Trophy season

It's the end of the school year and lots of things are wrapping up, meaning lots of end of the season events and lots of celebrating.

Andy is getting his Tiger Badge, which I don't quite understand, but I think this means he can move up to being a Wolf scout next year.

He's pretty excited. I wish I could I have talked him into wearing pants that matched even slightly.

This was the Three Piggy Opera, the first grand spring musical. Beyond adorable. He's on the front right in a white shirt. I was able to negotiate better clothes for this one. The teachers told the kids specifically to have their parents pick out the outfits.  

Andy got up the nerve to invite his babysitter, Avery, to come with us. He's got a bit of a crush. Margaret had pajama day that day (and every day she's not wearing a gown practically).

End of season wrap up for soccer. I used to think participation trophies were lame until I had kids and realized just how important they are to the kids.

Here's the whole team. We actually have one more game.

Overheard

"I need my own phone so I can listen to my Phineas and Ferb music wherever I go," Andy said.

My mom gave Andy the Phineas and Ferb CD for his birthday and we are all loving it. Seriously great music, especially for kids' music. Catchy, clever with a good beat and short. Plus, it's a great chance to work in phrases like "I have squirrels in my pants."

My computer is still on the fritz. So far, Acer has not been impressive. Fortunately, the folks are work kindly installed a new hard drive over the weekend, but it still is acting weird, which is partly why I haven't uploaded any birthday pictures. Soon. I hope.

Meg's second birthday is next week. How did that happen? I keep calling her my baby and it's clear she's anything but that right now.

Swedish sensibilities

So my dad e-mailed us this week to ask if we'd ever heard of the band ABBA. Apparently they're Swedish, he said, so Bjorn being of Swedish descent may have heard of them. My dad is apparently helping select entertainment for the Dallas Symphony and HAIR cancelled so they're offering him ABBA. Here's a slightly exaggerated account of our conversation.

Me: Dad, you've heard of ABBA. They had a bunch of hits in the 70s.
Dad: I don't think so. What kind of music do they sing?
Me: Pop.
Dad: But is that folk? Rock?
Me: No, it's pop. It was disco music. Fun and peppy. I swear you'd recognize their songs. They now play them during baseball and hockey games at intermissions and such. Besides, and more importantly, there is no way ABBA is touring and a venue for them is the Dallas Symphony. They are huge. Think Simon and Garfunkle reunion huge.
Dad: They told me ABBA. Just like I said in my e-mail.
Me: Well, the four members -- all with names beginning with letters that spell ABBA -- were married and now they're not. That was like 25 years ago. They don't like each other and are not touring. This would be bigger than the Spice Girls reunion.
Dad: Who? Maybe it's like the Kingston Trio and only one member of the band will be there.
Me: (Now sad that I know so much about ABBA) Dad, I really don't think so. One of the women moved back to Sweden and doesn't speak English any longer. The two men went on to be famous producers, including a Broadway musical, Mamma Mia. Maybe that's what this is, the music from Mamma Mia?
Dad: No, they said ABBA.
Me: Seriously, this would be huge news if ABBA was getting back together. Besides, they have cover bands, like Bjorn Again who we like, who routinely fill 3,000 seat venues so I think the Dallas Symphony might be small even for them.
Dad: So what you're saying is I need to ask some more questions?
Me: Yes, I think that would be a good idea.

The whole dialogue was so funny, it made my day. My dad cracks me up sometimes.

Jammin to the politicos

One of the perks of living in suburbia is some of the cool stuff big countries like Fairfax have to offer. Case in point is the summer entertainment series that takes place at the park by the lake near our place. Sadly, it's on the other side of the lake from us and thus not within walking distance, but the bands are usually decent, it's infinitely convenient and kid-friendly, and free.

We went last week with some friends and Andy was so happy about the whole thing he danced for about 20 minutes of the 60 minute set with an enormous smile on his face before crashing down to sit for a minute. It was all rather impressive since he hadn't had a nap that day.

The only downsides to this are the concert is held on a strange rock incline so you really need to bring a chair because rocks in the backside are less good that you might imagine (and I imagine you thought rocks on the backside were already not good). The other negative is the local politicians love to stop by and claim credit for it.

