Jewelry in Gym

I needed a 10 minute break from work, so I wandered down the hall to the building gym. While contemplating how I was going to restructure the Commerce Edition software, I looked down on the carpet and saw something shiny. I guess somebody took it off while using the weights.

I posted a sign in the gym and alerted the property management company. Hopefully nobody calls me. I plan on leaving my phone off for a couple weeks ... or whatever the statute of limitations is on these sort of things. So don't bother trying to reach me for a while.

RJ's 100th Day of Kindergarten

One Hundred Days of School

There was quite a celebration for the 100th day of kindergarten. Thanks to a snow day and Ash Wednesday, it was actually the 99th.

  

RJ Turns 6

Happy Sixth Birthday RJ

RJ had a two part birthday ... his real birthday on Friday and celebration weekend.
Friday (the real birthday) was celebrated at school. Mom read a book to his class and handed out some candy. Then we had dinner at Coastal Flats ... Dad was only 30 minutes late ... RJ almost fell asleep at dinner.
Saturday we went to Vivienne's birthday party which featured a bounce house, soccer, and football. Then Granddad came over so RJ could open his presents, bust open a pirate pinata, eat Indian food, and blow out the candles on his way-cool pirate cake.

Aaaarrrr J's Pirate Cake

The Pirate Pinata - Mom is really good at making pinatas now

Ice Skating

RJ also requested to go ice skating on his birthday. Hello Skatequest! Things were a little rough to start, but he was zooming around by the end.

Hike at Scott's Run

Brief Respite from Cold - Scott's Run Hike

Julia and dad met the McKelvey's for a hike at Scott's Run. After Julia complained that she wanted to 'walk to the hike' she calmed down and had a great time. Here is a picture with Miss Ellie in front of the waterfall that was still mostly frozen.

Better view of the frozen waterfall.

The hike featured a stop for a snack - Ritz crackers and dehydrated apples. And of course ... rock throwing.

The Plague

Flu Season

Both kids had ear infections. One parent caught a stomach virus. Second parent slipped on ice. After a trip to the doctor, both kids had the pleasure of torturing Mom when she tried to give them Amoxicillin. RJ had a very fierce cough which drew the stares and the ire of everyone when we took him in public.

RJ stuck on the couch watching cartoons while dad worked from home one day.

Granddad came over one day ... and decided to exit a bit earlier than usual - hopefully we do not add him to the list of victims.

Cold Snap in DC - Ice Skating

Ice Skating

2018 started with some super cold temperatures ... and very little precipitation ... perfect for ice skating.

On January 6, we went to check out the ice on the Canal near the Chain Bridge.

Conditions were ideal for skating and hockey, we passed the puck a bit. When we drove by again on Sunday, at least 300 people were skating.

Lake Barcroft

On Sunday, thanks to our friends in Lake Barcroft, we got some less populated ice ... with lots more space to roam. And thanks to Craigslist, RJ got a pair of skates for $15. RJ fell a lot, but towards the end he got used to it. And as soon as he fell, he popped right back up. By the end of the day, he was completely drenched with sweat.

New Year's 2017 -> 2018

Bethany Beach for the New Year

After a quick turnaround and 4-day work week, we hit the road again. This time we headed to the beach to share a house with several other families and folks.

A game of touch the stick without getting your feet wet ... turned into ... you guessed it ... wet feet. We didn't spend too much time on the beach, since it was quite cold and very windy.

There was plenty to do inside - including playing with other kids, watching Boss Baby, going to an arcade, air hockey, finding the 6-ball, ping pong, foosball, and more.

Julia liked the quieter moments with Uncle Z and Vincent/Enzo