Ass Myker

Staying at a D.C. hotel for the weekend, I came out of the pool and was waiting for the elevator with another guest when around the corner comes a boy and man in swim trunks.  The man says "ya'll know where I can find an ass myker?"  I stared at him for a heartbeat, saw the bucket of beer in his arm and realized this was not a man who was asking for something weird I had never hear of, but a southerner asking for an ice maker.  The other guest and I both said some version of "sorry, no" about the time the elevator arrived.  As we got on the elevator and the door closed I heard the boy ask about going swimming.  The man replied "I gotta find some ice, son.  Daddy can't swim on warm beer."

Fall Visitors from South Dakota

One of the nice things about living in a place like Fredericksburg, VA is that people want to visit here.  When I lived in "greater" Minnesota, I couldn't pay people to come and visit me (except for one very dear friend who made a point of spending time with me when she came to visit her family there, and another great friend who went out of her way to see me on her road trip from Reno, NV to the Twin Cities).  Because of the history of Fredericksburg, and its proximity to Washington, D.C. and other popular mid-Atlantic areas, we have been able to see a few friends from back home already, and more are on their way.  Earlier this month my Uncle Bob and his wife, Robyn, were on vacation in Washington, D.C. and drove down one day to spend some time with us.  It was great to see them, and very fun to have guests at our house!   I love watching my dad and his brother Bob joke around and tease each other, it is always a good time.

Me, mom, dad, Bob and Robyn.

The Start of a New School Year

It’s back to school time!  Fourth and first grade for us.  I STILL cannot get used to writing anything except “K” on forms that ask “Grade.”  I remember when I was in fourth grade, I remember feeling pretty cool and mature.  Big stuff happened, like standing next to a boy during recess, not because we were playing a game, but because we “liked” each other.  In fourth grade boys and girls “went” together.  For like two days.  And I think that basically meant you stood by each other during recess.  I am not ready for my babies to do things like that!  I am not ready for Elise to be conscious of her coolness and maturity.  I need her to get seriously obsessed with an activity or sport or something, so that she has no interest in anything else (like boys or worrying about how she looks).  I’d take just about anything:  tennis, soccer, music, horses, snake chasing, tree climbing. 

Seriously, though, both girls are thrilled with the teachers they got this year, and were over the moon when we went to open house the week before school started and they BOTH found out that their best friend from class last year is in their class this year.  HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?? Is the school conspiring to make my children happy?  That just doesn’t seem right.  Actually it does, we are so happy with the school and how kind they’ve been to Elise and Anja.  

Celebrating With Grandpa Joe

We celebrated my dad's birthday recently.  We all had a good time celebrating and I felt pretty lucky that we could all be together!

One, two, three, BLOW!

He missed one!

Special cards from the girls, which they picked out themselves.

Hamming it up.

Grandpa's girls.

National Book Festival!

I LOVE BOOKS!   So, what could be more fun than the National Book Festival?  NOT MUCH!  The National Book Festival is an event put on by the Library of Congress, and is like a music festival (think Lollapalooza (I know I am dating myself here)), where there are 14 stages and a line-up of authors on each stage all day.  One stage is for picture book authors, one for teen authors, one for history authors, etc.  Jason and I went to the book festival in 2011, when it was held outdoors on the National Mall.  We didn't make it last year because things were pretty hectic around that time (recently moved, started a new job, kids starting a new school), but this year we were determined to go.  For the first time, this year it was held indoors at the Washington Convention Center, and it was nice to be in a climate controlled environment (didn't have to worry about the heat, humidity, or rain) with real bathrooms (rather than porta potties), but it didn't have quite the same atmosphere as the Mall, where there were huge white tents stretching to the Washington Monument and you could see all the people attending and could feel all the energy generated in that one collective space.

 This year over 100 authors spoke and signed books throughout 3 floors of the convention center.  There were so many great authors it was impossible to see everyone I wanted to see, as the times they spoke often overlapped.  So, the attitude I took was to be grateful I got to see the authors I did and to not be bummed about those I couldn't get to.

Meg Medina, author of Yaqui Delgado
Wants to Kick Your Ass, a great book!

Anne Ursu, Minnesota author of Breadcrumbs!

 

Peter Brown, author and illustrator of Creepy Carrots
and My Teacher is a Monster.

In 2011, Jason and I went by ourselves when I was out for a visit.  This time, we brought the girls and mom and dad.  Because I now work exclusively in the youth area of the library, I took the girls with me to see children's and teen authors.  Jason tagged along, and mom and dad did their own thing and saw the authors they wanted (mostly focused on non-fiction and contemporary life).  We all joined back up toward the end of the day to see David Treuer, a Native American author originally from Minnesota.  

By the time we got to hear Treuer,
 Anja was worn out and fell asleep on our laps

Elise passed the time during Treuer's talk by
reading Alexander and the Terrible,
 Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

You Know You Are in the South When...

Breakfast is Chicken and Waffles

For quite some time, Jason has been raving about this delicacy he experienced in Virginia called Chicken and Waffles.  At first I was confused.  It's a waffle with a side of chicken?  No.  When he told me what it was, I:

1.  Could not believe this man who is smart and who I am crazy about would enjoy such a food.

and

2.  Could not believe anyone would enjoy such a food.

What is this, you ask?  It is a large piece of boneless fried chicken, laid on top of a waffle, then drizzled with maple syrup.  You don't eat the chicken and waffle separate, you cut through the chicken and waffle at the same time and eat it all together in one bite.  GROSS.

When Jason and I went for breakfast this morning at one of our favorite Fredericksburg restaurants, Foode, and he saw Chicken and Waffle on the menu, he did not have to look any further.  I rolled my eyes and turned up my nose at his redneck taste, but promised to try a bite.  Oh.  Man.  I had to eat my words and apologize.  It is delicious!  Others may be able to explain what it is about the fried coating, the chicken, the waffle and syrup that makes it so delightful to the tastebuds, but all I known is that it made me close my eyes and sigh.  I don't know that I could eat more than a couple of bites before my arteries seized up, but the flavor is delicious!

I probably should have known it would be a tasty meal, since Foode has it on the menu. Foode is known for creativity and quality in their menu items.  And it's not just the people of Fredericksburg who appreciate this restaurant, this fall, their chef is going to be on Bravo's "Top Chef".  Foode's interpretation of chicken and waffle includes buttermilk fried chicken and honey butter spread on the waffle.

If you ever have the opportunity to eat Chicken and Waffles, I recommend it!  

A Campy Summer

This summer the girls have been spending time at a variety of camps, which is keeping them busy!  There's been:

Girl Scout Camp
A week of camp on the shores of Lake Anna, doing all kinds of activities like geocaching, fishing, and arts and crafts.

River Camp
Put on by a non-profit organization called The Friends of the Rappahannock (the Rappahannock River runs through Fredericksburg and is part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed), at River Camp the girls float down the river, go snorkeling, kayaking, canoeing, learn about water conservation and why we need to preserve the river.  This is their favorite camp.

Horse Camp
Riding, watching visits by the vet and horse chiropractor, games and crafts.

Tennis Camp
All tennis, all the time (they're done at noon :) )

Tennis campers this week.

This was Anja's first year of tennis lessons, she did pretty good!

When the coach asks the kids to pick up the balls,
Anja has a unique way of doing that...

This is Elise's third year of tennis lessons.  She does
really well and is fun to watch.

In their "off" weeks, the girls have been at YMCA daycamp and a daycamp held at a gymnastics center in town where they get to bounce on huge trampolines and practice on the pommel horse, balance beam and other gymnastics equipment.  It's something different just about every week and they are having fun with the variety!