The new must-have for men!

I saw this online and couldn't stop laughing. The fashionistas in Milan say that it is a must have for men next fall. For some reason I can't picture Quintin walking around in leggings!

Fun last weekend

This week has been pretty busy so it has taken me a while to get this post ready. Last Sunday we went to DC again for a nice quiet morning. It was so much fun. We parked by the Capitol Building and walked all the way to the Lincoln Memorial. It looks a lot closer than it actually is, and Quintin's leg was pretty sore after we were done. Sunday mornings are nice in DC because there aren't a lot of people out yet. We saw some cute ducks in the pond in front of the Capitol, and also some of the cherry blossom trees were already blooming. I guess that is what happens when the weather is so warm. Abby had the greatest time playing with steam from a vent at the National Monument. It was a great day- we love going to DC!

One of our favorite places

Shortly after we moved here we found this great place called the Extreme Bounce Zone. They have five different moon bounce things and the parents can play too! Abby loves to go and bounce all around. It is a great way to let her burn off some energy when the weather is too bad to play outside.

First day back

Today is the first day of spring classes for me, teaching wise. I just finished my first class, and they are much different than the freshmen I taught last semester. I am teaching juniors, or Second Class Midshipmen as they are called here. Granted the course is "Naval Warfare," and it is even hard for me to be excited about that first thing in the morning, but I really like trying to get them involved and excited about the Navy. All in all it wasn't too bad. I was nervous at first....I think I am always that way. The way I think about it is if I am not nervous, then that means that I don't care anymore and then I have a problem. I get nervous because they are all new kids, I don't know how to pronounce all of their names, I want to be credible in their eyes, I want to be a good example of a junior officer, I worry about mispronouncing Yamamoto or messing up facts about the Battle of Midway, and so many other things that run through my head. Plus, I don't want to look stupid standing up there in front of 30 midshipmen. I think it went well, though. I have another class in 20 minutes and then one more on Thursday. I know that my lectures get better with repetition, so by Thursday I should be great! Or at least half-way decent. :)

Couple of Q's favorite things

Quintin has a couple of things in his life that he can't live without now. And no, I'm not talking about Abby and I! :) A while ago he got a Tassimo hot beverage machine. He doesn't drink a lot of coffee- usually only a cup a day, maybe. I don't drink it at all, but love hot tea and hot chocolate. Well, this machine makes everyone happy. It makes one serving of either coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. If you are feeling in the mood, it can also make you a latte, cappuccino or espresso. What a great machine!

Something else he loves is something that I got him to go along with his iJoy massage chair. It is called an iSqueez calf and foot massager. It is really cool, and it seems to be helping his achilles heal. Even though he is out of that big boot, it still hurts him a lot, and it is so nice for him to be able to get a nice deep massage on his legs everyday. Like physical therapy in the home....I am going to see if we can write it off this year at tax time as a medical expense! Not sure if I can, but it doesn't hurt to ask, right?

Is it Global Warming?

Not sure what is behind all of this, but today it is a beautiful 72 degrees!!! In Annapolis; in January. Although it is gorgeous, and we all are loving the nice weather, I can't wait for some snow so we can use the great sled that we bought. There is a perfect hill right behing the house. It is supposed to cool off again tomorrow- back down to a high of 54 and then even colder as the week goes on, but no snow in the forecast for the near future. Guess we'll have to wait a little longer to break in the sled.

On a streak!

Abby is on her longest ever "dry pull-up" streak. Today is her 8th day of being completely dry- during the day, at night, and even when we are out running around. We are so proud of her! We still have a little way to go with the other aspect of potty training, but everyone says that takes a little longer. I told her that if she can go "potty" in the potty, then we will take a special trip to Chuck E. Cheese's, and that seemed pretty motivating. We'll just wait and see. So here's to a new year that's soon to be diaper-free!

First haircut!

Abby will be 3 years old in April, and until today had never had her hair cut. We were waiting because it is so curly that when it is dry it shrinks up. Q also was against it for a while, until I explained to him that girls need to get their hair trimmed often to keep it healthy. Especially girls with curly hair because it helps so much to have those dead ends trimmed when you are trying to comb their hair in the morning. Detangler can only help so much! So today, we went to this cute place called Cartoon Cuts, which is a little salon especially for kids. They get to watch their favorite cartoons while they are getting their hair cut. Granted it only takes about 5 or 10 minutes, but it really helps ease the nerves. Abby did great. She was a little scared at first, and almost cried, but she was able to hold it together. I think that she was afraid that it was going to hurt, because we are always telling her to be careful with scissors- they can hurt. I told her that it doesn't hurt when you cut your hair, but she had to experience it for herself. Afterwards she was so proud of her haircut. Her hair was super-soft and she couldn't stop playing with it. She really loves her curls!

