Our New House a.k.a. The Fortress

We just received these pictures from Buenos Aires this morning and I thought that I would share them. It seems a little intrusive to post someones pictures who obviously was not aware picture would be taken that day, but we are excited about it. It definitely does not lack greenery! And there should be no question about our safety! There are lights on motion sensors, a security system, and the huge walled gate! I think that this house has a lot of potential! It is hard to visualize when it is filled with someone else's things, particularly if it is not your style, but with these beautiful hardwood floor and a little touch of Pottery Barn and we will really be able to make it our own!

Full Front View

Front Door

Swimming Pool and Pool House

BBQ "Quicho" with full and half bath for visitors

Playroom with small kitchenette

Master Bedroom

Bedroom 2

Bedroom 3

Guest Bedroom

Living Room

Dining Room

Garden (wall with plants has been replaced)

Garage

Half Bath (Check out the gold sink!)

Hall Bathroom

Housing Assignment

After much anticipation, we finally learned about our housing assignment in Buenos Aires! This was a much needed "pick-me-up" in the midst of all the moving preparations and the sadness of saying good-bye.

Here is the email description:

You have been assigned to a house in Martinez. The house has four bedrooms, a nice playroom with fireplace and outdoor terrace on the top floor, a yard with pool and pool house. The kitchen is being completely remodeled as I write this and it may not be done in time for your arrival. You should be prepared to be in temporary housing for a short period – we’re trying hard to push forward on this to make sure you are in your permanent housing before he holidays. Temporary housing would either be an apart/hotel or perhaps a vacant unit in our housing pool if something comes up to coincide with the time you would need the temporary housing. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions that you might have…..being specific about work completion dates is more difficult in Argentina than in the U.S.

We feel so blessed! Martinez is a suburb in the north of the city close to the American School. It is about 9 miles to work, but on the best days will take about 30 minutes. Most days however, will take about 45 minutes. In a city of 13 million people (nearly twice the size of NYC), we had to sacrifice proximity for a yard! We hope that you find time to come and visit... apparently we will have room for guests!

Cox Farms

Yesterday, a large group of us (it was scheduled as an Enrichment Activity) took the kids to Cox Farms. The weather was wonderful (unlike last year) and we could have spent another 3-4 hours there if nap weren't needed. Abe has been looking forward to going again since we went last year and he remembered right where everything was located. It is a large farm with a tractor hay ride, 10 large slides built on the hills, including a potato sack ride. There are apple and cider located throughout the park and everyone get to take home a small patch pumpkin on their way out. The entire farm was covered with the beautiful mums at the height of their bloom and color. Fall is the best!

"Big Smile" a.k.a "Stretch Your Face"

Peyton loves to give "big smiles" on demand, which is the same facial expression, or should I say body expression (the whole body tenses up), as my sister would do when you asked her to "stretch her face"! It is hilarious and she will do it over and over because she knows that she always gets a reaction! We all like to join in the fun. Cristi, this one is for you!


Last week, the kids and I made and decorated Halloween cookies. They really loved it, but I think that they might have loved eating the sprinkles that missed the cookies even more!


Steve also contributed to our dinner by making these fantastic shish kabobs. They looked great and tasted even better!

National Zoo

Yesterday, after the first session of General Conference, we headed downtown to the National Zoo as a reward for sitting reverently (I am not sure that is the right word to describe the situation- lol) for 2 hours. We had a great time and thought that we would share a few pictures.

Happy Birthday Alicia!

On Wednesday, we threw a surprise bday brunch for Alicia. Her husband took a few hours off of work in the morning to get her out of the house while we all snuck in to surprise her when she arrived. She had NO idea. We had a wonderful time.

Alicia is one of the strongest, kindest, warmest women that I know. I am extremely grateful for our friendship. We have had so many wonderful times as we have raised our children together for the last 4 years. As many of her friends are, I can't help but be humbled by her example.

Happy Birthday Alicia!

Our Pennsylvania Getaway

With our house on the market and potential buyers ready to arrive at a moments notice, we decided that it would be better if we took the opportunity to go away for the weekend. Since we moved to DC 4 years ago, we have wanted to go and visit the famous Chocolate World in Hershey, PA. We had driven through late at night on our few trips from Oberlin to DC, but there was never time for the detour.

