Mulberry Street

There is a reason my children always fall off their chairs.  They never sit the on their bottoms, knees facing forward.  It drives Eric and I nuts!  They also never sit still, so it doesn't take long before they fall to the floor from their awkward sitting stances.  Won't they ever learn?! There is also a reason this blog is plastered with photos.  I've never been great with words.  I wish I could write eloquently with just the right amount of wit to entertain, but I can't.  I guess that's why I haven't "felt" like blogging lately.  I've been too lazy to go through all my photos and I don't have any stories to tell.  Instead, you get my mindless chatter.  All those thoughts that race through my mind during the day have to come out sometime and this blog is one of those outlets. In the past week I have managed to simultaneously do so much and nothing at all.  Do you feel that way sometimes?  Like, you've ju...

On an early afternoon walk, Emory and I spotted an owl.  It was gigantic.  The wingspan was very impressive and cast a wide shadow when it flew overhead.  I only managed one picture before it flew away.  Sometimes I wish I only had a point and shoot. I felt so lucky to see this magnificent creature in the wild.  I wondered why the owl was out at 2:00 in the afternoon, but grateful nonetheless.  There are so many times in my life that an opportunity presents itself, rather abruptly, and it enriches my life - a conversation with a friend, a call from my family, or special one-on-one time with my little one.  There is so much to be grateful for and I hope I can teach this to my children.

Although Eric couldn't come, I decided to join friends for a bike ride into the District to see the cherry blossoms.  Since Eric wouldn't be joining us, that meant I had to tow both kids in an out, so I opted for driving part way in and then meeting up with everyone on the trail (about 8 miles round trip).  But, then the morning of I got overly ambitious and decided to ride all the way in (committing myself to 33 miles round trip).  Obviously, I wasn't thinking very clearly. The ride was very pleasant.  I kept up on all the flats and brought up the rear on most of the hills.  Actually, I tried to get ahead whenever possible, but everyone always caught me on the uphills.  I met the infamous Rosslyn hills on the Custis Trail and I finally gained an appreciation for Eric's bike commute.  We made it almost all the way to the 14th Street Bridge before the rain began, but it was only a drizzle, so we stayed positive.  We stopped ...

I ran eight miles this morning, my last long training run before my race next weekend.  It was hot, I was thirsty, and it did not feel good.  As I finished the last mile, I worried about my ambitious race calendar.  To date, I am signed up for four races and possibly a fifth.  Next weekend I'll complete The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.  In June I'll attempt to run part of the Wasatch Back Ragnar.  Then in August I'll attempt to complete The Spartan 8 mile obstacle course.  (I say attempt on the previous two because, there is no guarantee I'll finish either of them.)  Finally, I'll run the DC Ragnar at the end of September.  I don't know who I think I am, because I am certainly not a hardcore runner and I am not Eric.  Running through the summer heat is certainly going to be a challenge, but training with two kids and sharing training time with Eric will be even harder.  Ugh. ...

Genevieve and I sat on the stairs to put on our shoes.  I noticed some seeds on my freshly vacuumed carpet, so I asked the resident tattle-tale. "What are these?"  I asked.  "I told Daddy that you vacuumed the carpet!"  Genevieve said. "Oh?  What are these?" I inquired again. "It's a dandelion.  Daddy made me blow it inside," said Genevieve. Later that evening. "So, Genevieve told on you," I said. "What do you mean?" asked Eric. "She told me you made her blow the dandelion inside...you know on my carpet," I said. Eric laughing, "Oh yeah.  I meant to vacuum it up before you got home." BUSTED Then he said, "Hey, I thought it was better to blow them into the carpet then into your grass." Hmm.  He makes a good point, but he at least could have waited one day to mess up my clean floors. 

A year ago today, my grandfather died.  Emory was fortunate enough to meet him a second time, a few days before his death.  We miss him and think of him often, but we are all happy he is with Grandma.

Emory may never forgive her...

The kids and I went to the National Zoo on one of our beautiful spring days.  And, lucky for us, all of the animals were outside enjoying the weather also.  We spent a lot of time in Amazonia and enjoyed every second of it.  Then we met up with friends and strolled around the great cats exhibit and the Asia Trail.  We always want to see the pandas. Amazonia Apparently, all the stingrays I have ever encountered (in person or otherwise) have been salt water stingrays.  The polka dot variety are fresh water sting rays.  We got to see the sting rays eat lunch and even caught a glance of their big mouths.  We saw salamanders and caecilians, poisonous frogs, and colorful beetles.  If you haven't been to Amazonia, it is worth a trip to the zoo all by itself.   Great Cats No, this lion was not roaring.  He was yawning, but it was still a very impressive sight. I love the markings on cheetahs.  There is something ...

It is no secret that our family loves animals.  We've tried our best to teach the kids to be nice to animals, given them space, and appreciate them from a distance.  However, when we found this toad in the parking lot, we decided to get our hands dirty and rescue him from an unfortunate end.  Genevieve was very curious and eventually held the toad, warts and all.  I think she liked watching the toad's throat expand and contract.  I carried the toad to the nearby creek and set him down among the leaves and plants.  I think it was a very successful lesson in wildlife conservation...at least for Genevieve.  Emory was still upset about being stuck in the stroller, plus I know how he interacts with Bisous, so we didn't let him hold the toad.  We were trying to save the toad after all.

Spring sunshine in the late afternoon is absolutely beautiful!

Dear Spring, I have missed you so much.  I can't wait to spend more time with you and enjoy your flowers.  Don't let that bossy humidity push us into summer before you're ready.  Also, don't let winter come back either.  Deal? Warm Regards, Alisha PS - Does anyone know what kind of tree this is?  I'm thinking a flowering dogwood, but I'm not sure.

I started a little project.  I am very excited about everything I am learning about our our ancestors.  I hope that my children will appreciate their heritage too.  After all, they are both named after great grandfathers.  Clearly, I can't accomplish a project like this without the help of my extended family members and I appreciate all their help.  Suddenly, I wish I lived next door to everyone so I could walk over and scan photos at my leisure. Here is a sneak peak, tracing one genealogical line, represented by six generations.  Children   Mother Grandfather Great Grandmother Great Great Grandfather Great Great Great Grandfather