Two and a Half Geeks

Barcelona by Geek Girl

2011-11-26T14:28:00.001-05:00

This is a guest post by Geek Girl, with minimal edits by Daddy Geek...

We are in Barcelona. We have done several things. Here are some pictures:

This is me with the lizard statue in Parc Güell.

This is behind the lizard statue.

I climbed a tree under some arches that are also
in Parc Güell.

These are the arches.

This is the curvy bench in Parc Güell.

This is a museum in Parc Güell.

We also went to a beach.

There was a rope pyramid by the beach.
After a while, I got to the top.

We walked up a hill and found out there was a castle at the top.

In the center of the castle there were some people
singing.

On the way down the hill, we passed a fountain
with stepping "stones".

We took the aerial tram down the hill.

This is a view from the tram.

We saw a wavy building. Here is a picture of the wavy building.

See above.

These are some pictures from my trip to Barcelona.

Geeks...In...SPAAAAAAIIIIINNNN

2011-11-23T18:02:00.001-05:00

(Jim Henson, please forgive me for the title.)

The Geeks are on holiday in Spain, a destination we have had in mind for a long time.

So far, the trip has been pretty good. Short overnight flights are never that fun, but ours was relatively empty, so Geek Girl got a set of two seats to curl up in alone, and Mama Geek scored another set that she and I traded off. Arrival in Spain was easy and after a short Metro ride, we arrived at our first hotel of the trip - and lucked out, as the room was ready for check-in well before noon. Quick showers, and then we headed out to explore Madrid.

We had a late morning snack at Las Mallorquinas, a famous bakery/cafe on Puerta del Sol, before wandering to the Palacio Real, where I snapped Mama Geek and Girl Geek

before she returned the favor:

We found a small playground nearby, where Geek Girl could burn off some climbing energy

and then we got to see some kind of procession with lots of horses with well-clad riders, and eventually a coach

I'll let Geek Girl blog the final thing in the procession.

We found a quick lunch in a local place -- all the other patrons were Spanish -- and then wandered around to get some light and help battle jet lag. After a quick siesta, we headed out in the rain to find a tapas place we had read about, but we must have had the wrong opening times, as it was closed. Instead, off to have a quick bite of bocadillas con calamari and bocadillas con lomo before heading off for our new favorite dessert: chocolate and churros.

How do I know it is our new favorite? Just ask Geek Girl. I did, tonight in Barcelona: "What would you like for dessert, ice cream or churros?". She replied, with a tone I can only characterize as "enthusiastic pity" (for the idiot even suggesting there is a choice to be made), "Churros. Lots of churros."

On that note, buenos noches, amigos.

High Water

2011-09-08T14:46:00.003-04:00

Geek Girl started 3rd grade this week and it's been raining all week.

Today the water got quite high:

There's a sidewalk behind that tree. Luckily the water's gone down and I"ll be able to go pick her up from school, but I was worried for a while.

Edited to add 5 hours later...

Another storm came through. This time the water was even higher than last time.

Here's what it looks like now that the water has gone down.

Daddy Geek is riding his bike home. Hopefully he hasn't been struck by lightning or drowned...

And another update, this time from Daddy Geek. Yes, I rode home in the storm. I had to detour around some flooded areas on my usual route home, but it wasn't too bad. I sang "Row, row, row your bike" with one of my fellow commuters today; it was good for a laugh and to alert the crazy runners that two crazy cyclists were coming up behind them.

Now, as long as the little seep of water coming into the basement stays a little seep, and assuming we don't lose power like all of San Diego, we ought to be OK...

What you need to build a fort...

2011-08-31T16:56:00.001-04:00

Two of the neighbor girls are over to play and one has suggested building a fort. According to Geek Girl, "You need tension and teamwork to build a fort."

A Visit to the Beach

2011-08-25T14:53:00.003-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we decided to take a quick trip to Virginia Beach. We left late on Thursday morning and were in Chesapeake, VA five hours later. We checked in to the hotel and then headed out to Sandbridge Beach -- just south of Virginia Beach.

Here's Geek Girl happily digging in the sand.

The next day we went back for an all day visit. Daddy Geek practiced his open water swimming, I went for a long walk, and Geek Girl continued digging when she wasn't dragged into the ocean by Daddy Geek. At the end of the day, Geek Girl and I had dug a large "dinosaur nest," but the incoming tide washed it out. However, Geek Girl recruited some new arrivals to help dig a smaller dinosaur nest safer from the waves.

Geek Girl would have loved to stay a couple more days. Hopefully next year we'll plan a longer beach vacation. On Saturday morning, there were a lot of people at the hotel breakfast who were headed towards the Outer Banks. Maybe one year we'll visit the Outer Banks, but we were pretty happy with Sandbridge Beach.

On the way home, we decided to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and go home via the Delmarva peninsula. Yes, this added several hours to our return trip, but it also meant we were able to stop at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Reserve. We went on a short walk amongst the mosquitoes and were able to see the wild ponies way off in the distance.

In the mid afternoon, we stopped at The BBQ Joint in Easton, MD for some barbeque. Daddy Geek and I enjoyed the barbeque. Geek Girl wasn't too crazy about the smell. But she did enjoy the large chocolate chip cookie in a pan (which is also available with sauces and ice cream).

At the beginning...

All done.

Growing like a weed

2011-08-25T14:47:00.002-04:00

I am 61.5 inches tall (but I like to tell people I'm 5'2"). Geek Girl is now 8.5 years old and we measured her at 53 inches. She's grown over an inch and a half in six months! Now the question is, how old will she be when she catches up with me? She has 8.5 inches to go. I'm guessing she'll catch up with me when she's eleven, hopefully not ten.

How to Make Dumplings

2011-07-19T18:55:00.004-04:00

Another guest post from Geek Girl:

Yesterday I made dumplings for dinner. Here are some pictures:

Starting.

How to make the dumplings.

The finishing touch.

Some Manhattan Food

2011-07-17T14:06:00.004-04:00

We spent 4th of July and several days afterwards in Manhattan. Here are some of the meals we remembered to photograph.

Chocolate Chip Cookie, Mississippi Mud Pie, and Sour Cream Apple Walnut Pie from Little Pie Company.

For our 4th of July dinner we went to Cafe Niagra for Sri Lankan food. Daddy Geek and I hadn't had any Sri Lankan food since we left Zürich and we weren't going to miss the opportunity. We also have a tradition of having non-traditional foods for holidays. Bastille Day 2000 found us in Paris and we had Chinese take-out in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

Geek Girl's big slices of pizza (she only finished one slice) from Big Nick's.

Macarons from La Maison du Macaron (website has music).
On the far plate are rose, lemon, and orange. The near plate has two chocolates, mango, caramel and cassis. In this shot, the cassis is too blue.

Here's another shot of the cassis where it's a little more purple.

One night we decided to stay close to the hotel for dinner. Daddy Geek decided to ask the concierge for a recommendation and after securing a reservation we hurried to the restaurant for our table. However, after we sat down and looked at the menu we realized that the prices were a little higher than we we wanted for large servings of uninspired Italian food (maybe that's why the restaurant didn't have a menu posted outside). They had brought us water, but we decided that it wasn't the place for us and we left. We ended up at Trattori Trecolori (which we had considered earlier) for a more affordable and just as enjoyable meal. Geek Girl really wanted me to take a picture of the balsamic vinegar/olive oil because it looked like the yin and yang symbol

Overall we ate pretty well. We also enjoyed Alsatian food, dim sum, gelato, a visit to Shake Shack, and yummy baked goods

Ohio and the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Kids' Museum

2011-07-03T11:31:00.007-04:00

Note: this is a guest post from our Geek Girl. She wrote the text and took the pictures.

I am visiting Ohio! I am staying at Hampton Inn. Here are some pictures:

the view out our window

the bed I'm sleeping in

I visited the Children's Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Here are some pictures of the bird in the front:

-----------------------------------------------------

They have a special "kids only" thing where you can see the next floor up.
[Daddy called it the "anthill".]

They have an exhibit where you make a boat and then play with it in the river they made.

This is me at the birdseed part of the art exhibit.

I had fun at the museum!

P.S.: my daddy is big doofus!

[No, I'm not.]

Like Mother, Like Daughter Part X

2011-05-26T19:49:00.002-04:00

Geek Girl has just showered, and needs to get her hair combed with detangler. This is one of Mama Geek's jobs.

I overheard Mama Geek telling Geek Girl to get dressed and they would put the detangler in, followed by Geek Girl's cheerful "OK".

Then silence. For several minutes.

I investigated, only to find Geek Girl was dressed, but reading. I went to remind Mama Geek that they were supposed to comb Geek Girl's hair, only to find Mama Geek was also reading.

Much guilty laughter ensued, until Geek Girl said, "Daddy, maybe you should be reading, too!"

So the Geek House was silent for some time. Inside the Plex, by Steven Levy, if you must know.

Cherry Blossom Time Again

2011-04-05T14:09:00.004-04:00

We are rapidly approaching the end of our second year in the DC metro area -- which means it's cherry blossom time! We decided to avoid the crowds at the Tidal Basin and join the crowds in the Kenwood neighborhood in Bethesda, Maryland. We parked near downtown Bethesda and then walked down the Capital Crescent Trail. We knew we were close when we ran into a playground full of kids and this lovely tree.

We walked through the neighborhood to admire the trees. We stopped for Geek Girl to photograph the Parent Geeks.

And posed for a family portrait.

Daddy Geek likes taking close-ups of flowers.

And Geek Girl decided to show Whiskers some flowers.

We walked along lovely lanes of blooming trees.

And stopped at an ice cream truck for a small snack.

After we returned to the car, Daddy Geek rode his bike home while Geek Girl and I drove home. We've been told that another fun time to view the blossoms is to walk around the tidal basin as the blossoms fall. We'll have to see if we can fit that into the week.

Yesterday the temperatures warmed up and the blooms on the magnolia tree next door opened. Here's the view from our bedroom window.

Come visit!

Milk Art

2011-03-29T12:34:00.002-04:00

For some unknown reason, Geek Girl frequently spills her milk. It's annoying, but this past weekend, it resulted in this interesting creature.

Nature

2011-03-26T10:23:00.002-04:00

Geek Girl enjoys participating in an optional enrichment activity called Operation EarthWatch. One of this month's activities was to write a poem. Here is her poem, created with very little help from Daddy or Mommy Geek.

Nature

Plants give us oxegen (sic),

And trees give us shade.

Flowers are good decoration,

And from trees, paper is made.

Help the trees by recycling paper,

And plant a plant or two.

There are lots of kinds of paper,

to recycle so don't make new!

We need water to drink,

And so do animal too.

Please help to keep the water,

Clean, trash-free and blue.

Turn off the water when you brush your teeth

And take a shower, not a bath.

Next to a running river,

There are thirsty animals in its path.

Nature is full of animals,

As well as plants and dew.*

Animals are our friends

You can help animals and they can help you!

*water, realy (sic)

Crazy Hair Day

2011-03-23T09:47:00.003-04:00

Today was Crazy Hair Day. Geek Girl was disappointed that her "bedhead" wasn't crazy enough, so I took a comb to it and this is the result.

Apparently she's reading one of the Girls' Guide type books at school and it says that for pictures you should look above the camera. I think we need to tell her to look a little lower...

Chainsaw Training

2011-03-07T18:45:00.002-05:00

I've been trying to call Auntie Geek all day and I finally got through. However, she didn't have time to talk, because she's in the middle of chainsaw training. Wouldn't want to interrupt that now, would we...

Day Trip to Harpers Ferry

2011-02-21T14:08:00.004-05:00

During the week, we wake Geek Girl up between 7:15 and 7:30 am and it takes an hour of constant parental harassment to get her fed, changed, and to school on time. However, sometimes on the weekend she'll wake up on her own, cheerfully, at 7 am (unless we have plans and want her to wake up early--then she sleeps like the dead while we grumble).

Yesterday she woke up at 7 am, so we decided to delay our plans to go to the National Gallery of Art and go on a day trip. And amazingly, by 9:15 am, we were on the road, even after our usual Sunday morning pancake breakfast.

Last year we purchased a National Parks Annual Pass and it's nice because we can use it for admission at Great Falls National Park, Manassas National Battle Field, and so many other places, including Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. It took us just under 90 minutes to get there and we started first at the Visitors Center and then caught the shuttle bus down to the lower town.

After walking along the river and looking at goose footprints, we got hungry, so we stopped for lunch and a picture.

We then crossed the footbridge over the Potomac River and in doing so were hiking on both the C&O Canal Towpath and the Appalachian Trail. We walked for a bit and then returned to Harpers Ferry to admire the joining of the Potomac River on the left and the Shenandoah River on the right.

Geek Girl was tired from the walk, so we sat to rest and take some silly pictures.

