Shoot

This word has been used around our house a lot this past week. For starters, my mom was out one night and my dad and I were hanging out. I guess my dad said he'd have me bathed and in bed reading stories by the time my mom got home. My mom walked into the house to hear, "Shoot" come from down in the basement. "Dave? Hey Dave, where are you guys?" was my mom's reply as she walked in the door. This is what she found....

Then some of our favorite friends, the Cook/McQueen family got a fantastic opportunity out west and decided to move their family. We are thrilled for them but I must admit that a little piece of me said, "Shoot, my buddies are moving away." So we played and played and played before they hopped on the plane and headed out of town.

It FINALLY snowed around here - real snow, the kind of snow you can make a snowman out of. It was so fun to wake up to. And I know this makes no sense to anyone outside of DC, but at the mere mention of the "S" word (snow), grocery store shelves are cleared, it's impossible to buy a shovel at Home Depot, and everything - and I mean everything - gets shut down.

They really don't have the equipment to handle roads in the snow and frankly,

when you have people from literally all over the world living in one place, driving in the snow becomes a bit chaotic (think South Africans, Australians, Floridians, and Hawaiians all driving on the same roads in SNOW!)  But for whatever reason, nothing - absolutely nothing got delayed or cancelled because of the snow. SUCH A BUMMER! So my dad and I shoveled the walkway, had a snowball fight, and continued to procrastinate until my mom finally told my dad, "Your work isn't cancelled today." "Shoot," was his reply. Oh well, at least we enjoyed it for a minute.

And finally, M.O. and Sarah came over to play. They brought me an awesome Easter bag filled with the coolest stuff including stickers, bubbles, cars, treats, a sticky hand grabber, and even my first Whoopee cushion (that thing is hilarious!). They also gave me two water guns. M.O. and I faced off on the porch - an interesting battle because I'm half his height so I got hit in the head and he got hit well, below the belt. Ready, aim, shoot! Here's us in the heat of the battle.

Membership has its Privileges

I'm an official card carrying member of the Arlington County Library. My mom read me "Ron's Big Mission" last month. This book is all about a little boy who's not allowed to check out books at the library because his skin is a particular color. He can read any book he wants, he just can't check them out. So he goes to the library every week, reads books, and leaves empty handed. One day, he takes a stand and demands to check out some books. The librarian knows Ron very well because he's her "best customer." Still, she says, "Ron, you know the rules, I can't check these books out to you." Ron doesn't give up and stands up for what's right. The police are called, his mother is called, and still, Ron stands his ground. Finally, the librarian walks into the back, fills out a card in his name and allows him to check the books out. The best part? Ron grows up to be a NASA astronaut!

I LOVED this story. I've read books about Dr. King and know that, thanks to him and many others, every kid can play on the playground, check out books, and go to the swimming pool. So, I stood up for what is right and told my mom, I want a library card like Ron. And off to the library we went....

I'm also a member of the city of Arlington, this too, has its privileges including endless parks, museums, and kid-friendly activities. We recently enjoyed a night movie at the Arlington Planetarium.

And me and my buddies Landon and Brody went to the Long Branch Nature Center. Check out the tee pee we found while on the outdoor nature hike!