Just about every week the organizers have to officially suck up to Sharon Bulova, our rep on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. We also routinely have Tom Davis and/or his wife Jeannemarie Devolites Davis. Of course, they're all running for reelection and the Republican Davises are especially vulnerable so they're coming around and sucking up. It would be more interesting if it was anyone BUT them or if they ever had anything to say except, "Like these concerts? You can thank me personally! Here, have a fan with my name and picture on it."

They also never stay at the concert they claim to care so much about. They glad hand for five minutes, get introduced and leave. I guess this is what local pols do, but I'm ready for something, someone, more interesting.

Tia's here!

My sister, Mary, is visiting this week. It took "Tia" (Spanish for aunt) about five seconds for Andy to decide he prefers her over me. At least he gave me the courtesy of a few minutes before chucking me completely.

We've had a fun few days. Thursday I took off work and we went into town to rent kayaks on the Potomac River. The folks at the rental place were friendly and the kayaks were serviceable enough. I thought they were fine, but Mary is a real kayaker and was less impressed. But for $8 an hour, it was still a bargain. We paddled for a few hours up toward Great Falls and back. It was a beautiful day with sunny skies and low humidity. It was also great that we went Thursday before the article in the Washington Post on Friday saying the water is filled with fecal material and unsafe for swimming. Yum! I'm glad I did wash my hands before we settled into one of the slowest lunches ever at Tony and Joe's afterwards. Granted, it was on the waterfront on a beautiful day, but should it really take 2 hours to get soup, salad and crab cakes at a seafood restaurant during peak hours?

Friday, we went shopping at the Leesburg Outlets. We both needed new purses and the Coach outlet delivered. Good thing, too, as my friend Armando has been researching purses for me and it turns out the "stylish" ones from Louis Vuitton and others start at $2,000. Seriously? Who are the people who drop that kind of money on a purse that is so trendy it will be out of style next season?

Today Mary's vet conference started downtown, but we met for dinner and then went to the Goo Goo Dolls concert that was playing for attendees. It was a good show although it was funny to see all these really smart doctors dancing around, most of whom had probably never heard of the Goo Goo Dolls. The best part was a cute couple two-stepping to Slide. I did feel my age, though, as we only lasted about an hour before we declared it too loud and left. Granted, I think they start turning up the volume as they went along. It was fun though.

Picture is of Mary at the concert despite their instructions to not take pictures. I know, we're rebels. Anyway, that's the Goo Goo Dolls on the stage. You can see that, right?

And we're off

We're headed out of town tomorrow to see my family in Dallas and visit a cousin in Pecos. It will be nice to see everyone, fingers crossed it isn't too hot yet. In order to properly pack, I think we've done four loads of laundry in the past two days. It turns out we have a stunning amount of clothing - although never exactly what I want to wear on any given day. Figures.

Andy is so excited about the plane. I've been telling him for the past few days that we're going on a plane Saturday. We then go through the days and then get to Saturday when we're on a plane. He keeps talking about it. It's precious.

Also precious is his ability to remember songs. The last few days he's been singing "No more monkeys jumping on the bed." Today he started singing "Twinkle twinkle little star." Pretty darn cute. I just wish I could remember all the words.

So in my absence next week, here are some good reads to tide you over until my thrilling updates return. All these bloggers update very regularly to keep you busy.

• Coffee Betsy - The adventures of Betsy and her son, Jack, and occasionally her husband. They just fled Virginia for the quad cities of Illinois and Iowa. She tells a good yarn.
• DC Blogs - A compilation of what the local bloggers are talking about.
• DCist - This site seems to have the buzz on what's happening in the D.C. area (although primarily the city) with a sarcastic slant. It's a great place to pick up local news that is interesting, but not necessarily local news/Washington Post material.
• Renaissance Man Trapped in a Cubicle - The tales of an office drone by day, super dad, author and band rocker by night.
• So Close - Tertia is an infertility survivor and mother of twins. Her stories of motherhood resonate and the tales of life in South Africa are fascinating.
• Sundry Morning - A woman with a cranky toddler with a wicked sense of humor who is adding on to her house.

Enjoy! See you in a week.