Living in Virginia

In a month or two we will be headed to Georgia, or we are assuming it will be Georgia. Since Wes's name was placed on yet another list just this week for another job, this one in Europe, I guess our plans could change again. As we prepare for a new environment and a new culture, here is what I have learned while living in Virginia.

1. OBX has nothing to do with BMX. The stickers found on every middle class family's car in NoVA refer to the wonderful beaches of North Carolina and not bikes. When we moved here, I thought the locals had some fascination with competitive biking. Really.

2. Vanity plates - It doesn't matter how hard you try. Some of the plates just can't be deciphered.

3. The Mason Dixon Line is located as far north as the Maryland and Pennsylvania border. There is no reason why people living in NoVA should ever be considered Southeners. Besides their lack of front porches and proper manners, no restaurant north of Richmond, to Wes's dismay, serves sweet tea.

4. You can spend a Saturday at the Springfield mall, or spend a week at my middle school, or drive the side streets of Dale City and see someone who practices the culture and lifestyle of just about any location in the world.

5. LAX is not an airport. Thanks, Kate, for those facebook posts. I, for the longest time, couldn't figure out why you were always headed to a little known airport in LA.

6. I will drive Dallas's 635 during rush hour over 95 in NoVA any day. Traffic and rush hour take on a whole new meaning here.

7. Texas is not the only place with unpredictable weather. Where else can you experience a blizzard in both December and February and then 95 degree temps in late March?

I have to begin to wonder what life will be like in two years as we prepare to leave Georgia. What will I leave there having learned?

I can't even begin to imagine what it might entail, but I am still hoping it won't include anything related to tractors.

End to Swim

I predict that the next six weeks will be filled with posts outlining every "last" experience we have in Virginia. Here is our first last. Today was our last day of Swim Kids. While I am sad to leave the backstroke and three count power surge drills behind, the boys are not nearly as sentimental. I must remember that I sat quite comfortably in my chair and exerted very little in such state week after week. Maybe if I had been in the water, I wouldn't be so sad to see it end.

Keagan mastered the modified backstroke today and graduated to the next level. After Evan's reward yesterday, it was a great boost for Keagan to leave swim class with a certificate and a trip to the treasure chest. 

Three years ago I initiated swim lessons just so they could learn some water safety skills before we spent a week in Texas at the pool. I had no idea that just a few months later, they would be swimming across the pool better than me! I highly recommend the program if you are in NoVA and looking for swim lessons. It is money well spent.

It Pays to Read

Evan came home today with this surprise! Someone realized that with our thrice weekly trips to the local Target, there was no other place that was more appropriate to receive a gift card. Evan says he earned it for reading the most during "REACH Week". Since that occurred back in February during the blizzard, I am not really sure this is accurate. However, during that week long break from school, we did spend the majority of our time inside, in front of the fire, with a book. I guess all the other kiddos were not as inclined and were actually playing in the snow. In any event, because of the gift card, we are now the proud owners of about twenty Mighty Beanz.

What are Mighty Beanz you ask? After an evening of having them repeatedly roll off the kitchen table onto the hardwood floors, after watching them thrown and crashed into one another in some sort of "game", and after enduring the list of physical descriptions of all twenty, I am still not sure. But it must have been something special because when Evan came home with them, Keagan was full of OOOOOOHHHHS and AAAAHHHHS.

I feel pretty confident Evan will have a handful at any given moment this week. Anyone up for a riveting game of Mighty Beanz?

John Deere

This last week I spent many afternoons on the phone discussing marble choices, granite colors, and cabinetry details for the house in Georgia. On Saturday I called the marble guy to ask a question or two and although the reception was clear on my end, he had a very difficult time hearing me.

MG (marble guy): Sorry Miss Toole, but I'm at the pool and I just can't hear you that well. Can I call ya on Monday?
Me: No problem

Monday.....

