Our first visitor! Nana!

Kids being kids a the WWII Memorial.

Yummy sushi! 

Sawyer getting his Judo "stripes" from Master Sugi.

Smithsonian Teachers' Night! Nothing like teachers getting free booze!  Like that EVER happens!

Natalie getting her Judo "stripes" for good attention from Master Sugi.

Let's go visit museums with Nana.

Mom and daughter pictures with the US capitol.

Our first date night of our new life at the Hamilton before Smithsonian Teacher Night at the National Portrait Gallery. Yay for Nana-sitting!

A spontaneous way to go city shopping and sightseeing!

Learning from the best...

Lincoln Memorial!  So cool!!!

Fry bread and watercress salad at the American Indian Museum..mmmmm!

MLK!

City climbing.

Twinsies!

Clinton's official portrait. Wow...Chuck Close.

Join the club!

Before the weather changes, we made it to the US Botanical Gardens next to the capitol.

This is one of my favorite pictures I have taken so far in DC.

The kids officially started a judo class called, Mighty Dragons. We take the city bus three days a week and it is becoming the event we look most forward to.  I have started an Ultimate Fitness Kickboxing class and Steve is doing Crossfit at the same gym. It is nice to have a place we all are getting comfortable going to and making a routine of it all.  The people at the desk know us now and the familiarity is nice after a month of knowing so few people.  Steve and I even got to have a drink together while the kids did the class today which was a first in many many weeks.  Yipee!  Natalie had her first "playdate" at the swimming pool and is getting more and more comfortable at school. 

Our first visitor, "Nana" Jones, is coming on Thursday so we are getting excited to share our new life with her.  This week has felt the most normal of them all so far...settling in feels pretty good. 

Judo lady.

Meditative judo master.

Judo showoff.

Ninja.

While the kids did judo class, we actually got our first DATE (for 30 min.)in over a whole month! Whoop Whoop!

Picnic outside the White House...just our normal life.

Washington Monument and the kid.

Sawyer getting whipped on by the little Judo girl master!

Playing on the deck.

Nothing is cooler than having Sugi, the Olympian from Mongolia as your Judo Master!

Two teeth gone in 24 hours!

Guess who likes homework more?!

The Natalie "twin" that I met at her classroom open house.

One month down...10 more to go.

It's pretty incredible we have already been on the east coast for a month! So much has happened and it feels like a million months ago I was saying goodbye to everyone I love in Bellingham.  I figure we are 1/11th complete with this adventure. The honeymoon-phase is over and so the adjustment to "normal" life is daily challenging but rewarding.  Natalie is feeling normalcy with her school schedule and Sawyer and I are making routine activities each week (ex: Thursday is DC museum day because the storytellers at the American Indian museum are a must each week). The kids started their Judo "Mighty Dragons" class which they will do together 3 times a week at Northern Virginia MMA. This will not only be good for them, but Steve and I will get almost an hour together 3x a week to run (or get a beer) or do the Crossfit class.  We get their Judo-gis (judo outfits) today, so I will make sure to post a bunch of pics of the little badasses with them on.  I started swimming again and found an informal master's team that meets three (early 5:30am) mornings a week at the incredible high school pool a mile away.  It is always a nice treat to know that swimming is something I can always feel comfortable doing in my life...swim practices are pretty much the same everywhere. 

Steve has been in Las Vegas for the last 2 days at a conference, so I added a picture of his week below too. 

We miss you all!!  If any Bellingham kids need a pen pal or writing practice, our address is:
850 N. Randolph St. Apt. 1334
Arlington, VA 22203 
(They would LOVE to hear from anyone)

Sawyer's green curry cooking lesson.

5:30 am (yawn) off to swim practice in the dark on my bike! Back in the pool for the first time in 7.5 years!

Just before the first Judo "Mighty Dragon's" class. Ya wonder who is most nervous?

VEGAS, BABY!

My favorite little high rise guy off to explore the city! 

The new neighborhood

We miss the Mahonia Hood more than anyone can imagine. I haven't found anyone who will sit and drink wine on the curb with me while I ignored kids for a half hour like at home...however, the block is pretty and a totally different experience for our senses!...and having a Starbucks outside my door is an added bonus, duh.

Living pictures

Here are a few snapshots of our week...

Steve and the other Einstein fellows hanging out with Albert. 

Sawyer's first homeschool pre-K field trip lunch.  It was 9/11 so we talked about why flags are lowered, and then spent time at Air and Space museum learning about planets. He like Jupiter most. :)

He also had a lesson on photography...not too shabby...

Natalie got new boots (she's pretty proud).

Learning about modern Native American cultures at the National American Indian Museum...very fun!

...trying to be a cool mom...

Even cement-city has a Farmer's Market just across the street from me...that was a good find today! YUMMY!