know that Nora will let us know exactly how she feels about everything she's about to do, but we also know that she's about to do a lot. Happy birthday, baby girl, we love you so much!

1. If you have to be stranded on an island, it's good to be stranded with friends.
2. "I'm awesome. Call the awesome police, I need to be arrested!"
3. When using fondant icing, cornstarch should be used to combat stickiness. Flour is for amateurs.
4. No one ever talks about the silent menace of bison at the Jackson Hole airport.
5. Flightless birds, they really are a bit of a paradox.
6. Less guns, more books.
7. Always tip your bartender.
8. Nature doesn't always smell so great.
9. "Oath to heart, Never lie, Keep this promise 'til I die."
10. And to paraphrase, Hamilton, "There's a million things you haven't done. Just you wait, just you wait."

The Outfield

Sometimes the best way to enjoy a night at the ballpark is to go when the Nats are out of town. Perfect weather, a picnic in right field, and watching the Sandlot on the scoreboard...that was way better than watching the Nats lose again ;-)

The Not-So-Dirty Dozen

11 was scary. 11 was the harbinger of middle school and tween-dom and all sorts of unknown quantities. There was health class (which involved homework and some creative spelling for all sorts of STDs) and Owen's own smartphone with text chains. There were uniforms and metal detectors and things that went on your permanent record. There were lockers with combinations and passing periods with crowded hallways. And there were some really big kids.

But Owen rocked it. He got the "Positivity" Award his first month of school. Owen tried out for and got a starring part in the Fall Musical, Willy Wonka, and completely nailed the role of Grandpa Joe. He got all A's. He made the middle school baseball team as a starter. Owen participated in an honor orchestra and went to Space Camp. He ran a soundboard for the Spring Musical by himself. He won the Pelican Cup for the second time. This year, Owen made new friends (including some of the big kids) and got reacquainted with some of his old buddies from Watkins.

And so in the end, 11 turned out to be a pretty amazing year. Hopefully, 12 will be just as good. Happy birthday, little man, we're really proud of you and we love you so, so much!

1. It is never a good time to dab. Ever.
2. First they have to find your strike zone...
3. "Oh my goodness!"
4. Battery packs are game changers.
5. Cousins are amazing things, especially when you've texted smack to them during a Nats-Cubs playoff series and they still try to make you feel better when the Nats eventually lose...
6. This is not a moment, it's the movement.
7. So it turns out that deep down, Snape really wasn't so bad.
8. It's hard to be the bright light in a dim world.
9. You can never have too many Mario games... unless it's Mario 2. Because that's just Doki Doki Panic and really what's the point?
10. Come with me, and you'll be in a world of pure imagination!

Play Ball

 Owen's birthday is always right before school starts and so his party is inevitably the last weekend of summer. As the daughter of a teacher, I'm always amazed at how difficult it is to assemble a quorum of Owen's friends then, as they wrest the last days of freedom from the waning days of summer. This year, Owen had expressed an interest in doing laser tag, but as Allen had already gotten 12 tickets to the Nats play on Sunday thinking that it could be an extended family celebration (it couldn't -- everyone had conflicts) which meant that laser tag could only happen on Saturday -- when only two of Owen's friends would be available.

So instead, Allen bought even more tickets. 12 kids and 4 adults later, we headed to Nats stadium for a Sunday afternoon game against the Marlins. The weather was great, parking went smooth, and there was a free kids' "Nat-light" giveaway. We quickly found our seats, passed out drinks and then Allen & Nora got a round of pretzels for everyone while it was still a respectable 0-0. A few innings later, Nora and I decided to go exploring and by the time we got back it was a less encouraging 3-1 Marlins. By the time Allen and I returned from getting food for everyone in the fifth, it was a downright depressing 5-1 and Owen was suggesting we call it a day. But we persevered... until the seventh inning stretch with the Nats down 10 runs. We headed home for video games, ice cream cake and a very enthusiastic rendition of "Happy Birthday" while the Marlins scored again.

Despite the game itself being terrible, Owen and his friends had a really good time catching up and hanging out before the first day of school. And while we would have preferred it if it was the Nats doing the scoring, it was nice of the Marlins to score one run for every year of Owen's life.

OBX 2018

We weren't sure if we'd be able to make it to the beach this year given John's recent surgery, but he received an "all clear" (or at least a, "you are free to convalesce with your family in an alternative location provided they assume all risk" clear) so we packed up the cars and headed to the Outer Banks. It was an oddly efficient drive with minimal beach traffic, which made us worry that there was some hurricane headed our way that none of us noticed, but apparently the beach gods were just smiling at us. And they continued to smile on us all week.

