St. Patrick's Day in Washington, D.C.

Don't be too shocked, but yes, I am going to try to start posting on the blog again.

Dave's sister's family was going to Washington, D.C. on St. Patrick's Day (2012) where her husband was going to run the Rock-N-Roll marathon. It was also my birthday that week, and since Dave's aunt lives there too, so we decided to drive up. Thursday night we drove up to the Washington area, and Little Miss Stay Awake didn't sleep in the car, surprise surprise. Friday we hopped on the subway in Centerville and rode to downtown D.C. Jessica loved it.

We found Melanie & her kids all dressed in green for the holiday. But we didn't see Uncle Sam finish his race: there were just too many people. The subway (unlike these pictures) was so packed with runners and families they stopped letting people into the station until the trains took more people out.

And actually, Nathan (front center of the next picture) got separated from us. He got off on the correct stop, but Melanie & I couldn't get off before the doors shut. Melanie said "Hey, that's my son! I need to get off" and Nathan looked panicked when he saw the train pull away with us still on it. People started hollering, and the emergency brake was almost pulled. Luckily, Dave had squeezed out another door, and they hung out until we got back to the correct stop. It wasn't nearly as traumatic as the time their daughter got caught alone on a busy elevator, which they retold.

Our first stop was the Library of Congress, my favorite building from my first trip to D.C. at age 16, touring with my family. It's a shrine to knowledge and books and betterment.

The quotes carved in stone are things like:

"THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD IS THE BIOGRAPHY OF GREAT MEN" 

-Carlyle, Essays

"THEY ARE NEVER ALONE THAT ARE ACCOMPANIED WITH NOBLE THOUGHTS" 

-Sir Philip Sidney, Arcadi

"THE NOBLEST MOTIVE IS THE PUBLIC GOOD"

-Virgil

They had a curved-wall replica of Jefferson's library, as he organized used to do by Memory (history), Reason (philosophy), and Imagination (arts). He originally designed the curved wall for a garden, which would use 25% fewer bricks than a straight wall to support itself. I feel a connection with Jefferson now, since his summer home, Poplar Forest, is in Lynchburg.

 We at lunch at the Smithsonian "castle".

Jessica was able to skip her nap by tuning us all out and drawing for an hour in her stroller.

Unfortunately the Mint was closed, so we walked over to the tidal basin. Some of us walked all the way around to the Jefferson Memorial.

This is the 100th year since Japan gave our capitol the flowering cherry trees. They were blooming early due to the warm winter, and hundreds of people were there to see them. I heard this week that the U.S. this year is giving Japan 3,000 dogwood trees in return.

There is something very solemn and strong about a building that's open to the elements, with words carved in stone. The ceiling is so high, and the steps up so broad, it's like a temple to democracy.

Posing with Dave's sister Melanie, husband Sam, and their kids Samuel, Nathan, Jane, and Andy, and Dave's Aunt Denene, who lives in metro D.C. and who served us a delicious dinner that night.

Jessica loves new places, (read: she doesn't want to sleep if there's something more fun to do.) Dave picked a Residence Marriott hotel, which was exactly like the place we stayed when we adopted Jessica.

The next day we found an LDS congregation and attended sacrament meeting, then went to see more sites in Washington. Sunday was a harder day: we couldn't find parking, Jessica wasn't cooperative and cried more than she napped, we got frustrated with the heavy traffic and confusing highways, we couldn't agree on how to do everything, we we wore ourselves out with walking. But the buildings were still impressive.

Jessica can identify Lincoln after visiting his memorial.

The Vietnam memorial. This is Dave's first visit to D.C., and he liked it. He said he didn't want to visit the Smithsonian Air and Space museum until he had a whole day to dedicate to it.

We stood next to our respective states at the World War II memorial; Jessica loved the fountains, and I loved the relief carvings of war contributions.

The Washington Monument was closed due to damage from the Virginia earthquake last year.

We parked at the utterly confusing Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, with this view of the hall of nations.

With all the construction, traffic, and sore feet, we choose to just drive by and see the back of the new Martin Luther King memorial.

Three and a half hours later we were home after lots of snacking and creative distraction for Jessica in the form of singing, story-telling, toys, drawing, movies on laptops, and watching us play Angry Birds on the cell phone.

Misc Fun in January and February

We hiked the beautiful Blackwater Creek Trail in the middle of Lynchburg. Some of which went through the trees, and some was on the biking trail cut through the rocky mountain.

We went to Amazement Square, the local kids' hands-on museum. Jessica loved "milking" the plastic cow and playing in the river. Dave loved the golf ball roller coaster area, and I rode the zip line and wished I had their Velchro body parts board for Jessica to learn from at home.

It's been harder to keep Jessica in the cart. She could push the cart herself, but she couldn't steer it away from the shelving. "BONK! Hahahaha!"

Every morning she stands on her stepstool in front of her mirror and "brushes" her teeth, while I wash her face and put pigtails in. I'm not used to the drier climate here, and I had to start the habit of putting lotion on her to relieve her rough skin and the occasional red patch on her face. Our day still consists of cartoons, time outside, some craft, some housework, reading and naptime, errands, water playtime, and the daily contest of how many toys get spread through the house.

Jessica enjoyed her first s'more, and her favorite food of the month was soy beans - partly because they'd squirt out of the pods, which she thought was funny. 

About this time we had to reestablish naptime and bedtime, and I decided to capitalize on her love of clocks. I bought a CD alarm clock, and set it for 7:30 pm, when it would start playing music. After a little explanation, she would jump up excited for her bedtime routine.