MG: Sorry, Miss Toole, for not being able to talk to ya this weekend.
Me: I hope you had a good time. It is hard to imagine that you are hanging out at the pool when I am wearing three layers to a football game in forty degree weather.
MG: The pool? Oh, no! I wasn't at the pool; I was at the tractor pull down in Jessup. Those tractors can be real loud when they pull those heavy weights up them hills.

I wish I could have seen my own face at that very moment. On second thought, I am glad I didn't because I am certain a look of shock, disgust, and concern was written on every wrinkle.

Oh, heaven help me! I am moving to a county in a state where weekend entertainment includes tractors, mountains of dirt, and ear plugs. I don't know if I will survive the three years.

The Week's End of Wins

We are in deep shock on this Sunday night contemplating what could have possibly gone wrong this weekend. We have no explanations for how both football games and both soccer games ended in losses. I know. You are in shock, too, because you know that it couldn't possibly be due to my boys' lack of skills or talent because I sing their praises every chance I get. Rest assured, we blame it all on the wind and Keagan's lack of wrist bands.

Oh, those lovely plush bands that were now matted with dirt, milk, and the juice of multiple tangelos. They were in need of a good wash, and I didn't want my boys wearing the Jane Fonda sweat bands to begin with, much less now that the color was no longer easily recognizable. I have been told the wrist bands are not accessories but actually serve some important role when it comes to winning. That role has not been defined for me as yet, but they are ready for next Saturday's series of games just the same.

We didn't know what to do on Saturday when Team United lost only its second game in six seasons. We did what anyone does in mourning. We ate. We ate some more. And then we had dessert. Zum Rhinegarten allowed us to bury our sorrows in great food and we left in much better spirits.

We woke up Sunday morning feeling certain Sunday would be a much better day. The green dragons were just not fierce enough, though, and we lost. We did what our experience from Saturday night taught us. We ate. Risotto covered in olive oil and butter did just the trick. We topped it all off with ice cream.

I now have a week for the palms of my hands to recover from the constant stinging I now feel after hours of encouraging hand clapping and fist clenching cheers. I also have a week for my heels to recover from hours of jumping up and down and then writhing in pain with each opposing team's score.

With my own healthy heels and Keagan's clean wrist bands, I feel certain next weekend will end with wins. And if it doesn't, I will be forced to purchase a pair of orthopedic shoes. Black, thick soled, old lady shoes.

Amazingly my heels feel better already.

Fashion Friday

Yep, we go to the football and soccer wearing these beauties. Hey, you never know when a stream of sweat will fall down your face during a key play. With the temps hovering at 47 degrees in the early morning hours, it is a very distinct possibility. 

However, this fashion statement is not limited to the ball field.

We also feel compelled to wear these to school. I guess I have failed to realize that first graders really work up a sweat with all the talk of the combinations of ten. And maybe Keagan got really nervous when he met the mail lady and climbed into the mail truck during community helpers week. Both boys assured me, the 80s sweat bands are a necessity at school so they must be sweatin' over something.

Just in the past few days Evan has decided one band is as good as two, and so sporting the Michael Jackson one-glove look, he is off to school and off to football. The fashionista is getting closer to the current decade.

I wish I could get him just as interested in wearing underwear. 

Old People with Cracking Knees

My parents have just arrived for the long weekend. It will be filled with several sporting events and lots of laughs. Here are our firsts.

K: Oma, give me a hug. No, bend down and give me a hug.
O: Why do I need to bend down?
K: Just do it so I can hug you.
Oma gingerly bends down to hug her middle grandchild, and just as she does, both knees pop.
K: Yep, that's what I wanted to hear. Your knees pop. I like that about you, Oma.

E: Are you coming outside to play soccer, Opa?
O: Yes, but I need to change my shirt. Hum...Let me try to remember where to find it.
E: Old people (with exasperated sigh), they can't remember anything.

You wouldn't know it by reading the above, but the boys really do love their Opa and Oma.