Old Town Alexandria

I figured out where I want to live. Someday. Okay, I probably won't ever live here, but it was really cool.

Cobblestone street. I don't recommend running on a street like this. My boys were tempted. Luckily there were no injuries.

We all loved walking down the streets here. I took a lot of pictures of people's houses. They probably thought we were weird. Some people even had fire in their porch lights. So cool.
The girls want to go back. I think I will take them and leave all the boys at home. Then we can go into all the little shops and look around.

Like 9-ish

Guess who?

Yep. Dare lost her first tooth. She was so funny because she didn't even want to tell me. She wanted to surprise me and Dad at the same time. But she talks funny so there was no way I would miss it. She even had B.A. pull it out for her! I didn't even know it was loose enough to come out. She's sneaky. She was way excited. Then she lost it. And cried. And then she found it. And was excited again. And then she lost it. I have never seen the tooth.

We had a few months go by with no teeth falling out. I'm glad we're back in the game so I can show off my utter lack of Tooth Fairy skills. Ugh! Back to embarrassing myself and making up excuses night after night. She did get her money last night, but up until then, the excuse has been that she stays up too late. The "Tooth Fairy" goes to bed at 10. She told me when she finds it again, she'll give it to me for my collection.

I'll Take Three

There was a big cave.

And friends.

And then we got to pick our own peaches. It makes perfect sense. Trust me.

G

G talks constantly. Not kidding. He doesn't stop. I think he just likes to hear his own voice. He will talk even if no one is listening. That never brings him down. He always wants to tell people stories. Tonight in the car, he told about 20 stories. He went from person to person saying, "Hey Rhon (or other names), can I tell you a story?" He would keep repeating that sentence until the person responded to him. His stories are very entertaining, even though they make no sense.

Anytime we are out, he makes a friend. It doesn't matter if they are old or young, girl or boy, etc. He will talk to just about everyone and most people talk back. I don't know what it is about him exactly, but he sure gets a lot of attention.

*****

Tonight G said family prayer. He usually has a hard time thinking of things to pray for other than the food. Which, of course, isn't even really necessary during family prayer. But tonight he was on a roll. He had no help. After his customary food blessing, he proceeded to pray for, and in this order...

1. That he could play Super Smash Bros. tomorrow.

2. That Dad wouldn't get mad.

3. That Mom wouldn't be a jerk.

It's really not that bad for him over here. He has it pretty easy seeing as how naughty he is. I'm pretty sure he wanted to make his siblings laugh. He succeeded.

*****

G came to me the other morning with a couple of toys to play with. He wanted me to be the snake. It is actually part of a race track in the shape of a snake. He was the snake's tail. Which is also a part of the race track. The snake head and the snake tail were supposed to fight. I obliged. We were having good fun, until G got hurt. I guess one time when the snake head hit the snake tail, I got part of G's finger. There was a tiny scratch right by his cuticle, and a even tinier bead of blood. Saying G was mad at me is the understatement of the year. I told him I was sorry, but he kept saying things like...

"It's not okay!"

"I say you're not sorry!"

"I say it's not okay!"

"Don't ever hurt me again!"

And then after we got a bandaid, and he calmed down a bit, he told me, "I'm going to make you bleed."

I was laughing during this whole exchange, but when I heard that I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. Then I realized it wasn't that funny. Oh man.

*****

This is the best. My favorite part is, "... up up dup dup dup so high..." Watch. You'll love it too.

I wish I didn't cut off the beginning.

Atlantic!

"Oh. I wish all this was across the street!" - B.A.

We went to the beach! We had to drive a long way, and it took longer than we thought, but we made it, and it was awesome.

What's the Next Big Thing?

See that button?

Here it is up close.

Mads found this button in the girls room a few weeks back. He wore it everyday for a while. He loved it. One day I overheard this conversation...

Mads - "Hey Dad. What does this say?" pointing to his button

Nate - "It says, 'I love robots.'"

Mads - very excitedly "So do I!" like it was the greatest coincidence ever

No Consolation Prize

A while back (like a year or two!) a friend posted an interview she had with her son. It was really great, so I decided to copy it. I asked my kids the questions, and then never posted it. Today while I was going through a pile of papers that I packed and brought to Virginia, I ran across my interview with my kids. It's pretty entertaining. For me anyway...

I interviewed them separately.

1. What is something that your mom always says to you?

M- When I'm poopin', don't get off the potty

A- Don't

R- You love me

B- Be nice to each other

2. What makes your mom happy?

M- A potty

A- Cuddling with you

R- When I don't fight with my sisters

B- When I'm nice to my sisters

3. What makes your mom sad?

M- When G is sad

A- Being naughty

R- When I fight with my sisters

B- When I'm not nice to my sisters

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

M- I didn't get an answer from him for this one. I think he lost interest a couple of times.

