September Round-Up

We blogged a lot this summer, and since we didn't have a working computer and/or were traveling for much of that time, we wrote a whole lot of blog posts in a small period of time. It was a bit draining. So after Nora's birthday party (which was after Nora's birthday, which was after school started which was after Owen's birthday party which was...), we decided we needed a break. A little time apart. To get some perspective on it all.

But now we're back, and complete with a highlights reel:

• Nora started ballet/tap
• Owen started another season of t-ball
• We went to the last Nats home-game of the season (ok, technically the second to last -- they had to make up a rained out game afterwards, but ours was the last scheduled one).
• The Nats were eliminated from the playoffs
• Owen started cub scouts
• and Allen and I took in a cultural event at the 9:30 club

And with that, we prepare ourselves for a fun filled October...

Party Foul

Nora's birthday party was supposed to be easy -- it was our fourth party at The Little Gym and as it didn't involve me being 9+ months pregnant (the first one) or a tornado (the third one), we figured this one would be pretty simple. But while innocently confirming our pizza order late in the afternoon on Friday, I discovered that the powers that be were under the mistaken impression that the party (which I had booked six weeks before) began at 6:30 pm rather than the contracted 4:30 pm and that another party had been scheduled for the same time.

It was then that the panic set in. Even if I was ok with having 15 four year olds from all over the metro area (which means some of them had to drive an hour each way to get to the fete) celebrating Nora's birthday from 6:30 to 8:00 pm on a Saturday night (and to be clear, I wasn't), I wasn't sure how to contact them all to inform them of the change given several were daycare friends who's only contact info I had was their parents' work emails which aren't necessarily the best way to contact folks on a Friday night.

For an hour I kept leaving increasingly hysterical voicemails to The Little Gym (which hadn't responded to my email with the confirmation info and wasn't taking my calls). I called Grandpa Don to ask if I had any legal recourse. I discussed with Mom Mom alternative party venues that could accommodate 15 little kids that might have an opening in the next 24 hours. I drank a lot of wine.

And then I got the magical email apologizing and saying that the party was still on. (They called later and offered to give us the party for free if we took the later time slot, but we demurred).

We arrived the next afternoon with a feeling of trepidation, but despite the confusion and anxiety, it ended up being a pretty amazing party. All the kids had a really good time, Nora loved being the center of attention, and her friend Lizzie even proclaimed it "the best party ever."

Which made us feel pretty good about things...till Owen asked Nora on the way home where she wanted to have her next birthday party.

(Special thanks to Mia, Ben, Violet, Lizzie, Hazel, Jo Jo, Curtis, Miyako, Erin, Evan, Makayla, and Natalie for spending this afternoon with us. To see all the party pics, please click here).

Inbetween

Because Nora's birthday is invariably around Labor Day and because her birthday is only 11 days after Owen's, we always move her friends' celebration back a week to maximize party attendance as well as give ourselves a three day reprieve. And so, instead of corralling 15 four year olds around over the weekend, we:

• Went to the Nat's game and watched a post-loss fireworks extravaganza;
• Went sailing;
• Went to the National Gallery;
• Had multiple playdates;
• Discovered even more water features at Aunt Katherine's and Uncle L's;
• Ate some serious birthday cake; and
• Opened a lot of presents

And on the third day we rested in preparation for the second week of school (and subsequent corralling of said four year olds).

The Fantastic Four

I once heard a report on NPR that cuteness peaks at age three. The argument was that babies needed to be attractive in order to convince parents to care for them, but once they hit age four, they were self-sufficient enough that the biological imperative to be beautiful began to fade.

I've never been able to find the study since, mind you, but I believe it. In part because it's hard to imagine Nora becoming any more adorable than she was this year (when she wasn't on the floor kicking and screaming, that is). But mostly it's because a year ago, we had a cute toddler still in diapers (barely), who napped (sometimes), and used a bee bee, and now we have a little girl who doesn't require any of that (well, maybe the nap at times), who goes to school, can "read," and pretty much runs the whole show. And while I'm so proud of how independent Nora has become, I hope she still "needs" us for many years to come. Happy Birthday, baby girl, I love you so, so much.

1. Strike a pose.
2. Breakfast dessert, lunch dessert and dinner dessert are all real things. Snack dessert is just crazy talk.
3. When life gives you lemons, ask for Pink Lemonade.
4. Princess tea parties are the best.
5. It's all about the accessories.
6. There is reading, and then there is "reading".
7. Mmmm, s'mores.
8. Sometimes, you just need a hug.
9. "Excuse me..."
10. And in the immortal words of Alan Watts, "The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."