We had one more stop before heading home and that was to hike up hill to Jefferson Rock. Apparently, Thomas Jefferson found the view from this rock quite impressive.

Here's a picture of all the Geeks in front of a pretty church on the way up the hill.

A view of the rock as we get closer. The sandstone pillars were placed in the 1850s to save the uppermost slab.

Geek Girl and the information sign.

And the view downstream from near the rock.

Fun in the snow

2011-02-21T13:54:00.002-05:00

This has not been as snowy a winter as last year. We've had a couple of 1 - 2 inch storms and then last month we had the storm that resulted in some very long commutes home for some unfortunate folks.

The Sunday after the storm, Daddy Geek gave Geek Girl the option of going sledding or playing in the snow in the backyard. She picked the backyard.

I think this is the first stage of digging out dinosaur nests.

Check out these big branches that came down from the trees!

All bundled up and warm!

The snow owl.

Christmas and Chaos

2010-12-25T10:43:00.004-05:00

The desktop computer's hard drive died about a week and a half ago. The same day the cold water tap wouldn't run in the morning and the day before our first significant snow of the season. And Daddy Geek was in California for the week. But, we don't think the pipes burst (cross fingers) and Daddy Geek's Christmas project is to install a new hard drive.

But Santa came by on a fire truck! Here's the decorated and music-blaring fire truck going one way down the street -- see Santa in the upper left corner.

And coming back down after turning around in the court. Fireman walked alongside handing out candy canes and fire safety reminders.

This is what happens when Geek Girl (with a little help from her friends) has free rein of the empty basement bedroom. Just a little bit of chaos.

And here she is on Christmas morning, playing with her new HexBug nanos and Zoobles.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Brrrrrr....

2010-12-07T08:33:00.002-05:00

25.5 deg F with a wind chill of 17 deg F. I think it's okay to drive Geek Girl to school instead of walking. Dear Canada, you can have your cold winds back.

Rant: Fairness

2010-11-15T19:21:00.003-05:00

If you spend any time with 7-year-olds, you'll know that fairness is an important concept. Unfortunately, life is not always fair. But it really gets me frustrated when unfairness is due to the thoughtlessness of another adult.

When a kid has a birthday, they often bring treats to share with their classmates at lunch. This is easily done since the kids sit together by class. Well, today a kid in another class must have had a birthday and brownies were brought in for the class. I don't know if what happened next was by design, or spur of the moment, but then the mother in question proceeded to dole out brownies to kids in the other six classes, if they rode the same bus as her child! That means that some of the kids in Geek Girl's class received brownies, and most of them didn't. Excuse me, what are you thinking lady? If you're going to hand out treats to a table, you hand them out to everyone at the table.

Four hours later, the first thing my kid says to me when I pick her up after school is that something not fun happened at lunch and proceeded to explain to me what happened. Part of me wants to complain to the school or hunt her down, but I'm hoping maybe this mom just wasn't thinking. So, thank you for allowing me this chance to vent and now it's time to move one. (Well, I'll have to complain to one more parent tomorrow and then I will move on, promise.)

Fun with tile grout

2010-11-10T12:35:00.003-05:00

What do you get when you mix one part paint to five parts Elmer's tile grout? Frosting! Or at least, something that looks like frosting.

Geek Girl and I went to the National Gallery of Art on Sunday for one of their Family Workshops. We had fun looking at and discussing Wayne Thiebaud's painting Cakes.

Then came the fun part. Icing and decorating a cardboard "cake".

Here is Geek Girl's masterpiece. I helped a little with the icing, but she did all of the decorating herself. Doesn't it look yummy?

We were both pretty hungry after the workshop. Luckily we had Halloween candy waiting for us at home. Where was Daddy Geek? After driving us in he went for a little 11-mile run home. He had a little bit of Halloween candy too.

Halloweens Past and Present

2010-10-31T19:12:00.007-04:00

I can't resist posting old photos of Geek Girl. At the end of the post you'll see that after many easy years of creating costumes, we actually put some effort into this year's costume.

Eight months old and a happy elephant. (Thanks Jen!)

One year later and the head still fits!

Okay, 2005, let's be a Chinese princess.

2006 was a rough year. Geek Girl was an American Girl in Florence, Italy.

In 2007, Geek Girl wanted to be a friendly ghost.

In 2008, we were in Zürich, and she was Sleeping Beauty.

Last year she was a pirate fairy.

And this year she decided to be a dragon. Thank goodness for the internet. I found a cool pattern here. The whole family was involved in creating this costume. I cut out the pieces from foam board and cardboard and glued the easy bits. Daddy Geek and I worked together to glue the head (thank goodness for hot glue guns). Geek Girl did most of the painting with a little bit of help from me. I think it turned out pretty well, what do you think?

Geek Girl has been anxiously waiting for trick-or-treating all day. We had an afternoon ice skating birthday party to distract her and an early dinner. By 6 pm she was very happy when her good friend next door finished dinner and came over to start trick or treating.

Walking on liquid

2010-10-25T13:20:00.002-04:00

This past weekend was the first USA Science and Engineering Festival. How lucky are we that we can just take the metro in and "celebrate science at over 1500 fun, hands-on science and engineering activities?"

We made inheritance bracelets (Daddy Geek and Geek Girl can both taste PTC); used maggots to spread paint around and create works of art; used licorice, toothpicks, and marshmallows to model a DNA molecule; built a catapult; and had to drag Geek Girl away.

The highlight of the day was running across a non-newtonian fluid -- if you step on it slowly you'll sink, but if you run across it, you won't.

Geek Girl will demonstrate.

Scrambled States

2010-10-25T13:08:00.002-04:00

Last week was the book fair for Geek Girl's Elementary School. One of the books on her wish list was "The Scrambled States of America Talent Show" a sequel to "The Scrambled States of America." We've checked both books out the library, but she was excited to get a copy of her own. While Geek Girl was at soccer practice, I helped out at the book fair, and when I mentioned to the organizer how much Geek Girl liked the Scrambled States books, she suggested the Scrambled States game.

So on Saturday we open up the game and play. Then we decide to test how many U.S. state capitals Daddy Geek and I can remember. Back in the day, I knew all of the U.S. state capitals. I'll have you know I was on the Academic League too! However, all those old bits of trivia seem to have been replaced by new random facts, because I could only name 29 state capitals. Daddy Geek, on the other hand, remembered all of the state capitals except for Bismarck, North Dakota. Maybe that's why he can't learn new tricks?

How do you know if you're hurt?

2010-10-16T19:53:00.003-04:00

Geek Girl had her fifth soccer game today. It was a perfect day for soccer -- cool and sunny. It's time to look for a long-sleeve shirt for her to wear under her uniform. For the first half of the season the parents were seeking the shade. Now we hang out in the sun.

Geek Girl has a lot of fun in practice and is learning new moves. She likes to "mark" other players on throw-ins, but she still doesn't always go after the ball like some of the other kids. Her coach has given her the assignment of practicing not to stop once she gets the ball and also to run at players with the ball.

Even though Geek Girl is pretty strong, a lot of times she acts like she is a delicate flower. We've been wondering how she would react the first time she got up close and personal with another player. Well, today she took a ball in the throat. There was a collective gasp from the sideline and then we asked her "Are you okay?" When she answered "I don't know," we knew she was okay and told her so and she continued to play. Later on she did take a pretty good tumble, but she got up and kept playing. Go Geek Girl!

Another tooth gone

2010-09-26T20:46:00.002-04:00

Geek Girl lost her eight tooth this week. The new tooth needs the other teeth to move out of the way, so she has quite a big gap in her smile.

Here she is with Daddy Geek looking over her classwork from the week.

Opera in the Outfield -- Daytime version

2010-09-25T07:34:00.004-04:00

This year's Opera in the Outfield was on Sunday, the 19th at 2 pm. That was the only time the Opera schedule overlapped with no games at the Ballpark. We knew we would have to leave early for a soccer match at 5 pm, so we planned to arrive when the Ballpark opened to snag seats and try the family activities.

It was a gorgeous day (maybe a little hot) and the Redskins were playing later, so maybe we didn't have to worry about getting there early, but it was nice to have a choice spot on the outfield (which we moved to the shade in the seats). Long Lost Cousin and family met us there and we had lunch and then went to try on some opera costumes and make some masks in honor of Verdi's "A Masked Ball."

Geek Girl decked out.

Daddy Geek and Girl Geek.

Geek Girl and friends and their creations.

I was a little worried that Geek Girl might not stay interested since A Masked Ball is more serious the Barber of Seville. However, she definitely enjoyed the opera.

Soccer Season

2010-09-25T07:25:00.002-04:00

Geek Girl has decided to try soccer this year. Last weekend she had two matches. The team consists of twelve girls. When they play another team, they get split up into two smaller teams playing the opposite team on two small fields. After two quarters, one of the teams changes fields and they play two more quarters against the other half of the team.

Here she is in uniform with her ball.

And here are some action shots.

This afternoon's game is during the neighborhood block party. Also, at least four girls will be missing, so there definitely won't be any subs. When asked how she likes soccer, Geek Girl replies "I get hot and tired." Hopefully this afternoon won't be too bad...

First Day of Second Grade

2010-09-10T19:47:00.005-04:00

Geek Girl started second grade at a new school this week. The school was new to all of the second graders, because all the kindergartners and first graders go to one school, and the second, third, and fourth graders go to another school. In the apartment we were out of the walking perimeter and Girl Geek could have taken the bus or walked. Now, we are 0.3 miles away from the school and the bus is not an option. Which is fine with us, since Geek Girl used to suffer from motion sickness on the bus ride to school.

Daddy Geek and Girl Geek at the corner. Daddy Geek would have loved to walked Geek Girl to school on her first day, but he had jury duty.

Geek Girl with her bag of school supplies almost at the school.

Geek Girl in her classroom.

Row, row, row your boat

2010-09-10T19:37:00.004-04:00

Last Sunday we rented a canoe from the Thompson Boat Center and cruised the Potomac. We went upstream under the Key Bridge to the Three Sisters Islands for lunch, went a little further upstream, and then furiously rowed back hoping not to get a ticket for exceeding the parking meter time. (We made it in time). Here are some pictures from the adventure.

Daddy Geek and Girl Geek with the Key Bridge behind them.

Some silly geeks.

Lunch Break.

Then we drove over to the Tidal Basin to find a shady spot to read and nap under the trees before coffee and treats on the way home. A lovely Sunday.

Last week of summer vacation

2010-09-01T07:27:00.003-04:00

We're on the final stretch of summer break. All of the outdoor pools close on Labor Day. No more sleeping in until 9 am -- we've started waking Geek Girl up at 7:15 am. Tomorrow we go meet her 2nd grade teacher.

Right now we have about a third of the local library on our bookshelves. Here's a picture of Geek Girl reading in the local cafe after a trip to the library. She's reading one of the Cornelia Funke's Ghosthunters books.

Geek Girl Projection of the Earth

2010-08-28T14:26:00.002-04:00

Geek Girl received some art supplies in the mail today and she is happily drawing.

Here is one of her creations. Keep in mind that this is a 5 in x 7 in piece of paper.

I'm pretty darn impressed. She's disappointed because she forgot Lake Michigan, but she did this all from memory!

If only there were a way...

2010-08-16T19:27:00.006-04:00

Today, I had a lovely experience on my morning commute. I decided to express my displeasure using the WMATA Metro comment system. Here was my letter:

Dear Metro folks,

I am a regular rider of the X and Y bus lines.

Today, at 7:09 AM, I used the NextBus system to check the next scheduled arrival at stops A and B, which are the two closest stops to my house. In a spirit of unrestrained optimism, I believed the NextBus system when it reported a line X bus would arrive at stop B in 9 minutes - perfect timing for my 5 minute walk there. The sheer joy of starting my week with such luck lifted my spirits more than I can tell you.

My optimism was rewarded by a glorious 25-minute wait during which NextBus cheerfully informed me the bus would be there in 5 minutes, then 3, then 2, and then 1 minute. Wonderful, except that the bus it was reporting never actually arrived. I assume the system was tracking the Lost Dutchman bus, which drives Route 29 like a spectre, never actually being seen, but still being reported.

Had I known the real timing, I could have walked (good exercise) or taken a different route, or even perhaps waited to see my daughter wake up. It is exceedingly frustrating to have a "NextBus" system that in fact does NOT report the next bus - which came on time according to schedule - but tracks an idealized version of reality.

Perhaps you could fix this. If only there were a technology available that would allow real-time positioning of moving vehicles, and if that technology were widely available, perhaps even in small hand-held devices that any consumer could purchase for under $100. What a wonderful world this would be.

Sadly yours,

Daddy Geek

I don't know...maybe some kind of global way of positioning one's vehicle...some kind of system...naah, that would never work.

