Off Roading

Yesterday after we spent the morning in Arlington, the Robisons invited us to their house to go out on Ashley's new ATV that her husband got her for her birthday.

We drove out into the woods and rode through a trail in the mud. She drove us around corners and over bumps. We caught air quite a few times.

 While we each waited our turn we sat on their truck bed and watched the ATV speed around the track. The helmet was a bit too big for Paige's head but squished her cheeks so adorably.

 It was lots of fun. Even Brendan was raving about it. Mental note: close your mouth when you drive through a mud puddle in an ATV.

More Memorial Day

Jason already wrote abotu our Memorial Day but I wanted to share some pictures I took as well. Arlington is a special place and I rather like visiting and remembering.I hope we can share that feelign with the children.

Memorial Day

Jason here.

Today is Memorial Day. Its one of those holidays that really mean something, though it mainly just means the start of summer and is usually enjoyed by BBQs and beach parties. I don't mean to suggest that is an inappropriate way to celebrate the honored dead of our nation and the families they left behind, it just seems a bit out of place. I like to think that those men and women died so that others could enjoy freedom, so... its what we do to honor them, and that's cool. I imagine though that they would appreciate it if we take a moment to remember them, hence Memorial Day.

This morning we celebrated with our congregation at the church by having a brief flag ceremony... and then having some bacon and pancakes. After that we went to Arlington National Cemetery to see the flags and the gravestones. The sky was grey and we walked along, reading the names and dates. The Soldiers of the Old Guard put flags on every grave - almost 300,000. It reminded me of some cultures who bury their dead with a tree seed, so that out of their death, a live tree is born, except that in this case, it was an American flag - the symbol of freedom.

 In the background is the Arlington Mansion. That is where Robert E. Lee lived when he decided to join Virginia in leaving the Union. In 1864 Union General Meigs decided that nobody was going to live in this house anymore and started burying Soldiers right outside the front door in the rose garden. That's how Arlington became a national cemetery. Before 1864 was up General Meigs buried his son in Arlington. Its a sad yet fascinating place.

As we walked, we noticed a large number of gravestones marking the resting ground of unknown soldiers. Brendan asked why there was a large tomb and a constant guard for unknown soldiers. "Well son, nobody comes to visit these graves. Their families never knew where their loved ones were buried. So they come to the Tomb of the Unknowns and it is there that the nation pays its respects and honors those who will never be known in mortality. Its the least we can do really." The kids seemed to get it and the visit went as well as can be expected. Even Paige kept it together pretty well.

Then we spent the rest of the day goofing off and enjoying each others company.

It was a really good day.

The Reverent Child

It was Paige's job to be the reverent child in Primary today. That made me laugh as she is most certainly NOT reverent. I peeked in to see how she was doing. She was taking it very seriously and trying hard to be a good example She was quietly folding her arms but just couldn't stand still. I watched as she swayed back and forth. It must be hard to contain all that energy. :)

A Complete Picture

After I had my DNA tested, Jason wanted to as well. Here are his results next to mine. More Irish,  less British and mostly Western European. I guess we are just very European.

Brendan especially finds this all fascinating. That boy loves Family History.

Pedicures

We are trying to keep ourselves busy and not think about the Thompsons now being states away. On one lazy afternoon, I decided to paint the girls' toenails. Its funny to see their personalities come out with the colors/patterns they chose. They loved it.

Farewells

The Thomspon kids rode the bus home with my kids today since they are leaving right after school. Nick, Erica and Sohvi arrived with the dogs and waited at our house for the bus.

The kids said goodbye outside.

I am not ashamed to say that I cried when I hugged Erica goodbye. She was crying too. We were a big sobbing mess. I couldn't even go outside to wave at the car because I was so sad.

Jason and Nick didn't cry but were emotional. After they drove away, Jason shed tears too.

The Thompsons were an answer to prayer for our family. We wish them well at West Point and I know we will see them again soon. But it is a very sad day for the McDaniels.

Last Day with Our Friends

The Thompsons leave after school tomorrow. We try to spend as much time as possible with them and they came over after church. Erica is one of my dearest friends. I have met less than a handful of people with which I have so much in common. We can talk for literally hours and not run out of things to say. She is a kindred spirit and I will miss her more than words can say. These are the moments that make Army life so hard.

Paige and Soihvi couldn't be more perfect for each other. They match in their sassiness, energy and stubbornness. They are definitely peas in a pod.

Brendan, Hernik and Viktor are a fun crew too. It is wonderful to see how Brendan interacts with Viktor, especially since he has no little brothers of his own. Viktor looks up to him and Brendan treats him with love and kindness (which is not the case with most little kids, who he usually finds annoying). Henrik is a very patient friend to Brendan. They have so much fun playing Minecraft and building Legos. He has been Brendan's first and only true friend here. It is going to hit him hard when they leave.

And sweet Evie. She fits in perfectly with both of my middle girls. She is kind and creative and confident. When those three are together we don't see them for hours. Oh, the games they come up with. If we could adopt her, I think the girls would be very on board with that. :)

Erica went back to the trailer to finish some things up with Nick. We offered to watch the kids, of course. Paige drew a picture of her and Sohvi. Awww. I am not sure how much these two really understand the move.

Sohvi and Paige had a small fight and Jason, not wanting their last moments together to be like that, offered to let them fly the drone outside. That helped loosen things up between them as they took turns. they had so much fun.

Tomorrow will be a hard day.

FBES PTO Carnival

Every year the Fort Belvoir PTO has a carnival to raise money. It is usually a lot of fun. The kids immediately went to the dunk tank line. Eva kept trying but never dunked the teacher.

Brendan, on the other hand, lined up his shot and hit it on the first try. He was pretty amazed at himself. I'll admit, I was too.

Later we met up with the Thomspons to go inside and do the booths in the hallways. Our favorite was this crazy dress up booth. What kid doesn't love dress up? Side note: I love how, in the last picture, Sohvi is wearing Paige's clothes and they wanted to wear matching shirts. She had to change at our house due another mess they had made together.

We played all the games, ate carnival food and generally had a fun time. FBES is a fun school.

These Two!!

Remember how Jason told you about the massive grocery disaster that Sohvi and Paige pulled last week? Well they've continued on this trend of destruction. In fact, these two found makeup this morning. And they gave each other haircuts.

These. Two. Girls. Are. Amazing.

In case you were wondering, this was not my makeup. These two found this makeup in the "D" and applied some stranger's mascara everywhere. Even better. I'm just glad it wasn't waterproof.

Lunch with Daddy

Since Jason has lunchtime around the same time as some of the kids, sometimes he tries to go and meet them for lunch at school. They love it. He does pen tricks and tells stories and is generally pretty impressive to elementary kids. Darby was the talk of the lunch table that day. :)

River Fun

Since the Thompsons are now down in the travel camp, it is fun to go see them and explore that part of post near the Potomac. Tonight we went over and played on the river bank. The boys went fishing (they caught two fish and one turtle!) but the girls liked to play in the sand more.

Paige decided that she was a mermaid stranded on the beach. What an imagination.

 She was also told not to go in the water. You see how well that worked out.