School Days

School started in the District this week, and while for Owen this was old hat, for Nora it was a whole new world. On Monday we took Owen to Watkins, met his new 2nd grade teacher, Ms. Coleman (sadly, none of his close friends are in her room), and then watched while she shook hands with each of his classmates and slowly called them to circle time. We then ran over to Peabody for Nora's teacher conference (she'd met Ms. Ogden on a home visit before our trip to Iowa) and to check out her new room and the extensive renovations that Peabody underwent this summer before dropping her off for a day of Mom Mom.

Nora's official first day was Tuesday, so we parked by Peabody and took a quick picture in front of its sign before the mob overtook us. Owen had jumped onto the Watkins bus without so much as a goodbye, so Allen and I simply followed Nora over to the playground where she enjoyed the various structures as Allen & I chatted with other parents and waited for the bell.

Now, when Owen had his first day at Peabody, the parents were allowed to escort their kids to the classroom for a final farewell. We had mistakenly assumed that Peabody hadn't changed their policy in the intervening three years and so weren't particularly focused on goodbyes or inspirational speeches as the kids lined up to go in. It was only when Allen nudged me to say that Nora was waving goodbye that I realized my little girl was going off to school... and that I wasn't going with her.  Not even for a few extra minutes.

Owen has been largely noncommittal about school -- he likes his teacher but doesn't think he classmates are too big on listening. So far Nora's favorite part of the day is nap time, because they leave the light on. I'm just hoping for a fun year where they stay safe and learn and grow.

(click here for all the first day of school pictures)

House Party

Owen informed us a while ago that he wanted to have his birthday at our new house. I was a little wary, as even though we have a much larger house than our old abode, a house full of seven year old boys seemed overwhelming. We countered with spending at least part of the party at Atlas Arcade and actually took Owen there to see if he liked it. Owen said fine, provided his party was organized into three parts:

1.  Baseball
2.  Arcade
3.  Pizza/Cake. 

In the end, there were actually six parts to the party: Basketball (due to Grandpa Fawcett installing Owen's new basketball hoop at a kid-friendly height); Baseball; Marbles; Arcade; Pizza/Cake; and Bedlam. Sure a couple of the kids decided they didn't want to go to the arcade (we let them stay at the house with Mom Mom and Grandpa Fawcett) and the end of the party degenerated into girls (Nora, Mia & Gigi) vs boys. But despite all the screaming and yelling, we think they all had a good time...especially Owen.

(Special thanks to Leo, Hayden, Connor, Gabriel, Martin, Marcus, Mia, Ben and especially Gigi -- who travelled all the way from Pittsburgh to come to the party (and so her parents could attend a surprise party later that night) -- as well as all the grownups who helped. To see all the party pics, please click here.)

The End of an Era

We've had kids enrolled at the Department of Labor's Child Development Center since December 2006, but with school starting on Monday for Nora and Owen long since graduated to elementary school, we finally had our last day on Friday (though Nora might "drop in" a few times this year). We've had our share of ups and downs at Nobel, but for the most part, our kids have thrived there and made some life-long friends (though to be fair, it's a bit early for that claim) all while I was a few floors above them. Due to my proximity, I've been able to commute with them, nurse them, and rock them to sleep. We've shared storytimes, lunches, field trips, parties, recitals and the occassional festival. Through it all, our kids have had some amazing teachers who taught them, loved them, celebrated with them, consoled them, and just made their lives (and ours) better. Thank you all so much -- we're really going to miss you.

The Magnificent Seven

Six was a crazy year -- new school, new house, new teeth. But despite all the curveballs that we (and life) seemed to throw Owen's way, he's come through with a smile and a song (most likely either Katy Perry's "Fireworks" or the "Star Spangled Banner"). In the past year, Owen has become an essayist, a solo percusionist, a Lego enthusiast, a photographer, a budding scientist, a pretty good infielder and a lover of compound interest. And while I cringe a bit each time he asks if I want to hear a joke, I melt a little everytime he says, "I love you, Mom." Happy seventh birthday, Owen, I love you so, so much.

1. Life is pain...especially if you don't stick the landing.
2. A tooth in the hand is worth $.01*2^(t-1) in the piggybank.
3. Blues are a blast.
4. Superfriends are super great.
5. What one lacks in pitch can be made up for in decibels.
6. First rule of running club...actually involves stretching and isn't that exciting.
7. Honey bees are awesome. Royal jelly...not so much.
8. "Actually..."
9. If you have to move, try to make sure it involves a space 3 times its predecessor's complete with a balcony.
10. In baseball as in life, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but there's always another season.

