conquering public transportation

this week i was obliged to return to the passport office. it became a landmark trip. yes, one woman CAN take three children downtown to a museum and back: we just didn't get home until 4pm. this is what we came home with:

• two empty metro cards
• one small bag of marshmallows (in case of desperation!)
  
• one double stroller, still intact
  
• six different art gallery brochures/guides/maps
• one stick carved into an arrow
• three children with blue popsicle marks on clothing and lips
• one partially chewed metro card
• one stone
• two stray cheerios and a raisin
  
• two popsicle wrappers
• one popsicle stick (jeffrey's greatest treasure of the day)
  
• three empty water bottles
• one huge bag with discarded clothing and my new** pink planner
  
• two more metro cards with money
• one happy but tired mother

the two "homemade" arrowheads didn't make it. we will have to go back.

an empty well

it seems that many women here are professional women as well as mothers. it has caused me to reflect on the value of motherhood and the value of a profession at this time in my life. i think one of the biggest reasons that i don't want to work even part time is not because i don't have time. it is because that time that i have is precious and would be better used (for me) in filling my well so i have more to give.

Elder Russell M. Ballard made a statement that i have been mulling over: "Pick one or two things that you would like to learn or do that will enrich your life, and make time for them. Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others." one of my second mothers, daryl hoole, said a similar thing (which i will paraphrase since that book is in storage): every woman needs to have a specialty that they learn about and pursue, that they can excel in, whether it is french history or chinese cooking.

i have spent much of my life as a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. i think this is a great invitation to focus my time a little more. for this summer i will dust off my organ music and figure out how to make a great batch of the family rolls. we will see how it goes!

Around the Pool

The pool is pretty much a weekday routine. And our lifeguard is not nearly as obnoxious as some. I was told that at another pool recently that the kids could not jump in, because there were too many other people in the pool that they might splash. Good grief. And there is no 10 or 15-minute adult swim - how useless is that? Since I usually get home around 4:30, I am often able to join them for at least part of the time. Got to love the summertime.




Our most accomplished swimmer


Lucy likes to kick.


Laird has been getting out on his own recently, albeit with the floaty lifevest. (not pictured here)

Around the Town

We try to make it into DC once every week or so. The best way to see the district is in small doses. Some recent excursions:

Paddle boating in the tidle basin:






Apparently, kids under 18 months are not allowed in paddle boats. We thought she might be alright by herself on shore, but in the end Sheralie decided to stay with her, which left me with a lot of paddling duty (though Jeffrey was not bad). We were the first in this water on an overcast Saturday morning.

To Capitol Hill:


Some weird display around the Hill with globes with different environmental themes. Laird loved this one because it had a bunch of cars on it.



To the Indian Museum:


This was not actually in the Indian Museum - it was on the way there. The Native American Indians were demonstrating for something or other, but they hadn't really started yet, so we invaded their tepee.


We greatly enjoyed the Indian Museum. And now Jeffrey is obsessed with bows and arrows.

We also just missed a Ron Paul gathering that Saturday in DC. Too bad too - if the kiddos had not been there, I would have gone.

Sports in July

Last night Jeffrey and I headed to the Nationals-Astros game. I wore my Astros shirt and my brother Phil loaned me a Nationals hat.



Whoever won, I was well prepared. The most fun was taking Jeffrey. Jeffrey was 4 the last time we went - a little too young to ask intelligent questions. This time he asked Phil and me loads of questions about the game and I think he had a terrific time. He also really enjoyed riding the Metro, which was pretty packed on the line coming to and from the stadium. In the end, the Astros beat the Nationals 6-4. Thanks Phil for taking the picture on your cool camera phone.

July is not the best month for sports. In fact, once the basketball season ends in mid-June, there is not much out there but baseball, which is okay, but the season is so long it's hard to get too excited about it. I probably find it more important this year as I have much more leisure time now that I am no longer a lawyer.

I have found myself in the past few weeks watching such summer sports "blockbusters" as the College World Series. This actually turned out to be pretty interesting. Fresno State took the tourney by storm. No one would have picked them to win it, but they did - a huge underdog story. I think college football should take a lesson and institute the playoff.


Great enthusiasm, and metal bats too

I also found myself watching the NBA draft. This was quite dull. I enjoyed participating in fantasy drafts when I was younger (okay, until just three years ago), but watching them is pretty dull, especially when the time limit is so long. And why do the Knicks keep picking European players? Can they get any worse?