Happy New Year!

We hope everyone has a great 2007! Our celebration was low key....we didn't even stay up until midnight! Guess we are getting old. Just thought I would share some funny pictures. We were taking some family pictures in front of our Christmas tree and Abigail decided to make some funny faces. I didn't know until they were all done, but we thought they were worth sharing. What a little comedian we have!

A little bug has arrived...

Well, I have finished one paper- the short one of course. I haven't made much progress on the 12-pager because Abby picked up some kind of stomach bug on Monday. She felt a little better today, but she hasn't been sleeping very well, and that is usually when I do most of my work. Then, Quintin woke up this morning feeling sick. I guess I'd better stop typing here and get to work before the little bug makes its way to me. Hopefully everyone will feel better before Christmas.

That time of year....

Well, I have successfully completed my first semester of teaching. The only thing I have left to do is finish grading almost 100 final exams. It is taking me about 15 minutes to grade each one.....if the midshipmen hasn't gotten too many wrong. I am going to try to have them done by tomorrow afternoon, so I can enter their grades and not have to worry about it next week when I am on leave. Lucky for me I will be busy writing two papers for grad school. One shouldn't be too bad, but I just found out the other day that the 12 page paper that I have to write for my second class is 12 pages- single spaced!!! Who asks for single spaced papers anyway?! So, needless to say much of my spare time over the next few days, and sleep time for that matter, will be devoted to paper writing. Of course we will take time out to celebrate Quintin's 28th birthday this Sunday. Not sure what we are going to do yet, but I am sure we'll have fun.

Playstation 3

This past Thursday Quintin and I were able to do a little Christmas shopping for Abby while she was still at school. We went to Toys R Us first, and Quintin thought he would go over to the game section just to see if they had a Playstation 3. You'll never believe what the guy said?!? He had one left from a shipment they had received the day before. Quintin couldn't believe it. Needless to say, Christmas came a little early for him....or maybe it's his birthday present since that is this month too.

Annapolis Parade of Lights

Last night we went down to the water to watch the Annapolis Parade of Lights, which is where all of the boats parade around decorated with Christmas lights. It was really cold...about 30 degrees...but we didn't let that stop us. We got all bundled up, and luckily it wasn't too windy so we were able to stay out a good while. Abby's favorite was the one with Santa and his reindeer. She also like the "Blue Angel."

Just Cruisin'

Abigail finally likes to drive her Jeep! She has had it for a while....Quintin couldn't wait to get one for her and she used to just sit in it and "chill." A couple of weekends ago we asked her if she wanted to take it out riding and she did. We had a great time cruising around in the huge grassy area that is right behind our house. It was tons of fun to drive up the hill, and then speed down!

No Boot!

Something wonderful has happened to Quintin recently...he finally got out of the boot that he wore for nearly 9 months. He won't be able to run for another 6 to 12 month's but at least he's wearing two pairs of shoes now! Yeah!!

Little Gymnast

Abby was starting to lose interest in her dance class, so we decided to try something new....gymnastics. Her first class was all about climbing, and she had a great time. It was a 45 minute class, and unlike her dance class which lost her attention after about 30 minutes or so, she stayed interested the whole time. She liked it so much she started crying when it was time to go because she wanted to "stay and play." So, it looks like we will be going to gymnastics for now.

Up-and-over

Abigail has learned to perfect her "up-and-over" technique just in time for the cold weather. We hope you enjoy this display of acrobatic talent. :)

Scooby-Doo....is that you?

We took Abigail to Port Discovery, which is the Children's Museum in Baltimore. They had a pre-Halloween part and she was none other than her favorite character....Scooby-Doo.

Breakfast with the Ducks

This morning before heading off to breakfast, we decided to swing by and feed the ducks. We had a loaf of bread that was a little too stale for sandwiches, but the ducks didn't seem to mind it. After a few minutes a seagull spotted us and called the rest of his friends over....gotta love those seagulls. Abby had a great time. She was saying, "Here you go, buddy!" as she was throwing the bread.

Keeping the environmentalists at bay!

We've found a way to keep the environmentalists off of our backs for driving a huge SUV. We've rented out our wheel-wells to any squirrel that needs a much needed break from the cold winds of fall!

Our Little Artist

Abby has always liked drawing, but lately she has started drawing people. This picture is of our family. From left to right it is Daddy, Mommy, and Abby. Too cute!

Dance Class

Abby started dance class a couple of weeks ago and really loves it. It isn't a ballet or tap class, but rather a cute mix of kid songs like the Hokey-Pokey and the Bean-bag Rock. We were lucky to find a class that meets on Saturday mornings. Once she turns three she can move into the ballet and tap class, if she still wants to dance. I think she will because she really loves music.

