A Day at the Museums

Yesterday we wasted a morning away taking in fine art and a good part of the afternoon playing a little more rough and tumble. We took another trip to the Chrysler Museum and then rewarded ourselves (well, mostly the boys) with a trip to the Children's Museum. It was a day fit for kings with a trip to the Pizza Hut buffet for lunch in between.

This is Hamlet robot-style. The boys really liked this one. Looks like Josh was even dancing the robot with him!


This is our friend Adri who accompanied our little adventure that day.

We Were Soldiers (Wives)

This has been a relatively frustrating few weeks for us. We've received more bad news about the truck. We're still driving a loaner car (that neither of us like at all). I tried to start the process of using our "free companion airfare" we received from T-Mobile only to reach complication after complication. I finally got word tonight that we won't be able to use it at all which doubles the cost we expected for our trip to California next month. There are so many other smaller things as well. It seems like one thing after another has caused complications for us. It's all really normal stuff that isn't necessarily specific to us being a military family. Well, maybe it is a little.
It is the Navy that moved us across the country from my hometown so that it costs us a ridiculous amount of money to visit "home." Hm... can't come up with a way to blame our truck on the military. Shoot. Maybe it is just life! Either way, I finished watching the movie, "We Were Soldiers" while the boys were napping this afternoon. I really enjoyed the focus they placed on the families back home and everything they went through. Since I had a little extra time after it was over, I watched a couple of the special features as well. Here's my "suck it up" quote for the day.

I think people forget that these men have families and these families have problems and the wives are left alone to deal with them as best they can. And these women were really up to the task. They really were. -Julie Moore

This comes from the woman who intercepted telegrams taxi drivers were delivering to families of deceased servicemen so she could deliver them herself. Talk about a tough cookie! So yes, things feel rough lately, but really I can do this. I'm a military wife and we just do that.

Contemporary Art Center of Virginia

Yes, I did it again. I can't seem to resist the urge to take the boys places young boys usually aren't expected to go. This is us at yet another art museum here locally. This one was fun and didn't take nearly as much time as the last one. It was all pretty much one exhibit. This is Jeremiah outside. I tried to crop it so it looked like his initials (JC).
The exhibit they have now is called, "The Art of Glass II." I know! If it wasn't crazy enough of an idea to take the boys to an art museum in the first place, you certainly don't wan to take them to one featuring priceless works of glass art! I guess I'm just that kinda crazy. Do you know we made it all the way through without breaking a single thing? I'm pretty sure the guards who seemed to follow us through the entire museum were rather impressed. Or maybe they were just relieved to see us go?
This one is my personal favorite. Several years ago this artist did a special event in my hometown. I got to see one of this wonderful works of art along the side of the road everyday on my way to college for months. I was so sad when they took it down. Now they've brought one here so I could show the boys. They didn't seem all that impressed with it for whatever reason. I was certainly impressed enough for all three of us!
I asked Joshua for his favorite, but he seems to be going through an anti-favorite stage. Or maybe a pro-favorite. His most common answer is, "everything!" Everything in the entire world is his favorite. Well, that is unless we're talking colors. Then he's blue and red all the way!
We're one favorite short because of that but here's Jeremiah's:
He loved telling Daddy when we got home about the baby on the rocket ship.
So a relatively uneventful trip to a very breakable exhibit. The boys had a good time and I got to feel a little more sane and civilized. I think we entertained a guard or two along the way. As Josh would say, "Bonus points!"

Jeremiah's Birthday List

Me: Jeremiah, what do you want for your birthday?
JC: Um... Um... Legos.... Thomas [the train].... and Daddy.
Me: You want Daddy?
JC: Yeah!
Me: Ohhhhkay. What else do you want?
JC: Oso [as in Special Agent Oso... for which there are no toys yet]. A puzzle... and me!

Missing "Home"

A funny thing has happened since we started this whole military family thing. First, a little background. I grew up the first 21 years of my life in the same house, in the same town, in the same state. I'm at least a 4th generation in that town... or was, I suppose. It's still my "hometown" and while I love to visit, it's definitely not "home" anymore. We've moved about and met new people and fell in love with new areas. A bit of our sense of home was left in those places when we moved away. Some days we feel homesick for California, sometimes for Italy, sometimes for Illinois.
In spite of all that, when things happen or change back "home," it still has the ability to affect me profoundly. This last week I was informed that yet another person I knew growing up has passed away. It is not someone I knew well but it still affected me. More then I expected, actually.
There has been so much I've missed out on with living this somewhat transient life. I've missed friends getting married and children being born. I've missed being able to show the people who watched me grow how my children are growing. We do visit when we can, but it's impossible to hold a place for yourself in two locations at once. You have to learn to live without some of those normal things that everyone else gets to be a part of as a natural part of life.
So here are my heartfelt sympathies to the family of the man who will be greatly missed. I sincerely wish I could be there to grieve with you.

Blueberries

Never before have I lived somewhere that had blueberries you could go pick (at least that I knew of). I've been meaning to do this for weeks and weeks and finally found the time today.
Joshua especially liked this since there were so many he could reach that Jeremiah couldn't.
Jeremiah pretty much went around eating all the ones he could reach.
We had a really great time doing this today! I'm so glad we got out and back before the storms started again.
Now to find things to make with our new blueberries!

Birthday

Since my birthday came after a crazy weekend, we were a day late on the whole cake thing but that's alright with me. Last night the boys (with daddy's help) decorated my cake and even put the candles in. I wish I would have taken video. This is the boys singing Happy Birthday to me. I didn't even know Jeremiah knew the song but he sung it so loud! He hasn't quite gotten which line goes where so it was a lot of "Happy Birthday to you... mommy" and the like. I have never had anything else sung so well to me. I love my little boys growing up!

Another Update

So just other random news from us since we're still in summer mode. Jeremiah has recently changed his way of playing almost completely. It's all about setting up train tracks or "races" like this one.
He's also a big fan of Super Why! He recently picked this toy for his latest potty chart reward. He really loves it and wants to wear it all day long. I, of course, think it's the cutest thing ever!
Yesterday was my birthday. Nothing major, really. It came on the heels of a ridiculously busy weekend which made it much harder to celebrate then I wanted. So here are the boys making me a cake this morning. I let them do as much as they possibly could (I cracked the eggs). They picked the heart shaped pan and I can't wait to have a piece later tonight.
So now we're off on more business stuff we have to do today. Hope you all are having a nice and relaxing summer!