The Long Journey Home

Without our usual stop at in Cleveland with Katherine & Lee, we decided to get a bit more creative with the drive home from Iowa. An endless stream of Summer activities kept all the Zimmerman cousins from visiting Iowa during our trip, so we decided to spend Thursday night in Schaumberg with Steve & Becky.  This of course was a huge hit with Owen and Nora, since their big cousins Olivia, Maura and Sam are all so cool, and Nora was of course thrilled to to have her little cousin Erin looking up to her. We played lots of hide-and-go-seek (which is particularly exhausting when you're trying to be the fun uncle ;-), tossed the baseball around (so Owen could show off to Sam his improved skills from a summer of baseball camp and many hours playing catch this trip), and even got in a heated flag football game (Dads vs. kids of course ;-). The visit was too short, but we can't wait to get all the cousins together again this Christmas.

Visiting Chicago was great, but it still left a bit too long of a drive back home. Fortunately, Joe & Cate are in Pittsburgh now, and have a new home to visit and a new baby to meet :-).  So we struck out for Pittsburgh on Friday, and of course the Mettenburgs had an amazing feast waiting for us at their beautiful new home. Saturday morning we finally met Hugh (who is adorable), and tried to relax a bit to rest up for the big night ahead of us.  It had not gone without notice that the Pirates had a perfectly timed 4pm game that night, and Joe had managed to procure tickets for us all. So we all drove downtown, hiked across the bridge, and climbed up to our seats and enjoyed the gorgeous weather and the most breathtaking view in all of baseball. Oh, and the Pirates played too, if you can call it that, they lost to Arizona 15-5.

Sunday morning we finally said our goodbyes, and drove the last leg of our long journey home. It was a great trip, but we're all glad to finally be back sleeping in our own beds.

Iowa

Every summer we make a pilgrimage to Iowa, but this was the first one in a long time that didn't involve a stop at Aunt Katherine's & Uncle L's (though we had just seen them at the beach...). We were not short on companions, however: Grandpa & Grandma Z let us take over the homestead; Uncle Dave & Aunt Kara stayed an extra day after Dave's high school reunion to get a little nephew & niece bonding time (and so Kara could work on her curve ball); Ellen & John came down for a quick visit before heading to South Carolina for Caitlin's grad school graduation; A short drive to Marshalltown meant a luncheon with Bernie as well as a quorum of Pete & Jeannine's brood; Blaine came down for a night; We stopped by Ames to see Thomas and his crew; And there were were always a bevy of Fawcetts nearby.

In between all the visiting -- and sometimes during -- we ate a freakish amount of corn (due to the late planting this year, the sweet corn wasn't ready until our second day which was great for us though a bit of a bummer for the "sweet Corn Fest" two weekends before). We broke in the new pond swing, ate smores, camped in the tipi, caught our first (and second, third and fourth) fish, jumped off the high dive (Grandpa Z set a new record as oldest jumper), and just generally enjoyed those last lazy days of summer. It was a really good trip. And a long drive home.

(To see all the Iowa pictures please click here)

State Fair

For years we've been going to the Montgomery County Fair with Brad and Marlo, and while it's been fun and all (who wouldn't enjoy seeing a "zonkey"), I've always felt that the kids and Allen had missed out on seeing the full glory that a fair can be.

But no more.

Because we were in Iowa a little later and a little longer this year, our visit happened to coincide with the Iowa State Fair and because we wanted to go down to meet Ms. Maria Eloise Fawcett, we happened to be a half hour from the midway on Tuesday afternoon. With the stars aligning so perfectly, we had to go...

It started out a little rough. It took us a while to figure out where the parking entrance was which meant Nora had a lot of time to covet the ferris wheel. Since the entrance took us right by it, we told her we'd ride it first thing. Allen dutifully went off and got $20 in tickets, we waited in line and then were promptly put into a car with orange stripes, right next to one with purple. Nora began frantically gesturing at the offending stripes and pleaded to change cars, but the the operator said we couldn't. So she proceeded to scream for three and a half minutes of the four minute ride, and it was only when Allen promised to take her to a nearby dragon roller coaster (while I ran back to the car and got "Pink Lemonade") that she calmed down.

Once peace reigned again, we took the tram to get a better view of the spectacle, stopped by the agricultural house to see the butter cow (restored to its full glory after the sabotage a few days before), hung out at the Hi-Vee park where I ran into a high school friend, partook in some of the less healthy fare, watched some baby ostriches being born, and let the kids get their farm on before driving back to Iowa City.

And while it made for a pretty exhausting three hours, but it was totally worth it.

(For more fair pictures, please click here.)

