Long lost cousin

I have a cousin who's lived all over the world. After volunteering with the Peace Corps, she continued to live in cool places like Russia, Japan, Africa and I'm sure I'm missing several other places. The other day I was chatting with Auntie Geek and she mentioned that this cousin was living in the D.C. area. So, after going through the parental channels, I got in touch with my cousin and it turns out her family lives about 5.5 miles away! And the wildest thing is that her younger daughter has the same name as Geek Girl! Now, you might have though the grandmas might have mentioned this to the daughters, but I guess it wasn't as cool to them as it is to us.

Yesterday Geek Girl and I went over to visit with long lost cousin and her daughters. We chatted a while and then went to their pool. There was confusion with two girls with the same name, but the older sister came up with the solution of adding "tiger" to Geek Girl's name. Afterwards there was some parallel play (they had the great big Littlest Pet Shop house) but in the end they were all decorating a big piece of cardboard that was to be used as a prop for a play that the older daughter had written in school.

Today Geek Girl and I went into D.C. to go to a children's program at the National Art Gallery. We were supposed to meet long lost cousin and her younger daughter, but the metro was running a little slow between their stop and our stop. We ended up participating in an earlier program than they did (we had plans to meet Daddy Geek for lunch afterwards). During the program, the leader read and discussed a book with the kids, talked about a piece of art, and then the kids had their own craft to paint. It was too bad that we missed hanging out with long lost cousin and daughter, but we should see them again soon.

edited to add: Okay, I spoke to mom and she said she did tell me that long lost cousin had a child with the same name as Geek Girl. Further proof that I don't listen to my mother, or remember what she tells me.

Sweets at the bakery

The other day, she and I had a fun afternoon together. I picked her up from an art class and we walked home together. Along the way, we stopped by the park near the class where she and her classmates went to play, and then we stopped off at a nice little cafe for Zvieri. I had an espresso, she had water, and we shared a small chocolate tartlet. Yum.

In the background, they were playing classical music, and Geek Girl really liked it. At one point, she leaned forward and sweetly told me, "Daddy, this music makes me remember how much I love you and Mama. All the way to Narnia and back!" Awwww...

She can be a sweetie, that's for sure.

A new set of wheels

We're about a 25 minute walk or 10 minute bus ride to the metro station. However, the bus doesn't always arrive at the scheduled time and sometimes the ride takes a little longer because there are not dedicated bus lanes, so if there's traffic, the bus is late.

Girl Geek and I decided to get Daddy Geek another set of wheels for him to get to the metro station. An early birthday present. Here he is modeling it.


Daddy Geek and Geek Girl went on a water park adventure today, so I took the scooter for a ride to the post office. And I managed to stay alive, despite one point when I was desperately grabbing for the non-existent hand brakes. It was fun. Hmmm... maybe this was one of those gifts that was intended more for the giver than the recipient?!

How to walk home when it's hot outside

Actually, it's not too bad. I won't complain about 83 °F and 22% humidity. I know it can get a lot worse here, but I'm enjoying the low humidity while we have it.

Geek Girl has art camp at the recreation center this week, every afternoon from 1 to 4 pm. I drive us there because if we walked we might not ever get there and I go run errands while she's at class. However, since the class is really only 15 minutes walk away (when I'm by myself), I walk to pick her up and we walk home together (and it takes 30+ minutes). How do I keep her moving and happy? I give her a spray bottle filled with water. That way she has a fun way to drink water and cool herself off and water the plants on the way home.

Spending time at the pool

Geek Girl is a Pisces and we think that's why she loves to swim. At six months, she was happily splashing in Yeh Yeh and Nai Nai's pool.

When we moved to Colorado we regularly went to the pool. The recreation center had a great kid-friendly pool that went from 0 ft to 3 ft and also included two water slides and a lazy river. In the summertime there were a couple kid-specific pools plus the larger outdoor pool.

In Zürich we continued going to the pools. During the cooler months we would go to the Hallenbads (indoor pools) and in the summer time we'd go to the Freibads (outdoor pools), and the lake, and the river. Geek Girl started jumping off the diving board last summer and she loves it.

Our apartment has a little pool -- 4 feet deep. So far Geek Girl has been happy swimming with and without the pool noodle and we also picked up a larger float so we can relax in style. We have been spending many afternoons at the pool.

On Sunday, we went to a playdate organized by a friend of a friend. The playdate was held at their pool. Membership at the pool is $500 for the summer. Gulp. (In Colorado, we paid $600 for a whole year of indoor and outdoor pools AND the gym, fitness classes, and climbing wall.) It was a very nice pool with several lanes for lap swimming, an area for diving, and the kid friendly area, but I think we'll stick to the public pools for now. (And a lot of the private pools have waiting lists.) Geek Girl had so much fun she didn't want to leave. I guess I better find a pool with a diving board. And probably a water slide too.

Things I did at the beach...

[This is a guest post from our youngest blogger: Geek Girl. She dictated to Daddy Geek, who wrote it down, but didn't edit it.]

I went to the beach in San Diego. There, I made homes for sand crabs - and mud pies. Mama Geek made a mud nest, and so I pretended there were baby maiasaurs in it, and when it was all full of water, I rescued them. There were ten baby maiasaurs.

Sand crabs live in the sand at the beach. They dig little holes in the beach with their legs. They live in big groups, where they dig up the sand a lot. You can find them when water comes to their homes or when you kick across the top of their homes. You can also dig them up with your shovel and then watch them climb back into the sand. Here's how to make a sand crab home: put your shovel into the sand, then pull it back out, then pat the place where you did that.

