Night at the Museum

Owen used to be really into dinosaurs, and as such, we used to spend a lot of our time at the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum's Dinosaur Hall. But back in 2014, when Owen was seven, they closed the hall for renovations. We've tried to fill the gap in the meantime, but as time marched on, it looked like his obsession with dinosaurs was headed towards extinction.

But this month, the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils -- Deep Time (we're still trying to resolve our feelings about that) opened. The crowds have been insane (there's a lot of pent-up dinosaur fever here in the District) and so we weren't sure when we'd get to fully take-in the renovation. But then Allen snagged tickets to Natural History's Sleepover, which meant we were going to get an after-hours tour of the exhibit (with our regular partners in camping, the Telfair-Chas).

It was pretty amazing. Grandpa dropped us off at the museum at 7 pm with our sleeping bags and toothbrushes in tow, and after dropping our bags off at the Ocean Hall (where the actual sleepover was to occur), we briefly headed to the 2nd floor (which was off limit for the actual sleepover) to see the Hope Diamond and other geological items (Nora's always been into rocks, but Owen's love of Minecraft means he now knows a lot about minerals). At 7:30 we headed to orientation where we had snacks, met up with the Telfair-Chas, and got our instructions for the night.

Assigned to the green team, we headed to the Mammal Hall where we solved trivia, identified pollinators, and raced like Pronghorns (Dr. Cha won). We then moved on to evolution where we tried to insure avocados continue to thrive despite the extinction of the giant sloth (by planting radishes -- I'm still a little fuzzy on that one), created a timeline on human tools, practiced hunting and gathering (we would have finished that one quickly if Allen hadn't added a pig which instead of being eaten apparently killed us), built a human spine, did spirographs, and undulated like a lizard. After that, we headed to the Ocean Hall where we learned how many Washington Monuments could be stacked in the ocean (15 in the midnight zone alone), that whales used to have ankles (and that they love a good ankle bracelet), and that we don't really know how big a giant squid can get.

Once we completed the marine life section, we headed to the renovated Hall of Fossils, which was really what started this whole adventure. We ate like a T-Rex, produced origami birds, put together a dinosaur puzzle, learned all about "Number 2" and once we finally had checked off all of our Sleepover stops, got to partake in the battle of Prey vs Predators.

By this time it was 10:30 pm and everyone was a little over hyped and a lot over-tired, so we split into two groups of four: prey (the parents) and predators (the kids). The prey had to hide "eggs" which the predators then had to find and if they found the majority, then the predators won. Both groups were subject to some adaptations which could inhibit their ability -- the predators apparently couldn't deal with water (which turned out to be critical) and the prey got to use a 3-1 ratio in the count. While the predators were feeling pretty good about themselves, the adaptations proved hard to overcome and in the end, the prey one by a single Ikea ball egg (Side note, the organizers didn't know how many eggs there actually were because no one before the parents had ever hidden all the eggs. Additional side note, the kids would have won except Gabriel dropped two eggs which rolled into the water feature and since he couldn't swim, had to forfeit the eggs that would have secured their victory).

The adults might have celebrated their victory a little too much which might have resulted in a few tears and threats to leave, but eventually we corralled everyone by the Megalodon for bed (though Nora kept rolling away, and Elaine eventually moved because while it's never really "night" in a museum, it's really never dark where the Megalodon and the Ocean Terrace Cafe meet -- good thing The Telfair-Chas brought character inspired sleep masks for everyone ). At 7 am the next morning, the lights came on, we decamped, got dressed (except Nora), had a quick breakfast and then headed home (after a brief stop by the gift shop).

The experience seems to have seems to have reignited Owen's love of dinosaurs and I wouldn't mind repeating, provided I have a very long nap first.


(Click here for all the pictures.)
(Click here for a highlights video.)

Sweet Sixteen

After our 10th Anniversary, we decided that every five years we'd celebrate our marriage at the Inn at Little Washington. But when our 15th came around, we'd already planned a trip to Glacier for the same time. So new rule: every time our anniversary is on a Friday, we spend it at the Inn. Which meant while the kids were at camp (and our friends generously picked them up for us and were then coerced into keeping them overnight), we headed back to Washington, VA.

