Around Town…

I LOVE this time of year! Fall is by far the greatest season of all and the relief from humidity has been heavenly. The change of seasons has brought on the cravings for fresh cider-mill donuts and cider. There are no cider-mills close to us so thankfully Seth stumbled upon this gem and it has helped fill the need.

It’s called the “Fractured Prune” and they make made to order donuts complete with toppings. In the end you get hot, rich, gooey goodness. They were good but  there was no hay ride, wild goats, cider, hay maze, or pumpkin patch to accompany them….

Seth took the boys to the National Mall for the “National Book Festival.” It is sponsored by the Library of Congress and host lots of children’s authors, books, and booths. They were able to travel to each state to find out about books and authors from that state plus load up on the “swag”(free stuff). I was happy with Utah’s booth because they handed out truffles from the lion house and little canisters of salt (which Seth was kind enough to save and bring home to me). Lucy and I decided to stay home and catch up on rest…

Charlie lost his two front teeth about 10 minutes before bedtime. He actually pulled out one and decided the other one wasn’t quite ready. It was a bit crooked and looked close to me so he gave me permission and I pulled it out.  Now he has a little lisp when he talks and looks completely different.  I was really impressed with the tooth fairy because he/she came through on very short notice.

I don’t think I could post without Lucy. Here she is getting ready to walk Charlie to the bus (a highlight in her day). She is talking/singing up a storm and loves to climb up the counter to explore all the unlocked cupboards.

Labor Day trip to the National Air and Space Museum.

 

Three cheers for living in a place with a bunch of free museums (funny that the museum was “free” but it was $15 to park??)  With Seth having the day off we decided to take a trip to the National Air and Space Museum in Virginia by the Dulles Airport. This is an expansion of the other Air and Space Museum in downtown DC and from what everybody says, “way better!” We thought it would be crowded because of the holiday so we arrived soon after it opened (a little later than planned because there was an unexpected toll road so there was time spent digging around the van for change) but it wasn’t crowded at all. It’s Huge!  We took the guided tour which was actually really interesting.

Did you know the the “Enterprise” space shuttle was originally suppose to be called the “Constitution” but a whole bunch of Star Trek fans wrote in wanting it to be called the “Enterprise?” Oh, and it never has actually been to space, it’s a practice shuttle.

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was my favorite. It flew from LA to DC in 64 minutes!!

The silver plain on the bottom is the “Enola Gay" which dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan. The plain on the right is a retired Concord.

 

The first day of first grade!

We were worried school might not start because of the Hurricane. Church was canceled the day before due to flooding but thankfully everything was good to go Monday morning for school. Charlie takes  a short bus ride to school but we still get to walk him to the entrance to our complex which is where the bus stop is. He was so excited and ready to go. The rest of us where a bit slower getting ready but thankfully he made the bus, barely. I know, it’s sad he almost missed the bus the first day but thankfully we have never cut it close again.

Matthew was not excited for Charlie to start school, obviously. It was rough the first few days but thankfully he’s been able to make use of Lucy as a companion. They fight a lot but Lucy does not play fare. 

The real trauma in the day came when I went to pick Charlie up from the bus. All the kids got off but there was no Charlie. I asked the driver were he was and she said he must have gotten on the wrong bus. I called the school and they said they weren’t sure where he was either but the driver would bring him back to the school if he got on the wrong bus. We drove to the school and he was waiting for us when we got there. He was fine and didn’t seem like it was a big deal. Some how when he got off the bus in the morning he received a red ticket instead of an orange one.  Consequently his teacher put him on the “red” bus route home instead of the “orange” one.  I’m just grateful he’s ok and now knows for sure what bus to ride on.

Hurricane Irene!

So we survived our first Hurricane. It actually wasn’t as bad as predicted. The build up was very exciting though. The grocery stores were all out of bottled water. I find it interesting that they not only was all the bottled water picked over but the pop across the isle was almost depleted as well. I guess it’s important to be prepared on every front.

