Our D.C. Diary: February 2013

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The cup is half full...for sure...

In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony. ~ Eva Burrows

We have officially reached our 1/2 way point on this year long adventure. In some ways it seems we have just barely begun the journey, and in other ways it seems like it has been forever since we were home in Bellingham. I guess that is the blessing of this year. There is so much to appreciate in the moment and so much to look forward to when we return home in August.
~I have grown to LOVE this city...but I do really miss the comforts of Bellingham
~My view here from our apartment is amazing...but I can't wait to have the kids play in the Mahonia cul-de-sac again.
~I am feeling jazzed about my boxing classes...but I'm going to be so excited to ride Galbraith again.
~My heart aches for my friends in Bellingham...but I also cherish my new friendships here.
~It is thrilling to eat food in the city...but I can't wait for vegetables that last more than 2 days.

So I guess, as I reflect a bit I am thankful for it all. We have chosen such a great path for our family this year and without taking that risk, so many of these pieces of my life I would never have gotten the chance to experience. I hope this second 1/2 of the year proves to be as fulfilling as the last.

Below are some pics of this last week. We celebrated Valentine's Day with a trip to Eden Center, a marvelous Vietnamese market just 2 miles away. We dined on pho and shrimp wraps...the kids were in heaven. A friend of ours watched the kids while Steve and I did a Valentine's Day kickboxing class at our MMA gym..and the kids received BIG envelopes of cards from their friends at Cheri's house in Bellingham. We are all happy and felt loved!

Natalie and I also spent a day visiting art museums. She is very interested in the "Ninja Turtle" artists: Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo and Raphael. So, luckily, there is currently a Michelangelo David-Apollo statue at the National Gallery of Art on loan from Italy. So we visited and found art from all the artists, except Donatello. She was pretty excited and I enjoyed teaching her about these time periods.

We also visited, as a family, the Postal Museum to see Owney the Postal mascot (real stuffed dog...read about it if you've never heard of him...weird) and family engineering day at the Building museum.

The kids and I made "Colombia Corn Cakes" from a recipe from my new Colombian friend, Marisol...so now I have made a connection and dream to traveling to Colombia some day to visit her and her daughter who is Sawyer's age.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pho at Eden Center...Valentine's Day 2013.

Making school Valentine's Day cards...This was Sawyer's first time, so he took it very seriously.

Hearts from Bellingham!

Happy loved kids!

Kickboxing and roses.

Nothing says I LOVE YOU like punching and kicking.

National Gallery of Art

Rotunda of NGA

Michelangelo's David-Apollo

Owney...the Postal Mascot

Family Engineering Day at the Building Museum...those columns were amazing!

Making Colombian Corn Cakes!

So yummy!!!!!!

Dad Adventures

There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself. ~John Gregory Brown, Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery

February has brought a lot of excitement to the Ruthford house...um, I mean, apartment. We ended our trips to Florida and Washington State, but also got a visit from my dad for a week. Not only did Natalie get to finally show him the Spirit of St. Louis plane they have been planning on seeing together for a year, but we also got to go on some fun adventures to new places. When the kids were in school one da, my dad and I rented a car (new white VW beetle...I was just a little excited!) and headed to Annapolis, Maryland only 40 minutes away. We first stopped at the US Naval Academy for a self-guided tour which was pretty impressive. We got to visit the overly ornate crypt of John Paul Jones and then stepped into the naval museum on the campus. My dad knew that a very specific gun (more like a canon) that he researched and wrote about to write his screen play of the Boxer Rebellion (which you should read if you have a chance)and we looked for the gun called the "International". The gun wasn't on display, but after a little ass-kissing, my dad found out that the gun was in a storage facility off-campus...so of course we had to go find it. The nice lady in the admin office called around and found a guy who would show us if we got there before his lunch break (in 15 minutes). So we jumped in Herbie and raced to an old physical plant building and found the random building that held the gun. Below are some pics of the adventure. My dad was excited and I could see he was pretty proud we found it...and I guess I am too. The famous gun was disassembled and in a box in the corner....which according to my dad, should be reassembled on put on display in the Marine Corp museum. So hopefully after he writes his letters, someday Natalie and Sawyer can read his screenplay and visit the the "International" in its rightful place in Quantico, VA.

My dad found the gun...and I found crab. So below is the largest crab cake I have ever seen (larger than my fist) which I so happily enjoyed in the cute harbor town of Annapolis, to be followed by a large warm chocolate chip cookie and a latte. We both had our needs met.