We got there a little early and briefly walked around the grounds before checking in (the weather was glorious as it finally stopped raining in the DC Metro area). But our room wasn't quite ready, so we enjoyed a welcome cocktail on a veranda looking out on the Shenandoahs while we waited. Once we got to our room, we understood why it took so long: Allen had booked the Julia Child suite complete with two balconies and an enormous bathroom with a soaking tub. It was a lot to take in, so we skipped afternoon tea (we had an early dinner reservation, anyway) in order to enjoy it thoroughly.

Since the last time we'd been there, The Inn now has a three star Michelin rating, and while the food before was delicious, they've definitely taken it up a notch. For dinner, Allen chose the "Gastronaut's Menu" with the pairing, while I opted for the "Here and Now" and a lovely Sancerre (sadly, while I love a good pairing, I think I've gotten too old). It was amazing -- the "Petals of Maine Diver Scallops Poached in Olive Oil with Artichokes, Lemon and Sicilian Olives" is the best thing I've eaten in recent memory though Allen would argue that the Carpaccio of Herb-Crusted Elysian Fields Baby Lamb Loin with Caeser Salad Ice Cream was even better (though maybe because the accompanying Salwey, 2017 Pinot Noir, Rose from Baden, Germany really enhanced the flavor).

After completing all seven courses and a night cap, we retired for the night. And after a lovely breakfast (including rhubarb-ginger lemonade) and another brief stroll, we checked out and headed out to the Skyline Drive where we did a little site seeing before returning home to our awaiting brood.

We can't wait for a redo on Friday June 21, 2024...



(click here for all the pictures)

Notes on Camp

After the less than successful initial inaugural sleep-away camp experience Owen had with his friend Gabriel a few years ago (those Quaker camps are pretty hardcore and very adamant that you will eat your ration of cheesy grits), we had largely given up on our children participating in that summer ritual. But then Gabriel's mom discovered a YMCA camp that served chicken tenders and had sailing and horseback riding and non-mandated overnight hikes, that Nora was old enough to attend, we were able to convince Owen (and Gabriel) that given Nora (and Mirabel) would be there too, they should give this whole sleep-away camp thing another try (once Nora found out we could sign her up for horseback riding, no convincing was necessary).

Drop off didn't go exactly as planned. Despite numerous uploading of documents to insure that Owen could have his Advil on site, we were informed they had no record and so if we needed any he'd need to go to the infirmary (which was a pretty far hike from the "rustics" where Owen was staying and pretty much insured he would never go and just deal the pain, so we smuggled it in his backpack and told him to self-medicate as needed). And the horses were quarantined due to some health concerns which meant horseback riding might be cancelled. And there was no record of the credits for the camp store we'd been promised since they neglected to give us a sibling discount) which meant they kids couldn't buy ice cream or snacks or souvenirs. Also, we forgot shampoo and/or soap (well, I forgot, Allen maintains he thought of it but as it wasn't listed explicitly in the packing list toiletries he assumed they didn't need them). And the forecast was for rain every day. But still we wished them well and dropped them off, hoping for the best and thinking we might get a Camp Granada like note.

But we didn't (in part because despite both us us sending them emails every day to be shared with them at lunch, neither child ever wrote us). The horses recovered from a bad reaction to the their worm medicine, and Nora happily rode "Cookie" all week. Nora was able to borrow all the necessary toiletries and apparently, none of the boys bothered showering since there weren't any bathrooms in the "Rustics" (so Allen was correct in his assumption that they didn't "need" them, though for very different reasons). After an email and a couple of phone calls, the kids accounts were reconciled and they were able to buy all the Goldfish, ice cream and "stuffies" their hearts desired. And while it did indeed rain every day but the last, the rain consistently held off until the afternoon so that Nora got in all her horseback riding and Owen was able to sail every day but Friday (and that was because of too much wind).

In fact the week was so successful that both kids want to return next year (possibly even for two weeks) although Owen's friend Gabriel maintains that the personal hygiene issues were a little much for him and he's done with camp (though I think his parents are still working on him).

(To see all the pictures, click here.)

Girls Running

Last year, I was out of town for last years Girls on the Run's Spring 5k, which meant that Aunt Katherine had to sub-in as Nora's running partner. Despite some inclement weather, the race itself went swimmingly and Nora deemed Aunt Katherine a far superior running partner then dear old mom (which one might attribute it to Katherine's regular marathon training, but I think it's just because she has a fancy Garmin). And so when given the choice of whom to run with for this year's 5k, Nora opted for Aunt Katherine again, leaving Allen and myself to simply cheer from the sidelines .