The kids loved the Factory Works Experience. They gave them hats, pushed a button that filled up their "gears" with Kisses from the conveyor belt and then asked them to shake them up with a little dance before sending them away. The girl in charge of the exhibit was so energetic. She really acted as though it was the first time that she had done it that day and yet, it must have been the trillionth!

We then headed from the Hershey's Great American Chocolate Tour to learn about the chocolate making process. This was the kids' favorite part. It was a short ride and probably has not been updated since the 1960's, but we had to go on this ride 5 times in the course of the two days. It turned out to be the best bargaining chip for good behavior available. If only we did not have to bribe our children... :)
Hershey's Really Big 3D Show is an animated 3D show meant for children. We wore 3D glasses, were "rained" on, and felt rats under our feet. A huge spider even exploded on us and it felt like all of it's guts had gone all over us. Peyton refused to wear the glasses, so I can only imagine what she thought was happening. She was really confused when the water sprayed down on us and spent 3-4 minutes looking all around the theater and up at the ceiling.

In the morning we woke up and headed to Hershey Gardens including The Children's Garden and the Butterfly House. Although it took some time to sell the idea to Steve, we
all had a great time. Peyton insisted on kissing all of the animal statues (as she kisses just about anything that looks alive and non-threatening). Steve and Abe found their own fun by playing hide and seek - the tall bushes were just too irresistible. Abe was enthralled in the physics of the ball at the top of the fountain and sun clock.

On our way home from Hershey we took a detour to Lancaster. I am completely intrigued by the Amish people. I am not quite sure what my fascination is exactly. I love the peaceful country roads and getting a glimpse of what life was like not so long ago. Living in Ohio, we had many opportunities to go to Amish country, but we thought that the kids (abe in particular) would appreciate the horse and buggies. We found a small petting zoo and park in the heart of Intercourse. There were modern and Amish families enjoying the weather and it was nice to sit and have a conversation with an Amish woman and her 5 nieces.

Fall is my favorite season and it was a great time of year to make the trip. Gourds decorated the facades of many quaint buildings, tall corn filled the fields
and the trees have begun to change into many brilliant shades of orange. As much as we had hoped to be overseas by now, I am grateful to have one more beautiful fall in Virginia.

FOR SALE

As we prepare to begin a new chapter of our life, we must close on this one! Here are the pictures for our online listing and brochures. We can't believe that we are actually selling it! As most of you know, if was a very difficult decision. Our plan is to feel out the market through October and then rent it if we don't feel that we are getting the offers that would compensate us for all of the renovations. Sometime in the near future, I will post before and after pictures together. It is astonishing to see the old pictures from our walk-through when we purchased this condo 3 years ago.

The Cruise

Last week, we enjoyed a 7-night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Adventurer of the Seas. We departed out of San Juan, PR and made 5 more stops on islands in the Southeast Caribbean. I will blog about these islands soon, as they were more interesting than the ship.

Thanks to my mother-in-law, we were able to leave the kids behind and spend some well-deserved time together. With all of Steve's travels this year and the pressures of a large move, it was nice to forget about all that we left behind and just have a great time! We enjoyed first-class dinners while they were were hot, only cut up our own meat, sat and talked for as long as our conversation lasted and slept until our bodies told us that it was time to get up. It was completely rejuvenating.

There was a professional photographer around every corner and so we took advantage of the time that we had to actually get ourselves ready! This was the first time that we have had professional pcitures of us taken since we were married more than 7 years ago! Now if we can just brave a family photo...

Happy Birthday Rocky...

Did you know that goldfish can live between 10-30 years? This is a little known fact that I wish that I had known 3 years ago when Abe picked out our pet goldfish, Rocky. We let Abe pick any fish that he wanted from Walmart (we guided him to the $1.94 kind) and a small one gallon filter tank. When we asked Abe what we should name the fish, he proclaimed "rock" (one of his few words and in reference to the small ones on the bottom of the tank as well as one from outside that made it in the aquarium decor) and thus we added Rocky to our family.

I was not a proponent of fish tank, so Steve agreed that he would take care of the it's maintenance. Now that Abe is old enough to understand the idea of caring for a pet, this is Abe's new responsibility. He makes sure that he is fed before he eats and lets me know when the water is not clean enough.