Weather Report

2010-07-24T18:49:00.002-04:00

At 6:50 pm it is 95 deg F and 50% humidity -- heat index of 107 deg F!

Daddy Geek was sent on errands this morning and then we spent the late afternoon in the pool.

Did I mention the air conditioning failed yesterday? Thankfully it is working again. Because we need it.

The Importance of Diversification

2010-07-21T20:32:00.003-04:00

Scene: Geek Girl's bedroom. Evening. A game of Monopoly Jr. is underway.

Daddy Geek looks down at the distribution of $1, $2, $3, $4, and $5 bills he has. He has no $5, but lots of $2. He decides to swap 5 $2s for 2 $5s.

A Geek who shall remain nameless, um, expels gas.

Daddy Geek: [looking at bills] I think I'll diversify.

Geek Girl: Does that mean fart?

Both parents burst out laughing.

Must stop saving stuff for later

2010-07-16T09:33:00.003-04:00

I am not a hard-core hoarder, but I definitely have hoarder tendencies. Fortunately a lot of stuff has been eliminated after two international moves. We're about to move (two blocks to a rental house) and it's time to purge again. And I've discovered Swiss Easter chocolate that friends gave us when we left in April 2009.

I have a bad habit of saving toys and other stuff for a rainy day. And then the pen dries out. Or I can't find those darn growing dinosaurs that have been carefully hidden somewhere. Must stop this bad habit. And eat little chocolate chicks. Before Daddy Geek reads the blog.

Rain and Rain Forests

2010-07-10T12:00:00.006-04:00

We've been back from Puerto Rico for a week and after a week of endless heat, we were happy to wake up to some rain this morning. Why don't I show you some photos from the rain forest El Yunque?

After spending some time at the visitor's center, we drove to see some of the sights. It was warm and humid and not enough time to hike to the farther out waterfalls, but we did stop to see Coco Falls.

Here are Daddy Geek and Girl Geek.

And then Geek Girl insisted on climbing the rocks to get closer, so here they are in front of the waterfall.

That night we stayed in an ecolodge on the south side of the park. It was a long and winding road and fortunately Geek Girl was so tired from waking up early and the heat that she was asleep for most of the drive. I had trouble sleeping because of the waterfall, so in the morning, we decided we had to go see the waterfall that had kept me up all night.

Pretty plants on the walk.

A great big snail!

And the Geeks in front of the waterfall.

We saw many lizards on our trip. Geek Girl proceeded to name them.

Here's Eagle.

This is Summer.

This one is Dotty.

Bark and Branch were also named and sketched, but not photographed.

Summertime!

2010-06-23T07:38:00.002-04:00

Last week we had a couple of visitors -- One of many favorite aunts (OOMFA) and Dear Friend.

OOMFA was here on business and kindly drove up on a weeknight for a burger with Daddy Geek and ice cream with all of us. Girl Geek showed OOMFA her toys and read some new books that OOMFA gave her. It was a school night and OOMFA had to go back to work, but we had a good time catching up.

Dear Friend was here for a meeting. She had Friday night free so I picked her up and we went to the pan-Latin restaurant in town. We enjoyed saltenas, peanut soup, and arepas. The arepas were so good she couldn't decide if she wanted another arepa or the quattro leches cake for dessert. We had the cake, but the frosting was kind of weird. I picked her up after her meeting ended on Saturday and we decided to have more Bolivian food. More saltenas and peanut soup and I even got a couple of saltenas to go for Daddy Geek. (Note: I tried ordering in Spanish but kept saying bitte instead of por favor. Agggghh!)

We ran into Daddy Geek and Girl Geek when we got back to the apartment. They were on their way to the library and to get a summer hair cut for Girl Geek. We wanted to go to the baseball game and Girl Geek was also keen to go. However, Daddy Geek wisely realized that a 4 pm game on a hot day was not a good idea and only Dear Friend and I went. Our seats were in the blistering sun, and after three innings of trying not to get burnt by the plastic seats and sweat dripping down our legs we decided to try to find a better place to watch the game. We ended up standing at the back of one of the field-level sections on the first base line. The Nationals pitcher held the White Sox to only one run, but the Nationals hitters were held scoreless. After the game we met Daddy Geek and Girl Geek in Clarendon for dinner.

The next day, after I took Dear Friend to the airport, Girl Geek gave Daddy Geek his Father's Day presents -- a book she had made in school, the pinch pot she made in art class, homemade card, and more. Daddy Geek packed for his trip to L.A. and then took Girl Geek to the pool for some fun. Then we took him to the airport.

Now it's summer break and you'd think we'd be having slow, relaxing days. However, I scheduled dental and eye appointments for this week and we have to run around collecting supplies for our vacation in Puerto Rico next week. As long as I don't plan too many errands on each day, Girl Geek has been reasonably cooperative. We've been ending the days with evenings in the pool before dinner and bedtime.

Ne-va-da, Ne-vah-da

2010-06-07T16:39:00.003-04:00

Aggggh. Our West Coast kid is getting corrupted by these East Coast types. And now I can't remember if it's Ne-va-da (va rhymes with bad) or Ne-vah-da (vah like father).

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-04T14:35:00.003-04:00

We had a fun and busy Memorial Day Weekend. Saturday morning, Daddy Geek went for a long bike ride -- the Arlington Loop. You can click to see a map of the ride and keep in mind that he had to ride from our apartment to the loop. We did a little shopping in the afternoon and then we met our dear friends in Arlington for dinner. They've moved to Paris so we're sad that they're no longer here, but we look forward to visiting them!

On Sunday we knew that if we wanted to do something outdoors we should go before it got too hot. Both Daddy Geek and I had noticed on separate bike rides that there were nice walking paths by Four Mile Run (ie the creek). We parked in Bluemont Park and followed the creek down through Glencarlyn Park. We found a frisbee golf course, stopped at a playground and watched happy dogs playing in the creek. The bike path is in the sun, but there was a parallel shady walking path.

After lunch it was time to get down to business. The pool had opened the day before and we needed to check it out.

Here are Daddy Geek and Geek Girl ready for the pool.

Last Spring was unusually cold and I don't even remember the pool being very warm until July. However, this year's warm Spring resulted in a very comfortable pool.

On Monday it was time to go to the Memorial Day Festival and Parade. Well, maybe go to the parade. Last year it was too hot to stay for the parade and we had a feeling it would be that way this year too.

Geek Girl wanted to get her face painted. If you didn't know, she is currently a dragon, so here she is with a dragon painted on her face. Notice the horns and the fire breath.

And here she is on the pony ride.

Unfortunately, we forgot that you can't go on the inflatables with face paint on and so Geek Girl chose to wash off the face paint. She attempted to climb the mountain, but it was too hot in bare feet so Daddy Geek went home to get socks while we waited in line for the Obstacle Course. Unfortunately the inflatables were just too hot, so we need to remember that you need to go on the bouncy things while they're still cool.

Daddy Geek returned with the socks and Geek Girl scaled the mountain.

(Note: we have video but isn't loading so if we can get it to load we'll put it in another post.)

It was hot and we decided to head home. However, Geek Girl wanted a bubble drink. However, I made the mistake of not realizing that the drink would have both mango juice and tea and Geek Girl did not like the tea at all. By this time many of us were getting cranky, so we decided to stay and get some lunch and listen to the concert band play. The parade was only an hour away, but we decided to go home and spend more time in the pool.

The Eagle and Pigeon

2010-05-23T09:56:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, Geek Girl and I went to the library and checked out some books. One of the books was called The Old Woman and the Eagle by Idries Shah.

Description of book by Geek Girl:

"There was an old woman who never saw an eagle. An eagle was flying by and took a rest in front of the old woman's house. The old woman thought it was a pigeon because even though she had never seen an eagle she had seen lots of pigeons. So she took the eagle inside and she trimmed its claws, and she straightened its beak, and she brushed the tuft of feathers down. Then when she let it go the eagle sat on a branch wondering what to do. Then another eagle came and brushed its feathers back to a tuft and curved its beak and told it its claws would grow back soon. The two friends flew to their nests and never went near that silly old woman again."

Here are some drawings inspired by the book.

"Four pigeons are having fun."

"Two eagles saw the pigeons and decided to make the pigeons look more like eagles. The box holds the stuff they need."

Sunday Stroll: One Dog, 13 Ducks, and a Ham

2010-05-16T19:28:00.014-04:00

Today, we took advantage of a lovely spring Sunday to wander around the National Mall and enjoy the sights. First, we had a picnic lunch along the Ellipse just south of the White House, enjoying the view of the futbol players and the Washington Monument. Then we had a leisurely stroll to view the south side of the White House and glimpsed a member of the First Family playing with Bo on the South Lawn before we, and all our fellow gawkers, were shooed away by the Secret Service.

Next, the Mall proper, starting at the Washington Monument and heading toward Capitol Hill. We kept being passed by tons of folks leaving the 2010 commencement ceremony for George Washington University - where the speaker was the First Lady. (We never saw or heard her.) Our second, very distant brush with the First Family today...

Afterward, we visited the Sculpture Garden for the National Gallery of Art (Geek Girl loves House 1 by Roy Lichtenstein) and watched lots of happy grads taking pictures there and on the steps of the various museums.

Eventually, we ended up at the Capitol Reflecting Pool, where we had some unexpected sights. First, we came across a mother duck (let's call her Suspicious Duck) with four juvenile ducks. Suspicious Duck was quite vigilant for people - any time someone came a bit too close, she craned her neck, started quacking in a low growl (if you can imagine such a thing), and spread out her feathers. Here is a distant shot:

What are you lookin' at?

Geek Girl wanted to sketch Suspicious Duck and her young ducks, so we walked around the pool to sit in the shade of a big tree. While we were sitting there, she drew quite a nice picture and Mama Geek and I chatted. We were pretty oblivious, but eventually we realized that a crowd had gathered, so we looked around and down. Here's what we saw:

That's Trusting Duck with her seven baby ducklings! She was quacking quietly and they were quacking back - almost cheeps. Really cute, and quite literally within my arm's reach as we sat together.

Trusting Duck wanted to take her babies to swim in the Reflecting Pool, so first, she had to get them off the planter and down onto the ground about two feet below. Here's what that looked like:

Ready...

Set...

Go!

All seven ducklings made the big hop and followed Trusting Duck around the edge of the pool. She kept quacking to guide them, and they very politely waddled along behind her. (How does she get them to do that? Never works for us...) Soon, it became apparent that Trusting Duck didn't really know how she was going to get her babies over the decorative edge into the pool, as it is about two feet high, and the babies were definitely having trouble getting that high with their stubby wings. In the end, Trusting Duck and her babies got a helping hand, or four, from me and two of the other bystanders - we each lifted some very soft, fuzzy duckies onto the lip and they slid on down into the water. Yes, Nai Nai, the hat you gave me does double duty as a duck carrier.

Here is a video of Trusting Duck and her babies swimming around in the Reflecting Pool:

It was time to start heading home, so we wandered past the Air and Space Museum to take in the planet walk along the sidewalk. Geek Girl was fascinated and read every sign in detail, and we talked about some fun facts for each planet, like the fact that a Venusian day is longer than a Venusian year and that the tilt of Uranus' axis of rotation is 82 degrees with respect to the plane of the ecliptic (this involved a pen and some twirling).

Between Uranus and Neptune, we stopped off to see some of Geek Girl's favorite art at the Hirshorn Gallery:

Pluto comes at the Smithsonian Castle, which meant we saw the lovely rose garden - and our Ham in Chief wearing The Giraffe Hat Nai-Nai Sent:

We walked on back to the car, stopping along the way for a snack while watching people play kickball at the Washington Monument and then to toss a certain rubber duck around like a baseball (it's a therapy thing). A yummy zvieri with good coffee and yesterday's dessert leftovers, a really yummy dinner made by Mama Geek, and time for this post.

The postscript: I have just been informed that I am #3 on The Official Geek Girl List of The Best Things in the World, behind drawing and reading ("Because you're sooooo funny, Daddy!"). Mama Geek is none too pleased with being #4. If Geek Girl knows what's good for her, she'll bump Mama Geek up to a tie for third. One thing's for sure, Mama Geek and I will never take the top spot.

Dress Twirling

2010-05-13T07:01:00.003-04:00

New Dress. Yes, she always wears mismatched socks.

And it's fun to twirl!

Windy Mother's Day weekend

2010-05-10T14:38:00.002-04:00

After a very hot week, it was nice to have a cold front cool things off. However, there was also a lot of wind. On Saturday, we had planned to go to a state park with Long Lost Cousin and family, but when we talked in the morning, we realized that might not be the best plan. So we met them at their place and then went to a local park to play, then an Indian Buffet for lunch, and then some more playtime while Daddy Geek helped build some tree supports.