Last year it rained most days, but this year the weather was near perfect and the ocean was (mostly) like bath water. The only complaint was that the waves were a little off, making it hard to body board and thwarted Allen's attempts at surfing (yep, that's totally what did it). Oh, and there was one spotted shark (and a number of baby sharks fairly close in). Regardless, the weather meant that pretty much everyone was able to enjoy the water more, albeit in a less extreme manner, than in previous years, and so spent the bulk of our days outside basking in the sunshine (when we weren't baking or watching baking competitions).

The only problem with this is that it limited number of sanctioned competitions eligible for points in our the annual Pelican Cup competition. Last year's rains meant numerous board games breaks, which made some of the less physically dominant players competitive. This year, after the boys won the sand castle competition, and Owen won 2 corn hole games plus a marble game, there was really no stopping him (though Allen and Lee were close). Owen was awarded the trophy and in a new tradition, got to demand a group pose signifying their supremacy over there competitors (which made us all really glad that Nora didn't win).

It was a great week. The fresh air seemed to help John's recovery (or at least proved a nice distraction while recuperating) and gave us all bit of respite before returning to real life and the last days of summer.


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

Corn Fest 2018

Typically, we go to Iowa for two weeks in the summer. And usually, Grandpa Fawcett is an enthusiastic member of our expedition. But as 2018 has hardly been a typical year, it shouldn't be that surprising that this years trip deviated significantly.

First, because of our trip to the National Parks in June, Allen and I were a bit bereft of annual leave. Moreover, given the All-Star Game was the week before we left and our beach trip the week after we returned, we had to cut the trip down to a scant week. This was mourned by all, but particularly by Owen who considers Iowa to be his favorite vacation spot (which I feel we should be able to spin into some sort of endorsement deal from the Iowa Tourism Board) and argued we should instead shorten our National Parks trip (which was nixed by the rest of the family).

Second, and counter to every trip to Iowa we've ever had, Grandpa Fawcett couldn't go. You see, Grandpa hadn't been feeling great the past few months to the point where even he thought he needed to see his doctor. And while his original cardiologist proved to be a bit elusive, we eventually got him assessed and scheduled for what we thought would be an outpatient procedure. Unfortunately, it turned out he needed double bypass surgery as soon as possible.

At that point we considered foregoing the trip entirely. But John and Katherine encouraged us to go, arguing that since John's friend Jacqui was flying out for the surgery and Mom Mom was nearby, Katherine would have plenty of help while he was in the hospital, and we could do the heavy lifting in his recovery when we returned. Given we weren't sure what Owen would do if we cancelled the trip entirely, we went ahead.

It all felt a little weird to be in Iowa without John -- there was a glut of Coors Light at the pond and quite frankly, the corn shucking and cooking was far less organized without our fearless patriarch. Even the actual pond seemed to miss him -- manifesting its sense of loss through algae overproduction and some serial carp-icide (though Uncle Ken thinks that may be more directly the result of a broken pump). But Katherine kept us updated on the procedure and his recovery and they even got to watch the corn eating contest remotely (thanks to Logan live-streaming it).

And so while it was a very different trip to Iowa, it was still a great time. We got to see Cousin Blaine and Uncle Pete and Aunt Jeannine on the Grady/Zimmerman side, and the Fawcett's were out in full force. Allen successfully defended his corn-eating championship (and even took a few seconds off his last winning time, which he needed to do to just beat out Thomas for the win). Despite all the algae, the kids got in tons of swimming time, we got to go to West Branch Meeting and visit the Young Friends Cabin. And we even got to help take apart a tractor and paint rocks.

While we had a really good time, we were pretty relieved to return home to a recently discharged John. And now we can't wait until summer 2019 when hopefully we return to our regularly programmed trip with a two week stay and Grandpa in tow.

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

All Stars!

Two years ago when they announced that DC was getting the All Star Game in 2018, I knew we had to go, which meant we had to get season tickets of course. The long awaited Summer Classic finally came around, and how could it possibly live up to expectations? Well to start, we didn't just have All Star Game tickets, but also tickets for the Home Run Derby, FanFest, the Legends & Celebrities Game, and the Futures Game. I was actually most excited for the Home Run Derby, but I couldn't convince Owen, and he was more excited for the All Star Game itself.

We couldn't quite manage all the activities together, so Grandpa Don took Owen to FanFest, and we gave the Legends & Celebrities Game and the Futures Game tickets to Brad & Marlo. But when the All Star Workout Day (aka Batting Practice and the Derby) rolled around, we were ready. The Derby lived up to expectations and then some. Bryce Harper fulfilled his promise of entering the Derby with his dad pitching to him in front of the home crowd, so we had a real rooting interest. He even wore a DC flag bandana!

