Wait, how did we get to April so fast?

Somehow we have made it to April.  Seems like just last month we were unpacking boxes and trying to figure out where to put the kids' beds and now we have to worry about moving - AGAIN!  Yes, it is official.  Jim got orders to Japan.  So the two years we were counting on to get acquainted with our new town has been shortened to 10 months.  We will finish up the school year, head to NC and then head to Japan in Aug to do it all over again.  Sigh, I really haven't fully dealt with this news yet.  That being said, we need to get going with our bucket list items.  

First up is an afternoon spent at the US Botanic Garden Conservatory.  For some reason, I kept calling it the National Arboretum.  Up until we were getting in the car and I typed in National Arboretum and Waze told me it was going to be a 52 minute car ride.  I was like, wait a minute, I was planning on taking the Metro.  Quick google search later, and we were good to go.  The National Arboretum is in NE DC (only 13 miles away) but takes a good hour by car.  It is not accessible by the Metro.  The US Botanic Garden Conservatory by contrast is right beside the Capitol and totally accessible by the Metro.  As much as I do want to see the National Arboretum it isn't going to happen on this tour. Thanks to Arlington Public Schools for giving the children the day off on April Fools Day in order for us to go check out all the plants.  The basics of the Conservatory is a huge greenhouse broken down into different zones: Tropics, Plant Adaptations, Garden Primeval, Hawaii, World Deserts, Medicinal Plants, Orchids, Mediterranean, Rare and Endanger Species, Southern Exposure and the Children's Garden with an East and West Gallery which host seasonal exhibits.  On the day we were there the West Gallery was in the process of changing over to an new exhibit and the Children's Garden was closed.  If you have never been there, I do recommend it.  It is essentially the same as when it was constructed in 1933!  

After leaving we trekked over to the Natural History Museum to link up with my cousin Jill who was in town chaperoning an 8th grade field trip.  The kids were not particularly excited about our long day in the city, but we made a deal that we would swing by the mall on our way home.  The mall is the answer to many, many problems.  

Ben is playing baseball and soccer this spring, because we don't have enough going on and we needed to totally overload the schedule.  The first weekend of April is Opening Ceremony.  The girls and I headed to the last swim practice while the boys checked out the festivities at the baseball field.  

It is the season for trips to DC!  Jim's sister Sallie and her son Sam were in town for a few days and luckily one of the places they were going was the Pentagon Memorial which is super close to our house!  We met them down at the mall while they were there for dinner and then walked over to the Memorial with them.  It was a super quick visit but it was still fun!

Next up on the list was Lucy's Championship Middle School swim meet.  She was originally signed up for 3 events but someone had to fall out of two relays and so Lucy got added to those as well.  She swam great!  Hoping she continues this when we move to Japan. 

The the following Friday we pulled the kids out of school and headed to the White House.  Aunt Kaki joined us for the tour.  It was pretty cool to see some of the famous rooms and walk the same halls as so many important people have in our great nation's history!  

Baron Trump has his goal set up in the Kennedy Garden!

What a gorgeous view!

Jim is currently training for a Rim2Rim2Rim hike of the Grand Canyon.  For those of you not in the know, that is starting at either the North or South Rim of the Grand Canyon and hiking down to the bottom, then back up the other side, then back down and back up.  He is doing South to North and back to South.  All in one day.  CRAZY! He is doing it with some of his friends middle of next month.  I personally think this sounds like fun except for the all-in-one day part. That sounds like a horrible horrible horrible plan.  Glad I am not going.  At any rate, it is hard to train for altitude here in DC so he is basically hoping his cardio fitness will see him through.  He is running steps at the Costco Parking Garage, spending hours on the stair master at the gym and doing crazy long distance runs around DC.  He is constantly seeing super cool things at sunrise and then reporting back to us.  Here is a wonderful shot he took the morning of the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade.  Thanks Jim!

The week before the kids' spring break Jim's parents were able to join us for the weekend.  Luckily MC and David were able to join us for dinner to celebrate both mine and David's shared birthday!  Unfortunately Lilly wasn't able to join us because she was babysitting but it was a great time.

The next day Jim took his parents down to the climbing gym for the kids to show them their skills.  I believe they were impressed. 

Since we are moving to Japan we decided we would spend some of the spring break down in Swansboro.  The main reason is to set up some stuff for our tenant and to move the stuff we have stored at the marina to an actual storage unit while we are out of the country.  So we loaded up the car and headed south!

Wesley and Oscar are staying in their respective spaces.

Didn't take long for Oscar to push Wesley off his bed.  Poor Wesley!

Since we were in Swansboro during the week before Easter, Mom wanted all of us to participate in the Maundy Thursday Service so we decided to oblige her.  The girls were acolytes and Ben carried the crucifix.  Gregg and I assisted stripping the altar.  It is a very moving service.  I really appreciated the kids' willingness to do this in a church they have only sporadically attended.  It really meant a lot to Nanny!

Lilly really wanted to go find some shark's teeth, but the tides and wind weren't really working in our favor so instead we decided to head out to Onslow Beach with Gregg for a few hours one afternoon.  We all found quite a few rather small ones.  We really need to go early in the morning when the tide is going out to really up our chances of finding LOTS.  Beggars can't be choosers. 

The kids were excited to get back to the marina and see all the changes especially with the new marina cat.  Bootsie has really gotten BIG since we saw him last in December.  Just as lazy though.

Ben spent quite a bit of his time working on a go cart Will and Ward had downstairs.  They were able to get it running and somehow Ben didn't hurt himself on the slick floor or get arrested when he drove downtown on it in the street.  Multiple times.

The big thing that happened while we were home is Jim was able to surprise me with a 50th birthday party!  I totally had no idea!  Either he is getting sneakier or I am just walking around in the dark all the time.  Hard to say!  I have never had a surprise birthday party before so that was awesome.  So many of my favorite people were there!  I feel so loved!!  You did good Jim, almost makes up for the fact you are moving us to Japan.  Almost.

Jones Family Cousins!!

Even the kids were into it!  Being next door to the candy store didn't hurt.

We had too good of a time in Swansboro, it was hard to leave and head back to Arlington.  We didn't have a choice though because Easter was the next day!  This is the first year we didn't dye Easter Eggs.  I am sad.  I wonder if the kids will do an egg hunt tomorrow?

Despite not being here for most of the week, the Easter Bunny was still able to pull together some baskets.  He even found some Mexican Doritos (in case you don't know, that is a really big deal)!  That Easter Bunny.  Man, he is GOOD!

The lure of the $$ eggs convinced them to do the egg hunt - not a huge surprise

Mary Catherine joined us for Easter Service.  We actually made it on time!  Usually we get the time wrong and are forced to sit up in the balcony with all the other people who show up late!  This time we were down in front!  It has been great having MC and David nearby.  Reminds of us of how regular families live by getting together frequently with family.  Sigh, going to miss that.

Lastly we are finishing up with a 5K that supports Ben's school.  Apparently Crystal City does a 5K every Friday night in the month of April.  Jim and I signed the entire family up.  Even Wesley! I thought Jim was ahead of me and so I was trying to catch up.  Apparently I passed him at some point because I ended up crossing the finish line ahead of everyone else in the family.  Yay me!  As I said, the race was a fundraiser for Ben's school, so it was fun to run alongside students, staff and family.  

Of course, getting the kids to actually get in the car was like pulling teeth, but once we got there, everyone put on their game face and did a great job.  Running with all their friends really helped.  

That's it for this month!  I am sure as we round up our time here in Arlington, the pace will really pick up!