On Mother's Day I received lovely gifts that Geek Girl had made in school. A card, a paper flower, and a book. We had our usual Sunday pancakes and I went to the store while Daddy Geek helped Geek girl finish her homework (my choice to shop rather than supervise homework). After lunch we decided to go for a hike on part of the Fairfax County Connector Trail. We had a nice leisurely stroll along Dangerous Run (a run is a stream) through a heavily forested trail.

Daddy Geek and Girl Geek went to get some Peruvian rotisserie chicken and sides for dinner (yuca is yummy) and we were good to go.

Sleeping Child

2010-05-10T14:33:00.002-04:00

Daddy Geek was in San Diego last week, so Geek Girl slept with me. It's a good thing he's not traveling as often, because she hogs the bed and has very sharp elbows and ankles. However, when she's hogging our bed, the light is good to photograph our sleeping child.

See her little fist? Not much has changed...

I just can't resist posting baby pictures of Geek Girl.

Up close with Albert

2010-05-10T14:23:00.003-04:00

The weather for the first weekend of May was predicted to be hot and humid, so we knew if we were to enjoy the outdoors it would have to be early on Saturday.

We put the bikes on the bike rack (thanks both sets of grandparents for the REI giftcards) and headed down to Gravelly Point, just north of National Airport. We got on the Mount Vernon trail and headed north, then crossed the Potomac River on the Memorial Bridge, and then south towards East Potomac Park. Girl Geek started complaining about her legs being tired, until she saw a playground and explained that her legs were tired of pedaling, but not too tired for playing. So we stopped at the playground near Hains Point where the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers meet. Then we circled back north and did a loop of the mall. Geek Girl really wanted to go into a museum, so we popped into the Natural History museum (and got her out again by promising to return soon). On our way back, we decided to stop at the Academy of Sciences to visit this guy.

Geek Girl tried climbing to the top of his head, but got stuck at his shoulder.

The ride was about a 14 - 15 miles and once again, Geek Girl did a great job.

Sugarloaf Mountain pictures

2010-05-10T14:18:00.004-04:00

A couple weeks late, but better late than never.

Geek Girl at the top of a mini mountain. If she climbs something, I have to climb it too. (grumble, grumble).

A cold family portrait.

Carnivorous pitcher plants in the wild.

Thanks for the kiss, Geek Girl.

She should actually be kissing Daddy Geek -- he carried her down a very steep and sandy path after this shot was taken.

A little bit of everything weekend

2010-04-20T13:00:00.002-04:00

We had a fun and busy weekend.

Saturday ended up being warmer than predicted. Girl Geek had a theater class and Daddy Geek inlined-skated 5+ miles to meet us (after getting a little lost). Then we had pupusas for lunch and played at a fun playground.

Sunday we decided to go to Sugarloaf mountain for a hike. Pictures won't load right now, but when they will, I'll display them in a separate post. Once again, Girl Geek was an awesome hiker on the 5 mile loop, plus the ascent and descent of the peak at the end. We were a little cold because the clouds never went away, but it was a pretty hike.

Spring "snow"

2010-04-17T08:59:00.002-04:00

Yesterday afternoon Geek Girl and I looked out the window and saw "snow". The snow consisted of petals and seed pods. We then had fun going on the balcony and tossing the seed pods off and watching them spin their way to the ground. This morning we found more seed pods, so Geek Girl is out there now in her PJs tossing them.

Last Saturday we went on a nice bike ride (13 miles round trip) on the W & OD trail to Vienna to try a new custard shop. Geek Girl is learning to not lean too much on the trail-a-bike. According to Geek Girl we need to get Daddy Geek earplugs so she can hum while they ride (it keeps her from getting bored).

Awesome hiker

2010-04-09T14:34:00.004-04:00

The Saturday before Easter was the community Easter Egg Hunt. This was Geek Girl's first public egg hunt and unfortunately it didn't go as well as she had hoped. She was grouped with the 7 - 11 year olds. The eggs were distributed in the woods and we couldn't tell how far back they went. Both Daddy Geek and I advised her to run as far as she could and then start picking the eggs up. However, she just wasn't fast enough and the bigger kids were scooping them up faster than she was. She was quite sad that the other kids "weren't sharing the eggs". Fortunately our apartment building also had an Easter Egg hunt and she was a little more successful in that one.

That afternoon Daddy Geek and Girl Geek went for a long hike from Difficult Run to Great Falls National Park and back. She is such a good trooper. Daddy Geek estimates it was about 6.5 to 7 miles and it took them about four hours. Great job Girl Geek!

Here are some pictures from their hike.

Girl Geek by the river.

Some pretty bluebells.

Remember when we went on the Billy Goat Trail and there was that face we climbed up? Here it is from the other side of the river. Doesn't look so steep from here.

Daddy Geek and Girl Geek. (Note his Swiss manpris.)

Geek Girl slept very well that night.

Atlantic Ocean!

2010-04-09T14:17:00.003-04:00

Last Friday we decided to go see the Atlantic Ocean. After a 3+ hour drive, we arrived in Ocean City, Maryland. Metro DC was quite warm, but it was still cool at the coast.

Geek Girl was thrilled to play in the sand.

And dip her toes in the ocean. (It was cold.)

We were even able to convince her stop and pose prettily for a picture.

Daddy Geek and I each went for a long walk (separately). It was quite strange for me to have the ocean be to the east, but I'll just have to get used to it.

When Girl Geek got cold, she and Daddy Geek cuddled and read Dragon Rider. Even though we were all cold, we still stopped for ice cream on the boardwalk before starting the long drive home. The next time we go to the beach it should be warmer and we'll spend the night and have two days to play in the sand and water. There are lots of new beach towns for us to explore.

On the drive home, we discovered that Girl Geek likes to rock out. She's not very patient with NPR/news stations, but she's usually pretty happy with jazz or classical. However, while scanning the radio stations, it's apparent that she likes everything from pop to country to classic rock. It was entertaining to see her in the back seat playing her air guitar, air drums, and air maracas.

edited to add: oops I signed in as Daddy Geek...

Cherry Blossoms!

2010-04-09T14:03:00.003-04:00

Last Thursday we picked Daddy Geek up from work and went to the Tidal Basin to see the blooming cherry trees. The combination of cherry blossoms and Spring Break meant that there were tourists everywhere. We did manage to find a place to park, but I think it's time to start taking the Metro to get downtown.

The blooming cherry trees are quite a sight.

Come see them next year!

Some familial visits

2010-03-30T19:49:00.003-04:00

Last night we had dinner with Daddy Geek's aunt and uncle who happened to be on the East Coast for a conference and business meeting. They came over to our place and were introduced to Geek Girl's menagerie of stuffed animals and then we walked over to the local seafood place for dinner. We walked to the local ice cream place for dessert, but it was closed. It was a cool and misty night, but still nice enough to be out and about walking.

Today Long Lost Cousin and her daughters came over. Geek Girl has been wanting to try painting with Jello and I thought that was a good activity to do with more than one child. We also dyed Easter Eggs and played. And we received our delivery of Girl Scout Cookies. East Coast Do-si-dos are darker than I remember.

Springtime!

2010-03-20T13:23:00.002-04:00

It's the first day of spring and we are having a glorious day. Yes, we have neglected the blog with the snowstorms, grandparent visit, and achievement of seven years by Geek Girl. But we saw our first daffodils today and enjoyed the lovely 70+ deg F sunshine with a bike ride. Cherry blossoms are expected soon!

Chinese New Year Valentine's weekend

2010-02-19T08:49:00.002-05:00

No pictures from the past weekend, but we were busy having fun. On Saturday we went to long lost cousin's house to make dumplings and eat hot pot. On Sunday we went to the Kennedy Center to see Peter and the Wolf. Girl Geek enjoyed laughing at the antics of the mimes and the musicians.

I have created a monster

2010-02-13T07:49:00.002-05:00

Anyone in the US who has watched the news recently knows that the Washington DC region has been slammed with historic snows this week. Anyone who has a young child knows that being stuck inside for most of a week leads to Child Bouncing off the Walls Syndrome. Anyone who knows Geek Girl knows that she loves to read, but even she gets tired of reading the same books over and over again for a week.

We had a brief respite from the storms late Tuesday afternoon, and we decided to take advantage of it. Geek Girl and I walked to the library in town and picked up a bunch of books. I suggested to Geek Girl that she might like to try reading some mystery books since she likes figuring things out. Sighing commences, along with the other signs Geek Girl gives off when she's thinking "What-ever, Daddy, you're such a dork."

With a bit of help from the friendly librarian, we picked out a copy of Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Sleeping Dog. I should have had some warning of what was to come when she immediately tried to figure out why a sleeping dog should be mysterious: "Daddy, dogs sleep a lot anyway, so what's the big deal? I know, maybe the dog has been sleeping for a long time, and Encyclopedia Brown has to figure out why. Or maybe..." We stopped off for hot drinks and a discussion of what the mystery could be before heading to the local hardware store for a sled and then walking home through the first stages of another snowstorm.

Well, folks, I have created a monster: Geek Girl is hooked. The first night, we read and tried to solve four mysteries together; the next day, we had to read and solve four more. She has since finished that book by herself. Yesterday, Mama Geek and Geek Girl went to the library and picked up four more Encyclopedia Brown books - and Geek Girl has devoured three of them already. "I like them so much I can't wait!"

Last night, she told us that the next book she writes and illustrates will be "about an animal detective that solves mysteries for its friends". She drew sketches of the cover of this new book, featuring Detective Hoppy the Rabbit, whose nemesis (all good detectives need one, apparently) will be a tiger.

I've created a monster, but a good one.

Another storm, another snow day...

2010-02-09T19:20:00.003-05:00

The latest storm has started. No school tomorrow. I'm actually not sure there will be school at all this week. We haven't been near any of the schools so we don't know if they've been dug out. Our street is passable, but no one has dug a path from the sidewalk to the curb for kids to board the bus.

We're not sure how the school district will make up for the snow days. They could add days to the end of the school year, extend the school day, or eliminate the once a week early dismissal. I guess they need to figure out how many days will need to be made up. And it's only February, but sign-ups for summer camps have already started. I guess we need to figure out our summer plans.

Good news -- Daddy Geek and Girl Geek went to the library for more books and the hardware store for a sled. Now we can go hunting for some good sledding hills.

Note: Geek Girl read to herself for over four hours today! Now she's reading Encyclopedia Brown with Daddy Geek and enjoying solving mysteries.

Whooooosh!

2010-02-07T17:05:00.003-05:00

The Gorillapod is very useful for taking pictures out in the field. However, it can't prevent nature from disturbing your picture.

Okay. This is better.

Our street is light commercial, so it has been pretty well plowed. However, we saw one residential side street that wasn't going to see a plow until Wednesday. I guess this was a good winter to live in an apartment building with a garage.

The Trumpet of the Swan

2010-02-07T12:52:00.003-05:00

We got Geek Girl three E.B. White books for Christmas. She finished Charlotte's Web in two days. Stuart Little in about two hours. And recently she just finished The Trumpet of the Swan.

And here's her artistic interpretation. Did you know dry erase markers also work on glass?

New Toy

2010-02-07T12:11:00.003-05:00

Daddy Geek was excited to find a Gorillapod in his Christmas Stocking.

When he pulled it out of his stocking he asked Geek Girl if she knew what it was. Her reply? "Something for you to whack me on the head with." We're still laughing. And no, he does not whack her with the Gorillapod (or anything else).

The Gorillapod was very useful for documenting our Christmas Day walk around Roosevelt Island. No more precarious balancing of the camera on random objects.

Waiting out the storm

2010-02-07T12:00:00.004-05:00

The North American blizzard of 2010 has come and gone. Other popular names were Snowmageddon, Snowzilla, and SnOMG. Geek Girl went to school at the normal time on Friday. Small flakes started falling around 10 am. Geek Girl was sent home early on Friday. And then the flakes started sticking. Daddy Geek was also sent home early.

Saturday morning we woke up to about 20 inches of snow. Daddy Geek and Girl Geek went for a walk. Here they are waving to me from outside the building.

And here are some souvenir icicles they brought home for me.

School has already been canceled for Monday, so this means Geek Girl will have to go to school on Presidents' Day. Daddy Geek will have to work tomorrow, the question is whether it will be at the office or home.

U.S. Capitol Field Trip

2010-01-26T14:20:00.002-05:00

Today was the 1st grade field trip to the U.S. Capitol. I was in charge of two boys and two girls. But of course one girl wanted to hang out with the girls in another group and one boy wanted to hang out with a boy in another group and then Geek Girl and her friend were mostly well-behaved when they weren't being crazy.

And now I'm enjoying some quiet time after the craziness of constantly counting four kids and herding them and their friends in the correct direction. I really think teachers are underpaid.

