Playgrounds, Break-ins, and Seatbelt Slogans

We arrived home from Hawaii last Thursday (the 21st) and took off the next day for D.C. where I would start work on Tuesday. It was a scramble to get everything packed and get out the door, but with help of Meredith and Melissa, and some babysitting from Nonna, we did it!

We stopped at playgrounds every few hours for Abe to get his wiggles out.
The little guy was so great! He slept, read books, looked out the window, and ate his watermelon. By the way, he's a full-on walker now and loves yelling "Mama!"
We went through the backwoods of Nebraska and Iowa to visit Nauvoo. We stopped by a gas station that hasn't changed through the ages. A place where everyone knows everyone's name.
We got to Nauvoo and surprised cousin Liz who is serving out there as a missionary. Ariel and Abe snuck up behind her while she watched the Sunset show.
Through the states we enjoyed reading seatbelt slogans. We suspect that there's a competition between state law enforcement on who can come up with the best slogan. Here are our votes, in order.

1. Buckle up. We care, and it's the law (Maryland).
2. Arrive alive (Nebraska)
3. A law you can live with (Iowa)
4. Click it or ticket (Utah)
4. Click it don't risk it (Wyoming)--that just doesn't rhyme

We got to Uncle Neil and Aunt Kristina's home in Virginia at 2 a.m. on Sunday, and were told to go in the red door with the light on. The first house on the street had a red door and the light on. So we pulled out our bags, got Abe out, and went inside. We wanted to make sure that we were in the right place so we started looking for pictures of the family around the house. I finally spotted a piece of mail on the table addressed to "George Kastopolos." Needless to say we skedaddled.

It's been great being here! Here's a shot just outside our back door. We're right on the banks of Lake Thoreau.
So far Ariel and Abe have visited the Museum of Natural History, the National Zoo, gone swimming multiple times, and we all three visited the National Portrait Gallery and walked along the Theodore Roosevelt Parkway. It's been really terrific. The energy in this city is contagious.
We've also loved spending time with the Evans family! Great food, great activities, and the best of company. We look forward to many activities with them over the summer, and are grateful for their generosity. We saw "Up" with them yesterday, another Pixar masterpiece--a beautiful combination of heart, humor, and action. See it.

Work has been good for me. I'm working on a Contractor Reliance Policy Paper with the Aqcuisitions Sourcing and Management Team. We're basically doing an analysis of how much the government relies on contractors and what will happen with that issue in the near future. So far it has been a lot of reading to catch up on the project, but it looks like they're going to give me plenty to do, so that's exciting.

We miss family and friends back home, but are having a great adventure back east!

A Whirlwind of Adventure!

Well, we're back. Or rather, we're gone. But at least we're in a more permanent situation! We're in Virginia. It's great to be back east! More on this later.

Now to our most wonderful vacation in Hawaii!

Abe loved it. He was a champ the whole time.

The long lost cousins-Abe and Sam were glad to see each other again!

We didn't waste any time and got right in. What perfect water! Abe really liked it...

Most of the time.

Up atop the volcano Haleakala
This pretty much sums up their personality differences.
On a scenic drive above the clouds.
Their favorite place to play.
This was a very cool bamboo forest.Abe loved it!


My crazy husband...A beautiful waterfall on the road to Hana
Abe was really good, but doesn't really understand the concept of "going for a drive." We had to get pretty creative at times to keep him happy.
Ready for the luau
We might just move to a little hut like this someday...
The whole gang at the luau!
Our little family under a large rain forest tree
Abe admiring his father's banyan tree climbing
Snorkeling!

The babies didn't miss out much with this cool glass-bottom boat

Doesn't Meredith look like Ariel the Mermaid?

In one bay, Andrew saw about 30 sea turtles with his brothers and Dad. We also saw two humback whales, two dolphins, and an octopus, among thousands of tropical fish and beautiful reef.

Taken at Pearl Harbor
One of our last days we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center, and poor Abraham had a fever. I felt so sad for him! But he was so good and handled the whole thing very well. He slept most of the time, and only woke up once in a while to clap with the crowd, or lead the music.
Sea kayaking outside our beach house. There was a man (he must have been crazy) who was selling his beach side condo furnished and with a car for 275. The ten of us talked about how we could possibly go in on it together. It's right by the PCC and the temple. If anyone's interested, I could let you know how to find him!!!
Andrew finally tried surfing about 15 years after writing the smash hit, "I Love to Surf." He liked it, but it might not be accurate to say he loves it. He did get up though, a number of times.
This picture is entitled "Watch out for the dudes with the blue boards!" Andrew heard a pro surfer shout this after his and Richard's boards shot up into the air after they tried to be one with a particularly large wave.

It was a perfect trip; we really had a blast. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!! We love and miss you!!

Abe's Big Summer Movie!

Back by popular demand is Abe in a sequel to last winter's smash hit. Enjoy!

LDS.org - Media

For some time now I have waited for a talk dedicated to the media. It is something that I feel can be detrimental to our spirituality and at the same time seems easily rationalized by Latter-day Saints--please forgive the crude generalization.
This talk, given tonight by Elder Bednar, is something I have been waiting for. He describes a unique danger found in using the Internet, the danger it brings to one of our primary purposes for mortality: to have and enjoy a body. I look forward to more talks like this, and feel that they will come as the tidal wave of media continues to crash down.

Sometimes I catch myself looking at life through a virtual lens. I'll take a picture and think about putting it on Facebook, or shoot a video and think about putting it on the blog, rather than enjoying the present, REAL, moment. I find myself gravitating to the computer when I have free time (not to do anything wrong . . . check email, news, etc.) rather than reading, running, talking with real people, or jumping on a trampoline. This talk hit home for me, even though I don't identify with the extreme examples he used.*

Please watch this if you have not, it is worth your time. The Spirit taught me some important lessons that I personally need to apply in this regard as I listened. Speaking of which, I am off to go on a walk with my family.


Elder Bednar's Talk

*In the talk he did say somewhat emphatically that technology is not a good or bad thing in and of itself. I do think that blogs produce a fairly high fidelity rendition of reality, and that they have potential to do much good. So we will continue to blog, and you will continue to see Hammie's little life unfold, for family and friends to enjoy.

Hawaii Bound!

So, we're going to Hawaii with the Marshall family on the 10th. Although we have done a fair amount of traveling with Abraham, we've never done anything like this, so I'm a little nervous. I've never been to Hawaii, and I've never traveled with an almost one year-old. Does anyone have any tips on traveling to Hawaii, or traveling with a one year-old? We're still trying to decide things like if we should take a baby back pack or a stroller, or bring our own car seat or just rent one there, etc etc. Any recommendations would be appreciated!