Family-life on the East Coast

When Kim and I spent the spring of 2004 in D.C. for an internship, we left with the impression that nobody out here had families, and that kids, in general, were not really welcomed. We didn't have kids at the time, and I guess were were hanging out in all the swinging places back then, because we don't feel that way at all anymore.

Here are some pictures from some of the family-friendly things that we've done lately.

We recently had the Arlington County fair just up the street from us, and Megan had a great time mingling with the neighbor kids, the carnie folk, and riding on rides.






And last night we went to Planet Arlington, which had music, activities and crafts from around the world.





Of course, any outdoor activity provides an excuse to have a picnic


And any picnic is an excuse for Megan to run around



and eat things like cookies and Cheetos -- at the same time




And thanks to mom for the bike, and my neighbors for making available their kid-carrier, Megan was able to experience the white-knuckle terror of bike riding on the streets of D.C.

Just kidding, it was fun.




It turns out that D.C. is a great place to have kids.


P.S. A big Thanks to our "zero internet presence" neighbor for many of the pictures in this post.

We won the lottery!

Working for a large company does have its benefits, and one of those benefits is a condo at the Wintergreen Resort, just southwest of Charlottesville, Va. I've put my name in for the drawing a couple of times, and this month we won -- meaning that for a mere $70 in maintenance fees we were able to get out of the city and kick up our feet for three days.

Wintergreen is actually a ski resort in the winter time, so I'll have to put my name in again once it snows.


It was short notice, but since Vanderbilt hasn't started yet -- and Alisha is going crazy with Cory around the house -- we were able to talk them into making the 10 hour drive up from Nashville to see us.


Which, of course, means that it was the "Patty Duke" show (cue Kim and Alisha singing, "Cousins, identical cousins"), 24 hours a day with Megan and Noel.

Just look at these two hellians.



This was my favorite picture.


Kim did a great job of entertaining the girls by taking them out into "nature" (the parking lot) and teaching them about wildlife -- which in this case was a small, harmless caterpillar that was immediately smooshed by Noel.


Here they are fishing in a little stream


Getting in trouble at the restaurant


Of course, Meg and Noel weren't the only cousins on this trip -- we also got to contend with Henry and Ellie.



Although they are a little easier to contain




The trip was mainly about relaxing, being with family, and enjoying the blue ridge mountains, and so it was successful.

What to do on a Sunday afternoon

Sunday can become a long day when you don't have family around to visit.

Henry keeps himself busy with his favorite toys -- there's the aquarium gym,


his light-up butterfly,



and his favorite toys -- Mom and Dad.



Of course, he doesn't always like what Mom and Dad want to do -- here he is getting his breathing treatments for his pneumonia.


Unlike Megan, Henry's mild personality means that he doesn't fight us for too long. Eventually he just gives up and sits there. Megan would have fought us every second of every treatment for the duration of her sickness.


Mike fills his time talking with family. It's almost as good as being there.




Megan and I make treats. She's quite the little helper.



She even helps with the dishes -- kind of.



And I take out the camera, for fun. I think that I have found the secret to getting Megan to smile, get her to say "cheddar cheese" and make sure to click while she's still in the cheddar part. If not, you'll end up with the fake-underbite smile that plagued so many of our Utah photos.