We have yet to decide what we are going to do with out beloved goldfish when we move. If it were up to Steve, we would smuggle him into our baggage and if it were up to me, he would meet the fish in the ocean on a direct route out through the plumbing in our house.

Today's Project

Today was absolutely beautiful outside! The hot and humid summer weather finally let up just enough to allow us to refinish our patio. We refinished the 20 year old concrete with epoxy garage floor paint. We are really excited about the result.

BEFORE:


AFTER:

The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

On Thursday, I took the kids downtown to get a glimpse of the sights and to the Air and Space Museum. There is no better museum to take a 12 and 3 year old. Old planes, rockets, astronaut suits and plenty of other exhibits to keep everyone busy for hours. Abe and Arne really loved it. As some of you have visited recently might remember, I had taken a long needed break from this museum because we would go EVERYTIME that we would have visitors. There are so many historical sights in DC and Northern Virginia that it seem silly to take guests to the same sights over and over (minus the monuments, as they are a must-see). It was nice to go back. I had forgotten how many interesting exhibits there are and since they recently closed the American History Museum for renovation, they moved the most interesting exhibits right next door to the A&S. It took on new life this time... it may have been my own 3-year-old's interest. And for those of you who will visit before we leave, I will gladly take you back.

A Pirate's Duel

My little brother Arne came to visit us for a couple of days this weekend from Ottawa Canada. He is such a wonderful boy. He was polite, kind and extremely helpful. Abe immediately took to him. They were wrestling within hours and spent most of the first night "Battling". They found edges from a picture frame that turned into swords (it seems that just about everything in our house has been turned into one type of weapon or another) and began dashing around the housing making pirate calls. The next thing that I know, Abe runs to me wearing Arne's motorcycle cap. It was hysterical! I think that they really enjoyed each others' company. It is too bad that we live so far away. Arne really is a great kid. We miss him already!

Mitt Romney '08

I just can't help but feel better about the state of the nation when I listen to Mitt Romney talk about the issues. Is it my shared opinion on the importance of family values? I would like to say that it has nothing to do with our religion, as he is accomplished, prepared and charismatic. It is hard to tell. The historic Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa is on Saturday. If my own life was not so busy at the moment, I might even consider helping in the campaign effort. In my opinion, I don't think that any other candidate is even a close second...

Bathroom Conversion: Part One

PERMITS

As we prepare to move overseas, there are many decisions to be made. Currently, one of the largest decisions is whether we should sell or rent our condo. The list of pro and cons goes on and on. We have all but come to the conclusion that we are going to sell it. If this were a place large enough for us to eventually return to, we would keep it. With a growing family 1242 sq ft just is not enough.

On June 1st, a pipe burst in our house and we have spent the past 2.5 months trying to get it back together. Now we are moved back in and are an afternoons worth of work away from finishing the bathroom. Here is what it looked like before the damage:

Unfortunately for my sanity, we are always thinking of ways to increase our property value. And... what better way to do that than add an additional bathroom? As you can see, there are already two door and a half wall that extends between the bath and the existing vanity. Here are our proposed plans:

We are now in the process of obtaining permits, which we tried to do on our own and quickly realized that it would be nearly impossible. Now we have these drawings (including many more) from and architect who regularly works with the permit office. To do this remodel, it will require a mechanical permit for the venting system (required to bring it to current building code), plumbing permit, electrical permit, and a building permit for the 4' extension of the already existing wall.

They say it will all be worth it in the end... but for now it just feels overwhelming. We'll keep you posted!

The joy of hotel living...

The joy of hotel living...
Originally uploaded by CaptureMyMemories

So it have been 7 weeks today since a pipe in our house burst. I was on vacation and Steve was traveling for work. He came home for the weekend to find our house covered by an inch of water. Who knew that after 7 weeks it still would not be finished.

So here I am, I woke up this morning with hope that today would be the final day of rennovation. They are schedule to be done in 70 minutes and there are still days worth of work. How does this happen? Don't you think that after haviing drywalled hundreds, maybe thousands of walls, they would know how long it takes? In the meantime, they will all go back to their homes tonight and enjoy their weekend, while we are once again in the hotel. :(

Abe and Peyton have been CHAMPS! I am not sure that they are convinced that they will ever get their beds and toys back, but here is to hoping that it is all over soon...