So Put It Up On Your Face

Hey ya, hey ya!

To Rule Them All

Dear G,

I love you, and I love your beautiful face. You see that scratch above your lip? You won't leave it alone. You have had it for 2 weeks now, and when it gets close to getting better, you just rip it up again. If someday down the road you look at your face and see a scar, please realize that it's YOUR FAULT! I am taking no further responsibility from this point on.

With love,

Mom

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We were lucky to get a visit from B.A.'s friend from Utah, Emily, and her mom. It was such a great time, and B.A. was thrilled. We visited Mt. Vernon. This was George Washington's back yard. I guess he deserved it.

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Rhon is skating. She is really getting the hang of it. I love that we got her all padded up.

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A couple ladies at the mall stopped the girls and did their hair with fancy clips. And then they made me take a picture. Maybe they thought I was a regular person and had a camera on my phone. Nope. I had to pull out the actual camera and look like a fool right there in the middle of the mall.

They do look nice though. If I would have bought what they had in Rhon's hair, it would have cost over $100. Yeah right, huh. Can you imagine spending that much on hair things for my darling daughters to just destroy or lose?

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Just because he's handsome.

The Vorpal Blade Went Snicker-Snack

We watched Alice in Wonderland the other night. G made it his responsibility to defend us against the Bandersnatch. Of course, you have to have a sword. And, of course, you have to have snow boots. Defense against a monster on a television is impossible without snow boots.

He also saved us from the Jabberwocky.

He's got some good moves. I fear for all the television villains that show up in our house.

*****

Check this out. Go USA!

Cacao

Grandpa was our first visitor! Visitors in DC are the best! (hint hint) We were able to go do fun things. All I had to do was supply the Diet Pepsi.

Air and Space Museum... check.

National Gallery... check.

Washington Monument... check.

Meat in a Box, Super Chicken... check. check.

Botanical Garden, Natural History, Arlington Cemetery... check. check. check.

And since I get lost pretty much every time I'm behind the wheel, he got to see more of beautiful Virginia, Maryland, and District of Columbia than was strictly necessary.

Good Little Worker Bee

Since you don't want to hear about all the details, here is the super short- devoid of emotion (mostly)- version of why we are here. (In DC, not earth. That would be way too involved.)

It has been a long road. But we are here, and I am incredibly proud of Nate. He started the process of becoming a Foreign Service Officer about 2 years ago. There are tests. Lots. There are applications. There is a lot of waiting. There are more tests. And a lot more waiting. But he got through. Only a small percentage of the people who try this succeed. We are very proud of him.

First day of work...

We got a bid list in the first few days of class. It is a list of all the places Nate could get posted. We researched the places and gave each place a rating of high, medium, or low. It was a great list. There were only a few places I really really didn't want to go. There were more I wouldn't have been happy with, but lots that would have been really great.

June 7th was Flag Day. There is a small group of people who get together and decide where another, much larger, group of people will go for work for their first post. Then they have a small celebratory ceremony where they tell everyone their assignment. I had a lot less anxiety that day than I expected. I worried more about being on time, getting the boys where they needed to go, getting clothes ironed, things like that.

Contemplating where we will go...
They bring out all the flags for the countries that are available. They call out a city and country, then call the person's name who is going there.

The girls came. The boys didn't.

Oh, Nate's dad came. That was really cool. We were happy to have some family there.
I had Rhon go and take a picture of the flags. Nice work!
I thought for sure Nate would get called like 85th out of 95. I just knew I would have to sit there almost the whole time wondering. But he wasn't! He was called 8th-ish. I was almost not prepared for it because it happened so fast. We saw the red and white striped flag. (Red on white, not white on red. That's Poland.) They called out...

Jakarta, Indonesia

And then they called out Nate's name. It was as simple as that. We all cheered. We were very excited. From then on, when flags came up from countries I didn't want to go, I didn't have to worry. I was not disappointed about that.