Trip to Sesame Place

This weekend we took a trip to Sesame Place, which is just outside of Philadelphia. Abby had a great time. After she ate her lunch, she had an Elmo cupcake...yum, yum!

There were plenty of fun rides and she also got to meet Elmo up close.




She had her face painted like a cute little pirate and passed out on the way home. What a great weekend!!

One class down....

Well, I officially finished my first graduate class, Homeland Defense, on Friday. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. I just looked online and found out that I made an "A", so I am really happy about that. I start my next class this Thursday, so at least I get a weekend off without having to study anything! :) I do have to go over the lessons that I will be teaching next week, but other than that I can relax. Yeah!!

What a manly cast

Quintin had his cast put on this past Monday and boy is it a great looking one. He only had three choices: pink, purple, or this great looking rainbow one. Thank goodness he only has to keep this one until Wednesday when ge gets his staples taken out. Hopefully by then they will have better color choices.

Out of Surgery

Quintin had surgery to repair his achilles today, and he is doing fine. Because it has been over five months since he hurt it initially, he had a lot of scar tissue and the tendon wasn't healing the way it should. So the doctor went in and cut out the bad part- the doctor said that his achilles was kind of like a jelly filled doughnut where the tendon had gotten infected and mushy. (Sorry about the gross description but that is the way he explained it to me) Then he pulled the good parts together and sewed them really tight. Luckily he didn't have to completely sever his tendon and re-attach it...If this doesn't work, then that will be our only option left. He can't put any weight down on his foot for about three months, so as you can imagine getting up to our house on the third floor should be fun. Monday morning he has to go get his cast put on, then in about three weeks he should get his trusty walking boot back! Abby will have fun drawing on his cast...I will post some pictures of him later this weekend...gotta run for now.

Annoying Hyenah Lady

We took Abby to see the movie Barnyard: The Original Party Animals yesterday and it was really cute. It was probably one of the best animated movies we have seen in a while. The only problem was the lady that was sitting behind us- she had a really loud annoying laugh. It sounding like she was yelling, "Hah, hah, hah". But that wasn't the worst part. She laughed at absolutely EVERYTHING. When I say everything, I don't mean everything that was funny in the movie...no, I mean everything- literally. Apparently the Coke commercial that was part of the previews was hilarious. So was the little robot who flys around and finally plugs in the cable for the THX surround sound. And that was all before the movie started. Quintin and I thought about moving, but then we would lose our good seats, and it really couldn't be that bad, could it? Then the movie started and we wished we had moved. She even would repeat funny lines from the movie, and then add on her signature laugh. If you have seen the previews for the movie and the part where the little boy tips over the cow and then says, "That's what I call cow-tipping. Hah, Hah, Hah!" Then you know exactly how she sounded. It was funny because as we were leaving the family that was sitting in front of us asked us how we liked having that hyenah over our shoulder for the whole movie. At least they didn't think it was me!

I'll go hold the train!

We took another little trip into the District today, but this time we decided to take the Metro (rail system). It was Abby's first time on a "train", so she had a great time. We went to a couple of museums and then headed home. As we were going down the escalator to where the train arrives, we saw that one was already there. I ran a little ahead to make sure it was the line we wanted and then I hopped on. Quintin was pushing Abby in the stroller, so he was a little behind me. Right after I stepped on the train I saw that the doors were closing, without any announcement or anything. Quintin and Abigail weren't on yet, so of course I did what every normal person would do- I stuck my arm out to hold the doors. Doors like this usually have sensors in them so they will open if anything is blocking them, right? Wrong....not these doors. Basically the train doors closed on my left arm- right between my elbow and shoulder. My immediate reaction was to push the doors open- but nope, you can't do that either. I was lucky because right before I got on the train, two Metro employees got on, so one of them jumped up and called on his radio for them to open the doors. They opened about a second later. I told him I was just trying to hold the door for my husband who was right behind me and he sai, "You can't do that Ma'am- you might break the door." Thanks for the concern for my well being. I just had two doors crunch down on my arm and he was worried about the doors. Once we all got on and sat down I looked at my arm, then I noticed that it was starting to hurt a little and there were indention marks from the doors. I don't know what I would have done if those employees weren't on there. I guess I would have had to ride to the next stop with my arm in the door- holding it up of course so hopefully it wouldn't get chopped off as we went speeding through the underground tunnel we were in!!! Luckily, God was watching out for me. I can laugh now thinking how silly I was for sticking my arm out, but I didn't think that the doors were going to lock down like a great white shark! So, my advice is if you ever find yourself hopping on a train at the last minute and your whole party doesn't make it on- just meet them at the next stop! :) Oh, my arm is okay. It was already bruised by the time we got back to the car. Looks like someone hit my arm with a pipe or something, but I'll live! This picture is from our ride into the District.