A- Tickle me

R- Tickle me

B- That's hard because you do that in all kinds of different ways.

5. What was your mom like as a child?

A- Blonde hair

R- Like me

B- You weren't a book worm and you had short blonde hair like me.

6. How old is your mom?

M- 3. No you aren't. Me- Then how old am I? M- I don't know.

A- 32

R- 32

B- 31

7. How tall is your mom?

M- Big

A- (shoulder shrug)

R- 3 1/2 feet

B- About 4 feet 6 inches

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

M- Play with toys

A- Play with us

R- Play with G

B- Be with us and have fun

9. What does your mom do when you are not around?

A- Jog

R- Sit on the couch and play Dr. Mario

B- Play video games

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

A- Cookin'

R- You being such a good mom

B- Baking

11. What is your mom really good at?

A- Paintin'

R- Painting

B- Baking

12. What is your mom not very good at?

A- (shoulder shrug)

R- Working

B- Building

13. What does your mom do for a job?

M- Coloring

A- Clean

R- Take care of us

B- Take care of Jack

14. What is your mom's favorite food?

M- Lunch

A- Chinese food

R- One of them is probably Risotto

B- Reubens

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

A- Good at painting

R- Such good painting

B- Being a good mom

16. If your mom was a cartoon character, who would she be?

A- Pucca

R- Pucca

B- Minnie Mouse

17. What do you and your mom do together?

M- Playing around

A- Play puzzles

R- Color

B- Read

18. How are you and your mom the same?

A- Same eyes

R- We both laugh at G

B- Both had blonde hair when we were little

19. How are you and your mom different?

A- She has black hair, I have blonde

R- You're big and I'm small

B- You don't read very much and I do

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

A- You're my mom

R- Cause you always say it

B- You're nice to me

21. What does your mom like most about Dad?

A- That he can cook Chinese food

R- That he's your husband

B- He makes good salsa

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

M- Home Depot

A- Indian Restaurant

R- California

B- To the sea

I can't wait to see what G's answers will be. Stay tuned.

Reminders

Mads always reminds me that it was a good thing that I have boys.

G always reminds me to remember that Mads reminds me that is was a good thing that I have boys.

Her Crown

Dare has a whole new quality that I haven't had to deal with before. Not even close. She has to have her hair done.

All the time.

She won't leave the house unless there is a pony tail in it. Even when we are hanging around the house she fixes her hair. She is really into headbands, and she wears them frequently. There has been a number of occasions when I am leaving the house but I have to wait because she is in her bathroom doing her hair. Anytime she goes to the bathroom, she comes out with her hair redone, with water and ponies and headbands. I have tried to convince her many times that she looks cute with her hair down, but she hates it like that. If I curl it she might leave it down, but the chances are never good. As soon as she gets out of the shower she comes to me with a pony holder and a comb, and follows me around until I put it in her hair. If I don't have time to do a pony, she will cry. It's that bad. Or she will enlist Rhon to do it for her.

I'm not sure I like this quality.

2 Dunked, 3 To Go

Rhon was baptized! Finally. She felt like she had to wait forever. We were trying to get settled in, and give family a chance to plan a trip. She was happy that Grammy and Poppy, and Grandma and Mark could make it. This day was really special. She was able to plan the whole day. She chose what songs we sang. I Am A Child of God and I Love to See the Temple. She chose who said the prayers. Mads opening, and B.A. closing. She chose who gave the talks. Grammy on baptism, and Grandma on confirmation. And she chose who did the ordinances. Dad, of course.

Mads gave a wonderful prayer. I was so proud of him.

Grammy's talk was awesome.

The baptism went perfect.

Grandma's talk was awesome.

The confirmation was so special. Rhon cried. (She never does that.) The spirit was so strong.

Someone from the Primary Presidency talked to her about activity days, and about Faith in God.

The representative from the Bishopric also spoke. It was nice, even though he said her name like 5 different ways. LOL!

B.A. gave a wonderful prayer through her tears.

I was so happy to see her primary teachers there. I think it is so nice that they took the time to come. Even someone from Nate's A-100 came.

I loved this day. I hope she always remembers it. I am so proud of her for choosing to get baptized. I love that there was no question about whether or not she would do it. She loves Heavenly Father and Jesus, and she loves choosing the right. She is such an amazing girl.

This is the only picture I got of her with a real smile.

Afterwards we had Super Chicken. Then, after Grammy and Poppy left, Rhon and I went to get bubble drinks for everyone. And we watched the World Cup, and hung out. It was a perfect day.

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

*********

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.

*********

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

*********

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?

*********

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.