Day 5:
Chevy Chase to Columbus, OH

Well I missed Day 4 - it was mostly an overwhelming day of trying to tie up loose ends and to create closure with folks.  Overall it went fine but it was hard.  Drove by our house for the last time on the way home from work.  I hope the next family has as much happiness and fun in that house as we did!  I indulged the kids and let them bring cupcakes into school for their last day snack (after checking with their teachers).  They both loved this although Wyatt now thinks it is his birthday again - hah!

On to day 5.  Not surprisingly, we got a late start out of DC.  It started with the waffle iron not working and ended with too much stuff and an emergency stop to go potty before we'd even started - oh my!  We did make it to Columbus, OH which should be much but considering our longest stretch in the car was 1:30 - that's pretty good.  One of Katie's little friends left a scavenger hunt for us at a park along the way - too fun!  I did enjoy driving today and all the things we saw - Boonsboro (from the Inn Boonsboro Trilogy fame), the Flight 93 Memorial, Zanesville (home to Zane Gray), and a couple of others I can't put my finger on right now.  We drove through MD, PA, WV, and OH.  It was really fun to tell the kids stories about Pittsburgh and CMU.  Katie wanted to go but the idea of driving out of the way was too much for me.  We'll get to Pittsburgh someday!

So we continue on well and good!  I think we might see a fire breathing dragon and the Arch in St Louis tomorrow!  :)

Moving to Colorado!!

Hello there folks!  We are undertaking another adventure and someone suggested it sounded like a blog.  And I thought, why not?  It'll help keep me focused on the fun, new, exciting things we are doing.  So the story goes something like this - Frank got a transfer to the NIST Boulder campus.  We are thrilled - to be West, to be nearer family...  We undertook some updates to our house in Chevy Chase, sold it , went to Boulder to try to buy a house, finally bought a house, and now are on our way to Boulder where we will live in a hotel for more than 100 days while we wait to move into our house.  BTW - the house is awesome, right by a park with a lake, in a great school district, with aspen in front - the whole nine yards!  So, when I figure out how many days we'll be in a hotel, this chain of thoughts will be tied together in the blog 1XX days in a Marriott or some such title.  I hope you enjoy glimpse into our craziness, and if you don't, at least now it is in a blog and, you won't see it on your news feed.  :)

Days 1, 2, and 3 from Facebook:

So today marks the start of a serious adventure... Me, my husband, two kids, and two cats, will be spending the next nearly four months in hotels while we relocate and wait for our new house in CO. The first night has gone fantastically - dinner was provided - yay! - there are two tubs so the kids raced through bath time and they were both asleep within a reasonable amount of time. I know it won't always be this smooth but I'm glad tonight is - I'm a little overwhelmed by the reality that all our stuff is loaded up and on its way as we speak. Lots of change - but this is going to be fun!

Report on Day 2: Humor for the day - Wyatt seems to be adjusting famously. He is now the lighting coordinator and he has figured out how to turn every light on - by moving furniture and suitcases and climbing. Nice problem solving and really fun to watch how he works. The hotel continues to rock - breakfast for all needs and hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner. And the staff are great - actually got us drinks at dinner and cleaned to a T - maybe we should move here! Frank and I got the minivan completely loaded today - by 2 PM no less. I have no idea how the pioneers did it with only a wagon and needing to have everything!! Makes me grateful for what they did and grateful for all I have.

Day 3: Definitely a bittersweet day - I locked the door to our house for the last time and I sat in the swing swinging and thinking for the last time. Life here in DC has been wonderful with many lovely friends and happy memories - so glad we had this time here.

4th of July in Washington, DC

Frank and I went to The Fireworks in Washington, DC this weekend. We had great seats near the base of the Washington Monument from which we could see the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials and the White House! As one would expect, the fireworks were beautiful! Unfortunately, there was a downpour for about an hour before the fireworks but we don't melt! (It reminded me of the first year of the Boise River Festival when they had picked the weekend for its lowest chance of rain and then there was a huge flash flood style rain!) It still amazes me how much precipitation we get here - about 4 inches of rain per month all year round! No wonder you don't need sprinklers here for your yard! :-)

It's A Girl!

When Frank asked how certain the doctor was that the baby is a girl, she started out saying that we shouldn't paint the bedroom pink yet. However, after looking at the ultrasound photos, she said we could go ahead and paint the house pink - It's A Girl! Frank and I haven't picked a name yet but we'll let you know when we do.

National Zoo Visit

Frank and I went to the National Zoo for a fun day out. It turns out that it is almost in our backyard! The layout of the Zoo is such that you start at the top of the hill and walk down the hill into the Zoo - all I have to say is that it is a good thing there was ice cream waiting back at the top of the hill or I might still be in the Zoo! :-)

A little known fact, Frank's favorite animal is the Anteater. We looked the whole day for an Anteater and found a statue in front of the mammal exhibit but no Anteater. I was sure that I had seen one on the website so I checked back. Turns out they are in the Amazonia area (who knew?) so we will have to go back to make their acquaintance! Two of our other favorite animals to watch were the Panda and the Tiger so I've attached their photos.

Cherry Blossom Festival

Frank and I went to the Cherry Blossom Festival fireworks last night! We figured such an uniquely DC thing to do that we should go and do it. The crowds were huge (we had to wait to get on Metro to come home for what seemed like an hour!) but the fireworks were great!

Pictures...

I keep getting questions about house pictures and never seem to have them with me so I thought I'd post a picture or two for those who are interested.

This is the front of the house in November.

These are two pictures from the backyard, one looking toward the house and one looking away from the house. The add-on in the first picture is our office with a great window looking out on the backyard. The second picture shows the toolshed - Frank's second home!

That concludes the picture show for now. As Frank and I continue to get settled in, I'm sure we'll have new adventures that will require additional photodocumentation! :-)