The Wedding

Pancho and Thumper left me this last week to go to Hawaii for our best friends' wedding.  Pancho met Beaver in school and Beaver's girlfriend Nurse and I became instant friends.  Ironically enough, I met Nurse for the first time through Skype!  They lived a bit north of us and we got together as often as we could but with school, work, and life it wasn't as often as we would have liked.  And then we accepted the offer to join the Department of State and moved to DC just after they got engaged.  We've only known them for a few years but it seems like a lifetime.  They are amazing people and a wonderful couple!

I am unable to take any leave while in language training and it just wasn't feasible to go to Hawaii for the weekend without missing a couple days of work.  I definitely looked at tickets until the night before the wedding hoping the timings would change!  In retrospect, I should have just done it.  I wanted to be there so badly and I thought that sending Pancho and Thumper was the best I could do...but I should have just bought the ticket and dealt with DoS later.

The good news is that I jokingly mentioned they should Skype me into the wedding...and they did.  Pancho and Beaver video called me, walked me through the hallway, set me on my own chair, and introduced me to guests.  I got to wave to my son, thank the family members who have been watching him, and see everything get set up.  I put my microphone on mute so no one would hear me crying or Drake barking :-)  And then the music started and the most beautiful, confident, kind, and amazingly gorgeous bride walked down the aisle to stand at her husband's side (you were handsome too B).  I got to be there...virtually...and it was unimaginable.

I know that distance is hard.  I know it because we are the ones who are far away from our friends and families.  But right now this experience and this opportunity is what we have decided is best for us.  The consequence that we have to accept is that we are going to miss weddings, babies, and other important events.  But technology is amazing and while it doesn't substitute for being there in person, I'd rather be virtually present than not present at all.  Being so far away, that's the best we can do and tonight I feel like grateful for the friends I have as well as my internet connection.

The wedding and I hung up...and then 'Love Story' by Taylor Swift came on Pandora and my night ended with lots of love, a few tears, and a full heart.

Congratulations Beaver and Nurse!

The Wedding...from my Living Room

I Don't Think Thumper Accurately Describes His Energy Level...Perhaps Tazmanian, or Nuclear?

Last week Thumper, Bambi and I ventured out to an amazing off-leash dog park in Shirlington, VA.  Bambi had a good time, but Thumper had a GREAT time!  The park is about a quarter mile long, running along a small creek, and Thumper walked and ran the entire way.  He stuck his arms out like a T-rex and ran and giggled to his heart's content. He loved pointing at all of the dogs and saying, "Doh!"  A few of them were even so kind as to let Thumper pet them.  He's getting much better at understanding "gentle" and all of the K-9's were very appreciative.  He also learned how to shake his hands off when he falls and gets them dirty.  He grins wildly and scissors his hands back and forth knocking any debris off of them.

Another big adventure last week was a trip to Gymboree.  I don't mean the store Gymboree; I mean the small segregated section of the world where children roam free to do as they please in a jungle of mats, toys, wedges, balls, slides, and many other obstacles which I can't even begin to name.  Thumper crossed over the threshold into this magical land and his eyes instantly glossed over like a kid that had just consumed 4 gallons of soda.  The T-rex arms shot up and he was off.  I could see the constant struggle in his head whether to begin collecting toys or run for the slides, and then he saw it...a big bright colorful tunnel.  He pounced on the ground and crawled like he's never crawled before.  As he made it in one end, I ran to the other side to pop my head around with a smile and a giggle.  When he saw me he laughed hysterically and struggled to recall how to move his arms and legs in unison.  He managed to turn around in the tunnel and do something resembling a crawl in between his fits of body convulsing laughter.

Our class was about an hour long and we did some structured events like singing songs and pushing a giant inflatable log/tube across the floor with about 15 other 1-ish-year-olds.  The kids went crazy and the parents did their best to prevent swan dives off of the top of the slides or fights over toys strewn about.  All in all we had a great time, and I loved getting so see Thumper interact with other kids his own age.  Hopefully in Hyderabad we'll get him enrolled in some kind of part time day care so that he can get some real play time on a regular basis.  I know I'm fun and all, but I'm well aware that I'm no match for 15 kids his own age :-P

Time is flying by and we're getting ready for all of our visitors!  Thumper and I go to Hawaii in a little over a week, and then it starts.  After returning from Hawaii we'll have a constant stream of visitors until January with a few short breaks intermixed.  We are so ready for a taste of home, and some babysitters!  Ha ha.  Legs and I already have a mental list of date night things to do when family arrives.  We're doing great and we can't wait to see all of you that are coming to visit!

Happy Travels!

Pancho

Life Outside DC

We finally got out of town!  Last weekend we went to a friend's family house on Smith Mountain Lake and enjoyed the water, sunshine (I swear there was sun), and quiet time.  It was a long 5.5 hour drive from DC but it was well worth it.  Poor Bambi got sent to the dog hotel but Pancho, Thumper, and I greatly enjoyed our time without dog responsibility.

We felt so welcome and are honored to have such wonderful friends in our lives.  Paris Chica's family was so kind and it was good to catch up with her.  

Out on the boat!

View from their house

One of the highlights of this trip was seeing the house where What About Bob was filmed!  One of our all-time favorite movies.  The house has changed a little since 1991 but I still recognize the porch and the staircase out back from the movie!

