Slices of Life: Spring in Virginia

Just a few of the many day-to-day adventures we've been having the past few months:

 

One of the very best parts of apartment living here is the abundance of easy playdates.  I love how easy it is to invite kids over to play without too much planning.  The kids love it too.

These are just a few of Funny Guy's and Darling Daughter's many friends here.  Funny Guy and his friends had a great time with our left-over moving boxes.

One of my favorite pictures of My Man at work during A-100. 

For 100 Day at school, Funny Guy's class all dressed up as if they were 100 years old. 

Funny Guy made quite the adorable old grandpa.  He was very excited when his class picture made it in the school newsletter.

One of my favorite things is when My Man pulls out the guitar and starts playing.  All the kids are drawn to the music like bees to nectar and the pure joy and happiness that ensues as they sing and dance their hearts out to his tunes makes me give thanks for the blessing it is to be alive and to have such a beautiful family.  Thanks for playing, Love.

Although he started into his choir class mid-quarter, Young Man caught up quickly and by the time the choir concert came around he knew every song perfectly and sang with gusto and enthusiasm.  It was so fun to watch him sing (sadly the picture is terrible--it was so crowded!).

Young Man has a great scout troop here.  One of his last activities with the 11-year-old troop before his birthday was a long hike around Burke Lake, followed by a great game of Frisbee golf.  Most of his campouts here have been rained out so far, but we already signed him up for his first scout camp this summer!

For Funny Guy's birthday, My Man and I were able to sneak over during our lunch break to take cupcakes to the class and celebrate with him.  It was fun to see him at school.

Funny Guy needed just a little persuasion to pull out his first tooth, which was loose for months before My Man helped him out!  Although he wasn't excited to pull it out, once the gory deed was done, he was very excited.  He was even more excited the next morning when he found that the tooth fairy brought him a silver dollar!

Ever since we got an ice-cream maker for Christmas, we've been experimenting with different ice-cream recipes.  The best ones are custard based, which is a lot of work.  Luckily the kids all have fun pitching in.  And it's worth it--the ice-cream is sooo good.

Young Man's first soccer game was ushered in with a great rain storm, but that didn't stop him from playing hard.  He's so fun to watch pour his whole soul into the game like that.

Funny Guy had almost as much fun, playing in the rain with his dad.

The next week, Young Man didn't have a soccer game because of spring break, but he had a scrimmage in the field near our apartment.  I decided to use the chance to walk to the library since we had books due and it was such a beautiful day.  When Funny Guy found out, he begged to join me.  I'd expected to have it be a quick walk, but it turned into a 4-hour adventure, stopping at every park along the way, drinking in the sunshine and spring flowers, and truly appreciating the beauty of spring.  I didn't mind a bit.

My last week of Thai classes felt like a big party.  We started off the week with a full-day Songkran celebration (the Thai New Year).  My Man and I were somehow roped into leading the Thai section in the sticky-rice dance (a semi-complicated dance depicting a sticky-rice eating ceremony).  The other language section had their own demonstrations (Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar).  We got to bring Darling Daughter and Young Man with us since they were on Spring Break (Funny Guy went to a fun spring break camp all week).  There was dancing and lots and lots of food and some interesting cultural explanations.  All in all it was a fun time.

Then on Wednesday, we got to go out to a Thai restaurant with our class and teachers.  The Thai teachers asked the restaurant staff to only speak Thai and then made us order everything and ask the waitress questions.  It was pretty fun and we got to sample lots of great food.  In addition to our usual fare of pad Thai and mango cashew chicken, they had us order them fried fish and seafood drunken noodles (we initially accidentally ordered a drunk man . . .).

As kind of a final project, My Man and I wrote our biographies all in Thai.  It's not much and we still have so much to learn, but it was pretty exciting to be able to write so much and to have something so completely foreign become a little less intimidating.

Spring took its time coming to Virginia, but when it did, it was beautiful.  We took advantage by taking as many walks as possible.  (It's still beautiful outside--I think I'm using the past tense because today has been cold and rainy and these pictures look as if they were taken in a golden age long ago . . .)

One day during spring break, I got out of Thai early so the older kids and I walked to pick up Funny Guy from his camp.  It's a few miles away but we enjoyed the walk, stopping to play at the playgrounds along the way.

 These are some of my favorite pictures of Darling Daughter.  She's growing up so beautifully!

One of the very best parts of being done with my Thai class is being able to chaperone the kids' field trips.  I had a blast taking Young Man and a few of his friends through the USA Science & Engineering Festival.  They had great time with the many hands-on demonstrations, experiments, projects, and freebies.

One of the other best parts of being done with Thai, is getting to take long walks and runs in the mornings.  Although this week has been cold and rainy, last week was full of sunshine and flowers.  Even better are the days when My Man can join me before class.  (The first week out of Thai class, I logged almost 50 miles--I was obviously exercise deprived!)