It rained long and hard for a long time and the wind was strong. Shortly before I went to bed I listened to a news story about a tree falling on a house and killing a little boy. With that I went and climbed into my bed. We have a large tree in front of our house (our bedroom is the only bedroom on the front of the house) and I could hear it blowing and brushing against the house. I woke up Seth and told him I was sleeping in the basement. He was unimpressed and stayed in our bed.

I really wasn’t crazy. Our neighbors tree in their front yard fell over on their car. It  was sad because it was a really pretty tree. Thankfully Seth was spared and our tree stayed put.

Our wonderful shade tree is still standing!

Our neighbors tree is not....

A new addition to our family!

We are the proud owners of a Clavinova!  I love having a piano in our home!  Charlie had asked about lessons but after doing a little research I realized I would need to teach him myself($$$).  It has actually been working out ok. It has been years since I’ve really played but thankfully it’s coming back. My mom developed her own set of teaching books which she kindly shipped out to us. Charlie has been practicing every day and with that has been progressing. Hopefully the novelty doesn’t ware off any time soon.

Charlie is not the only one who’s been playing, Seth often sits down to play in the evenings.  He knows more than I thought.  I guess that is a completely normal occurrence.

The Bryners visit!

We had our first extended stay guests. The Bryner family from Ann Arbor came and stayed with us for a whole week. The best part was (other than their company) there was enough room for everyone!!!  Charlie and Matthew love their girls, Eve and Portia, so they played long and hard. Since Kelly and Ben know the area, they planned all their own activities and met up with us for dinner and games in the evening.

I convinced them to  leave their girls with me for a whole day while they went and did more adult sight seeing and the temple. What’s better than play-dough, slip’n slide, and the park? It was fun to pretend I had two sets of twins (and Lucy) for a day.

Café Rio is only 15 minutes from our house! This is actually the first time  we have lived close to one and it’s never really busy. People don’t really know about it and they have millions of bland Chipotle restaurants  ERVERYWHERE. You can always spot lots of Mormons inside too..

The day before they left we all went to the beach together. It ranks right up there on the list of “perfect days.” We went to the Chesapeake Bay because it’s only and hour from us (the ocean is more like 3). It was not crowded and the weather was warm and overcast. The kids played and played for over six hours and nobody complained. Even Lucy was a gem! The water was warm but we were spoiled with our fresh water lakes in Michigan.  Kelly and I spent a good portion of the time sitting under the umbrella soaking in the peace.

Charlie, Eve, Matthew, Lucy, and Portia

An artist, a buddy, a reader, and a victim.

Lucy is a budding artist. She loves to color on EVERYTHING. All our walls are adorned with her skills. Now she has taken it to a new level with her body art work. If she can get her hands on a marker or pen she instantly  goes for her skin. She was one happy camper when when she found herself naked with a marker. She even drew on her scalp….

We have officially began the daily hair routine in this home. It only recently dawned on me that I could probably pull it up into something. Voilà! We call them her fountains. She’s actually pretty good in the bathroom during the process as long as she has some sort of make-up tool to entertain. 

Thankfully, the timing of our move coordinated with the rapid development of Charlie’s reading skills. He went from being surrounded by possible playmates to only Matthew. He and Matthew did play a lot but Charlie also spent a huge chunk of his day reading, particularly “The Magic Tree House” series.  I think there are over 50 books in the series an he’s closing in on the last few. 

Matthew calls his Dad, Brother, and friend Ellis “Buddy.” Every time I hear it I think it is the cutest thing I have ever heard. Maybe because he says it so naturally. Matthew is also eagerly awaiting the day he can go to preschool (it doesn’t start until October 4th), until then he stays busy with art projects and tent building. 

Seth was shocked to walk out of the metro station and not find his bike where he left it. Instead he found his cut lock and helmet laying on the ground. The bike was old and cheap (came from Target) so he wasn’t too upset about loosing it. He had actually been talking about getting a new one. Seth’s words on the subject were something like, “I only wish I could have seen their face when they rode off on my bike and realized they had just stolen a piece of crap.”