There was a lot to cheer about. The weather was glorious; Nora got a cool tattoo and Katherine and Nora kept their splits under 13 minutes (they made 12:56), beat their goal time of 40 minutes (39:37 -- more than three minutes faster than last year) and ran the last mile of the race faster than the first (which might have been due to Allen and I intercepting them prior to when they intended to start their final sprint, though we couldn't manage to actually beat them). Nora and Katherine were sweaty but happy at the finish and after a brief stop at Allen's office, we Ubered home, showered and then had a lovely brunch to celebrate.


(To see all the pictures from the race, click here.)

Shrek

Owen made his debut on the Stuart-Hobson stage in the Fall of 2017 as Grandpa Joe in Willie Wonka. But despite rave reviews, he's since opted for the stage crew over the cast, working the sound board for Alice in Wonderland and Beauty and the Beast. It seemed an odd choice given we would watch him sing and act out every song during the shows while adjusting levels and cuing the music but he was adamant that he enjoyed doing sound (and besides, he didn't want to do a Disney musical).

But then they announced that for the Spring of 2019 Stuart-Hobson's players would be putting on Shrek, Jr. and since Pixar is different than Disney, Owen was on it. We perused the cast descriptions and discovered that Pinocchio called for a, "male with good falsetto voice or Soprano/Alto," at which point, it all seemed fated. Owen nailed his audition, and embraced the role of a puppet with an attitude.

Stuart-Hobson musicals are not your average middle school production. I'm not sure exactly what Ms. Perguson does to exact such performances out of a bunch of 11-14 year olds, but it's a pretty amazing sight to behold. Owen embodied Pinocchio and stole all his scenes. But it was also amazing to see Owen's best friend Adam as Lord Farquaad who's comic timing and delivery was incredible; Han, who Owen met at SWS and is the least ogre-ie kid you can imagine, made a fantastic Shrek; Alice, who was in Pre-K 4 with Owen but seems so grown up now, sang her heart out as Fiona; and Donkey, an eighth grader that had never been in a play but wanted to do one before graduating, emoted so much charisma and managed to do the splits twice while singing.

It was truly and amazing performance and we can't wait for you all to see the DVD.



(To see all the pictures, click here.)
(For video clips, click here.)

A Wicked Time in New York

We've been meaning to get back to New York for a while now, but between the kids' schedules and work, we kept putting it off. Finally, after we failed to go anywhere for Spring Break, we figured a long weekend would be good for our collective souls. So after Youth Orchestra ended but before opening night of Shrek, Allen planned a trip to NYC.

The last time we were in New York, the kids hadn't quite caught the musical bug, so the visit was focused on the Empire State Building, museums and a lot of rock-climbing in Central Park. This time Allen got amazing tickets well in advance to Wicked (Nora's current favorite soundtrack). Nora was ecstatic during the first act, but then worried that Fiyero would become the Scarecrow and forget Elphaba forever during the second (Allen told her it all works out in the end and she was able to calm down and enjoy the rest of the show). Owen was just blown away by the tech (I think he has some suggestions for Ms. Perguson going forward).

We supplemented the trip with a visit to the Met, Times Square (after waiting for a storm to pass) and, since Owen complained that all he really wanted to do over the Memorial Day was paddle boat in the Tidal Basin, rowing in Central Park (where they were briefly engulfed in bubbles). We even discovered an amazing gelato place near our Upper West Side Air-B&B (which warranted multiple visits, which means we definitely need to make it back before Phantom of the Opera ends its run...

(To see all the pictures, click here.)

Classic 2019

This year marked the 40th anniversary of the Capitol Hill Classic, which means like all good Hill residents and Cluster families (plus Katherine), we supported our local schools by registering and running the 3k (Katherine supported them even more by running the 10k).

It was just as hot as last year, but we must have managed expectations better, for while everyone was a sweaty mess after, there was a lot less complaining on the walk home.  The promise of icees, showers and a lovely brunch probably didn't hurt either. And while our times weren't anything to write home about, we do look cute in our new tees.

(To see all the pics, click here.)

Concert Time

Saturday was a big day for concerts, Nora had her Music on the Hill viola recital in the morning, and then Owen and Nora had their DCYOP orchestra concert in the afternoon (both kids in the same concert!). For Owen, we've got the usual concert video with the Young Artists Orchestra's lovely renditions of Iowa Spring, Blue Rythmico, and Gustav Holst's Jupiter. Nora on the other hand needs a little something different.