I made a "toddler clock" with a new background on an old clock. The pictures on the rim are for night activities (brush teeth, jammies, stories with daddy, prayers, and sleeping) and the pictures inside are for day activities (get up, breakfast, get dressed, lunch, dinner, and the really helpful ones: reading time & naptime).

I put a big "drip drop" shape (her words) on the hour hand so she would ignore the confusing minute hand. I added colored triangles and shifted the numbers forward half a space so the hour hand doesn't touch the number until it's hour starts. All I had to do to persuade her to do something was point to the clock, and she totally got it. I also got her a calendar and drew pictures of our activities so she could look forward to events.

I hung our new pictures. For Christmas, I gave Dave a portrait he had admired of Jesus calming the sea. I got myself a copy of "Mercy Claimeth That Which Is Her Own". It brought tears to my eyes the first time I saw it in the Church Art Competition. It won a purchase award, and the huge original hangs in the Conference Center. When I walked into Deseret Book to find a painting for Dave, the artist, who actually lives in Virginia, was there painting in the lobby. It's a personification of Justice holding his sword, satisfied by the gift of Christ, and Mercy, calling to the penitent sinner. 

And Dave finished our second bookcase, and we love them. He figured out a way to cut dentils into the walnut crown molding, which I especially like. 

Dave also fixed our dishwasher. The appliances here are conspiring against us; the oven just had to be replaced, and later our dryer needed a new heating coil. I'm glad to have a handy man around the house.

Warm Winter of '11-'12: Only Virginia Snowstorm

The only snow to stick our first winter in Lynchburg was in February on a Sunday. Jessica repeatedly told us "Eat it!" until I fetched her a cup of it.

While Daddy went home teaching (from which he almost didn't return, sliding all over the roads) we went out to play in it. Jessica looks a lot like my mom in several of these pictures.

Jessica's favorite part was eating snow and sledding down the hills in her orange saucer. I don't think she liked snowman building or snow angel lessons.

Crying: must be time to come in and warm up.

Hot chocolate with marshmallows always helps. Sorry snowman, none for you!

We were prepared for a cold winter with snow gear, snow shovels, etc., but we only got to use them once. It was good we had a mild winter to break us in after 7 years in tropical Florida.

The snowman was gone in less than a week, which is good: it means warm enough to jump on the trampoline.

Family Nights: November and December

Week 1

I restarted planning family nights in November. We studied thankfulness all month, and used the opportunity to teach Jessica how to pray. She could repeat one word at a time after us. We used these handy rings I cut out, which she loved, and we pointed to each one as we practiced thanking God. 

After we made chocolate turkeys.

We also sang "Thanks to Our Father, and "Count Your Many Blessings". After Jessica went to bed, Dave and I worked on cleaning out the office, again.

Week 2
The next week we invited the Zobell family to join us. Carla is bilingual, Brian is from Wyoming, and their  daughter Brianna is Jessica's age, so we have several things in common. We sang "My Heavenly Father Loves Me" and Dave read D&C 59:15-21 for the adults' benefit, while the little girls stuffed a cornucopia with plastic play food.

15 And inasmuch as ye do these things with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances, not with much laughter, for this is sin, but with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance—

 16 Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth;

 17 Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;

 18 Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;

 19 Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.

 20 And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.

 21 And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.

Next we made "Thankful Trees" by writing things we were thankful for on leaves, and gluing them on a paper. 

Jessica earned the nickname "Bluebeard" from scribbling on her chin.

We closed with edible cornucopias made of sugar cones, dried fruit, nuts, and fruit candy.

Week 3
After Halloween, I had told Jessica trick-or-treating was over: no more Halloween. She looked crestfallen. So I quickly helped her look forward to Thanksgiving. We read books about falling leaves, Pilgrims and Indians; watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown Mayflower Voyagers, and clips of Pocahontas; and I showed her pictures of her cousins who were coming to visit.

So on the third Monday of November we learned about the first Thanksgiving. Dave and I sang "For Health and Strength" in a round. Then we made construction paper hats of a pilgrim (Dave), an Indian (me) and a turkey (Jessica, who else?) .

Jessica shows she learned what a turkey says in this video

(in which, I now realize, her first answer to "What are you?" was "I'n daween (I'm drawing)" not "I'm Dory". My bad.):

Week 4
We found a wonderful tall cheap fir tree at our local grocery store. It fit in the back of my PT.

(Jessica got our old 3-foot, condo-sized fake tree with sparkly plastic ornaments, for her room. We had already decorated when her cousins were at our house for Thanksgiving.)

A 99-cent pine air freshener made our big tree smell delicious. It was our tallest tree yet, 9 feet, after we cut about 2 feet off. It's best feature was when it dried up, the needles almost all stayed on. Merry Christmas!

In December we only had 2 Monday nights available for family time, which we probably just played with Jessica's plastic Nativity set. And the rest of the month Jessica and I during the day watched The Nativity Story movie, The Animated Nativity, Joy to the World, and read lots of Nativity books. Her favorite characters of Christmas were "reindeer!" and "donkey. fas! (fast)". The 3rd Monday we were packing for Utah, and the last Monday we flew home to Virginia.

Next year, the plan is January: Nephi; February: , March: prophets (prep for conference); April: Easter/Resurrection.

Walk Through Our Home

Here's a tour of our house that I took at Christmastime in December 2011.