But soon to come and rescue us from the summer doldrums of sports is the Olympics. I love the Olympics. Summer and winter, though summer has a better mix of sports. My sister and I used to make scrapbooks as kids, and fight over who got first dibs on the newspaper (we eventually had to buy some USA Todays during Olympics season). I even remember watching the 1984 Olympics when I was 7. I was a little unlucky and wound up leaving for the Philippines in July 1996 on my mission, so I missed the Atlanta games of 1996 and the Nagano games of 1998. But I got lucky again and caught the 2002 games in Salt Lake (I was in law school at Chicago - plenty of time) and again for Green in 2004 (post-bar, pre-work, had tons of time). So I am lucky again to be in DC with a fairly light training schedule during August. I can't wait to totally max out on sports before heading to the Philippines, where I might go through sports withdrawal.

sour cream

our standard substitute for sour cream is plain yogurt. i rarely buy sour cream (maybe less than once a year). however, i might be buying it more because of last night's dinner and the fresh Vermont sour cream on the table:

"what is this?"

"sour cream. it is like yogurt, just better. just put it on your potatoes like yogurt"

"oh, okay."

"Mmmm. This is the best dinner ever."

a chorus of praise erupted around the table . . . three people wanted seconds, and all of the baked potatoes were gone for the first time ever. it was partly thanks to an afternoon swim, but i must say it was very gratifying. (and made up for monday's sandwiches being vetoed twice, and called "BLAAH" and "yucky"!!)

Baked Potato Bar
olive oil
potatoes, 1-2 per person
8 oz mushrooms
1 tsp minced garlic
6-12 oz center cut bacon
4-8 oz favorite cheese
2-3 cups chopped broccoli
plain yogurt OR sour cream :)

1. scrub the potatoes well. pierce with a fork several times and brush with olive oil. put on a foil lined pan for easy clean-up. bake for 2 hours at 350.

2. for the toppings: cook up the bacon and dice. slice the mushrooms and sauté in olive oil with the garlic. lightly steam the broccoli. shred the cheese.

enjoy! this is a great dinner for any night, company, or fast sunday. it also is tasty with a cheese sauce, if you prefer. if there are leftovers toppings, they make a great filling for omelets.

salvadorean-mexican-chinese food

we had been joking about a little shop on the corner that sells salvadorean-mexican-chinese food. how could one place offer three cuisines?

laugh no more. we had dinner there tonight, sampling all of the three. turns out it is very tasty. and now pete can eat rice while i eat guacamole. that i didn't make!

a prayer answered

i don't always go to church with a burning question or problem. but the last two weeks i did. and last sunday: every topic in sacrament meeting seemed addressed to me. it was amazing.

and then, this sunday (yesterday), i sat in sunday school. we had a marvelous lesson on alma 13-15 about foreordination and trials and alma and amulek. applying alma 14:13 to us, the teacher said very emphatically, "your mission is not finished," looking right at me. he went on to talk about our responsibilities to God - for what He has put us on the earth for. it was just what i needed to hear.

to top it off, our sunday school teacher is not your regular guy. i was very inspired that a busy senator could be so spiritual, so wise, so prepared, and close enough to the spirit to answer my prayer.

husband of the year (again!!)

my husband is husband of the year, because:

1. his fine purchase of the maclaren twin techno that i have been coveting for years
2. his new occupation that means i see him three-four more hours a day!!!
3. his acceptance of a kitchen job: dinner dish duty
4. making breakfast yesterday and urging me to go back to sleep
5. going sight-seeing and paddle-boating this morning even though it was raining at first
   

Summer of Fun in DC

Happy Fourth of July from Washington DC. If you have clicked this far, you might be wondering what we are up to. Here's the run down (warning: lots of pictures):







We've hit the parks. There are some nice ones around here.


I "graduated" from the orientation course for Foreign Service Officers. Sheralie and Lucy came to the graduation.



The fire station is always popular. One of my fellow Foreign Service officers has been a volunteer firefighter for 8 years.









Tuesday night at the Iwo Jima Memorial with Mark and Amy. On Tuesday nights in the summer the Marines come out for marching band and gun twirling shows.


Jeffrey is learning the piano. He has had several performances already (anyone that comes over to our house gets a performance).


This has sparked a piano frenzy.







A big happy birthday to Keith Monroe, who last week turned the big 5-0. Half a century old and still going strong. Here's to a great father-in-law, father and grandpa. Have fun in Brazil with your missionary kids!

back at the pool

well, we are back at the pool again after a two week hiatus. jeffrey is on week 3 of walking pneumonia but the doctor said we can hit the pool again.

there is just something about the sunlight that cheers me, lifts my spirits. as do my friends.

hopefully, a blog of my own will help me keep in touch with my dear friends. and it is not a bad place to remember the sunny times that make everything worthwhile. . .