Reston Zoo

This place is crazy
there are no rules!

I took madeline to this hole in the wall petting zoo- my first mistake.
There are no guidelines about which animals you can touch and what you can or cannot feed them- people give the kangaroos cheetos and pet the spitting camels!

Mdeline loved it, of course, and she especially enjoyed hanging out by the duck pond- something that we can do almost anywhere- she was way less interested in the zebras or spider monkeys than a duck and a cockatoo- but whatever!


And then... they take you on a wagon ride wherein the camels and ostrich help themselves to the snacks people bring on board! its crazy- literally an ostrich was pecking food out of a little cup the woman next to madeline was holding.
the birds the birds!!
the camel licked the 2 y/o next to us

and these Watusi cows from Africa with huge horns- i kid you not, 4 ft long, are clanging anlongside the wagoncar- I'm thinking- this can't be safe but we'll sure come back - its like a real safari with no insurance!


we're outta here!
san francisco zoo may have attack tigers but at least they have rules!

xoxo

helping mommy

madeline has become quite a helper in our corporate housing complex.
She loves to press the elevator buttons and help me get the mail
and this week she decided she likes to help me carry the groceries

here she is lugging a big bag of tp all the way down the hall!

good girl madeline!
xoxo

believe it or not she loves the rain

we lost power the other day and so we went outside to play in the rain
she was having a blast splashing and playing with her umbrella
and then when i wanted to capture it on video..
this is what i got



she looks like i dragged her out in the cold rain and made her sit on the chair
poor thing-

Happy Father's Day 08

Happy Father's Day Daddies!

We did not do a good job of celebrating our dads this father's day and we wanted to make a special page to tell you that we love you.

We went to DC today visit the Father of our country- George Washington!
Here we are, spending quality time with Madeline's number one guy.
Don, that is, not the Washington Monument. ;)
xoxo




ps: to all of our dad friends and relatives. we wish for you a wonderful and relaxing day. Wish we could give you all a big high five and thank you for doing such a great job at what you do!

i think that says it all...

Painted by Grandma Mary aka "Maury", Built by PapaRon.

We are here
we are roasting our little tails off
we escaped a tornado by roughly 6 blocks a few days ago
Don has just gone back to work and is working like a maniac
he loves his new office. the ppl are very hardworking and he likes the idea
of really jumping into the fold but there is a lot on the schedule already

and meanwhile... we are househunting.
it wasnt the plan to buy but with the market the way it is, sometimes you have
to test it out, right?
and since when do we follow the logical chain of events?

So we are hunting. Im keeping one foot in the rental market while visiting amazing homes and applying for mortgages.
The dollar goes a lot farther here than in San Mateo but we wont be living the high life just yet. Definately a starter home and grandma rose had better get ready to help us fixer up! LOL
since we are the least handy people you know.

Madeline is having a hit or miss kind of time here. She is very gregarious normally but has been putting her head down saying "shy" now when we meet people. She asks for Elianna and Benjamin around the clock, refers to Nana, Papa, Tina and the cats as either "Lina" or "meow meow".
we are keeping her connected to friends with pictures and videos but i think she just misses what she remembers as her everyday life. The park, her friends, her school, playgroup.
I do too.

Well. We move to Silver Spring in a couple of weeks to a lovely, artsy, colorful, musical home for a summer sublet and then... who knows!

We hope to make or welcome some roadtrippers over the next few weeks and in the meantime we are getting to know our extended family here (Aunt Peggy, Rosey and Dimitri).

This has been a long one but we havent updated in a while.
I hope to get some of the house photos off the cam and some new pics of M up soon.

Im sorry if there are emails in cyberspace from you all that i have yet to return.
I will eventually, and i appreicate hearing from you all.
Missing CA and our life, holding on the promise of something more secure here on
the East Coast.
Love to all,
xoox
*ashia*