Pictures

Pictures tomorrow, but

wanted to write a bit tonight about the trip that Andy and I just went on. We went for the past 5 days to Washington DC. I know that is not the traditional getaway-from-the-kids type of holiday, but we love to go out and explore and see things. Inevitably, we end up bored at a beach type of place. We saw quite a bit. Some of the things we saw years ago as middle school age children, but they are way cooler when you aren't twelve. My favorite part was the Twilight tour we took of the monuments. Our tour guide was a great person to do the tour. He was this big ole guy, a former professional football player, and he told some good stories. Downtown looks amazing with all of the lighting. My favorite monuments, I think, are the Lincoln and the FDR.
Seriously, I wish I had a pedometer with me. I think we walked 10 miles some days!
I loved the energy there about the election. Obama gear seemed to be everywhere. Of course, I had to get a t-shirt. Luckily I live in Austin, because I don't think that would be a popular shirt in most of Texas.
More tomorrow. I am very tired.

One more

Almost left out the full shot of Natalie in her disco-diva suit!

Dressing up...

Our neighbors passed along some dressup clothes today. The girls dug right in! There were lots of things, from high heels to gowns. Too cute.

Natalie went to the dentist today. It appears that she has 2 cavities! Her teeth are soft, so she has a natural tendency to get cavities. Dr. Jenny said we are going to wait to do anything, since Nati is only 27 lbs. She thinks we might have to use an IV to sedate her, and we can't do that until she hits 30 lbs. Well, technically we can, but with all of the little issues Natalie has had in her life (developmental) neither Dr. Jenny nor I are thrilled about doing it when it is not yet a necessity.

Never a dull moment, right?

The debut of the braces...

I survived the arrival of the dreaded braces. And as you can see, they look pretty good. I am very surprised. If you click on the photo and make it bigger, you can see them better. They aren't hurting too much right now either. Excuse the bad hair in the picture, please.

This is soooo uncool!

On Tuesday I got spacers put into my teeth. In case you are wondering, they are little pieces of plastic jammed in between your teeth. Compared to some people, apparently, I am having an easy time of it. However, I can't eat. I have been literally surviving on ice cream, which was very fun for a day or two, but now I am so sick of it. Plus, I have an awful cold that just won't go away and have no voice. I feel like I am 80, not 33.
So Tuesday is the big day. The day I have been dreading for a very long time- braces. Expect to see no more pictures of me. That is, until 2 years from now.

Head cold

The girls are fine, but I have a nasty head cold. I seem to get one each summer. That is so not cool.

We had a nice weekend. The girls had a birthday party for a little girl in Natalie's class. It was a fun party because the parents had a friend who is a Barnes and Noble storyteller. She was excellent and very engaging for the kids.

I actually had to (oh, no!) work today. I went to a good workshop, so it is okay.

Old...from Meagan's bday

Shameless, I know, but...

One day, when Meagan's political beliefs differ vastly from my own, she will be very mad at me for dressing her in political advertisements.

That being said, I feel like yesterday was a pretty important day. It doesn't even matter that much if you like Obama's beliefs. Our country took a big step; a step terribly overdue. It has always amazed me that countries that we look down upon as being backward or behind the times have already broken the gender barrier. Apparently our country was not quite ready for the gender barrier, but having a candidate for president who is African-American shows some progress.

I found his speech to be moving. Of course, I was the most excited when he brought up the point about NCLB (No Child Left Behind, pronounce "Nickel-B" in acronym-happy schools) being underfunded. Teachers all over the country are ready for a change when it comes to NCLB.

I am just ready for November to be here. Surely this is the longest election season ever.

It is summer, no doubt about it.

This weekend, Meagan acquired her first real bike. It is, of course, a princess bike that she loves very much. She fell down, scratched herself up, and quickly figured out that pedaling backwards to brake is a good thing. Besides that one fall, though, she did great. She even isn't complaining about her new helmet. Natalie, predictably, now wants to wear a helmet too. We set up the blow up pool in the front yard hoping some friends would come play too, but the sisters had fun playing by themselves.

Last night Meagan, Lexi, and Natalie managed to thoroughly tear up April and Jon's perfect apartment. They had a blast though.

For the first time in 15 years, Andy played raquetball today. I am expecting some major whining about being sore tomorrow. He and Jon took advantage of our gyms's guest passes.

hot potato, hot potato

(Forgive the Wiggles reference.)

Left to his own devices, a father will find a way to entertain his children.