We weren't able to see either of the Congressional chambers, but the officer on duty showed us the Will Rogers statue facing the floor entrance of the House of Representatives Chambers. Apparently each president rubs the left shoe for good luck on the way to giving the State of the Union address.

Weather Report

2010-01-25T11:22:00.003-05:00

First there was the December snowstorm. Then weeks of bitter cold. Then a little bit of a thaw. Today we are at 61 deg F! It's also windy and rainy so it's not exactly balmy but quite a change from the colder weather earlier this month. I don't think this weather will last very long. We're supposed to be back in the lower 40s tomorrow and the rest of the week.

Temporal Pedantry

2010-01-02T19:08:00.004-05:00

Welcome to 2010 and the first 2.5 Geeks post of the new year.

Pedantry time on two recent temporal topics.

The Silly Media Debate Point of the Week (TM)

"Is 2010 the first year of the new decade?"

In short, it's rather pointless to argue about this question -- the answer is obviously both yes and no. For the longer version, I offer the following thoughts.

(Now, I am going to assume here that we're discussing the Gregorian Calendar here, not the Chinese, Hebrew, Islamic, Julian, Mayan, or other calendars.)

Yes! 1 January 2010 (2010-01-01) was the first day of the current decade. Every year is the first year of some decade -- a decade is, after all, just a period of 10 years. And 1 January is the first day of the decade that starts with 2010.

No! 2010 is the last year of the decade that began on the first day of the Third Millennium CE, which was 1 January 2001. That decade runs until 31 Dec 2010. (Please don't try to argue that the Third Millennium CE began at the midnight between 31 Dec 1999 and 1 Jan 2000; if you think that, you're simply and indisputably wrong. Hint: there was no "year zero". However, that doesn't mean that the Great Rollover of the Temporal Odometer wasn't a great time to have a really really big party.)

Yes! 2010 is not the last year of the "aughties" (or whatever silly name you like for the period that started with the Great Rollover of the Temporal Odometer). That decade ran from 1 Jan 2000 to 31 Dec 2009. So 2010 is the first year of that new decade. What shall we call that one?

It's rather pointless - but then that's why the media likes debating it so much.

Happy Palindrome Day (Kinda Sorta)

Folks have pointed out that today's date - 2 January 2010 - is a palindrome. Well, that depends...

Today's date is a palindrome if you accept the ISO 8601 international date standard:

20100102

It is also a palindrome if you accept the U.S. date standard and don't mind the extra slashes:

01/02/2010

However, today's date is not a palindrome if you accept a widely used format in Europe:

02.01.2010

But I would like to note that if you accept that date format, February 1 will be a palindrome. (Of course, that isn't an official date standard even in Europe -- the EU has officially adopted ISO 8601 -- but it's very common.)

I mentioned this second issue to Mama Geek, and noted it wasn't totally correct to call it a palindrome despite several folks I had seen doing it online. I then noted that I was posting this and tweeting it. She said, "You have nothing better to do than correct people you don't know on the Internet about date formats?" I triumphantly pulled out this gem from xkcd. I can only describe her look as exasperated pity. Ah, dear, what would I do without you?

And yes, I am a Geek.

Daddy/Daughter Weekend Day 2

2009-12-27T23:44:00.003-05:00

Sometimes, I get lucky and things come together by random chance and good moods. This was one of those lucky days.

Today was clear, crisp, and sunny: a perfect outside day. After breakfast - spent sitting at the table reading the Sunday Washington Post (with Geek Girl reading the kid's pages and stealing the comics from me when I wasn't looking) - Geek Girl and I decided to go to the National Zoo to introduce Wholegrain The New Kitty Santa Brought to Tai Shan and the tigers. We walked to the Metro to maximize sun time and chatted the whole way. Much of the walk was taken up with a very complex story involving the Animal Agents (superhero animals that save the day in myriad ways) that I won't try to repeat here.

Geek Girl kept wanting to know how many "points" she was earning -- she gets 100 points for every mile she walks, and the points are redeemable for whatever treats Mama Geek and I deem appropriate. She sometimes plays along with this, but often you can detect the eye rolling already underway. Today, she played along.

Geek Girl Magic Moment #1: "Daddy, I'm glad Mama and [Auntie Geek] are having fun. Mama takes care of me a lot. You don't get to take care of me very often because you have to work. We should have more days like today."

Once at the zoo, we walked through the Asia Trail, stopping along the way to see the fishing cats and watch the otters wrestle. Geek Girl read and asked about all the interpretive signs, and eventually we reached Tai Shan the panda, who was lunching on bamboo and soaking up the sun. Geek Girl "gave him a letter saying Happy New Year" (I just repeat it; I don't explain it) and then announced it was lunchtime. After a quick stop, we headed on down the hill, stopping in the Small Mammals building and the Reptiles building and for extended visits to the elephants, tigers, and lions.

Geek Girl Magic Moment #2 was the extended joyous amazement I felt while watching the flashbulbs of learning going off in her mind as Geek Girl alternated between intense reading of the interpretive signs and questions to me about various aspects of what she was seeing. "Daddy, what would you do if there was an elephant soooo big it could jump over the railing and walk around? Or soooo small it could duck under the electric fence and walk around?" "Daddy, what does 'om-ni-vor-ous' mean?" "Daddy, I learned that a woman's ov-i-duc-ts and a lizard's don't go to the same place. And *you* don't have o-vi-duc-ts! And what is a u-ter-us anyway?" (This exchange was particularly funny as there was a grandmotherly lady standing there reading the same sign and trying not to laugh, especially about me being informed I lack Fallopian tubes.) "Wow, that tiger sure looks hungry. I hope it doesn't swim across the moat and climb up here. You know, tigers are really good swimmers, Daddy." "Daddy, what would you do if the tiger came to get us? I think I'd have to fight it. I'm a Super Dragon, you know." "Daddy, that donkey was sooooo soft and fuzzy!" At one point, a random dad we had repeatedly run into said, "Wow, that sure is a little girl with one big personality!" That about sums it up.

We left the zoo only because it was closing and only after promises to return soon to see all the other stuff we didn't see, and walked up the hill into Adams Morgan where we found a small playground for Geek Girl to enjoy as the sun set. Next stop: coffee (for me), hot chocolate (her), and small snacks (both of us) while we warmed up, and then a walk to the Dupont Circle metro.

As we left the coffee place: "Daddy, tell me another Little People story! It's been sooooo long since you told me one." [For those who don't know: the Little People are really small people who live in our apartment and go on adventures around it, experiencing everyday objects as huge mountains, lakes, vines, fields, etc. Each story has a mystery Geek Girl has to solve, like the time the Little People visited the Cave Monster (my tongue as I snored with my mouth open) under Two-Cave Mountain (my big schnoz). The Little People first appeared when Geek Girl was freaked out about a small boogie boarding accident and I needed to calm her down by giving her a puzzle to solve. They've been a hit ever since. Desperate fathers take note: some spur-of-the-moment things are winners, but be prepared for them to last.] This time, the Little People went on a three-day journey from Geek Girl's bedroom, through her bathroom, and to the bananas on our counter for the Festival of the Yellow Tubes. This story carried us all the way back to East Falls Church, and then we walked home with Geek Girl talking about the different types of dragons and various other Animal Agents.

We stopped off for dinner at a local place where Geek Girl Magic Moment #3 happened: spontaneous consumption of vegetable matter. In mid-sentence, she looked down at her plate and said with immense seriousness: "I'm going to eat one of those carrots. Super Dragons don't usually eat carrots, 'cause we're predators, but I'm going to eat you, Mr. Carrot." And she did. I asked her to eat another one, and this time the response was: "Super Dragons don't usually eat carrots, but sometimes they will if their Daddies tell them to." "Good, sweetie, now finish that one, please."

We rounded out the day with a game of Monopoly, Jr. and a book before Geek Girl headed to bed. She fell asleep almost instantly and is now happily snoring away, which is hardly surprising when you consider that she earned about 600 points today and probably asked just as many questions along the way.

Daddy/Daughter Weekend Day 1

2009-12-27T22:39:00.004-05:00

Auntie Geek is visiting us for a couple of weeks, and she and Mama Geek are off on a sister's trip to New York this weekend. That means Geek Girl and I are on our own for a Daddy/Daughter Weekend. I've really been looking forward to it, and I didn't realize how much Geek Girl has as well.

Yesterday was grey and damp, but above freezing for the first time in a while. Geek Girl and I drove Mama Geek and Auntie Geek to their bus for New York, and then headed into DC to pass a drizzly day. First stop: the National Building Museum, which we had heard was full of fun things for kids and certainly was full of families when we visited. Unfortunately, Geek Girl was bored by the activities, which were aimed at younger kids or kids more interested in buildings and architecture, so after about an hour, we headed off the National Museum of the American Indian, where Mama Geek and Auntie Geek lunched the other day; they highly recommended it.

Geek Girl Magic Moment #1 came on the way into the museum, when she spontaneously grabbed my hand and informed me very seriously of the top five things I do that show her that I love her, including this gem: "You take me to museums and explain things to me, even when I ask a lot of questions." (Have we ever mentioned she's inquisitive? An hourlong visit to a museum can easily involve a dozen or more "Daddy, why...?/Well, sweetie,..." exchanges.)

Geek Girl enjoyed her chicken fingers while I ate venison with greens and cornbread (yum!), and afterward, Geek Girl led us on a tour of one of the galleries. She was interested in the different interpretations of the universe that were held by the different cultures, and especially in the loop of videos showing traditional stories on stars and constellations. We also enjoyed some music and a little talking time before deciding to head home via Dairy Godmother in Alexandria (highly recommended). We had a low-key dinner and read books together before bedtime.

Geek Girl Magic Moment #2 came when she cuddled up with me on the couch, put her head on my shoulder, and said very seriously: "Daddy, I really love it when you read me bedtime books even when you're tired." A very nice way to end the day.

Waiting for relief

2009-12-20T16:28:00.002-05:00

Actually, it's not that bad. Now last night, when Girl Geek was literally bouncing off the walls and saying "I'm not tired, I'm not tired", that's when I needed relief. But the end is in sight I hope.

Daddy Geek and Auntie Geek have both landed. Daddy Geek is at Dulles waiting for his big suitcase. Normally he avoids checking a bag, but since I insisted he be a gift courier, he brought the big suitcase. Auntie Geek is at National waiting for a taxi. Since the airport metro station is closed, the demand for taxis is a little higher than normal.

Girl Geek is in the bathtub, warming up after playing in the snow. After writing messages in the snow (with her gloves) and making a couple of snow angels, we ended up at a nearby parking lot. We built a volanco and some dinosaur nests. It was just like playing with sand, except that it was cold and wet. When we wandered over to the basketball court we found that someone else had built an igloo.

School has been cancelled for tomorrow, but we don't know if Daddy Geek will be going in or not.

Snow & Cookies

2009-12-19T17:06:00.003-05:00

Daddy Geek left on Saturday morning and Sunday morning Geek Girl and I woke up with colds. Geek Girl has been well enough to go to school and I've been suffering from sinus congestion, but we're okay. Auntie Geek was supposed to arrive in the wee hours of this morning, but there's this little snowstorm here that has canceled flights and things.

They joke around here is that anytime snow is predicted there is a run on bread, milk, and toilet paper at the grocery store. I was at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's yesterday morning and it wasn't too bad, but I'm sure it got worse as the day went on. I was stocking up on yummy things to eat with Auntie Geek (oh well) and baking supplies.

So, Geek Girl and I have been doing some Christmas baking. Check out these cute reindeer cookies.

Geek Girl wanted me to say that the cookies look yummy.

I'm trying to take it easy and being very careful to wash my hands frequently and not cough in the direction of the dough and baked products.

Here are some pictures of the snow on our balcony. Daddy Geek told me I should take Girl Geek out and I'll probably regret not doing so due to hyperactivity, but I don't feel like dealing with sopping wet child by myself.

An appropriate saying on our balcony door.

And a shot of the door from the floor.

Depending on how quickly the school bus routes get dug out there may or may not be school on Monday. And who has school the week of Christmas anyways? Virginia does because they don't start until after Labor Day.

Daddy Geek and Auntie Geek are both scheduled to arrive tomorrow afternoon (at different airports). Daddy Geek was planning to taxi home anyways. I'd like to pick up Auntie Geek, but I'm not sure if I should really be out on the roads. Right now the above ground metro stations are closed, including the one at National Airport, but hopefully it will be open tomorrow.

Checkers

2009-12-17T20:03:00.002-05:00

Geek Girl and I have a cold this week and since we were out yesterday, we ended up at Wendy's for dinner. Geek Girl's toy was a travel checkers set. I've been too tired to play her, but she's been willing to play her right hand "Rightie" against her left hand "Leftie". Last night Rightie won, and today Leftie won (or the other way around). It's kind of cool that she's patient enough to finish a checkers game now.

