Sorry I've been MIA

So, yeah, our move here threw me for a loop.

I really apologize if you guys have sent me emails and I haven't responded. I've tried to keep up, but in my personal email box alone there are over 100 emails still sitting there, and that's after I cleaned out 40+ this morning. And that's just one email account (I ummm, have quite a few.) So yeah, I have not been a good email buddy.

This week the girls are at "church camp" so I am trying to dig in and make a huge dent in all of the "paperwork stuff" that I've let slide while I've been dealing with everything. I made a lot of progress this morning, which I'm sure was completely fueled by the coffee I had while sitting at Starbucks. Still, since my hole is so deep, it's gonna take me much too long to catch up.

So, what have we been up to? Well, we moved in that first weekend in May, and then unpacked like crazy people for three straight weeks. It took that long to even get close enough to come up for air! We had to get a storage unit in our complex to hold the stuff we can't keep (stay tuned for a bunch of Craig's List ads!) and I have become extremely creative at storage tricks. I have had to go through every single bin and box we have ever had and purge, reorganize, purge some more, and store things the most efficient way possible. By the way, you can fit A LOT of stuff under beds. And thank goodness for the good closet storage we do have. Mostly this step is done. Mostly. I've still got one bin left that needs to be organized and put away, but I keep putting it off to do other things. Like scrub bathrooms, throw food at kids, do laundry, etc. I will get to it.One day.

Joel was sent "off" again for a few weeks almost immediately, and this has not improved my attitude toward the Foreign Service at all. I will come around. . . . eventually. I wouldn't be expecting them to be on my Christmas list, though. Joel was not the happiest about it either, but hey, we live at the mercy of the US Govt and that's all that there is to be said about that. Out loud, at least. In my head, I say a lot of things. In very colorful language. (He should be back in July.)

My mom was able to come visit for several days and the girls loved having their Nana here. There was lots of reading of books and more books and more books, and a trip to the pool (kinda too chilly still, though. What is up with this weather?), and generally just hung out. We did get together with family up here which was fun, and we also went over to Colvin Run Mill. If you're local, you really should go. We got to go to a "general store" and then watched them grind corn into cornmeal in a working mill that has been around since the 1700's. The day we went they also had a blacksmith and wood carving. We got the girls sunbonnets just like "Little House on the Prairie, which the girls L-O-V-E (the bonnets and the books!).

We finally got "home school" started up again, but have been having difficulty getting our rhythm and consistency back. I hope that by the end of all these summer camp things we're doing, I'll have gotten everything more settled and will be able to stick to a routine. We are very blessed that this apartment has a "breakfast dining" and a "formal dining" area, so we turned the "breakfast dining" space into our class room. As soon as I can get it cleaned up enough, I'll take some pictures for you guys - it is starting to look really cute! Abby is currently working through "1st grade" and Lily will be joining us next fall with a more formal "preK4" program. Addition and subtraction facts have been kicking our hineys for a few months now, BUT at the Virginia home school convention a few weeks ago, I was able to get a couple cool math fact CD's and with a bit of bribery (a chart that she gets to mark off for doing her math work without complaining and then get a prize), Abby is very motivated and has decided math is fun again.

Lily is now fully potty-trained, even at night. She regressed quite a bit with the stress of the move, but after a break of a week, she was so completely insulted by the idea of wearing pull-ups again that she just made up her mind that she was done with them. I swear, that little girl is the funniest thing ever, but she is going to drive me to distraction!

Taking advantage of all the COOL summer stuff going on around here, we have both girls in "Church camp" for two weeks, then one week of a ballet camp (really just a week of ballet lessons with an Angelina Ballerina theme), and three weeks of Spanish immersion camp.We are right around the corner from the Annandale Boys and Girls Club and they are doing soccer camp this summer, and I was able to get Abby in that for one week as well, and both girls are signed up to do soccer next fall, and Abby will continue with cheerleading through the ABGC. So yeah, we're keeping as busy as we possibly can be!

Work has been picking up for me as well, which is very nice. I am looking forward to clearing out a few business projects that have been on the back burner for quite a while this summer. I'm redesigning my business website and branding, and looking into networking and volunteer opportunities.

So, that is us in a nutshell.

I will get some pictures up soon.