With soccer season in full swing, Young Man has a game every Saturday.  The last one was sunny and beautiful and Young Man played hard and well.  Watching his corner kicks is one of the highlights, especially remembering back to the drills My Man put him through when he was only 4 and 5 years old to learn them.  The lessons obviously stuck!

After the soccer game, we drove out to Sandy Point, a Maryland State Park along the Chesapeake Bay.  Some of our great friends here had invited us to spend the afternoon there with them and we were glad we did.  When we first got there, I thought all the people in bathing suits were crazy!  It was sunny but windy and the water was cold!  But it didn't take long for our kids to jump right in. 

They spent most of the time excavating a big "swimming pool" and filling it with water.  We enjoyed a picnic, Young Man had the brilliant idea of bringing his hammock and graciously shared it, and I read almost half a book sitting on the beach with my toes in the warm sand, watching the kids play and listening to the crashing waves.  It was wonderful.  The reason our friend had invited us to that particular beach was so he could practice kiting (he kite boards out there).  He let My Man try it.  It was easier than kiting a paraglider so he took to it easily and helped Darling Daughter and Young Man give it a go. 

Another day, we were able to make it out to the temple in Kensington, MD.  As I sat inside the celestial room, I just couldn't help but pour out my heart in thanks to our Father for all the blessings and direction our family has received over the past few months.  I still can hardly believe how well everything has fallen into place and how richly our faith has been rewarded.

It has been a wonderful start to the year.

Great Falls National Park

Spring Break this year was a whirl of Thai classes, rainy days, and lots of business for the Oakwood Petsitters, so we didn't have a lot of time for adventures.  My introductory Thai class ended on Thursday, however, so on Friday, Young Man and Darling Daughter agreed to join me for a day of hiking and exploration (Funny Guy was busy with his spring break camp, which he loved, and My Man was busy with Thai--he still has several months of classes).  We ventured to Great Falls National Park, a park not far from Falls Church that I'd heard great things about.

We weren't disappointed.  The falls were spectacular, raging from the recent rains (though nowhere near the high water marks, which were posted up on the main trail, a ways from the river, quite impressive indeed!). 

We hiked a loop that started out along the river, with plenty of outlooks, and then cut in to come back through the forest.  There were creeks to explore, kayakers to watch, and even a little bit of sunshine to soak up (toward the end). 

It was definitely a beautiful place to spend the day and I was so grateful to be able to share it with two of my favorite people in the world.  I'm so happy that they love this beautiful world as much as I do!  We can't wait to go back with My Man and Funny Guy.

Oakwood Apartments

Since I should be organizing taxes instead of indulging my whims to blog, I'll make this short.  I've been asked lots of questions about what life at Oakwood is like.  Was it worth it to stay here?  Did we finally get a three-bedroom apartment?  Are the pictures on the walls as hideous as reputed? 

Oakwood living room/dining room/kitchen

So here's the deal.  Staying at Oakwood is awesome.  Really.  Sure, we don't have a house, don't really have our own yard, and the art on the walls leaves much to be desired, but it's completely worth it.  When we moved in, we were able to dump our suitcases in the living room, run to the convenience store about 50 feet away, and buy all the essentials for dinner and breakfast to tide us over until our real shopping trip the next day.  Fifteen minutes later, I was in the kitchen cooking pasta and brownies (paleo friends, don't judge . . . first nights in new places after flying across the country do not have any food rules or standards in this house!).  By bedtime a couple hours later, we were mostly unpacked and settled in.  Sure the kitchen accessories are dull and somewhat lacking, and all the bedding and towels are a sterile white, but talk about easy!


kids' room

And easy doesn't stop there.  There are shuttles to the metro stop, shuttles to FSI, shuttles to shopping (on Saturday afternoons), a shuttle that will take you anywhere within 5 miles every weeknight (6 to 10pm), a gym (replete with sauna and locker room), a business center with free computer use and printing, a latte/hot chocolate machine in the lobby, rooms to reserve for group get-togethers, kids activities most days of the week, a free Sunday brunch, and more, not to mention plenty of ready-made friends for your kids and a bus-stop for each of the Falls Church public schools (which seem to be fantastic).  There's also a pool (currently closed for winter), two tennis courts, and basketball hoops.  Oakwood Falls Church is also within easy walking distance of the Eden Center (home to the best, and reputedly most authentic, Vietnamese cuisine in the area), BJ's (similar to Costco), and even a Barnes & Noble and Ross Dress for Less.  Oh, and did I mention the weekly maid service?  And about the wall art--we were lucky enough to get different pictures on each wall--a friend of ours has three of the same picture throughout their apartment!  Still, Oakwood could definitely do better and purchase their art here in future!

Ry is stoked to have the studio room to himself.  Kind of.  We agreed it will
also be the game/play room.  The bed folds up to make a large open room.

