Santa's Little Helper

So, so sorry we haven't updated our blog in such a long time.  This buying a house and moving thing really has consumed us.  Add in the holidays and we are spent.  We'll get back at it in the New Year, we promise.  Until then, this sinister little elf and the rest of us would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Moving Out

We're moving this week, so please excuse our lack of posts for a few days.  In the meantime, here is the ad for the specific model of our new house as it appeared in the December 1959 issue of McCalls Magazine.

Among Heroes

We are blessed to live in an area where it is so easy to teach our kids about service of country.  I took Michael out to Arlington National this afternoon (i.e., his first time).  Love this kid!  After seeing the bigger memorials (e.g., JFK, Tomb of the Unknown), he really wanted to visit the vast field of "tombstones."  After hugging about six tombstones and saying, "thank you" and "happy Veterans Day," he became quite distraught that he could not get to them all.

Happy Veterans Day to all those that have served so honorably.  Thank you for your service.  We are forever grateful.

Homeward Bound

This is the reason we've been distracted from blogging lately!  This morning we closed on a new house.  As you can see, it's definitely modest and a bit of a fixer-upper.  But it's in the only neighborhood that we've ever truly "loved" in Northern Virginia.  So we decided to go for it, rather than moving miles outside of the city to get more space.  Split level, 4 BR, 2.5 bath, on a nice quiet street.  Needs plenty of TLC (e.g., original siding/windows, old roof), but it's 84-yr-old former owner was handy and took very good care of the inside.  Our Family 5 had a good run in our condo, but we are super excited to finally move into a single family home on November 20th.  Wish us luck!  Come visit!  Send money!

Catching Up (Part 4)

So we did have three enthusiastic trick-or-treaters last Friday, despite our lack of getting any photos out.  Michael had begged us for a soldier's uniform when we visited the gift shop at the USMA in West Point over the summer.  As it was a little expensive, he agreed to have it double as his halloween costume.  As for Katie and Neve, we somehow avoided the "Frozen" trend (weren't 2 of every 3 girls Elsa this year?).  While they changed their minds several times, they both decided to be cats (i.e., Katie as a "ballerina cat" and Nevie as "just a kitty cat").  All three did very well trick-or-treating and we will still be working our way through the piles of candy in the weeks to come.

Catch Up (Part 3)

On the aforementioned trip to the ND game, Mike and Katie spent a couple of nights in Chicago with Mike's brother and sister-in-law.  Bill and Maggie even joined them for a quick walk around campus prior to the game.  Sunday proved to be another beautiful day, so all four headed to a local pumpkin patch for some fall festivities.  Thanks, Bill and Maggie, for taking us in for a couple of days.  We look forward to seeing you all again over the Christmas holiday...

Catch Up (Part 2)

In early October, Mike took Katie out to South Bend for her first ND football game.  She had a blast taking her very first airplane ride (that she can remember, anyway).  That was honestly the best part.  There is nothing quite like seeing a new thrill in the eyes of your child.  Her reaction as the plane climbed off the runway was priceless.  And 7-yr old girls are not easy to impress!  As for the game, she seemed to enjoy, if not the game, the excitement/atmosphere.  She especially liked yelling "Go Irish" and "Defense" and looking around to see if people acknowledged her.  And she got the win: ND 50 vs. UNC 43 (apparently neither team listened to Katie's "Defense" cheers).