We also just enjoyed showing my dad the weekly routines of ours: library on scooters, Judo and the school routine. Natalie got to show off her school by leading the Chinese New Year Parade. In all it was a fabulous week, with lots of Starbucks coffees and good chats about family genealogy. Next time we will see him is in New York in May...we can't wait for our next adventure.

We also got a quick visit from my friend and former teaching partner, Adam Goldstein, who was here to do a training for his job with the WEA. It was fun to visit the Capitol and Hirshhorn Museum with someone who I have taught history with. Thanks, for the visit, Adam!

Dad and Barack at the National Portrait Gallery.

Me too.

Teaching Grandpa how to get around Arlington, Sawyer-style.

On our way to Annapolis.

Our first stop.

Crypt of John Paul Jones. What a weird design...overly ornate.

The International gun in the random warehouse. Funniest story of the trip!

Fist-sized crab cake. Whoa.

Annapolis from our restaurant.

Kunta Kinte/Alex Haley Memorial...Annapolis was once the largest slave port in the colonies. Glad I remembered something from my AP Language Arts book.

2nd grade Chinese New Year Parade.

Natalie finally got to visit the Spirit of St. Louis with Grandpa...many months in the planning.

My dad's favorite Starbucks in the city.

...and then there were BANGS...again....

I also got a special visit from Adam! It is so great living in a city where your friends have lots of conferences. What a treat!

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

2 Corners of the USA

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. ~ Walt Disney

Our family spent the last week of January in the two most opposite corners of the continental US: Florida and Washington. The kids and I caught a jet to Disney World Orlando to meet my mom, sister and her boys, while Steve jetted home for a visit with friends, work and family in Washington (STATE...as I have gotten used to saying here).

The kids were in heaven, playing with the cousins and visiting Disney and Universal's crazy amusement parks. Natalie said that the new Harry Potter ride was her favorite ride, while Sawyer enjoyed the more traditional Thunder Mountain Railroad. I have to agree with Natalie that Harry Potter's ride through Hogwarts and London was INSANE and worth the trip down there. Jenny (my sis) and I amused ourselves with our own Disney World Scavenger hunt which included the following:
1. Kids on leashes
2. Double-fisted sugar snacks
3. A parent couple fight
4. Winter Clothes on a sunny day
5. Sunburn
6. Inappropriate mid-riff baring princess dress (on a kid)
7. A mom in Micky ears
8. Anyone over 50 years old singing Mickey Mouse Club song (Nana got that one!)
9. A kid meltdown.

Sawyer decided to "learn to swim" and taught himself in 10 minutes of being in the pool (video to follow)...just keep in mind, he just put his face under water for the first time 2 weeks ago. Wow...I guess between Steve and I, we should expect this...

Sawyer teaches himself to swim!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w95CNADFzak&list=UUFVGvvufY9ImDKOldwx8fUw&index=1
Sawyer Swims Butterfly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsDjT49Czng

Steve enjoyed a visit home, with some home (fence) repair projects, cold frickin' weather, skiing and much needed time with incredible friends, and visits to his family near Olympia.

The trips were successful, memorable and reminded us how much we miss everyone...but the year is half over already and we will be heading home before we know it.

Here are some pics and videos of our fabulous weeks!

Patiently waiting for the plane to their week long adventure.

A little different weather than DC....85 degrees in January? I'll take it.

Happiest girl alive.

Inseparable cousins.

Jones girls on Tea Cups.

Thanks for the awesome Christmas present, Nana!

Magic Kingdom.

Popsicles at Animal Kingdom and Mt. Everest.

Trams are fun.

Epcot kids.

Entering into our fancy Moroccan restaurant for a memorable meal at Epcot's Moroccan Village.

The whole crew.

My favorite picture of the trip. Reid and Charlie's faces are priceless...The belly dancer made them so uncomfortable!

Natalie and Nana learn to Belly Dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84RxP1rte_M&list=UUFVGvvufY9ImDKOldwx8fUw

Norwegian Village

Exploring our Scandinavian roots.

Trying to be artistic at the Epcot ball.

Hot chicks in 3D glasses.

Yup, that's me on stage in front of thousands of people. I got to be an extra in the Indiana Jones Stunt Show at Hollywood Studios...the kids think I'm famous now, so it was worth it. (Except having Harrison Ford there would have made it a tad sweeter)