Party Week

 Birthday week was a success! Here's to two awesome kids, a fantastic marriage, and a Champion Nin.

Elsie's big day got jump-started by picking up Dani's brother Justin at the Reagan Airport. We cruised around the White House and mall, and then grabbed pizza at Matchbox Pizza (note: next time you're there, when asking "Do you guys do anything for kids' birthdays?", the response "Yep! I'll take care of it" actually means "Sure-- I'll bring out some cake and ice cream- with an extra bowl for each kid-- and charge you full price for everything" haha). Elsie loved her books and dresses and baby doll she got. She got right into her cake and showed off her newly found walking skills for us.

On our Anniversary, Nin watched the kids while Dani and I went to Annapolis for dinner at Reynold's Tavern, which has been around long enough to serve Ben Franklin. 

Liam's birthday party, by his request, was a surprise party, only it was a reverse surprise party where his guests didn't know they were coming to a birthday party. His uncle made a killer dragon pinata, everyone dressed up as monsters, princesses, or superheroes, there was water balloon throwing, and a dragon cake. 

We'll fill in more details later, but I know everyone just wants videos anyway. Happy Birthday Week!

Oxon Hill Farm

Liam milked a real cow.  Elsie chased a chicken.  We spied on 2 black and green striped lizards playing under a rock. Ah, the good life on the farm.

Putting down roots

In our 6 years of marriage, Brady and I have lived at 5 different addresses,  in 4 different states, attending 3 universities.  Each move shifting us farther away from 'home,' In each place we have collected cherished, life-long friends, and warm memories. 

     All the perpetual moving and transitioning has made me realize how important it is to quickly fall in love with where you live, accept it for what it is (and isn't) and just get on to putting down your roots.

       

 

The transition to moving to DC has been made easier by my slightly contradicting declarations:

1) Get to know people as if you were going to live here forever.  Be generous about opening up your home and treat people like they are already friends.

2)  Lost time can't be retrieved. Explore the place you live while also finding the quaint places you love to frequent.

Gardening is a way that I put down my roots and incorporate myself. 

It gives me pleasure in the here and now and makes me count down the days 'til bloom time.  There is something about planting a tree in your backyard that makes that space feel more like home.  There is a satisfaction in beautifying the earth given to you and leaving things better than when you found them. Planting a garden makes me feel connected with the earth and makes me feel like I'm living.

        

I love the simplicity (and divine complexity) of my bare hands in the earth. Plant this, add that, nurture here, prune there and watch it grow. 

Attached to my kitchen door is an enclosed, not quite weather proof, porch. In the words of a friend, it "smells like camping" and I used to be disgusted by it.  

       Now I've turned it into a green house. Liam calls it my "club house,"  and I love it.  My friend Katie and I have taken on the task of  making an organic vegetable garden in my back yard. Now my clubhouse is the perfect place to nurture seedlings, water starters, or to hide from the kids during nap time.:)   

Every garden needs a hiding elf- for good luck.The kids always come outside with me. I pay Liam in Spiderman popsicles to dig holes for me.

The morning hunt

DC kids

We love our everyday DC life and our metropolitan kids.  We went downtown to the museums and swung by the Native American Museum. Their treasury of thousands of years of native artifacts is almost usurped by their fry bread.  Drizzled with honey, it's absolutely perfect. Mmmm

Elsie's Easter

Little girls in easter dresses- huggable, kissable, ridiculously cute. Elsie is so very beautiful, terribly sweet  and well, definitely underrepresented in this Firth blog. Sorry second child! (I happen to be a second kid so I can empathize. :) ) So while I'm highlighting her cuteness I thought I'd write a bit about her.

She melts my heart. She laughs uncontrollably at Liam, and giggles and claps for herself whenever she stands up.   She loves crawling all over her dad and touching his face. She eats everything, even dirt.  She's got these adorable curls on the side of her head that cause people to gawk.

       She loves to snuggle and read books on her mommy's lap. She loves to dig in the dirt with her brothers sand toys or her mothers gardening tools.  Like her father, she rarely wears socks and would much rather be outside than in.

She started walking 2 days ago and it has made us realize just how fast our sweet thing is growing up.

'Did Jesus make Jedis?" was the topic up for debate this week.


 Mom: "Well, Star Wars is actually just a movie."
  Liam:  "Yes, but if he wanted to, Jesus could make a Jedi with all those powers, right?"
Mom: Yeah sure
Liam:  "Ha! I knew it! I'll have to tell that to my friend!"

Liam:          "Does Jesus make computers?
Mom: "Well Jesus made the earth and then people make computers"

Liam: "Yeah, that's what I thought.  He makes humans and bones and blood but he doesn't make the internet. He also doesn't make computers. Here's the sad part, 'cause people make computers they run outta batteries and they need to be plugged."   

Liam: "If Jesus doesn't make computers then who made Jesus and God and the spirit?"


Liam: Is the church really Jesus' house? How does he live here? Why do they call it his house?

Mom: This is where people learn about him, and where we can feel his spirit. He usually lives with God though.

Liam: Hmmm well maybe he sleeps in a pile of hay some where around here- I've seen it in picture.
:)

-Pictures at the College Park Aviation museum (the Wright Brothers' first official airport) Liam is trying on a pilot's hat and Elsie is getting in on the action.

My award winning husband

 Yesterday Brady won $1,000.  It caught us by sunrise. There was an award luncheon but I wasn't really clued in so I wasn't even there to see him win it all.  I actually found out via text. Basically it was "Hey I won first place and $1,000." I laughed out loud.
    The prize was awarded for business entrepreneurship research. Best of all, it was for his thesis. The thesis from hell that seemed to take longer than we wanted and whos data never quite seemed to support the hypothesis.  From all Brady's hard work though, came a paper chalked full of sound writing, smart ideas and cogent arguments. I'm so very proud of him.

     So what do you do when you win $1,000?  Well, we immediately made a huge chocolate cake, from scratch.
     It's funny, everyones idea of what to spend prize money on is so different. To Liam $1,000 meant Starwars Legos, including a saber clad DarthVader. For me, it was a coveted pink North Face shirt. For Brady it was a little extra spending money on a business trip to Chicago and probably, some itunes downloads, and new shoes.  We'll most likely use the rest to visit family this summer.
What would you use the money for?   -p.s I'll post some pictures of Brady with the award at a later date.