Our little tree

2009-12-12T09:59:00.002-05:00

It's been a busy week with classes, playdates, dinners, and a birthday party. So busy we kind of forgot to bathe Geek Girl. Oops.

Anyways, somewhere in there we found time to set up the tree. Our challenge? How to get a Christmas tree home in a two-door car? Solution: small tree on top of the TV stand. (We don't have a TV anyways).

Here's our cute little tree (and of course cute Geek Girl).

This morning Daddy Geek was going to take a taxi for his annual trip to his San Francisco conference. However, the taxi arrived earlier than scheduled and then took off because Daddy Geek was busy getting ready rather than answering his mobile phone. Fortunately I was up, so I woke Geek Girl up and we drove Daddy Geek to the airport and watched the sun rise on our way home.

So now Geek Girl and I are on our own for over a week. But Auntie Geek will be here in a week!

Cool Field Trip

2009-12-07T16:37:00.003-05:00

Geek Girl came home today with a permission slip for a field trip in January. Her class is just going on a field trip to The Capitol. How cool is that? Hmmmm... maybe I need to email the lead room parent to see if they need any more chaperones... Or Auntie Geek and I will have to go by ourselves while she's here.

Edited to add: Woohoo! I am officially a chaperone for the field trip.

Here comes the snow...

2009-12-07T14:06:00.006-05:00

This weekend the area had its first snow. Saturday morning started with rain which turned into snow. Here is the snow curl that formed on our balcony.

And here is the view of the neighboring area from our balcony.

Saturday night we had our first raclette of the season and unfortunately the snow kept away some of our guests, but we still had fun. Hmmmmmm... raclette.

On Sunday morning there was blue sky, so we headed to the C&O canal to go for a snow walk.

Geek Girl had fun making fox prints with her new snow boots. Thanks Nai Nai!

And Daddy Geek and Geek Girl made me a snowheart.

We also ran into a bunch of feeding ducks. One of them was not like the others. This guy had a blue beak. Daddy Geek tells me it's a pintail duck.

And the male mallards had the brightest green we've ever seen on ducks.

However, it was starting to get colder and some of us were getting hungry, so it was time to turn around and head back to the car.

Note: edited to fix type and add pintail duck

Art on the Walls

2009-12-03T11:31:00.004-05:00

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. For Turkey Day itself, we went over to my cousin's for the main meal and it was great fun for Geek Girl to play with the girls and neighbor boy and we had fun meeting cousin's friends.

On Friday, we sent Geek Girl to art camp. She likes art, we would have six hours without her, what can go wrong? Well, someone forgot to open up the community center on time, but we were able to clean out the front room and she created three works of art.

And so finally, after living here almost eight months, we finally have art on the walls. Here is Geek Girl's latest creation. A Sophie Harding inspired giraffe.

And Ansel Adams flanked by a couple of Uncle K prints.

On Sunday, Geek Girl woke up early and it was a clear day so we decided to head down to the Mall and go up the Washington Monument. Daddy Geek dropped me off at 8:30 am and the earliest we could get tickets was for 11:30 am. So we headed down to Gravelly Point to watch planes land. Hopefully Daddy Geek will post the video soon.

We also had the opportunity to walk *in* the reflecting pond as we were waiting for our ticket time.

It was a nice Thanksgiving weekend, but I wish it had been earlier so we would have more time to get ready for Christmas.

note: Edited to change nine months to eight months. Apparently I can't count these days. I have confirmed that I can still do simple derivatives, but unfortunately my integration is not as quick as it used to be.

Hysterically funny hysteria

2009-12-02T20:32:00.003-05:00

Via this post on this epic thread on reddit, I have just come across one of the funniest Web sites I've ever seen seen. Mama Geek and I spent several minutes laughing and giggling hysterically. Highly recommended.

Thanks, pigferret!

Clothes Organization

2009-12-01T13:01:00.002-05:00

Most of Geek Girl's clothes hangers are the pink, orange, green, and blue ones from IKEA. She's been running low on hangers so I picked up some white hangers from Target yesterday. Last night when I went into her closet, I found that she had taken her white shirts off of the colored hangers and put them on the white hangers.

Have I mentioned that Daddy Geek's shirts are grouped by color? My clothes are lucky if they stay on a hanger.

Rock Creek Ramble

2009-11-28T19:53:00.005-05:00

Last Sunday was a beautiful crisp fall day, perfect for a late morning stroll through Rock Creek Park. Geek Girl was happy to find a stick for making dragon footprints -- have we mentioned she is no longer a tiger, but rather a dragon these days?

She walked ahead of us down the trails, which were blanketed with pretty fall leaves:

That meant Mama Geek and I enjoyed the relatively rare pleasure of holding each other's hands, rather than Geek Girl's hands, which made the hike extra nice for us.

We went up one of the side trails, and then linked up with a main trail alongside the creek itself. It certainly lives up to the name:

We also found a hollowed-out tree trunk alongside the trail -- watch out for wild dragons!

Geek Girl also was happy to meet several dogs and a horse along the way. She gathered many acorns for her nature collection, and "planted" a bunch as well. After an hour or so, we stopped for a snack along the creek and then headed back to the car and off to one of our favorite restaurants, A&J in Annandale (spicy wontons, potstickers, and soup dumplings - yum!), for lunch. All in all, a very nice Sunday outing.

A Long Overdue Visit to Milwaukee

2009-11-28T11:22:00.005-05:00

My mom died when I was two. I would try to keep in touch with that side of the family, but it was hard. The last time I saw my grandma was in 1996. After Geek Girl was born we kept saying we had to go visit her, but we never got around to it. So part of our reason for picking Chicago as a destination was its proximity to Milwaukee.

On Friday night my aunt and uncle had driven down to Chicago for a meeting and they took us out to dinner in Chinatown. Saturday morning we had breakfast in the condo and had fun watching a "boat" parade pass by below.

After my aunt and uncle picked us up we drove up to Milwaukee to see my grandma. She's 96 years old and still doing great. I think she was quite happy to meet Daddy Geek and obviously very happy to meet Geek Girl.

Here are some pictures of the family reunion.

(Addition by Daddy Geek: note that four generations of Mama Geek's family are in this picture!)

Tai Po had fun stealing kisses from Geek Girl. We thought Geek Girl was rubbing them off, but she said that she said she was rubbing them in.

My uncle is recently retired and one of his projects has been scanning in family pictures. I was thrilled to receive a CD of pictures of my mother and her family. More than a few tears were shed. I was very happy that we had finally made the trip. Afterwards we went out to lunch and then my aunt drove us to Chicago O'Hare to catch our flight home.

Windy City - Day 2

2009-11-28T09:51:00.005-05:00

Our second day in Chicago was, shall we say, a bit more focused. We started off the day with a visit to the Chicago Children's Museum, followed by -- oh, who are we kidding? We spent the day at the Chicago Children's Museum, which was definitely worth every penny of the $10/person we paid.

Geek Girl and me at Navy Pier

Among other cool things about the Children's Museum is that they let adults play, too. Kids can just climb the stairs or take the elevator to the top floor to play. Or they can climb up a rope structure, across a rope tunnel bridge

and then along some wooden bridges to the same place. And they even let Daddy Geeks do the same...umm...not that I did that or anything...

The Children's Museum had a bunch of fun activities. Kids can dig for dinosaur bones, make flying machines out of foam rubber and then test them in a 2-story tower, play in the Inventing Lab, make skyscrapers, and more and more. They have some cool displays where digital raindrops fall from the sky and interact with your shadows - you can shelter each other from the rain, cup your hands to collect the rain, and more.

Now, a brief diversion. Back in Switzerland, Geek Girl loved Kindercity - a kid's museum just outside Zürich with lots of fun activities. In particular, Geek Girl loved the exhibit that let kids make artificial rivers, float boats down them, control the flow, etc. She liked it so much that she has asked us to take her there again more than once. And yes, she knows how long it takes to get there. ("Daddy, we just get on the plane and fly. And we can stay for a few days. We'll go to Kindercity and the zoo and see my friends. And then we can come home. Mama doesn't even need to go with us.")

Well, now we have found a Geek Girl-approved acceptable substitute: the WaterWays exhibit at the Chicago Children's Museum. We saved this room for last, knowing how she would react. And boy, were we right. Geek Girl and I spent several hours in this exhibit, playing with the big river they have, changing the flow and seeing the results, and as you can see, floating boats downstream:

We were here so long that Mama Geek was able to duck out for an hour and a half for an afternoon snack at Xoco -- and Geek Girl was unaware Mama Geek had even left. Of course, I had no fun whatsoever and was only faking it for my daughter's benefit. I mean, how much fun can you really have making artificial rivers, dams, and weirs, and then having a dam break and watching the flood run downstream. Honestly, I ask you. Yeah, about that much fun - we had a blast.

Geek Girl's review: "It was the best thing with water I've ever seen. I wish Daddy Geek could get me a water table like that with a lock!" (Note: she started dancing just now - three weeks later - when I asked her about it. Not that she's excited or anything.)

We left only because the museum closed for the day, and even then the only way we got her out the door was to promise to take her to the ferris wheel at the pier, where I took this picture of Mama Geek and Geek Girl:

and she took this one of me and Mama Geek:

Auntie Geek is coming for a visit in December, and she and Mama Geek are planning a trip to New York while she's here. Which of course means Geek Girl and I will be on our own. Geek Girl is already making plans: "Daddy, it's not very far to Chicago. We can just fly there, go to the water exhibit, play, and then we can fly home. We can even stop to have some pizza if you want. Mama won't mind. (bat eyes)"

Trip to the Windy City - Day 1

2009-11-28T08:55:00.006-05:00

After seven months in the area, it was time for a trip to new territory. Several days of debating and Web searching later, we had tickets for a whirlwind tour of Chicago, followed by a special trip that I'll let Mama Geek write about. Some incredibly generous relatives of Mama Geek let us take up temporary residence in their spectacular condo right near Navy Pier (Direct quote from The World Traveling Geek Girl: "This is awesome!" Daddy Geek: "Holy ----!"), and we got to enjoy the High Life (the condo was on the 27th floor)...

Our first day started with this great sunrise over Lake Michigan:

and after getting organized, we took the CTA to breakfast at the Bongo Room (huuuuuuuuge pancakes in multiple exotic flavors, plus darn good coffee). We then waddled off to the Field Museum (free on Thursdays!), where Geek Girl met Sue:

and spent some time practicing palaeontology in the Crown Family PlayLab:

(which also has a great music room where you can make as much noise as you like with taiko drums and other percussion instruments, among other things). We spent a few hours at the museum, going through the evolution and geology exhibits in addition to the Play Lab - very definitely worthwhile.

And now, a word from Geek Girl: "I got a toy T-rex and I named her Sue, Jr. after Sue. Mama gave me the money and I put it in a machine that made Sue, Jr. out of plastic. She's red and stands on a stand. The stand says 'T-rex' on one side and 'Field Museum Chicago' on the other side. The machine that makes Sue is called Mold-o-rama." (That's because it uses injection molded plastic to make the figurines.)

From the Field Museum, we had a great view of part of the skyline, including our next destination off to the left:

Mama Geek and I stopped off at a vendor for Chicago-style hot dogs and bratwurst, and then we walked along the lake and through Grant Park toward the Willis (formerly-known-as-Sears) Tower, stopping off for a bit of artwork (and donuts) along the way:

Geek Girl takes Sue, Jr. to meet Calder's Flamingo

Our online searching had said that the Willis Tower Sky Deck line could take a really long time, but I guess visiting on a mid-November Thursday has its benefits: no line for us! After a quick elevator ride, we stepped off at the 103rd floor to a spectactular early evening view of Chicago below:

(The condo is somewhere in that picture, but it's hard to see...).

Geek Girl the World Traveler had the following reaction: "It's just like Google Earth with 3D buildings -- only we're really there!" Yes, she spends too much time on the computer.

The Willis Tower has added an innovation since the last time I was there -- "The Ledge", a series of four glass boxes that stick out of the building, so you can stand inside the box and take pictures past your feet straight down through 103 floors of air:

(note Sue, Jr. in between my feet and Mama Geek's feet). Mama Geek and Geek Girl had no trouble stepping out there. I, on the other had, had to convince several hundred thousand years of evolution that I wasn't going to fall through the floor. Ultimately intellect won over instinct. (Or more correctly: Daddy Geek can't let Geek Girl think he's a wuss.)