Viola Radio Network has been a thing for a little while now during Nora's practice time, but now it is an official YouTube thing, Viola Radio Network, with multiple episodes, merch, and tens of views :-) So of course, Nora's concerts couldn't just have the usual treatment, but needed to be documented with a very special episode including both her recital piece (which started off a little rough when her accompanist took a few measures to realize the song was in the alto clef) and her DCYO concert. Enjoy :-)

Momfest 2019

The proximity of Mother's Day and Mom Mom and my birthdays is always a source of stress for its event planners. While this year the dates did not converge (which hasn't historically ended well), they were sufficiently close that the celebrations was limited to a 24 hour period involving food, adult beverages, and planned activities. The latter was a source of some stress for the celebrants, as the weather was not kind and Katherine was adamant that neither rain nor cold nor gloom of night would prevent the Mother's Day/Birthday bocce ball and ladder ball tournament from happening (also there was threats of mayonnaise marshmallows, which hardly seems a celebration of either motherhood or birth).

But apparently, that was all subterfuge (the mayonnaise marshmallows should have been the tip off), for after a delicious Mother's Day brunch (and presents), Katherine snuck in Brandi, an artist who proceeded instruct us in the finer points of replicating "Bonsai at Night." It was fun time and we all fared about as well as you'd imagine: Allen and Sharon were the teacher's pets; Katherine struggled to mix turquoise; Nora's moon emoted; Owen was all about the roots; Elaine's trees were a bit forced; Don overcame his colorblindness; John struggled with pigments; and Lee had his own point of view.

It was a lovely group activity that didn't involve standing in the rain while throwing objects in the yard or mayonnaise, everyone left with a lovely party gift, and no one got sick.

(To see all the pictures, click here.)

Banff

I had a work trip up to Calgary this week for a conference on Tuesday and Wednesday, and when the conference wrapped up a little early on Wednesday some time opened up before my flight on Thursday afternoon to do a little exploring. So I checked out of the hotel early and booked a place in Canmore near Banff. A quick hour drive west of Calgary and I was in the mountains. I dropped my bags off at the Bear & Bison Inn and drove on to Lake Louise for a walk out on the ice and some stunning views through the snowy skies. Driving back from Lake Louise I was planning on doing just a quick drive around Banff before, but a trail marker on the side of the road caught my eye. The Tunnel Mountain Trail, 1.8 km to the summit, perfect! The hike was great, and the trail offered some stunning views of the town, the Banff Springs Hotel, Bow Valley and Mt. Rundle! Then back to Canmore for some duck wings and a beer with great views of the mountains.

In the morning after a delicious breakfast at the Inn, I had enough time for another quick drive up to Banff before heading to the airport. I decided to check out the lookout on Mount Norquay and boy was I glad I did. There were 10 cm of fresh powder on the ground and all the trees were dusted with snow. I walked out onto the snow covered mountain side meadow to a stunning panoramic vista. Clear air, dramatic clouds, mountains and valley below, the fresh snow creating an incredible quiet that was only broken by the beating wings of a raven on the hunt. There was one other person there, a local who worked at the Sunshine ski resort who saw the weather in the morning and knew exactly where he had to go to take it all in. Then he quietly told me to look behind us, and laying in the snow at the edge of the trees not more than 20 meters away were about twenty bighorn sheep, with a giant proud looking ram staring right at us! I stood in the meadow for about an hour taking it all in, holding onto my last few minutes in the mountains before heading for home.



(click here for all the pictures)

Opening Day 2019

Baseball is back! On Monday Owen and I caught the Nats and Yankees exhibition game, then on Thursday it was time for Opening Day against the Mets! Those first two games were still pretty cold (it was still March after all), but when you're sitting at the ballpark, you can't help but feel that Spring is in the air. We have new seats for this season in section 315, right underneath the press box behind home plate, but we haven't gotten to sit in them yet. On Tuesday the Phillies came to town with Bryce Harper playing his first game here sitting in the visitors dugout. It was cold and rain delayed the start, there was a section full or raucous Philly fans that made the trip down to invade our park, and the Nats fans were a bundle of conflicting emotions. Owen felt pretty strongly that we should applaud Harper when he came up for all he did for us as a Nat, just like we cheer for Wilson Ramos or Jordan Zimmermann, or any of the other ex-Nats we like seeing back in DC. Only after that polite cheer should we cheer even louder for Scherzer to strike him out. The problem with Owen's plan was that all the Nats fans that wanted to rain boos down upon Harper easily drowned out our polite clapping. Owen was pretty disappointed in his fellow fans, but one thing was for sure, the Nats Phillies rivalry is going to be intense.