Trip to DC

We took a short trip to DC this past Saturday. On our way to the Aquarium we walked by the White House. It was early so there weren't that many people out yet. The nice part about typically touristy places is that there are always people who offer to take family pictures for you.
The Aquarium was pretty nice. They had some really neat fish that we had never seen before. It was kind of small, so we decided to go to the Natural History Museum. That was the best part of our whole trip. The place was huge! Abby really liked the 3D African Safari IMAX we saw. It was cute because she kept reaching out in front of her trying to grab things, and then she would lift up the glasses to see what was really going on! I think her favorite part of the museum was the Mammal section because they had the animals as they would look if they were alive. The other parts of the museum had mostly fossils and casts, but she still enjoyed looking at everything.

Friday Quintin had lunch in DC with a friend that he had in California who now lives in the area. They ate at this pub, which is the oldest pub in DC (we walked by it again on Saturday). They met the First Tailor, Georges de Paris, who has custom made suits for Presidents for more than 40 years. Quintin has a hard time understanding people with any kind of heavy accent, and he said this man had a very thick French accent, so he didn't get everything he said. The pub also has a spot reserved for the First Lady- apparently she comes in all the time.

Skater Girl

Abby saw her Dad's rollerblades as we were unpacking and decided that she wanted some skates too. We had to practice in the hallway before we went outside. Of course she has all the protective gear on! She had a great time, but I think she liked it more inside because she could roll easier on the wood floor versus the concrete.

Big Girl Bed

Since our little one was born she never wanted to sleep in any bed by herself. Not the bassinet we bought for her, or the co-sleeper, or her crib. It was only Mommy and Daddy's bed for her. We didn't really force the issue because we liked having her so close and the way the floorplan was in the previous places we have lived, she was way across the house. That didn't make us feel too safe. There are so many things that can happen..... So, for the last two years she has slept with us, in a queen sized bed. One night a couple of weeks ago, Quintin woke up to find her completely sideways between us- of course he had the luxury of having her feet towards him! He straightened her out once, twice, three times. Finally, the last time he awoke he found a special surprise- little toes in his ear!! It was then that we knew that she had to sleep in her own bed. We started talking it up about how great it was going to be to have a "big girl bed" and she got really excited. We found a cute bed at Ikea and she decided she wanted to have a Scooby Doo bed- no big surprise for us. I had to order the comforter set online, but when it arrived she was so excited. Needless to say, she has been sleeping in her big girl bed ever since- no complaints!

My new job

Soon after we arrived in Annapolis, we took a walk around the yard to find the building I am going to be teaching in. It is called Luce Hall The only bad part is that my office is on the third floor- same floor as our house! At least I will get a work out climbing all of those stairs. Abby had a fun time flying around like Superman. She really likes chasing all of the squirrels and we even saw a couple of rabbits, but they didn't hang around as long as the squirrels did. Can't say we saw too many squirrels in South Texas.

Trip to the Maryland Zoo

We took a trip to the zoo in Baltimore last week. We were a little disapointed with it, but we have heard great things about the National zoo, so that will hopefully make up for it. Abby really liked the big bus that you could climb in and drive. We also went on a camel ride. Abby kept telling him to "giddy-up!" The last pic is of a precious baby bird we found!

Return to Civilization

We arrived in Annapolis on Sunday and it is truly gorgeous up here. I know we are going to have a great time. It is so nice to be living in a normal city again. Here it is the best of both worlds because Annapolis has a very "small-town feel" to it, and then you drive 5 minutes up the highway and you can find anything you could ever want. We watched the fireworks last night from "the Yard" (that is what they call the campus of the Naval Academy) and Abby had a blast. She was still talking about them today. The only hard part has been that we don't have internet in the room we are staying in, so we won't be able to write much. Our house should be ready on Monday, and they called Q today to tell him our stuff has arrived in the area, so now we are just hanging out until we can get moved in.

Not as easy as it looks...

As part of our move, we thought we would tow the Magnum behind the Excursion on a car carrier. Sounds easy, right? That way we could all ride in one car, have 2 drivers and little one could have someone to entertain her. So we hooked up the trailer and hit the road. Once we got onto the highway and picked up speed the trailer started fish-tailing. There was a lot of wind because a storm was moving in, so I think that contributed to the problem. There was no way that we could drive 1600 miles at 45 mph- that was as fast as we could go and keep the trailer under control.So after about 10 miles we had to turn around and take it back.
The trip so far has been great and Abigail is a true "Road Queen". We have driven over 1300 miles and only have another 300ish to go today. Yeah!!