OK Go

Last Friday we went to Celebrate Fairfax with some of r1's co-workers. Wherein we consumed overpriced but oh-so-delicious gyros. And a large Icee, because it was quite warm. Then, we found a spot on the grass to take in the entertainment:

Did I mention it was hot? That's probably why we all look so energetic. The band we saw was OK Go, and they were a lot of fun, even sans treadmills.

k1's new obsession

OK, for this post is it important to tell you that we don't subscribe to cable tv at home. We are just too cheap, and lately, free time is in short supply.

But right now, down in DC, we have cable. And it is close to 100 degrees outside. So I have had plenty of time to explore the shockingly large number of channels.

This is where my new obsession comes in: HGTV. Especially House Hunters and House Hunters International. Where they show potential home buyers 3 houses within their price range, and in the area they want to move to. The buyers then choose between the 3. Not especially action-packed, but I like to see the homes in different areas of the country and world. How they are decorated, landscaped, how much they cost.

R1 could tell you how much of a nerd about this I already am. Wherever we go on vacation, I always pick up those free real estate guides and pour over them. It's not as if we are likely to move to any of the places we vacation...

Well, I already feel better confessing all of this. Does any one else share my obsession? If not, what is your favorite cable channel? I might have to check it out if it doesn't cool off outside.

a chubby bad hair day and other happenings

Before we get into the other happenings, let's start with the bad hair day:
His hair just wanted to stick straight up, giving him a nice baby-hawk. And the way he was sitting scrunched his cheeks up making him look extra chubby. I'm going to love pulling this picture out in about 18 years when he brings home his first girlfriend...

Our drive down to DC was long, of course, and rainy. And w1 was bored, leading to mischief and whining. That is probably what drove us to commit the temporary insanity that is evidenced in the next picture:
It is w1 and the aftermath of his first Little Debbie snack. Did we consider what all that sugar would do to him, or how messy it would be? No, we just reveled in the (shockingly short) time that his mouth was occupied. Oops.

After finally making it down to DC, we settled into our lovely company-paid-for 1 bedroom suite. Breakfast is provided, and dinner, also, 4 nights a week. There is a pool and a basketball court, and a cleaning service. Aaaah. But, the company only pays for 1 week, so after that, we are on our own. But, until Saturday, we are relaxing and living the good life:

a quick update

So, the big news is that we are going to Washington DC for the summer. r1 is doing an internship there, and the kids and I are tagging along. We are headed out there May 30th and will be back at the beginning of September. This has led to frantic packing, renting out our house, searching for apartments, and being a big slacker about blogging. Today I finally feel like we have a handle on it and won't have to pull an all-nighter right before we leave desperately shoving things into boxes.

In other news, w1 went on his first camping trip last weekend! r1 took him on the father and sons campout. w1 really enjoys being outdoors, so he had a great time as you can tell from this grin:
And you can also tell that they weren't really roughing it, that is our car to the left of w1's head, and our tent to the right.

While they were gone, I stayed up late playing games with friends. Then, l1 and I slept in Saturday morning. And I just had to stick this photo in here, doesn't l1 look so grown up?


(Maryann, the overalls fit perfect, and with a little room to grow! Thanks!)

results of my very amateur photo shoot

This one is right before w1 poked l1 in the eye and the photo shoot came to an abrupt end. --->



(these are for you Mom and Dad!)

the post about Jane Eyre

I mentioned awhile ago that I was re-reading Jane Eyre. I was doing this for a few reasons:

• I found a copy on my bookshelf (it may seen odd that I don't know what is on my bookshelves, but we have a lot of them and they are crammed full.)
• I was looking for a book to read while upstairs. That's right, I keep one book downstairs, and one upstairs, you have no idea how this simplifies my life. I'm thinking about another one for the car.
• I remembered reading it in high school and liking it, but could not remember how it ended (beyond very generally).
• I found out there was a Masterpiece Theater version that I hadn't seen.

So, armed with so many reasons, I had to read it.

And then of course I had to watch the MT version. I thought it was good, but they did it a bit darker and spookier then I was imagining when I read the book. And the part with the fortune teller bothered me because I was looking forward to seeing how they were going to pull it off. But, they sidestepped the difficulty of disguising Mr. Rochester as an old gypsy lady.



After watching that version, naturally I had to go back and watch the 1996 movie version. I think I saw this with my roommates in college. I found this Jane Eyre more believable, but I thought the Mr. Rochester was a bit too old, and not as feisty as in the book. And they skipped the whole gypsy scene altogether (one of my favorites from the book).

Now you see how I spend some of my free time. And now I am looking for a new upstairs book...

what has been keeping us so busy

These two little monkeys:

A bit of home improvement (a new door):

And the intoxication of spring: