It's hard to believe there was a time I updated this weekly. When the kids were little and required diaper changes and regular feedings, no less.
Well, it's been a winter, and maybe this is the season we're in. Life is a whirlwind. It snowed at some point, although for the life of me I cannot remember when, and we reveled in snow day sledding and a play-hooky ski day at Liberty. For once, nobody (Finley) wound up in the emergency room.
My announced-at-the-eleventh-hour promotion resulted in the absolute best surprise of the year, and our best people flew in for crabs with cousins (the kids) and more champagne than it was responsible to drink (yours truly).
DOJ threw me an affair so extravagant we have labeled it "the coronation." Jayne and Finley made a cake for the ages, and I made- for some reason- this face.
The Attorney General made an appearance, and the DAG did the honors. Mom and Dad, predictably, hid from the camera. The promotion was lovely and I was brought to my knees with gratitude for the family tradition of service, and the people who traveled from far and wide to celebrate with us.
The event- lovely but lengthy- was survived, and we were lucky enough to spend a fantastic few more days exploring DC and Annapolis with our crew... and introducing Lehua to Starbucks calorie bombs.
The post-promotion doldrums were real, and the only thing that would perk us up was a snowy run north for Army-Navy basketball and a catchup with our East Continental Road people.
At some point, and it's honestly all a blur, we made it to the end of basketball season.
And then, because Rebecca and Jeremy are sociopaths and I'm a sucker for a vacation I don't have to plan, we found ourselves back at Disney. In the rain, no less.
We once again celebrated Seth's birthday in Florida with the (entire) North Dakota crew.
And checked out the old faves (Star Wars never disappoints) and new thrills (Tron was awesome- just look at that ad-worthy photo!)
Somewhere in there, Finley donated the hair she's been growing out for a wig for a kid with cancer. Imagine getting a foot of that ginger mop! She figured her Aunt Savanna would be proud.
I spent another week in Bulgaria which, despite the worst bout of food poisoning I've ever experienced, remains one of my very favorite places,
and then we made a trip south for Wendy's promotion, which landed us at the
Virginia Aquarium and finding oysters in Yorktown (a real historical gem I had completely forgotten about.)
Spring sports are now upon us, and we started out the season at lacrosse games in abject weather.
The kids are big enough to vote on Spring Break plans and, although I lobbied hard for Italy, insisted on California, complete with convertible for the road trip. So naturally, within 24 hours of landing I was putting snow chains on a mini Cooper.
Worth it, for Kings Canyon and Sequoia in the snow and, later, a terrifically uncrowded and sparkling San Francisco. You hear a lot of bad news stories about California these days, which was partly behind my reluctance to take the kids, and I was delighted to find that they were- a la Mark Twain- greatly exaggerated.
The road trip was chicken soup for the soul, and a reminder just how much I love the place in which I have so many happy memories. (Thanks, Mom & Dad!) We ate all the ice cream,
visited all of our best beaches (Asilomar for Mom),
checked in with elephant seals at Ano Nuevo and the rest of the sea life at the still-best ever
Monterey Bay Aquarium,
and acted like real tourists chasing down the best views of the Hollywood sign.
Because central California is still at its quirky best, we also fed ostriches (?) and rode this weird bike "with a fringe on top" past windmills in Solvang (and by "we," I mean I am the only one who pedaled),
and learned to surf in the 54 degree Pacific in Pismo. There are no words for how happy this made my heart. The kids, in full wets, did not want to get out, and mastered pop-ups.
Somewhere in there, and I'll spare the photo although I'm pretty sure it's in this
full deck, I also took a stroll along the PCH in my underwear, and (unrelated) snagged this fantastic photo.
I can 100% endorse renting a convertible and driving the PCH. Even if your kid gets carsick and pukes in it.
We wrapped our trip paying homage to every. tourist. trap. in LA.
Plus farmer's market tacos with Sky!!
and a v. expensive pilrgimage to my alma mater.
The icing on the cake was Dodger dogs and a win at Dodger stadium (for me), and Dodgers Prime (for Handsome Ford)
followed by a trip to the always-stunning
Getty Center for Artsy Finley.
It's hard to leave California, and once there, I invariably consider not doing so. But we made it home in time for opening day for both the Bowie Baysox and the Arden Attackers.
We saw the eclipse, even if
some of us lasted approximately 30 seconds before our necks hurt,
earned our green belts,
and survived out first Girls on the Run 5k.
The last few months have absolutely flown, and we are now fully ensconced in wrapping things up here, enjoying summer on the river while it lasts, and planning for new adventures while scheduling movers. Cheers to military moving season (and being blessedly done with War College papers!)