Life's a Beach

We were a little short on vacation time this summer, but with Mom Mom and Grandpa Don having a free condo to share at the Outer Banks, we wanted to squeeze in at least a few days at the beach with them, Aunt Katherine & Uncle L. So the morning after Allen returned from Aspen, we packed up the car and headed to Duck, NC (by way of Allen's alma mater).

The temps were in the low-eighties that week, which meant that the water was a little chilly, but the burning sand and biting flies which had ruined Nora's seaside visits in the past were no longer a factor. Absent those, Nora had a great time -- spending most of the mornings making sand castles with a few forays into the water (so long as daddy was holding her). Owen for his part continued his love of boogie boarding though was a bit more selective in which waves he was willing to try. Allen and I just enjoyed sharing our parental duties.

We only had three days there, but everyone had a really good time and Nora even managed a souvenir -- "Lana," the moon jellyfish she found on the shore our last morning there. Can't wait to see what she collects from the roadside on our trip to Iowa...

Snowmass in July

Every summer there is a climate and energy conference in Snowmass that a group my friends and colleagues attend, but for one reason or another I've never managed to make it.  We've of course done plenty of skiing at Snowmass in the winter, but I've always wanted to make it out for the summer Snowmass conference.  Well this year the stars finally aligned, and while I couldn't manage to bring the rest of the family, I managed to make it out there for a great conference and a few lovely days in the mountains.  I didn't have much free time, but each morning I woke up early and took some lovely hikes up the slopes to some familiar spots that seemed so strangely different on the opposite side of our orbit around the sun.

The Rockets Red Glare

We didn't have big plans for the 4th this year, but things seemed to come together none the less.  Mom & Don invited us over for a delicious international flared cookout with Dad, Nancy & Danny, and Katherine & Lee.  The food was wonderful as always of course, but the real treat were Mom's tasty margaritas and the amazing blueberry strawberry mojitos that Katherine made.  The big excitement for the kids though was going over to Judy's house back on our old block to watch the fireworks from her rooftop deck.  We could see the downtown fireworks off in the distance, but the real show were the fireworks going off all around us in the neighborhood.

Women's Camp

Our college roommate Tracey sent out a notice a few months ago, alerting her fellow former J1 residents (Audra, Cecily, and myself or as Audra refers to us collectively, "the most awesome group on earth") that she was headed to the states (from Thailand) in June in case we wanted to plan a reunion. Since our last one was back in 2010, a flurry of facebook activity soon followed and "Women's Camp" -- derived from a typo in one of our messages that stuck -- was born.

There were complications. Tracey suffered a couple of bouts of strep throat which ultimately resulted in her being hospitalized and having to delay her flight for a few days. Then the first night of camp, Tracey's six year old daughter Satya fell off a slide and broke her arm which meant an overnight hospital stay and a lot of drugs (more so than the doctor intended as Cecily and I decided not to wake Tracey when Satya was complaining of intense pain shortly after I arrived and double dosed her).

Morale was low and exhaustion was high, but it was nothing that some kale & strawberry smoothies and one bedazzled sling (plus a lot of alcohol) couldn't cure. As the sun came out, camp got underway with arts & crafts, a nature hike, cooking, gymnastics, Meijer, and some good-old reminiscing.

We only had a few days together and it's always a little sad when these reunions end, but given we've been doing them fairly regularly for the past 18 years, we shouldn't have to wait too long for the next one...

(I'd like to add a special shout-out to the men that made Women's Camp such a success -- Mike, Colin, Keegan and Kailash. To see all the pics from our reunion, click here.)

While Mommy's Away

While Mommy was away in Michigan with her college friends (a.k.a. Women's Camp), the kids and I had our own little adventure sleeping over at Aunt Katherine & Uncle L's new house.  We had all sorts of adventures, exploring the trails, playing bocce ball around the neighborhood, watching deer, and of course pulling up plenty of pachysandra.  Brad & Marlo came over for a little lunchtime BBQ on Saturday, and the kids all had a blast exploring.  On Saturday night we brought some chairs and a fire-pit out to a little patio area we had cleared of pachysandra that morning and roasted marshmallows for some delicious s'mores.  Sunday morning we braved the threatening rain, and went swimming at Brad & Marlo's pool.  It was a fun weekend, but Mommy was certainly missed, and by Monday everyone was excited to have her back home.

10 Years

Allen and I celebrated our first decade of married life over the weekend at the Inn at Little Washington. Mom Mom graciously agreed to watch the kids (who enthusiastically agreed to be watched as it involved swimming, chocolate chip waffles and even kale and mint salad) allowing Allen and I to have our first overnight trip alone since Mark and Bryan's wedding back in 2011.

