Updates

It seems I haven't been able to keep up with blogging these past couple of months so here are a few pics and paragraphs with some of the activities we have been up to. Enjoy!


We have a couple of drawing books at home that Max recently started using. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that he could go from scribbles to drawing castles with nothing in-between, not even stick figures or big circle heads with legs poking out. The drawings below are his first, second and third drawings, ever. The tiger and the burning castle with a princess were Mother's Day cards he made for the grandmas. Not too shabby coming from parents who can only draw stick figures.

Herb's birthday is May 2nd and the only thing Herb really wanted to do on his birthday was to play tennis. Herb's good friends Ray and Rex Murdock drove over from Maryland for a morning of tennis and then treated us all to lunch at Peking Gourmet. Herb rounded off his big day with a stake leadership meeting and the Saturday evening session of stake conference. Following the meetings I arranged for a little celebration with cake for any and all to come by and extend b-day wishes for my darling husband. All in all, I think he was satisfied with his big day.

The city of Herndon hosts a week every year when the Utilities Dept. parks their trucks, tractors and snough ploughs and lets little ones wreck havoc with them. Kids can climb in, push buttons, honk horns, jump on seats and imagine what it's like to operate one of those mean machines. The boys loved it. Lincoln kept running back and forth across the parking lot trying out every vehicle and Max managed to get himself locked in one of the tractors. Thankfully, a kind city worker was close at hand to rememdy the situation before Max, and some of the other parents could panic. The experience brought Max one step closer to his dream of becoming a garbage truck driver and I had the satisfaction of feeling like the super mom.

Max LOVES soccer practice. I'm talking wearing the cleats and shirt everyday, can't wait till Friday's practice kind of love. His best buddy is on the team and his buddy's dad assists with the coaching. When we first started Max with soccer, he talked about it non-stop. His first thoughts in the morning revolved around how much longer he had to wait until the next practice. So, we thought for sure he would really get into the games. Not so much.

These photos were taken at Maxwell's first game and according to him it was "booorrrringg!" Apparently running around at practice is much more fun then having to man your position on the field and try to figure out what the heck everyone else is doing in the game. Herb's account was that Max just kind of stood around and when he got bored of that he enjoyed pushing his friend out-of-bounds. I think Max must get his cut-throat competitive nature from me. Ah well, maybe next season we'll be better parents and let him start attending more games.

In May, Herb and I attended the wedding of my dear friend, Lindsay. She married a great guy who is completely enamoured of her and with good reason. Lindsay is beautiful, smart, kind, loyal, adventurous and has an amazing capacity for good. I first met Lindsay back in 1998 when we were Washington Seminar roommates. Eleven years later, we are both still here in DC, though she has done a few things along the way like grad school and traveling throughout the world.

She and her husband were married in a beautiful ceremony at the Washington D.C. temple followed by a luncheon at the Mount Vernon Restaurant.

At the conclusion of the luncheon, they had a Korean wedding ceremony in honor of his family. It was very enjoyable to watch and see some time honored traditions like the groom carrying his bride, then his mother, then his mother-in-law on his back while walking in a circle around the ceremony table. You could tell Lindsay's mother was a little surprised by this tradition.

Lindsay was such a beautiful, classy bride. Simple and elegant all rolled up into one sweet package. You know the groom is loving it!

The above photo pictures four of us who attended Washington Seminar together eleven years ago. The years have not treated us too shabby.

In this photo, Lindsay is wearing her traditional Korean wedding gown. It was beautiful and I hope she will have other opportunities to wear it.

We started Memorial Day off with a bang at our church's annual Memorial Day breakfast. It was super yummy and the committees did a great job of coordinating the food with a nice presentation on ideas for recording your family history. Lincoln managed to get lost only once, and after a thorough scouring of the church grounds he was found in the toy closet of the nursery. Everyone involved in the small search party was a bit panicky except for me. It must be a sign I'm getting used to it. I just don't have enough eyes to keep watch on each child!

After the breakfast and naps we hooked up with our good friends and decided to explore a nature park nearby that someone had recommended. Long Branch is a great little place if you want to feel like you are out of the city. It's forested, shady and I could literally feel the quality of the air go up a few decibels when I stepped out of the car. There was a great place in the river that had flat rocks and easy access for the kids to play in. They had a ball and I turned a blind eye to any thoughts of toxic waste flowing through it. I was excited to have found a great spot to cool down for the summer that was free and reminiscent of my childhood, that is until we returned this past weekend and the ranger assured us that we would not want our children swimming in the likes of this here river. All I can say is: Ignorance is bliss.

Gotta love those muscular, tan bellies that have seen too much of the sun. Ha!