Then on Friday there was the Swearing In. They all have to take an oath to protect and support the Constitution and a few other things. There was another ceremony-type thing. This time it was downtown. I didn't want to take the kids this time. I was glad I didn't. It was a lot quieter in tone, and more formal. I was glad I got to go. It is a really cool thing. Again, I am very proud of Nate.
Getting ready for the group picture...

I thought this picture was cool because it looks like everyone else is moving, but Nate is still, and looking right at me. I didn't plan it. I stink at picture taking.

Congratulations Nate. And by the way, you look freaking hot in your suits.

Boi Eez

We are swimming! It is so nice having a pool that is outside, free, and warm. In Utah, we didn't get this very often. Or ever.

K, there's a story behind the pink floaties. First of all, it doesn't bother me. And it definitely doesn't bother G. So it's not a big deal. I just feel like I should explain. Ok, so we have established the fact that we didn't swim much (or ever) in Utah. Therefore I have kids who don't swim very well. The lessons we took right before we moved helped the girls a lot, and I feel comfortable even if I don't have my eyes on them every second. The boys on the other hand, not so much. Mads does a great impression of a rock. When we first got here they told us kids couldn't use floaties. So there I was, in the pool, hanging on to G and Mads. Not much fun. Then they told us we could use floaties. So of course I run right to Target to buy some. They had one pair of blue shark ones, and the rest were pink. Do way more boys use Target floaties than girls? Dilemma. Do I wait to see if they get more blue floaties so I don't have to make my baby boy wear bright pink floaties? Do I risk insanity because I feel like a crazy woman trying to watch 5 kids in a pool all at once? Or do I get the pink floaties and get to the pool asap and have lots of fun? I decided against the insanity.

Blue shark floaties. Blue goggles. Blue shark trunks. Totally cool.

Every 45 minutes, they make the kids take a 15 minute break. You would think that they told them Christmas is cancelled they way they act when they have to get out of the pool. But they are getting used to it. And it lets me take some cute pictures.

A V A Shun

There are 2 Air and Space museums.

This is the first. Downtown DC. Very cool. Very exhibit-y. Kids had a blast.

This is the second. Very very cool. Big. Lots of planes to see. Dad had a blast.


The only Einstein bobble heads I saw were in the gift shop. And they didn't talk.

The Ocho

Rhon turned 8! It was a good day. She chose her dinner and dessert. I made it, even though I hate cooking in my new kitchen. Tarragon chicken with rice, and molten chocolate baby cakes. I thought they were excellent choices. We didn't have a big celebration, but we had fun anyway. She is such a cool kid.

She wanted to take a picture of each of her siblings alone. I thought it was funny how one of the other kids snuck into each picture. Stinkers.

Except this one.

Nice chocolate faces on the boys. I think they were licking spatulas and beaters and bowls.

Then it was time to open presents.

I always ask the kids what they want for their birthdays. Sometimes I get what they say, sometimes I don't. Sometimes they can't even think of anything, so I am on my own (I--meaning Nate too). This year, Rhon asked for a skateboard. That is what she got. Even though she wanted the one from the Vans store that had glow-in-the-dark skulls, she got a Tony Hawk one from Target. She was happy. Very happy. Notice the faces of her siblings though. I guess they thought her present was so cool that they would cry about it? I know. It confuses me too.

Here they are looking very curious. No emotions yet. Just a desire to find out what's inside.

Rhon looking happy. Dare visibly not happy.

Rhon looking very happy and excited when she realized she got what she wanted, and it is pretty cool. Dare looking even more sad. This was right before she left the table.

Rhon looking happy and smiling for the camera. Now it's Mads who isn't looking happy. He too had tears that night.

B.A. was happy for Rhon. More experience I guess?

Cake time. Here Rhon is blowing out the pretend candles. She is such a cool kid.

Happy Birthday Rhon!

Going Down

Going to the library...

Note to self: Never let G ride his scooter to the library ever again. Not even if he begs. Not even if he looks at you with his adorable eyes. Not even if he cries and throws a fit. Just get the stroller, strap him in, and everyone will be happy. I promise.