Our Apartment in Pictures

The floor plan.

At the front door looking into the kitchen.

At the front door, looking at the dining room.

At the front door looking into the family room.

Aubree's room (the den), off the dining room.

The family room, viewing from the master bedroom door.

The master bedroom, from the doorway.

Half of the master bathroom that we use.

The other half of the master bathroom that we don't use.

The boys' room, viewed from the door to the family room.

The second bathroom, right off the front door. The second door open inside leads to the boys' room.

The "laundry room" in the second bath.

Happy Birthday, Alissa!

Today my baby sister is 24! I am so blessed to have her in my life. There is an 8 year difference, so we didn't really "grow up" together, so it was extra special to get to know her better while I lived in Arizona. Allie - you are a wonderful sister, fantastic wife and mother, and one of my very best friends. Thank you for teaching me by your example, and being a fun car trip buddy. I love you!!!

Confessions

I have to admit that in the 12 1/2 years that we have been married, I have never been a bed-maker. I would occasionally get in the habit, but for the most part, we climbed into a bed at night that looked similar to the one we had left that morning. It's been the same story with my children. I realized the other day that it has been like this because we would leave the room in the morning, and not see or go into them until bedtime. Well, times have changed. We now live in an apartment where all the bedrooms are visible from the main living area. So, everyday we make our beds. The kids don't always remember in the morning, or have time as they run out the door, so they are reminded when they get home. All the children are good at making their own beds, and it is wonderful to climb into a bed at night that is not all wrinkly from just sitting all day. The things one learns as one grows older (and apparently wiser).

Things that I enjoy in VA

Okay, I posted already about the things that drive me crazy, but there are so many more things that are great here.
-The schools, especially here in Falls Church, are AWESOME!!!
-The people are SO welcoming. This relates to the schools, too. The kids have been so nice to the "new" kids in school.
-Our ward is great! Everyone is friendly, and Aubree and Chris have jumped right into Achievement Day and Cub Scouts.
-The Metro can get us into DC with minimal fuss.
-All the FREE stuff to do! The many Smithsonian museums and National Parks and Monuments are so much fun, and so accessible.
-So many people walk places It's so easy to do, because things are so close by.
-We live in a place where not many family members have been, so we get to host them over the summer!

Things that drive me crazy in VA

While we are enjoying our time here, there a few things that are annoying. Here they are in no particular order:
-TRAFFIC!!!! It is worse here than any other major metropolis I have lived in. Phoenix, no problem. Seattle, annoying. Miami, bad. DC metro area, GAG!!!
-Drivers that honk! I'll admit that the honking is worse in Miami, but here it is even more pointless. I guess it's just a stress reliever for all the people that live in their cars here.
-The mentality of some people here that this is the center of the U.S. While I agree that there are important people out here that make important decisions for the rest of the country, there isn't a good understanding of the rest of the nation. Again, this is only some people - not all.
-POTHOLES!!! The roads here are pretty torn up, and we had a flat the other day that was caused by a pothole.
-Seven Corners. Whose bright idea was it to have 7 roads meet up in one location?

Yes, we're still alive...

Every day I get on here and feel guilty because I haven't posted in a while. We have been in Falls Church for just over a week now, and everything is going great. Our ward is fabulous, and everyone at the kids' schools are really friendly. Of course, it took a little bit longer for Aubree to be enrolled because of her Diabetes and all the paperwork that is required, but it is all taken care of, and she's settling in nicely.
Aubree is the one I was worried about the most, but she is doing awesome! The kids at the schools here are either Foreign Service kids and won't be here long, or they are used to all the Foreign Service kids coming in and out. She is playing the violin in the band (the violins play the oboe music), and the band teacher wants her to join the jazz band to play the piano. Jazz band would be an after school activity and start in a couple weeks. There is so much more offered here than any other place we have lived.
Chris is loving school. They are studying ancient Egypt, and it's spilling over into art. He comes home so excited about school! There are lots of boys in our building, so he and Nick have plenty of playmates.
Nick is still in preschool 3 days a week at the community center. The first day we walked in, I introduced him to his teacher, and he was off! I don't think there is such thing as a stranger in Nick's world - there are only friends he hasn't met yet. He has gotten into an obnoxious loud, "I'm totally crazy" thing that is driving me crazy, and I'm hoping it will get old for him - fast. The joys of a 5 year old with no place to run.
The snow was pretty crazy when we first got here, but it is slowly melting. Nick has loved playing in it in the courtyard off our patio, but it isn't so much fun playing by himself. There is a park close by that the city dumped a bunch of snow in, but are now removing, so we're going to go check it out and let him get out some energy.
Mike is doing great in his language training. He's teaching us new words every night that he has learned, and I am trying to get a good handle on the alphabet. If you want to see and hear the alphabet, visit this website. I'm having to take Mike into work every day, since he doesn't start until 12:30, but we're hoping that his class will switch to morning so he can take the shuttle in. It's only about 15 minutes away, though, so it's not too bad.
We are starting to explore the area. Last week we went to the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center with some friends. We saw a portion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal that runs parallel to the Potomac River. It was cool to see the lock system they used. This Saturday we're going to learn how to use the Metro and visit a museum.
While we miss all of our friends and family, we love being together as a family again. We have some family coming this summer, but please let us know if you want to come visit us. We would love to have you!!!