What About Bob house

What About Bob house and dock

We are relaxing this weekend and catching up on to-do items.  Then for Labor Day weekend we are off to Amish Country!  Thumper sure is getting some traveling in these days :-)

Legs

It's Official...I'm Running MCM2012

I won an entry in the Marine Corps Marathon in an essay contest that I entered through Arlington County Parks and Recreation!  I'm so excited that I'll have the opportunity to participate in this race.  It's one of the biggest marathons in the country.  They cap the entrants at 30,000 and it sold out in 2 hours and 41 minutes!!!  Although I've been training for a marathon in October for quite some time now, it brings a new sense of urgency to my runs.  Now that I'm officially signed up for a race I really need to start logging the miles.  I'm running a little over 30 miles per week now, and hope to get into the 50's before the race.

Thumper is still as active as ever.  Sometimes I think he'd be better off entering the marathon!  He's starting to make some animal sounds, like monkeys (ooh ooh ooh, AH AH!), and mice (squeak squeak squeak).  He can also point at the ceiling, dog, ball, monkeys (little figurines we have from Costa Rica) when you ask him to.  He is so rambunctious that it seems like every day he has a new bonk, scrape, or bruise from running into something, falling, or hitting himself with something.  He loves to walk outside in his new shoes, and he regularly walks to the car with us.  He absolutely loves his books.  They are almost the only "toys" he brings out of his toy box now.  He brings one over to you and kind of whines until you take it and then he gets really excited and tries to sit in your lap for you to read it to him.  Thumper is also signing for 'more' and 'milk' very well these days.

With the exception of having a bit of a cold right now, I'm doing wonderful and so are Legs, Thumper, and Bambi.  We are looking forward to a trip to Smith Mountain Lake this weekend to get out of the city.

Happy Travels!

Pancho

Halfway

Legs has reached the halfway point in language training and she passed her progressive test with flying colors.  She is right on track to get to where she needs to be in November.  She has put a lot of time and effort into learning Telugu and it is really beginning to show.  She loves small-talking in Telugu with the shop-keepers at the local Indian grocery store we regularly visit.  We have both come to enjoy watching Tollywood movies (the Telugu equivalent to Bollywood movies) that we get for free from the store.

Thumper is beginning to walk with us when we go out, instead of riding in the stroller.  I finally got him a decent pair of shoes so that he can start trying to walk around the block when we take Bambi out.  The shoes are a little big, and create a bit of a challenge...especially on carpet.  He picks his feet up REALLY high with the shoes on.  It's pretty funny to watch.  He's still such a happy little person, and he literally waves at everyone.  This morning, on my walk with him and Bambi, people on the bus started smiling and waving at me and then I noticed Thumper was grinning ear-to-ear and waving like he was on a parade float.

Not a very eventful week, but things are good.

Happy Travels!

Pancho

Date Night and Baby Chasing

I'm going to be the best man in our friends' wedding!  I'm so excited that Beaver asked me to be his best man.  Unfortunately Legs won't be able to make the trip to Hawaii with Thumper and I.  She would absolutely love to be there for Beaver and Nurse.  We are very happy for them.  I'm a bit nervous to be on a flight that long with Thumper alone :-/  He'll be flying as a lap-baby, so he won't even have his own seat.  Yikes!

Things are feeling more and more like home here, as we become more comfortable with the DC area.  Legs and I had another date night, and luckily there was no fire alarm to disturb us this time around.  We went to a local jazz club called the Bohemian Caverns.  The music was so-so, but we had a wonderful time just being out together.  We're very excited for all of our visitors coming in the next few months, so that maybe we'll get a few more date nights!  :-P

Thumper basically went from taking 4-5 steps at a time to running at an all-out sprint, and he is quickly stockpiling the bumps, scrapes, and bruises.  He's fearless and has an unbelievably happy personality.  He's constantly exploring, playing, and pointing at things, which keeps Bambi and me extremely busy!  He loves to play with Bambi and laughs hysterically when they take toys from one other.

Legs and I are still running and going to the gym.  I think Legs is really excited to participate in her Warrior Dash in September, and I'm hopeful that the Marine Corps Marathon (or the Monster Mash Marathon) will go much better than my last.

Happy Travels!

Pancho

We've Caught a Fitness Bug

For some reason Legs and I have both gotten the urge to exercise.  I'm planning to run another marathon, either the Monster Mash Marathon in Dover, DE or the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC, in October, and Legs has registered for a Warrior Dash in VA.  She, and two of her colleagues, will run a 5K race stacked full of obstacles which include crawling under barbwire, a river crossing, jumping through fire, and many more!  We also joined a gym that has childcare, and it's like we get a workout-date-night every night of the week!

Thumper is getting more active and mobile every day.  Perhaps we both decided to start exercising because we know it won't be long before we won't be able to keep up with Thumper.  Something clicked the other night for him and he went from taking 5 or 6 steps at a time to running laps around the living room.  He's also getting better at riding his Stryder bicycle.  He still needs one of us to stabilize the handle bars for him, but he starts moving those little feet like there's no tomorrow!  Maybe by the time we get to India he'll be riding by himself.

We're looking forward to seeing all who are coming to visit us in the coming months!

Happy Travels!

Pancho