It was kind of magical. The Inn had upgraded us to the Jean-Louis Palladin suite and after a cocktail on our private balcony, we had tea in the courtyard before exploring gardens and the town itself (which is primarily comprised of, oddly enough, law offices and Bed & Breakfasts). For a while, we watched as the caretakers errected a birthday greeting for some unnamed patron, but eventually decided to return to the room to rest before the night's festivities.

Dinner involved several courses (the favorites being popcorn with shaved black truffle and lamb carpacio with ceaser salad ice cream), a fair amount of wine, and a late night tour of Chef Patrick O'Connell's kitchen (with the man himself supervising our picture taking).

After a continental breakfast the next morning, we headed out to Skyline Drive to enjoy each other's company, the view, and a little rock climbing, before heading back to the metro area to reclaim our offspring and start our second decade together.

(To see all our pictures, click here).

Father's Day

We had a pretty chill Father's Day this year. After pancakes and sausage for breakfast, we watched a little Princess Bride, played a little tennis, and then headed up to Silver Spring for a little swim time with Brad and Marlo and some Texas Bar-B-Q. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday. (And it only took another week and a half to get his Father's Day present.)

The Dinner Party

We knew we needed to have Nancy, Danny & Christopher over to our new place after we moved in, I was just adament about waiting until everything was "just so" before we did. We needed things on the wall. And covering the windows. And places for people to sit. I probably could have come up with more reasons to delay, but then we were shamed by Katherine and Lee having everyone over to their place 2 days after they'd moved and decided that 3 months of prep time would have to be sufficient.

So we cleaned and prepped and cooked, but in the end all our hard work didn't really matter as a tour and shopping spree at the Green Hat Gin Distillery dulled most of our guests' senses to whatever was lacking in our hospitality. Still everyone had a great time (well, except for Aunt Katherine who spent most of the evening lying on the couch before departing early only to be diagnosed with a kidney infection a few days later) and I think we'll be having the gang over again soon (assuming everyone is in good health).

(To see all the picks, click here).

Nats Park Tour

As our last hurrah for the Knights Spring little league season, the whole team took a tour of Nats Park on Saturday.  Needles to say, Owen and all his teammates were thrilled.  We went up to the press box, down to the luxury suites, into the visitor's locker room, hung out in the dugout, and even threw some pitches in the Nat's bullpen.  Not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning.

(click here for all the pictures)

Owen's Essay

Owen had a big 1st Grade end of the year writing project, and of course he decided to write about the Nats. It was a lot of work, but he did a great job. Now to see if he can keep it up this summer :-)

Baysox

Last year, some friends of Brad and Marlo's (and neighbors of Grandpa Don and Mom Mom's) organized a Father's Day outing to the Bowie Baysox which involved the owner's suite (and all you can eat hot dogs hamburgers, and pulled pork sandwiches), a kids park, and minor league ball. We weren't able to make it, but made sure we got on the invite list for this year's outing (which had to be held the week before Father's Day). It was awesome. There was a carousel (which Nora fell off once, but still...), a bouncy castle, a pitch station where they clocked your throws (Owen hit 30 mph), and a batting booth. There were hot dogs, popcorn and ice cream galore. There was a safe place the kids could run around and play hide-and-go-seek while we watched the game, and then we all got to run the bases when it was over (in a brutal 11-9 loss to the New Britain Rock Cats).

Not a bad start to the Father's Day celebrations to come...

Belgian Knights

Spring little league season came to a close this weekend, and the Knights decided to celebrate in style.  Owen's team was sponsored by Belga Cafe (Chef Bart of Top Chef fame's restaurant) and we thought it would be fun to bring the team out for Belgian waffles.  Of course a fancy Belgian restaurant isn't always looking to be invaded by a pack of 6 year-old's during prime Saturday brunch hours, so we made arrangements to have an early brunch at 9 am before our last game.  The kids had fun, the parents all enjoyed some delicious food, and the Belga folks managed to get a few cute pictures of 'their' team, so it all worked out in the end. Best of all, the team had a blast playing baseball all season, and they even got cool bobblehead trophies at the end :-)

When Mommy's Away...

While Allen has had to travel a lot for work, I've somehow managed to go eight years without one business trip. As such, I haven't been away from the kids very much (Owen's had a total of 8 nights away from me; Nora's had three). My lack of professional development finally caught up to me and the government decided to send me to Aurora, CO for five days (and four nights) for Benefits Advisers training (it's still a little unclear, given I'm not a B.A., why the powers that be decided that should be the course that ended my travel-free reign, but as the training was intended for 10 days and I only had to go for four, I'm not arguing with them).