The rules for the Home Run Derby are simple, hit as many HR's as you can in 5 minutes, and if you hit two further than 440' you get 30 bonus seconds. In the first round, the #8 seed Rhys Hoskins beat the #1 seed Jesus Aguilar 17 to 12. Then the Cubs' Kyle Schwarber knocked out Alex Bregman 16 to 15 with Bregmen's last ball just missing tying it up, and Max Muncy out dueled the Cubs' Javier Baez 17 to 16 match with just a few seconds to spare. That brought up Bryce Harper against the hated Brave's Freddie Freeman, and Harper easily won 13 to 12 with loads of time left.

In the second round Rhys Hoskins crushed 20 home runs, and we didn't think Kyle Schwarber had a chance, but he caught fire after a time out and blasted 21 home runs winning the match with a blast to the upper deck as time expired. Then Harper easily made it to the final beating Muncy 13 to 12 with lots of extra time, setting up our dream match up (with lots of opportunities to text Sam about the Nats v Cubs final).

In the finals, Schwarber started to tire, but still managed to hit 18 balls out of the park, and Bryce would have to put on a show to win it. Harper started out slow, and then his dad started having trouble throwing strikes as his arm started to tire. Things were looking grim with Bryce down 9 home runs with just 50 seconds to go, then Bryce turned it on. Home run. Home run. Home run...in the crowd, we were all on our feet, tension growing. Home run. Home run. Home run. Screaming, we could feel it, but would there be time? Home run! Home run! Time about to expire...Home run!!! He hit 9 home runs in his final 9 swings, tying it up at 18 a piece as time expired, and 30 bonus seconds still to come. This was the most electric we'd felt the crowd at Nats Park since Jayson Werth's walk off home run in game 4 of the 2012 NLDS. In the final 30 bonus seconds we all knew what was coming, and on his second swing he sent a blast into the night. Fireworks, confetti, streamers! What a night!

After the excitement of the HR Derby, even Owen had to agree, the All Star Game itself, while quite an exciting game, couldn't possibly live up to the excitement of the previous night. No complaints though, the memories will last a lifetime :-)

(click here for all the pictures)

Nailed It!

When Nora really gets into something, she gets the most adorable look on her face of honest excitement, and when she talks about it, her voice takes on a tone of earnest excitement and pride. The latest topic that has brought about this infectious mood is baking. She started watching the Great British Bake-Off with Grandpa Fawcett, and then on her own she found a baking show called Nailed It! that she fell in love with. On Nailed It!, two amateur bakers try to re-create some gorgeous professional cake with predictably hilarious, but often tasty results.

This new obsession of course presented the prefect opportunity, since Mom Mom is known for her cakes. She and Nora decided to undertake a Nailed It! style baking project of their own: happy face sun cupcakes. Needless to say, they had an absolute blast, and of course they nailed it!

(click here for all the pictures)

Pirates!

Nora has always been a free spirit -- albeit one with control issues. And so it's not surprising that while Nora loves to write plays herself (whose scripts she is adamant that those around her adhere to), she generally prefers improv to the more tradition theater experience. But since we had conflicts with all but one of Ms. Shannon's summer camps and her friend Hazel was doing the Atlas Theater camp (and the story involved buccaneers), Nora agreed to go outside her comfort zone and join the cast of Pirates!

The script was top secret and we weren't even allowed to know what Nora's friend Hazel role since it would be a spoiler (though we did learn that Nora was "Barry Tony Edwards" and that [he] had some hygiene issues, as did her friend Sadie or "Ten Fingers Orlando" who spent the two weeks of rehearsal smelling her armpits -- she's very method). Despite the absence of hints, Mom Mom, Grandpa Fawcett, Allen and I found the story was easier to follow than some of Nora's other performances (though I think it could have used at least one random robot). Enjoy!

Molly!

That feeling when you go out for drinks with Brad & Marlo and then serendipitously run into Molly :-)

Family Selfie

Seems like time for another family selfie :-)

Let's Go Nats!

Sometimes it's fun to take a big group to a Nats game, and when you're able to trade all the season ticket games you want around the schedule, it's easy to make it happen :-) We brought the whole family plus Leo to the park on a stunningly gorgeous day to enjoy a little baseball. The Nats lost to the dreadful Marlins, but with a day this beautiful, we didn't hear any complaints ;-)

Aquatic Gardens

It only took us 15 years, but we finally made it to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, and we even lucked out and made it there while the lotuses were blooming!

Our Shot

It wasn't easy, but we got tickets for Hamilton at the Kennedy Center. Being in the room where it happens? Priceless!