King of the Saltdough Maps

Jack had to make a saltdough map of Virginia for a social studies project. He really got a kick out of doing it, and definitely knows a lot about Virginia geography now (which is the point of it, I guess). As I was walking him to the bus stop this morning, I should have just been grateful for this learning opportunity - but as we drew closer to the other kids at the bus stop (several of whom were 4th graders with saltdough projects in their hands), the ONLY thing I could think of is .... is my kid's saltdough map better than those kids'.

Yeah, I'm very mature.

And yeah, his was better.

Heh.

But you know, that's not the point.

Of course.

But still. Just so you know.

Go Pete!

One of the perks with staying with my brother Pete and his family? Well, Pete is a county supervisor, so Pete gets to be in town parades, and we're staying with Pete - ergo, WE get to be in town parades. Jack and Ellie were really, really excited to sit on Pete's float during the Haymarket Day Parade. They waved, they smiled, they blew bubbles, they threw candy, and they proudly wore their Pete Candland Supervisor stickers. I too sat on the float (in part, to make sure my kids didn't do anything scandalous), and felt a BIT dorky blowing bubbles at the crowd, but hey, this might be my only brush with fame, so I shouldn't complain. Go Pete!

Movies, Fondue, and Stinky Man Pits

Jack turns 9 tomorrow, but we celebrated his birthday over the weekend. We had planned to be in Belgium by now, and his wish was to go to a Belgian chocolate factory for his birthday. Well, we weren't there, so we got him some chocolate-themed gifts as a consolation prize - a giant Happy Birthday Hershey bar, humungous Twizzlers, a piggy bank shaped like Hershey's syrup, a pen shaped like a Twizzler's, and of course a Hershey's shirt. Then he chose what he wanted to do for the day - he chose a movie and dinner at the Melting Pot (a local fondue restaurant).

His 9th birthday celebration also included a very important milestone - purchasing deodorant for the first time. Which, as I discovered over the weekend, is needed at this point. The boy's got some stinky man pits, my friend. But no longer - our soon-to-be-9-year-old now has some fresh-as-a-daisy man pits.

Happy Birthday, Jack!



Yes, indeed, those are some mighty big Twizzlers

Jack's new piggy bank

And of course a Hershey's shirt - did I mention that Jack likes Hershey's?

We like us some fondue

Everything is better with chocolate; Jack finally decided that the fondue fork wasn't a fast enough delivery system and just started spooning the chocolate into his mouth

And what birthday would be complete without an outing to Walmart to smell deodorants? We sure now how to throw a party

Little Dogs in the Big City

It was a beautiful day today, and so the perfect day to walk around the National Mall. So off we went downtown with the kids and the dogs. It was Oliver's first day in the big city, so he was a bit anxious at first. But it just took him a few minutes to get excited about all the sites and the smells (well, mostly the smells), and off he went. We walked several miles and no complaints, so that's pretty much a perfect day for us. It'll likely be our last day in the city for the next few years, so it was a perfect sendoff.


Little dogs in the big city.

One of the things that's cool about D.C. is all the green that is still there - lots of green grass and really good climbing trees

Jack's request was to go to the Lincoln Memorial

Isn't that a beautiful day!

Ellie wanted to go to the Martin Luther King Memorial

Tired grownups, kids, and doggies after a beautiful day

Finally.

Finally, finally, finally. We finally got the military orders to go to SHAPE Headquarters at Mons, Belgium. We head over there on October 8th. Finally!

Dad Days

You know, there's something Jared's really good at - well more than one something, but here's one of those somethings - he's really good at the spontaneous field trip. He may not know how to put down a toilet seat, pick up a sock off the floor, or do the dishes, but he is definitely top-notch at the Day Day. During our homelessness, he's had the occasional day off, and he's done a great job of entertaining the kids during those. The other day he had a day off from work, and the took the kids downtown for a little D.C. fun. He took them to the American Indian Museum and to the National Gallery of Art. On another day off that week, they went to the National Harbor. He always gets big Dad Points for his days out with the kids - from the kids and from Mom.



Kayaking at National Harbor

Hello, Family

Judging from the size of those oars, I'm suspecting Jared may have been doing most of the rowing

They also have a neat sculpture there at the National Harbor - is it called the Awakening, or am I making that up in my head? Well, it SHOULD be called the Awakening

Yes, let's call it the Awakening

Don't forget the Peepmobile. Truthfully, we all hate peeps, but you just can't pass up a peepmobile if given the opportunity.

And of course the kids had to stop by the American Indian Museum to get some buffalo

And to hang out in a tepee

Hello, my little ones

And my big one, too

They also made a trip to the National Gallery of Art - Ellie remembered learning about Van Gogh in school, so of course they had to search him out

Dad Days - they like 'em

Now We're Just Hobos

According to Jack, we are officially hobos. And, well, he's kinda right.

So per the earlier post, we rented out our house, but STILL (STILL, I say!) haven't gotten the approval for our overseas move. So off the Ashburn Hillbillies went to a hotel for 18 days. Then off we went again to my parents' place, for a little country rest and relaxation. But then school started in Virginia. And still no approval for our move. So off we went to my brother's place (try and keep up!), so can mooch off them for a while and put the kids in school. So apparently all our finger-crossing didn't do any good. So now we're just going to plain old throw hissy fits. Wish us luck!


The kids had a blast at Riverside, especially learning how to fish. The really rocked - they ended up catching 32 fish, although they only kept a couple of them.

Who'd know that we could get the kids to sit still for long? Jared must be the Fish Whisperer!

Jared also took the kids for a couple boat rides

Doggie Oliver especially loved the boat rides

The kids built a fire (without matches, 'cause we're hardcore!) and cooked and ate two of their fish. I ate some of it and it tasted, well, it tasted kinda like fire, but hey, we're hardcore.

Jack may have gotten a little close to the fire.

Being down at my parents' also means B&J's, a local takeout that has most awesome milkshakes and barbecue.

It also means a little more leeway with things like, oh, safe driving laws.

Oliver was just thrilled to pieces to spend time with Hershey

And the kids were reminded what it meant to be Country Tired

Now that we're hobos mooching off Peter and Robyn (who must be out of their ever-lovin' minds to let us march in with two adults, two kids, and two dogs. But hey, we're thrilled to take advantage of their temporary insanity), the kids get to go to school with their cousins Ryan and Paige. Ellie is very excited to being a big 2nd grader.

Jack is heading off to 4th grade

It was like 100,000 degrees when we walked up to the bus stop

Waiting for the bus

The kids were very excited - I'm just hoping they get on the right bus heading back!

Good luck, kiddies!