So, while the apartment complex doesn't have the charm of many of the colonial neighborhoods around here, we are very happy with our choice to stay here, especially since we don't know how long we'll be here.  And now that we've moved into a three-bedroom apartment, we have plenty of room for visitors if you want to come see the many sights here in our country's capital!

Martin Luther King Day

Monday was a beautiful winter day and we had the pleasure of spending it in Washington, D.C., at the national mall.  First we walked down toward the Washington Monument (which is unfortunately closed for renovations).

The WWII monument was next and the kids loved reading the quotes etched into the walls.  It's a beautiful monument.

The monument everyone wanted to see most, however, was the Lincoln Memorial.

It was the perfect place to be on such an important holiday, and as we stood where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech and considered the incredible impact of one courageous leader, I was moved.

Reading Lincoln's Gettysburg Address from the wall of his monument was equally moving.  Our kids were surprised by the emotion in my voice as I choked up, reading those powerful words.  I hope they felt something of the awe and respect that I feel for that great man and president.

We then walked through the Vietnam Memorial, where we learned that more than half of those MIA have now been identified, including the remains of the soldier who used to reside in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery.

We then walked to the edge of the White House property where the kids were excited to see the president's house for the first time.

By then, we were already running out of time, so we hurried over to the Natural History Smithsonian.  Wow.  I visited the Smithsonians many years ago, but I'd forgotten their scope.  We barely had time to scratch the surface of all that was there and can't wait to go back.

We enjoyed exploring the dinosaur exhibit, the Hope diamond, and the mummies.  Finally we had to drag the kids away, promising to return soon.  It wasn't nearly enough time, but we had tickets to the NBA Wizards vs 76ers game with My Man's A-100 class.  On the way, we passed several street musicians.  Our favorite was this jazz ensemble right outside the basketball game.

The game was fun (Wizards dominated and won), but my favorite part was when we asked Funny Guy if he was having fun.  He'd been dancing to the music and glued to the game so we thought he'd say YES!  Instead he said, "Not really--I liked the museums the most."  That's my boy!

All in all, it was a fantastic day--beautiful, interesting, and fun.  And maybe the best part?  Finding out that the next day instead of heading back to work and school, we got a snow day!

A Moving Life

Today, we're moving again.  We've been here in Falls Church, Virginia, exactly 13 days.  Just long enough to fight over rooms (the kids all wanted the walk-in closet as their "very own room"), put our giant world map up on the wall, figure out the strange moods of the dishwasher, and have four service calls (apparently our appliances were exhausted from all their work with the previous tenants and weren't excited about continuing on with us).

But today's move is only to the building next to ours, from our two-bedroom in building C to a three-bedroom apartment (yahoo!) in building B. It shouldn't be too bad as far as moves go since we still only have the stuff we brought with us in our suitcases, along with all the "essentials" we've accumulated from a few trips to BJ's (local Costco knock-off) and Target, although the 6 inches of snow that arrived yesterday will make it a little more tricky.

In our 13 days here, we've broken in our new shoes fairly painlessly.  We arrived on a Friday and enjoyed a homecooked meal in our new apartment that night (thanks to the small and ridiculously overpriced but convenient store on the apartment premises).

Sunday we went to church (twice, but that's another story) and met about a hundred other Foreign Service families in the area.

My Man started A-100 (the orientation class for new Foreign Service Officers) Monday, while I tackled the challenge of registering our three kids into three different schools and then stocking our pantry and fridge.

By Tuesday our kids were in school and by the time I picked them up at the bus stop that afternoon, they were already happily incorporated into the social bedlam of our transient community.  My Man and I had several Foreign Service events to attend and ended up having something pretty much every evening that week.  We almost bought a car, then decided to wait until we know where we're going next and what vehicle regulations we'll be facing.  So after a few days borrowing a car from a very generous friend, we got acquainted with the public transportation of Falls Church (very expensive taxis, free shuttles if you time it right, and the metro with a stop only a couple blocks away).

Wednesday, the kids had early dismissal from school and the weather was unseasonably warm, so we headed out to explore the nearest trail system and parks.  The kids were delighted by the squirrels, the trees, the wildness of it all.  Needless to say, it's been a great and relatively easy transition.

Yesterday was a snow day and so Young Man invited his new friends over to play games and eat pizza (yes, I'm not above bribing his friends into thinking ours is the cool house!).  It was so awesome to talk to these 11-year-old boys about their lives.  Between the four of them, they'd lived in more than 10 different countries and visited a bunch more.  I was impressed by all of them and couldn't ask for better friends for our son.  And the best part?  They welcomed him in from day one, including him in their group, making the transition easy because they've been there, that new kid coming in the middle of a year, and they know how it is, so they do their best to make it easier.

Sunset I enjoyed while walking home from the metro one evening.

So yes, our new life will be unsettled, it will be hard and uncomfortable, but I think the rewards will be one hundred percent worth it.  A moving life is just that, a moving life, a powerful life, one where you get to soak up new experiences, see new places, become new people.

Falls Church is simply beautiful.