We spent an hour or so up there, and then it was time to head to the Art Institute, which was also free(!) on this Thursday evening. Geek Girl liked the lions in front:

and we all enjoyed a brief trip through the Impressionist exhibits. Geek Girl's review of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte: "It was so cool! The silly pet monkey was the best part, and I liked the dog running in front of the monkey. It's cool that it was painted with just tiny dots!" She was also interested in Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's mark that he used to sign his paintings, which led to us drawing similar ones for The Geeks.

At this point, Geek Girl's battery was definitely running low, so we cut short the visit and headed off for Chicago-style pizza before crashing back at the condo. We had a great time - a fun but very full day.

Sunday Wandering

2009-11-28T08:21:00.004-05:00

We've been a bit busy lately, so we haven't posted much recently. Time to catch up a bit.

The first week of November was very stressful for me, so when the following weekend came up, it was definitely time for some low-key relaxation. We spent a very pretty Sunday wandering around and stumbled across some (for us, anyway) unexpected treats.

First on the non-agenda: Geek Girl and I introduced Mama Geek to Theodore Roosevelt Island (not to be confused with that other Roosevelt Island to the north). There is a pretty 1.3-mile trail around the perimeter of the island, where a kind passer-by snapped this picture of The Geeks. Lots of nice fall foliage as you can see.

Part of the trail is along a boardwalk over a tidal wetland, where we saw lots of ducks and Geek Girl enjoyed looking for tiger tails among the cattails and reeds. Mama Geek took this picture of Geek Girl and me on the boardwalk:

After finishing the walk, we were ready for lunch and headed to Columbia Heights for pizza, followed by a meander around the neighborhood. It was an interesting mix of old and new buildings, including this brightly-colored house that caught our fancy:

Afterward, it was time to "go home", which of course means "stop for coffee and a snack", so off to Georgetown for a stop at Dolcezza, followed by a bit of hill-climbing to burn off the gelato. We stumbled upon the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, a very pretty old mansion at the top of the highest hill in Georgetown. It has a spectacular set of gardens that are free to wander in from November to March (they cost $8 the rest of the year), so wander we did.

First, Geek Girl practiced her tree-climbing skills:

(She notes: "I'm afraid of Daddy-longlegs - good thing there weren't any!")

Here's a shot of Geek Girl and Mama Geek being silly:

And a couple of garden shots for Grandma:

On the way back to the car, we uncovered a playground at Montrose Park, where Geek Girl played until we dragged her away to head home. Overall, we had a very nice day with no real plan.

Halloween Weekend

2009-11-03T14:38:00.004-05:00

Okay, so we are not taking as many pictures as we used to. So no picture of our "what you get when you cross a pirate with a fairy" daughter. She wore an eyepatch, fairy wings, fairy skirt, and held a magic wand.

Instead, I will share with you Halloween pictures from the past.

Halloween at 8 months old.

Recycled elephant costume at 1 yr 8 months.

Chinese princess at 2 years 8 months.

We were in Italy for Halloween in 2006 so she was an American girl in Florence.
In 2007 she was a ghost.

And last year in Switzerland she wore her Sleeping Beauty costume.

We went to a neighbor's house for a party and group trick-or-treating in the building. It was raining outside so it was nice to stay inside and dry.

On Sunday Geek Girl and I went to the Spooky Sounds family concert at the Kennedy Center. Here's Geek Girl wrapped up warm waiting for the metrotrain.

Unfortunately things did not go as well as I hoped. Geek Girl does like classical music. But I guess I forgot that sitting still and watching instruments is maybe not as interesting for her. And she was tired and hungry. Heck, in the past I've gone to opera and plays, but not as many instrumental performances. Lynda Carter was the narrator for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Wonder Woman has aged well. In hindsight we should have just left the performance when she started fidgeting too much but oh well. Live and learn.

Fall Foliage Fun

2009-10-25T19:01:00.013-04:00

Today was a sunny, crisp, breezy fall day perfect for outdoor time. We decided to take a hike along the Potomac from Riverbend Park to Great Falls Park and back.

Before we show some of the scenery, Geek Girl the Tour Guide would like to say a few words:

Now for some of the scenery. We saw lots of lovely fall color:

We also saw a cute fuzzy Wooly Bear Caterpillar:

Geek Girl was thrilled when we discovered later that the Wooly Bear Caterpillar becomes the Isabella Tiger Moth (thank you, Wikipedia): "Wow! It starts off as a bear and becomes a tiger! That's so cool!"

Once we arrived at Great Falls, we had lunch and then headed off for Geek Girl to record her promotional video and to show Mama Geek the flood pole. Next, Geek Girl decided she wanted to go down to the river. This involves a pretty steep climb down a rocky chute, but she was definitely a Super Tiger Tigress and scrambled down to the bottom with me. There, she snapped this picture of me

and some friendly folks took this picture of the two of us right at the river

We also had a front-row seat to watch the kayakers at play:

After a little while, it was time to climb back up - Geek Girl did a great job again, except this time she slipped and landed bottom-first in the little stream going down the gully. Despite this little setback, she hiked back all the way to Riverbend Park and got an unexpected treat: some riders were there on horseback and let her pet and feed a carrot to one of their horses. "It was fun, but it was kind of gross when the horse slobbered all over my hand!" is Geek Girl's review.

This was an easy and fun trail for a sunny fall family walk, and is definitely Geek-recommended. It's even suitable for visitors (grandparents, perhaps?) who might want to see some fall color next October.

Rainy Saturday Fun

2009-10-25T18:29:00.004-04:00

Saturday was a warm, wet day with lots of rain showers and thunderstorms. It was definitely time for some inside fun.

The day started with an unexpected knock on our front door. Our neighbors had tickets to see Disney on Ice at the GMU Patriot Pavilion in Fairfax, but at the last minute something came up and they couldn't go. They very generously offered the tickets to us, so off The Geeks went on a Saturday morning. Thanks, neighbors!

We should note that Geek Girl didn't want to go originally. We don't have a TV and we don't watch much Disney stuff, so for her it really wasn't much of a big deal. Unlike the hordes of other kids taking their parents to the show: we saw countless Disney princesses of all kinds pulling Mom and Dad along, very excited to see all the Disney princesses on ice. Of course, the marketing machine was also in full swing and there were myriad ways to separate Mom and Dad from their money with random plastic bits (guaranteed to break down microseconds after leaving the show). Again, we're happy Geek Girl doesn't go for that kind of thing.

Of course, 30 seconds into the show, Geek Girl was mesmerized. We all had a good time, and Geek Girl was especially happy to help keep Mickey from eating the poison apple. And to help say the magic words to turn regular Minnie Mouse into Princess Minnie Mouse. And to be fascinated by the skaters. Her hands-down favorite, though, was when Santa Goofy got stuck in the chimney and had to be pulled out by his feet. (Oh, and we and the parents nearby were amused by the Pumpkin King's wardrobe malfunction. Let me just say I wish I had leg muscles like that.)

After the show, we went to Woodlands in Fairfax for some yummy Indian veggie buffet food. Highly recommended.

Next, it was off through the pouring rain to the originally planned destination for the day: Air and Scare at the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center out near Dulles Airport. Wow, was it rainy! (All together now: How rainy was it?) It was so rainy that I dropped off Mama Geek and Geek Girl under the canopy over the main entrance and drove off to park -- and had to stop dead for about five minutes because it was raining so hard I couldn't see. Eventually it slackened, and I ran for the museum, but even in just a few minutes of walking, I got soaked.

Once we got inside, we found that the museum had been turned into a big trick-or-treat and craft festival, with lots of kids (and adults! oh, wow, the adults!) in costume walking around. Geek Girl went in costume as "what you get when you cross a fairy with a pirate: a firate!" (Her costume was fairy wings and a fairy skirt, magic wand, and an eyepatch. No, we can't explain her either.) She had a good time going around collecting candy, driving robots:

and making various crafts. I had a good time wandering around looking at various famous aircraft, including an SR-71 Blackbird

and the Enola Gay. We also were alternately amused and bemused by the plethora of adult Jedi, Sith, Stormtroopers, and Darth Vaders; we also discovered Geek Girl can explain Clone Wars in frightening detail, considering her only exposure to it came during her short visit to our friends in Massachusetts. All in all, it was a fun way to spend a few hours, and we'll probably do it again next year.

Two weekends in one post

2009-10-20T14:37:00.003-04:00

Saturday, October 10 was open house at the fire house.

Here's Geek Girl meeting Sparky.

And trying out the cool motorcycle.

We also watched some demonstrations and Geek Girl got to aim the fire hose at the target. Later in the afternoon Geek Girl was getting stir crazy so we headed into D.C. for a couple of hours at the Hirshhorn museum.

The next day was beautiful and it was a great day for an adventure to Larriland Farms in Maryland with Long Lost Cousin and her family. Hay bale maze, boo barn (that was more funny than scary), and hay ride followed by apple picking.

Here's Geek Girl in the maze.

Geek Girl and her second cousins.

Columbus Day we relaxed. Last week was mostly rainy and wet. Then it rained all this past Saturday. By Sunday we were ready to get out, but we didn't want to deal with too much mud. So we went to Potomac Overlook Park for a nice stroll in the woods. The viewpoint no longer has a view (too many trees), but it was still a nice walk and we saw several deer.

After our walk we went to A & J restaurant in Annandale for dumplings and other yummy things to eat. Daddy Geek and I were quite sleepy all afternoon, but Geek Girl was still full of energy, so after dinner we took her out for another walk.

A little too much time on the computer?

2009-10-20T14:20:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Geek Girl was drawing pictures and I was helping her spell words when she asked.

This is what she created.
The bird is saying Do not wory. "Visit me." Bat Duck is a super hero duck

Visit Bat Duck at www.animalsuperheros.com an' meet more animal super heros

Note: wory is her misspelling. I might have spelled heros/heroes wrong for her or she decided to turn it plural on her own. I'm not sure why she decided leave out the "d" in the word "and", but she put an apostrophe there to let us know.

I just checked and www.animalsuperheros.com does not exist. Yet. Whew.

(She's been playing a lot of Batgirl and Robin with her friend downstairs.)

Grammar tips from Geek Girl

2009-10-19T20:28:00.002-04:00

The following scene just played out in The Geeks' living room:

Geek Girl: My towel is wet.

Parent: Put it where the washer and dryer is.

Geek Girl: You mean "are". You said "is", but you should have said "are".

Parent: Now *she's* correcting me!

To be fair, our washer and dryer are a single stacked unit with the washer on the bottom. But the parent in question regularly endures corrections from the other of us - and now Geek Girl, too.

Fossil Hunting

2009-10-09T14:38:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday we went fossil hunting at Calvert Cliffs State Park in Maryland. According to the website, over 600 species of fossils have been identified, with shark teeth being the most often found. The drive was under two hours and after parking we had a nice 1.8 mi hike to the shore of the Chesapeake Bay. New body of water!

Here's Geek Girl leading the way with her trusty shovel.

Okay, where are the shark teeth?

Maybe I'll just get down and dig a little.

Never mind. I'm sitting and making mud pies. That's why mom and dad packed extra clothes for me, right?

We had a nice time listening to the waves and avoiding getting covered with sand by zealous digging daughter.

On the walk back, we came across this cool frog.

From the beach we could see a lighthouse to the south so we went searching for it. We didn't find it (turns out if we had kept going on our last road we would have found it) but we did find a nice big playground to climb and play hide-and-seek.

On our way home we stopped at Good Stuff Eatery for burgers and milkshakes. Pumpkin and a Milky Way/Malt one were both yummy, but I think in the future we should just share one milkshake. The burgers were good and they had interesting flavored mayonnaises such as Old Bay, chipotle, Sri Racha, and mango. Afterwards we took a stroll around the Capitol building and then headed for home.

Okay now I'm caught up. Tomorrow is fire station open house and farm day and Sunday will be dim sum and/or apple picking. And Monday is Columbus Day -- which is a holiday for everyone in the Geek household!

Tidal Basin Paddle Boats

2009-10-09T14:25:00.002-04:00

The day after the Property Yard Open House I came down with a cold. I guess it was inevitable. Daddy Geek and Geek Girl decided to rent a paddle boat on the Tidal Basin.

Here's Geek Girl waving to the camera.

Jefferson Memorial in the foreground, US Capitol in the far background.

I guess the tide was IN.

Silly face in front of the Jefferson Memorial.

Daddy Geek. Remember him?

Property Yard Open House

2009-10-09T14:18:00.003-04:00

A couple of weekends ago, there was an open house at the property yard. We watched a hoist truck in action and some crews repair pipe leaks. The best part was getting in the equipment.

Here Geek Girl has climbed into the front end loader. You can just see her plastic hard hat.

Here we are ready to be scooped up.

At first Geek Girl didn't want to get into any of the trucks to honk the horns. However, by the end we had to drag her away because she was having too much fun leaning on the horn.

