I Made Sushi!

And it tasted just like the real thing! Right before we moved, my friend, Debbie, had a bunch of people over to her house to learn how to make sushi, yaki soba (which I've already made since and it was delicious!) and tongatsu. I have been dying to try to make it and I finally gathered my ingredients. It wasn't as hard as I thought, but I still messed up a little. I was so excited. I had wasabi sauce and egg soup on the side and was hoping everyone would enjoy it as much as me so we could have a party and serve this meal and make some fortune cookies for dessert. Too bad for me, cause I was the only one who liked it. I've been eating it for lunch and dinner for about 3 days. I don't care! I love it!

GIANT SLUG!

Elli found a humongous slug this week and came shouting in the house. Adam was so grossed out by how much slime it left on his hand after I made him pick it up to move it away from the house. It was thick and ugly!

Adam Turns Nine!

Adam turned 9 on the 16th, but he voted to get a Nintendo DS instead of having a party. We had to celebrate after we got home from the DC trip. He wanted shrimp for dinner and carrot cake for his cake. These are two of his friends from the neighborhood, Jason and Andrew. I felt bad we didn't do much for his birthday, but he was more than happy with his gifts. And he got lots of Bakugan from family.

Taking the Metro

Riley had a conference in Washington, D.C. last weekend and the families were invited to come. We saw the Pentagon, the Capitol, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and the Evening Parade at 8th and I . The easiest way to get around was to take the Metro. Once we figured it out, it wasn't too bad. There was a stop right by our hotel. The kids had fun, but were sure to hold our hands wherever we went.
A few times it wasn't too crowded, but most of the time we were all standing around a pole.

The Pentagon

Riley had meetings all morning at the Pentagon. The families got to come along. Some wives without kids took a tour of the building while those with kids walked around and saw the memorial outside. I knew we couldn't take pictures inside the Pentagon, but I thought outside was OK.

I got in trouble. Several people came over shortly after I took the first photo to scold me and Adam said, "STOP." It's just the outside of the building. Who knew?

Touring the Capitol

Friday we got to take a tour with Riley after his meetings. I wasn't super excited about the Capitol, but it was one of my favorite things of the trip. This is where the House of Representatives and the Senate meet to pass bills and we got sit in on one of the debates.
This is the painting inside the big dome. It was hand painted and the man actually fell off the scaffolding while painting. Can you imagine painting that well upside down? That is George Washington in the purple blanket thing. All the art and architecture of the building was pretty amazing.
The lines were long and we had to wait wherever we went. Elli passed the time by twirling in any open space. I love the look of the girl behind her.

Finding Stuff To Do

We are not used to these long summers having come from a year round school schedule, so I thought we should get a pool membership and go swimming almost everyday. We've gone about 3 times and each time the kids freeze! It barely gets above 80. I'm not complaining at all, but for the membership sake, I hope August warms up a little bit.
Elise, remember these? They don't call them Roller Racers anymore. Something like Sidewalk Scooter and they are still kind of expensive. We found an outdoor shopping mall with a toy store and candy factory, so the kids let me go there if we are bored. We both win.
And here's a park with old toys in it that we came across. You don't see merry-go-rounds very much anymore. I'm always the pusher.

House Pictures, finally!

Alright everyone, but mostly Mom. Here are all the pictures of the house. I didn't get the basement, but it has my sewing stuff and the toys. the pictures are a bit blurry, sorry about that. Hopefully, though, you'll be able to put the pictures together and get an idea of what it's like. The neighborhood is full of town homes squished together, but once you get inside you don't feel squished. Oh, and by the way... we moved to Macungie, Pennsylvania. Riley is attached to a reserve unit in Allentown. We should be here about 3 years.

Front Room and Entry

Here is the front door and living room. I was so excited to have a place for the piano and my clock. I feel a little bad that I like my stuff so much, but I really like my stuff!

Family Room

The previous owners had these walls painted a plum purple color that did not go with anything I had. It matched the border she had in the kitchen, but it still didn't work. That was really the only thing we had to change. And we replaced the carpet upstairs.

Kitchen and Yard

This is the eat in kitchen. I was pretty worried there wouldn't be enough room for the table, but there is plenty. We took down a border and painted. I still need to paint one of the chairs.
The deck is right off the side of the kitchen. Not a huge yard, but Riley bought an old fashioned push mower, so it seems big on grass cutting days. The neighbor keeps offering his lawn mower whenever Riley mows it.

Stairs

We made it to the top. The stairs are split in two sections with a turn.

Bedrooms

Here's Riley's and my bedroom. There's a closet and bathroom behind me. We are on the back of the house.This is Elli's side of the room.
This is Amy's side.
And Adam's. He doesn't want anything on his walls. Too bad. I'll find something. Their rooms are at the front of the house.

Bathrooms

This is the kids bathroom upstairs. It has light blue walls. The floor is tiny tiny tiles. I love the floor.This is the 1/2 bath on the main floor. The paint is green. I like it, too.

Picking Cherries at Strawberry Acres

Pennsylvania has several pick-your-own farms, so we decided to try cherries. We missed strawberries, but still get to do apples in August and peaches in September. Mmm.

We had to take a little truck ride and the farm was so neat. And the cherries were so plump and colorful. These are Empire cherries, not the black ones at the store, but they are just as sweet.

We easily could have picked more, but we spent over $30 as it was. Even Adam had fun picking. He got up on my shoulders to reach some great big ones for a second. He is heavy!

I can't decide if we should make a cheesecake or a almond cherry cake. Mmm boy!

Posing for a Picture

Amy jumped behind the Johnny Appleseed board.
Elli picked what I guess is Strawberry Shortcake. Amy didn't know which one she was behind.
Getting a ride on the bus.

Coming down the Turbo Tube

The farm had a big slide for the kids that they tried after eating a cookie from the bakery. It was a slow slide. I think maybe because they kids got their bums wet. Maybe.

"I want to do my OWN hair!"

Elli hates to have her hair done, by me. Since it's summer, I'm going to let her do it herself. When school is here, I hope it's long enough we can just braid it or put it back in a ponytail.

You can't see the bottom one very well, but each side has a tiny braid. Very pretty.