I'm not sure if it was harder on Allen or me. Allen, fortunately, had Grandpa Fawcett to help with drop-off, pick-up, dinner (Nora was particularly nervous about dinner but was pleasantly surprised after Daddy and Grandpa successfully fed everyone the first night and proclaimed, "We don't need Mommy after all.") and bedtime which eased a lot of the parenting burden, though he was still pretty exhausted each night. I had to go days without hugs or kisses, had only glimpses of the kids as the wifi connection at the hotel kept going out, limiting our facetime sessions though it did allow me to fully witness Nora dropping a chair on her toe which resulted in a lot of tears, some blood and no hugs from Mommy.

Despite the remnants of a tropical storm, I managed to make it home Friday night only a little late, with a wonderful greeting and a week's worth of hugs (plus some new furniture and blinds that Allen had installed in my absence). Hopefully this will tide me over when I go to Michigan for a college reunion the end of this month...

Spring Concert

Owen's first grade class worked hard this term on all their songs for the Spring Concert.  Owen's favorite was probably 'Wacky Doh Ray Mi', which after hearing many many times, I have to admit can be quite catchy.  He also got to play the chimes on 'Shine Shine Shine', though we didn't hear that one so much at home.

Love All

Our new house is one block away from the Sherwood Recreation Center which happens to have a track (where the epic "race" took place) and a tennis court. The latter has proved to be a major draw for Owen who has initiated "Family Tennis Day" on Sundays -- I'm not sure if that's a nod to Wimbledon or a ploy to get out of church. We initially planned on making it a doubles affair with Owen and I taking on Allen and Nora, but Nora decided she prefers to be "ball girl" so Allen has had to defend his court alone. It has been interesting, as none of us are very good and the score-keeping has been rather liberal, but we're having a lot of fun and I'm hoping we actually keep this tradition up.

Dancing Queen

In December, Nora had her first dance "recital" -- recital being overly generous as for the little ones this just means that parents and loved ones are allowed to watch the final class from the studio as opposed to being relegated to peeking in the one door with a windon in the hallway. Mom Mom attended as did Allen, Owen and myself, and while the results were adorable, they were not particularly recognizable as a "dance" or "class."

Schedules were a little tighter for the summer recital, which meant that I was the only Nora fan able to attend. She didn't dissapoint. While her "rolling on the ground" skills  may need a little more work, I thought her "frog" and "bird" interpretation were pretty impressive and her "free style" was unparalleled (which technically, was also the case for her rolling on the ground work). Can't wait for the fall when she starts Intro to Ballet/Tap.

Honeybee

Last year, for Owen's big school project he built a model of a personal computer and gave a report on Mark Dean for Black History Month.  For 1st grade, his project was to chose an insect to study, build a 3-D model including a habitat, and give an oral presentation.  Owen chose a honeybee (because it has venom and he likes honey).  We worked together on building his model, and he did a great job researching honeybees.  But don't take my word for it, check out his practice presentation, and learn a thing or two about honeybees!

Wine Tasting

One great thing about my office is that we all get along well and everyone likes to socialize.  This of course has gotten a bit harder as the number of kids in the branch has grown, but every once in a while we still manage to pull off a nice CEB gathering.  Eric generously raided his wine cellar and we invited the branch over to our house for a wonderful wine tasting.  Despite staying up past 1 am, we didn't manage to finish all the wine, but rest assured the leftovers did not go to waste.  All the wine that wasn't consumed made a delicious sangria the next day. 

Movers

As frustrating as we found the whole house search, Aunt Katherine had it much, much worse. While we simply needed more room and were looking in the same zip code, Aunt Katherine needed to be in the DC metro area due to a change in work assignment and was looking for houses from Cleveland. Despite expanding her search to the entire state of Maryland and much of Virginia, there seemed to be a dearth of places that met her and Uncle L's (and their 2 dogs' and cat's) needs that didn't already have multiple offers on it for well above the appraised value.

Time was short and Katherine was discouraged, when a house came on the market which had potential. Alas, Katherine was in Miami at a friend's bachelorette party at the time, and since there wasn't an open house scheduled, thought she'd wait a week (and catch up on some sleep) before checking it out. We were insistent, and so despite not having eaten or slept in a while, she capitulated and a few hours later was in love. A contract was in place two days later -- right before three other agents made inquiries. 30 days, two moving vans, and several hours of volunteer labor (with only one accidental fall off said moving van) later, Katherine and Lee were moved in and sitting down to birthday/housewarming celebration.

(editor's note: clearly that last sentence was written by someone who missed out on the long and painful day unloading said two moving vans ;-)


(click here for all the pictures)

Classics

Sunday was the 34th Capitol Hill Classic and our second year participating. It was a family affair: I put up posters at local businesses, Allen helped orgazine t-shirts on Friday, Owen raised $100 in pledges (thanks Mom Mom, Grandma & Grandpa Z and Aunty Ellen), I helped set up the race area in the early hours of Sunday morning, and despite the rain and gloom later that morning, Owen and I participated in the 3K while Nora ran the Fun Run.

