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!