Viola Radio Network

Practicing viola is always interesting, it's also top secret... Charles Viola has been dating Bella Bow for a while, Ravi Rest and Rebecca Rosin are now and item, and Cassie Case has a crush on Stewart Stand, but she hasn't gotten up the courage to ask him out yet. And of course these are just the main players in the ongoing drama that is viola practice. The real excitement comes from all the fans, Viola Radio Network Fans to be precise. Nora enters, the players assemble, the crowd goes wild, the secret handshake is preformed, and practice can finally begin. You gotta love it :-) 

Cherry Blossoms

Beautiful day for a bike ride to see the cherry blossoms in Stanton Park :-)

Baking Girls

Nora had lovely playdate with Violet, where they lived out all of their Nailed It and Great British Baking Show fantasies :-)

DC Honor Ensemble

Owen made the DC Honor Ensemble again this year. It wasn't at Duke Ellington this time, but it still was a great concert :-)

Family Selfie

Family selfie, an ongoing series :-)

National History Day

When both your parents are economist, two of your grandparents are archivist, an entire branch of your family is friends with the Hoover family, and you have to pick a National History Day project, you really don't have a choice but the role of government in The Great Depression.

Feel free to check out Owen's website here.

Breckenridge 2019

When we left Dave & Kara's house in Colorado Springs, we were very glad that we upgraded our rental car from a minivan to a 4WD Jeep, though that did make it pretty tight squeezing in all the groceries. The worst parts of the drive to Breck were getting out of Dave & Kara's neighborhood, and the last 100 yards to the house in Breckenridge. We probably could have made it without the 4WD, but we'd be violating the chain laws, and getting back up the snowy drive from the house in Breck would have been a challenge.



The house in Breckenridge was beautiful and included a pool table, a hot tub, and private baths for all the couples. The only drawback being it wasn't ski-in ski-out, and it was quite a hike to the shuttle stop. Fortunately, the Sodermans rented a land-boat, and since Jennifer wasn't skiing, we were able to ferry everyone the three minute drive to the slopes.

On the first day skiing, Mike, Steve, Hayden, Connor, Gabriel and Owen all took a family group lesson together, while Nora went the traditional ski school route. Meanwhile, Elaine and I explored the slopes on our own: we skied all the blue groomers on Peak 7 in the morning, had a lovely lunch together at Sevens, then skied the more challenging blues on Peak 6 as the snow started rolling in, before working our way back over to Peak 9.



Megan and Mirabel got in on Tuesday afternoon (the synchronized skating went great!), so on Wednesday all the kids were in lessons, and all the skiing adults were on the slopes together. Elaine and I guided everyone over to our favorite spots on Peak 7, and we all had lunch again at Sevens (and partook in the free Oxygen bar downstairs ;-). After lunch, Elaine and Megan went off for a Women's Ski & Wine lesson, and I broke off from the guys to explore some black diamonds.



Coming out of lessons on Wednesday, Owen and Hayden were somewhere around level 6.8 and itching to do more black diamonds, Nora was around level 6.5 but wanting to take it easy and ski with the other kids. So, the last two days, I skiied with Owen & Hayden searching out challenging runs, while the rest of the crew stayed together on some of the more reasonable blue terrain. The boys and I spent a lot of time on the T-bar, skiing the North Face Bowl and even some double black diamonds on Horseshoe Bowl. We went up to the top of Peak 8, the highest lift in North America at 12,840 feet, but it was super cold and windy so we just skiied the double black diamond Imperial Bowl together once. We found better conditions off of 6-Chair with loads of fun wooded black diamonds, from the fast and fun No Name, to the super steep narrow and mogul filled Hombre, and best of all going through the gates to the Way Out Bowl. It was super fun skiing with the boys, and we might even have made it to the point I have to admit Owen is a better skier than me :-)


It was a pretty amazing trip, and we've already voted on the DCPS school calendar poll to try and insure we get another trip in next February...

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

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.