Note that I said "participated" with regards to Owen and I, for a faulty education in the metric system led me to misrepresent the length of the race to him (I thought it was closer to one mile than two) and so, despite Owen's participation in the "Running Club" at school, we ended up walking the majority of the course. Nora, however, enthusiastically ran the whole race (except when she was distracted by rain puddles) and earned a medal for her efforts (Owen was informed that medals were only for the Fun Run, though we managed to obtain one for him anyway...).

It was a pretty good showing by the Fawcett Family, though we're hoping next year to finish before the 4 year old running backwards...

Grandma & Grandpa Z

Grandpa Fawcett left for Iowa a couple of weeks ago to help with planting season, shortly afterwhich Mom Mom & Grandpa Don headed off to Italy to celebrate Mom Mom's birthday, leaving us a few grandparents short in the metro area. Fortunately, Grandpa & Grandma Z had planned to come out for my 40th birthday and were able to represent.

We started off big. Aunt Kara's parents, John & Ginny Bigelow, were also in town so we had a lovely, "welcome to our new house" dinner on Thursday night. Friday a furloughed Allen took Grandma & Grandpa Z out to the Arboretum for the day and then we all headed out to National's Park to see the Nat's beat the Cubs (sorry Uncle Steve). Saturday Owen's t-ball game was cancelled due to inclement weather, but we still managed to make Nora's dance class, tour the Capitol with Cousin Molly, and Allen & I got in a lovely dinner at Komi while Grandma & Grandpa Z babysat. Mother's Day involved church, brunch, and a scenic walk of our new neighborhood. Monday Grandma and Nora made rhubarb pie in anticipation of my 40th birthday dinner. Tuesday we just kind of hung out.

It was a lovely visit and the kids really enjoyed the extra attention (as well as getting to stay home from daycare/aftercare). Allen and I enjoyed the extra rest time, which apparently becomes more and more important once you turn 40...

(click here for all the pictures)

One Year for Every Acre

We had big plans for Elaine's big 4-0, but life ended up getting in the way.  Russian River Valley, bicycles, B&B's, wine tours, it was a lovely plan, but when the time rolled around to start booking everything, we were in the midst of house hunting and felt there was too much uncertainty to commit to a big vacation in May.  Nonetheless, we managed to celebrate in style.  With Mom Mom vacationing in Italy and Grandpa Fawcett in Iowa to help out with planting season, we had Grandma and Grandpa Z fly in to babysit so we could have a night out on the town.  We had an amazing dinner at Komi on Saturday night, 16 delicious courses (the duck liver mouse on sourdough amazingly enough was Elaine's favorite).  Elaine's actual birthday fell on Monday, which happened to be the one day we could have Molly over for dinner while Mike & Ginny were in town, and Elaine somehow ended up making what seems more like a birthday dinner for me, crabcakes with a strawberry rhubarb pie from Grandma Z.  It was a lovely evening of course, and with any luck we'll have a blog post about a bicycle tour through the wine country before too long.

Day Late Derby

Due to some calendar confusion, we sadly missed Nancy & Danny's Kentucky Derby party this year (though we probably saved some money since I doubt we would have bet on Orb).  They very kindly invited us over for dinner on Sunday instead. Nora brought over flowers (lilies that matched the wreath :-), and we all had a wonderful time.  Now for future reference, the Kentucky Derby is always on a Saturday...  

The Race

We decided to try and re-introduce Nora to the balance bike (she last tried it in October) via a three-way race at the recreation center a block away from our new house. It didn't take.

Coach Pitch!

For the Knights third game of the season we transitioned from t-ball to coach pitch.  Owen has been playing coach pitch at Home Run Baseball Camp for a few years now, so he was pretty excited to finally be rid of the tee.  The video is much shorter this week (right center is not quite as active as the pitcher spot he played last week, though he did make a couple nice plays out there), but Owen had a couple good hits, including one ripped down the third base line right by my spot coaching third base.

Knights Condensed Game

Owen is playing Single A T-ball this season on the Knights.  For each game the kids on the Knights play one position in order to get used to the flow of the game.  This is generally a good idea, but at least in the first couple weeks, whoever plays the 'pitcher' position ends up fielding at least 80% of the balls.  This was good news for Owen in our second game of the season, and he had a blast playing pitcher.  The above video is the whole "condensed game" (just like the Nats condensed games he watches every morning, but a little more self centered;-)  His best play in the field was snagging a line drive (and making a perfect throw to first just in case).  Looking good out there son!