October 2009 version of what Geek Girl wants to be when she grows up

2009-10-07T19:17:00.001-04:00

1. Astronaut

2. Book Illustrator

3. Fire Fighter

4. Teacher

5. Car Doctor

6. Tow Truck Driver

7. Fish

8. Paleontologist

And also a mommy.

Three Billy Goats Geek

2009-09-23T14:11:00.004-04:00

Whenever we're at a playground with a bridge, Geek Girl likes to play Three Billy Goats Gruff. Lucky parent gets to be the troll and she's the Billy Goat trip-trapping across the bridge as the troll tries to catch her. Well, last Sunday, in an effort to burn off our Saturday night milkshakes, we decided to hike Billy Goat Trail A.

Now most people when they read a newspaper story about a newly-engaged woman having to be rescued after falling might make a joke about the proposal. Daddy Geek reads "rocky and rough" trail and decides that's where we should go for our Sunday hike. Earlier this year Daddy Geek and Girl Geek visited Great Falls Park on the Virginia side, but on Sunday, we visited the Maryland side.

We parked at the C&O Canal National Historic Park and started by walking along the towpath and going to the overlook to take a look at the falls.

Here's Geek Girl at the top of a "mini mountain" that she climbed.

We continued along the towpath and took the trail for Billy Goat Trail A. The trail started off pretty easy, but then became rockier and rockier and soon we were doing a lot of scrambling over tops of rocks. And then we came to the fun part. A rocky cliff.

We waited a little bit because we knew we might be slow, but there was enough traffic going up and down that we decided we had to go for it or we would never get up.

Here's a view of me starting the climb.

I kept going, but Daddy Geek and Little Geek pulled over and here's a picture looking down.

At the top we stopped for a snack and admired the Mather Gorge.

After this part of the trail near the 2nd trail marker there is an "emergency exit" trail that returns to the towpath. However we continued to the end. Here's Geek Girl leading the way.

The rocky part of Billy Goat Trail A is 1.7 miles and ends back at the towpath. Geek Girl was tired, so Daddy Geek took the towpath back towards the car and Geek Girl and I continued on the path towards the Old Angler's Inn where we would meet up with Daddy Geek. The restaurant reminded us a lot of the Swiss restaurants we would find on the hiking trails, with the matching Swiss prices. We decided to head back to Virginia for a late lunch.

Walking with dinosaurs and around the city

2009-09-23T11:20:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, we had a fun day in the city. Metro was doing track maintenance again so we decided to drive in. Daddy Geek and Geek Girl had tickets to see Walking with Dinosaurs at the Verizon Center and while they were taken back in time I walked around D.C. I had never been east of Capitol Hill and wanted to check out the recently re-opened Eastern Market.

After the show we met on the steps of the National Portrait Gallery. Our first plan was to go to a Burmese restaurant that Daddy Geek had visited on a prior trip, but they weren't open yet. After some dawdling, menu looking, and internet consulting, we decided to try Full Kee for Chinese food. The pea sprouts were yummy, but the other two dishes were a little different than the West Coast versions we've had before. We thought about stopping for ice cream but we knew we had some in the freezer at home so we headed for the car.

As we were driving home I noticed parking spaces near the Washington Monument, so we decided to park and take a short walk. Here's Geek Girl giving the monument a hug.

We could also see the Jefferson Memorial in the distance and after being seated for a couple of hours, Geek Girl suggested walking over to see it. None of us had been before so it sounded like a good idea. Here's a view of it as we're walking around the tidal basin.

And here's a picture of it after the sun has set.

And then a view of the Washington Monument at night.

Now we were ready for ice cream. Well, it was a little cool, but it still sounded good. Earlier on my walk to Eastern Market I had passed Good Stuff Eatery and we decided to go back to try the milkshakes. This place was opened by a former contestant of Top Chef and has been visited by the First Lady and daughters. There was a line and they were handing out "shots" of milkshake for people as they waited. After ordering you were given a buzzer to let you know when your order was ready. Geek Girl had chocolate, Daddy Geek had a Black & White, and I had D-Lechable Leche. All were yummy and we knew to order the kid size. I don't know when we'll be back next but I think I'll have to try the Milky Way Malt.

Cousin pictures

2009-09-23T10:51:00.003-04:00

The week before school started we had a fun week in California visiting family. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Geek Girl was looking forward to vising Nai Nai's cat and watching TV. Here she is with Katie cat.

Here's Geek Girl's newest cousin being fascinated by my nephew.

My oldest nephew is a sophomore in college! How did that happen? And his brother is a junior in high school. I remember when they were babies...

Being silly in front of Nai Nai's house.

Daddy Geek checks to see if newest cousin can do the "Look Ma, no hand" trick. Yep, it works.

A little mixed-up

2009-09-21T20:33:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we were finally all here after four weekends of some or all of us being away. We had a busy two days and one of us will blog about it soon, but before I forget I wanted to mention my language confusion. On Saturday night we had dinner at a restaurant in Chinatown. I asked a question in Chinese and then proceeded to finish ordering in my special blend of Chinese and English. When I finished ordering I said danke instead of thank you. And according to Daddy Geek, I was saying und instead of and. I guess when my brain is required to speak foreign languages, it doesn't really pay attention to which foreign language I'm speaking.

Inflatables, Opera, and Failed Plans

2009-09-14T14:25:00.002-04:00

Daddy Geek was off in Palm Springs working this weekend, so Geek Girl and I hung out close and far from home.

The first week of school was kind of cool and rainy and that trend continued on Saturday. We started off the day going to the community Fall Festival. There were a lot of "tastes" offered by the local restaurants, but we were there for the inflatables and ponies. After consulting the ticket prices, Geek Girl decided on the bounce house, the obstacle course, the Kid-a-pillar, and the Pony Ride. She really wanted cotton candy, but we managed to avoid the sugar high.

Later in the evening our plan was to go to the simulcast of the opera at the Nationals Ballpark. In preparation I had read Geek Girl the summary of Barber of Seville and we watched the Rabbit of Seville on You Tube. The gates were supposed to open at 5:30 pm and I thought leaving our apartment at 4:45 pm would have been fine. Oh, how much I missed reliable Zürich pubic transportation. It turns out they were doing track maintenance. Thus, a usually 40 minute ride took over an hour. We were waiting at security when they showed Rabbit of Seville on the big screen.

We met colleagues of Daddy Geek on the outfield about halfway between second base and where the center fielder hangs out. I left Geek Girl with popcorn and water and went in search of Chicken Tenders for her dinner (I had packed a sandwich for myself). After waiting 15 minutes in a line that was barely moving, I decided that I really didn't want to wait another 15 - 20 minutes longer and ended up buying her gelato. Yep, instead of buying her protein, I bought her dessert. At first she complained that she was too cold to eat ice cream, but after bundling her up in her hoodie and rain jacket, she managed to finish the chocolate gelato.

Here she is watching the opera.

And here's a view of the screen.

The sound and picture were really quite good and I was able to see a lot more than I normally can back in the cheap seats. We left at the intermission (the 7th inning aria) and hoped that the Metro ride home would not be as long as the ride there. However, we stopped for long times at each of the stations and it took us longer to get home. Oh well. Next weekend we have tickets for Walking with Dinosaurs and we might have to consider driving in if they plan to do track maintenance again.

Sunday the sun decided to shine again and my brilliant plan was to go to Potomac Overlook Park. However, I didn't count on a company picnic taking over the park (when cars are parking on street you know that's not a good sign). So we decided to go home to drop off the car and walked to our local cafe for a snack and then to the nearby elementary school to play.

Rainy first day of first grade

2009-09-08T10:23:00.003-04:00

Summer has come to an abrupt end here in Virginia. We returned from California late Saturday night. Sunday was pleasant enough, but Labor Day was overcast and rainy.

Today was the first day of first grade. Geek Girl had trouble falling asleep last night because she was so excited about starting first grade, but she did eventually go to sleep and was ready to go this morning.

Here she is in one of her famous "Tigress" poses while waiting for the bus.

Now it's time to catch up on all of the stuff I didn't do over the summer.

Day Trip to Boston

2009-08-28T20:11:00.005-04:00

We decided to take a day trip to Boston to visit the aquarium. Yes, there was a tropical storm on its way, but why should we let a little weather keep us from having fun?

Dear friend's husband was out of town, so we loaded up the three kids in the back of the car. Did I mention dear friend had another son on my birthday two years ago? Here he is modeling a Lego Star Wars while the bigger kids talk in the back.

The drive went surprisingly quickly. Near the end of the drive, little brother started trying to tell knock knock jokes.

Little Brother: Knock knock
Everyone Else: Who's there?
Little Brother: Boo hoo
Everyone Else: Boo hoo who?
repeat endlessly

Actually it was quite cute and the big kids were pretty good sports. They did start pretending to fall asleep so he would hopefully stop.

Boston was glorious and pleasant. Along the way, dear friend and I hatched a plan to take the T to Chinatown so we could go to a Malaysian restaurant for lunch. Happiness is Roti Canai, Chow Kuew Teow, and very yummy fish cooked in ginger & garlic sauce. This was my third visit to Penang and I was happy we were able to squeeze it in.

Several years ago Daddy Geek went to Boston for a business trip and returned with the book Make Way for Ducklings. Geek Girl wanted to go to the Public Garden to see the statues made in honor of the book.

Here's Geek Girl with Mrs. Mallard.

Dear friend with her two boys.

And Geek Girl with the rest of the flock.

By now we were ready to head back to the air conditioning of the aquarium. We were there in time to see the penguin feeding, the seal information session, and admire the sharks, giant turtles, and cool fish in the big central tank.

Then we went to see the IMAX 3-D movie Under the Sea. Here are Geek Girl and friend testing out the glasses.

Geek Girl really liked feeling like she was in the ocean and I was happy to learn that she could watch a 3-D movie without getting sick.

We ended the day with some ice cream at Emack & Bolio's and then headed home before the rain.

Geek Girl and Friend through the years

2009-08-26T11:52:00.004-04:00

Two months before Geek Girl was born, my dear friend had a son. Since I can't resist showing pictures of my baby Geek Girl, here they are through the years.

Here they are the first time they met. She's almost 6 months old.

In October of 2004, we met again. She's 20 months old.

Aren't they adorable?

And then this past weekend we photographed them on the same chair.

They had a great time playing together. And now Geek Girl has been completely educated on everything there is to know about Lego Star Wars and Clone Wars. She should be ready for playing with her California cousins next week.

We're still here...

2009-08-21T07:19:00.002-04:00

The hot and humid days of August are here, so we're going to the library and hanging out in the pool a lot. On Tuesday night we went the the Nationals game because the Colorado Rockies were in town. Geek Girl wanted to know what happens when the Nationals win, but unfortunately, we still don't know. They've been winning more games than usual, just not when we are in the audience.

I was excited to find out that there is going to be a Simulcast of The Barber of Seville at the Nationals Ballpark on September 12. But after the game I realized that Geek Girl just gets too tired to walk back to the metro so I have to decide if I really want to see free opera enough to have to carry the kid (since Daddy Geek will be out of town). The Kennedy Center will be having an open house and international book fair that day, so maybe we'll go to that. Or I guess I can spring for the pedicab...

Daddy Geek is traveling again, so Geek Girl and I leave today on an adventure to visit friends in Amherst.

Last note about food. Geek Girl does not tend to eat sandwiches so we rarely go to sandwich shops. Monday night Daddy Geek was working late and had the car, so I convinced him to stop off at a Bahn Mi place to pick up vietnamese sandwiches after I had already fed Geek Girl. Baguette-like bread filled with fragrantly cooked meat and flavorful pickles. Yum! Why did we wait so long? Oh yeah, finicky Geek Girl. Anyways, for the game Tuesday night, I went back and picked up sandwiches for the game, which were WAY better than hot dogs. Geek Girl of course had chicken tenders. Hey, at least she ate some protein.

There goes another tooth

2009-08-13T19:13:00.002-04:00

Tooth number six came out today at the pool. We've finally learned to leave well enough alone and let the tooth come out when it wants to. Geek Girl pushed on the tooth and it came out and I pulled it out of her mouth.

So for the record, she swallowed #1, Daddy Geek pulled out #2, #3 came out while eating a hamburger, #4 came out on the farm field trip, and #5 came out after tooth brushing.

We had a long day at the pool. We were getting ready to leave after a couple of hours by ourselves when another family came and of course Geek Girl wanted to get back in and swim. If we don't give her lots of physical activity she gets a little crazy in the evening, so I was fine with staying a little longer. A couple of other families also came down. I was quite surprised when I came upstairs and realized we had been at the pool for four hours.

Geek Girl told me this morning that she's getting tired of summer break. Well, in a short (but not short enough) 3.5 weeks, the long lazy days of summer will turn into school days.