I also made mud pies. Mama Geek helped me make a pot where I made the mud. I put some more sand in the wet pot and then I took it out and put it on some of the drier sand, then patted the top of the globs of mud. Then it looked like a good mud pie. I made these mud pies for the mud monsters.

I also played in the water. I went where there were good places with waves to ride into the shore. First, I waited for a wave to come in, then I jumped into it and swam as close to the shore as that wave would take me. Then I went and did it again and again. Later, I did that with a boogie board with Daddy Geek. It was a little scary the first time, but then Daddy Geek helped me balance the board (he rode on the back), and then it was more fun and less scary.

That's it!

Mud Pies: Serious Business

Mama Geek's post on our San Diego trip left out a blog-worthy quote from Geek Girl.

Geek Girl loves to play on the beach on vacation. She can spend hours digging holes and canals connecting them ("lakes and rivers, Daddy!"), making mud pies, and getting sand in her hair. Splashing in the water is a distant second in her opinion.

Apparently, Mama Geek and Geek Girl were building mud pies and lakes/rivers on the beach when MG went out to splash a bit and cool off in the waves. After a few minutes of this tomfoolery, GG marched up to MG and said sternly, "Mama, come back now! We have work to do!"

Mud pies: serious business.

Can't go home anymore

The day after Geek Girl's last day of kindergarten, we flew out to San Diego for a long Father's Day weekend. And a farewell to my ancestral home. My parents have sold the house they lived in for the last 31 years and we were happy to be there to help with the final clearing out.

We also went to the beach as often as possible. (And a baseball game).

Daddy Geek and GG posing in front of the sea wall after a Father's Day breakfast at Brockton Villa.


GG riding a wave on a boogie board.


GG happily playing in the sand.


GG and Alice the Tiger at the coast. Yes the water really looks like that.


Note: GG was tired of being referred to as Little Geek Girl in the last blog ("but I'm a big tiger") so we have promoted her to Geek Girl in this blog. However, now when I see GG want to pronounce it Gigi, which means at some point I might revert to Geek Girl.

Five down, fifteen* to go

Geek Girl's lower right incisor has finally come out.

*Okay, maybe nineteen if you count the wisdom teeth

A Capitol Third

One of the best parts about living near Washington DC is that there are lots of very cheap - or free - cultural events going on. We can just pop into the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum or National Museum of Natural History for a couple of hours (or, like the other day, bail out right away when they are much too crowded, knowing we can go back). Or go to the National Zoo, or just take a walk along the National Mall and watch people fly kites.

Every Fourth of July, there is a huge concert and fireworks show on the Mall: A Capitol Fourth. It attracts a giant crowd, so if you want to see it in person, you have to be willing to go really early and sit with many thousands of your closest friends. Or go watch the dress rehearsals on 2 July and 3 July, like we did last night at Mama Geek's urging.

The concert is held on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol building. We got there about two hours ahead of time, found a spot to spread out our blanket and break out the picnic, and settled in to pass the time with books and Geek Girl's horse cards, a Christmas present from friends in Colorado. We had a great view of the Capitol:

and the Washington Monument:


We had time for a Geek Family Portrait or two:



The show started with a briefing from the head of the organizing committee, then Jimmy Smits did his emcee bit and introduced the various acts. We got to see Aretha Franklin perform the National Anthem and later, R-E-S-P-E-C-T and a medley of other classics. We got to see a video message from President Obama. We got to see them perform the 1812 Overture with real cannons. We got to listen to Raphsody in Blue. We endured Barry Manilow, which led to (a) me realizing that a disturbingly large number of people seem to really like Barry Manilow and (b) Mama Geek noting: "I guess you really do love me."

There were also some other special guests, including this large yellow guy as guest conductor:


He brought along some friends, and I got to torment Geek Girl by singing "C is for Cookie" in my best Cookie Monster voice. (I've been playing Cookie Monster for years; ask Nai Nai about The Racetrack Incident.) GG also loved the trash song from Oscar the Grouch. Thankfully, she finds Elmo mystifying.

The highlight, though, was definitely MG and GG dancing a duet to the Jersey Boys' rendition of "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)":





After the show, we walked for a bit along Pennsylvania Avenue to see the White House at night before hopping the metro home.

Tonight, we get to go see the fireworks show from a friend's apartment - on the 20th floor of a high-rise building with a great view directly up the Mall. It should be good fun.

Fourth of July First Post

Welcome to 2.5 Geeks, our new blog to go with our new life back in the United States. This will probably be a lot like our previous blog - random bits from life starring Daddy Geek (DG), Mama Geek (MG), and Girl Geek (GG). From time to time, Auntie Geek, Nai Nai, and other folks will hopefully make appearances...

The short version of the past 10 weeks is:

• We've found a place to live near Washington, DC and have started the usual process of setting things up here. We've managed a few small trips and events along the way (more posts on those to come), and are starting to find some restaurants we like nearby. And the nearest Trader Joe's.
  
• Daddy Geek has started settling into his new job.
• Geek Girl started, and finished, US kindergarten. She's now looking forward to going to first grade when summer is over.
• Mama Geek is also looking forward to Girl Geek going to first grade when summer is over. She's also reconnecting with old friends in the area and making new ones, plus working out the lay of the land and dealing with daily life. She already wants a GPS to handle the irregular road layout nearby -- DC is on a grid, but where we live is decidedly not.
  

Watch this space for upcoming posts on the Geek life.