Cheetah Princess

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Once upon a time there was a Cheetah Princess named Nora. And she had a Cheetah King with her, and they didn't have a Queen or a Knight, so they decided to go on a little walk.  And it was dark on their walk.  So they went to the park, but the park was closed.  So they went back home, but there was a spooky stranger there, so they couldn't get through.  That's why they stayed at the park and looked at the shadows, but then they saw their Queen and their Knight saying, "Why did you take a little walk?" "Because, Nora wanted to go on an adventure."  So they went back to the castle with the Queen and the Knight, and they lived happily ever after.

Family Cuddle

Sometimes everyone just wants to have a little family cuddle time :-)

(Family selfie!)

Radiology Conferences are the Best

We had a special treat this week.  There happend to be a radiology conference in town, so Joe came down to stay with us for the week.  He got to see the house, experience some of the offerings of H Street (including a delicious dinner at Toki Underground), see the kids, and have a great time hanging out if I do say so myself.  Cate and the kids couldn't make it this trip, but hopefully we'll be seeing them all soon :-)

Uncle Dave

Uncle Dave had a conference in Alexandria last week. Fortunately for us, he extended his stay for a day so that we could check out our new digs and get a little bonding time in with his nephew and god-daughter, which included Legos, comic books, and a special gift called, "Basket Head" or as we like to refer to it, "the game Uncle Dave & Aunt Kara gave us which involves 10 mintues of fun and 2 days of looking for errant ping pong balls."

Ben's 4th Birthday

Ben turned 4, super hero themed party at Brad & Marlo's, beautiful weather. Best just to let these pictures speak for themselves...




(click here for all the pictures)

Opening Day

Opening Day finally arrived, brushing aside the painful memories of Game 5 with the hope and optimism of a new season.  Owen and I dutifully took the afternoon off to take in the festivities and cheer on our beloved Washington Nationals, and Owen even kept score for the first time.  Mom Mom and Grandpa Don joined us, and we all jumped for joy when Bryce Harper hit a home run in his first at bat of the season, cheered as Stephen Strasburg retired 19 straight Marlins, and smiled in disbelief at Harper's second home run in as many at bats.  The Nats won (hopefully the first of many) and started out the 2013 baseball season right :-)

(click here for the pictures)

Easter 2013

It's been a crazy month, what with the move (March 8th), putting our old house on the market (March 20), getting that house under contract (March 26th) all while trying to settle into the new place. Due to the madness, we've let certain things slide: there's been a lot of eating out, bedtimes are a moving target and we only have few things on the walls.

We ended the month strongly, however, with our version of a traditional Easter.

We began with an Easter Egg hunt with Owen getting a Lego set we wouldn't let him open until later and Nora consuming a frightening amount of candy in a brief amount of time. This followed by our traditional Easter breakfast at our local bagel place because it's a block from the church that has the 10:30 am service (since we can't seem to make St. Peter's 9:00 am mass and the 11:00 am is too late). We cut out of church a little early and then headed up to Mom Mom and Grandpa Don's with Katherine, Lee, Makayla and Grandpa Fawcett for a second Easter Egg hunt where Owen got another Lego set we wouldn't let him open (so he carried it around most of the afternoon) and Nora ate even more candy. After some confused pipes thinking everything was supposed to rise after three days triggered an emergency visit from the WSSC (which caused Mom Mom a great deal of stress and Grandpa Fawcett a good deal of entertainment), we sat down to an amazing Easter dinner where even Nora put aside her assorted chocolates for seconds of the ham Mom Mom had shipped from Vermont.

It was a pretty awesome day -- so much so that Allen was asleep by 7:30 pm that night. Good thing he was taking off most of Easter Monday for opening day...

(click here for all the pictures)

Baseball is Back!

It's not quite Opening Day yet, but since Owen had a half day at school on Friday, and the Nats were playing the Yankees for an exhibition game, we decided it was time to take in a ballgame.  The Nats lost, but the game doesn't count, and it was fun to be back at a baseball game.  For a special treat, we stopped by the team store and picked up a Nats flag to fly at home.  Can't wait for the season to start!

Someone is a little too cute for her own good

Sunrise

Owen's new room faces East, so he gets to wake up his Mesozoic menagerie silhouetted against the sunrise :-)

This is Spring?

It's Spring, the Snowquester was a bust, and we haven't had two inches of snow in over two years.  Yet somehow we managed to get a little snow storm.  It didn't amount to much, but it was enough to give us our first accumulation in the new house.  Too bad it turned to rain and melted away before we had a chance to play in it...