Monday, June 6, 2011

Mayhem and foolishness

We spent the weekend in the nation's capital. I did not actually see said capital on this trip although I did catch a glimpse of the Jefferson Memorial and the top of the Washington Monument as we zipped by on the motorway. Wait, we did not zip. We inched. I don't think it's possible to ever actually zip around the DC motorways. Most of our time was spent a. renting a truck to drive to b. the storage unit so we could move all the items there into c. daughter1's apartment. Finally. As you may recall, the moving saga ended with a cliffhanger.

Not really, but it did end with daughter1's belongings in storage since the roommate whose spot she was taking in the apartment wasn't technically vacating until the end of May. We then had to negotiate a window into hubs calendar so he could be there to 1. drive the truck 2. load the truck 3. carry all the heavy stuff in/out of the truck 4. hang curtains (he could be a professional at this point in time) 5. buy stuff at Home Depot and 6. paint. Oh yeah, lastly but not leastly, he needed to treat daughter1 to a birthday dinner celebration. She is lucky to have us. Just sayin'.

Friday was gorgeous and hubs took the day off so we could take our time getting into the city. We arrived about 3 and since Daughter1 was at work we decided to make a stop at Arlington National Cemetery.


My dad is buried there and we haven't been since we moved back to the states. It is a beautiful restful spot and we like to sit on the grass and think and remember.

After leaving Arlington we drove into the middle of downtown because we're crazy like that. If you've never experienced DC traffic on a sunny Friday afternoon at rush hour you don't know what you're missing. We really wanted to see where Daughter1's office was located so we braved it...such a fun location for her with lots of restaurants and people around. She is enjoying her job very much which is a huge blessing.

We had the seats down in the car in order to bring her a bookcase from home so she couldn't ride back to her apt with us. She took the train as she normally does and we continued inching our way along towards her home. Driving in DC requires patience, skill, a little attitude and a big horn. So thankful my daughter can use public transportation to get to and from work because I truly don't think I'd survive her negotiating this traffic on a daily basis.

The three of us had a nice dinner on Friday evening and then went back to her apt so hubs could re-paint a couple of walls in her space and she and I could paint the trim. She had already painted the walls but had a small mishap in the paint matching department that needed correcting. Plus she is 'not tall' and had no ladder so the top edge needed a father's touch. Saturday we spent the day doing what we do best...loading the storage unit stuff into the rental truck and then out of the rental truck and into the apartment. The boyfriend met us at the apartment for the unloading which was a huge help. We also made the requisite trip to Home Depot so curtains and pictures could be hung and various other little tasks managed.


Daughter1 has a birthday this week so we ended the night celebrating with her boyfriend and one of her roommates at a wonderful French bistro not far from her apartment.


Who doesn't love seeing a box like this one on their birthday?


What? You thought it was a purse? Rain boots. Super cute rain boots. She's a commuter now you know and super cute rain boots are an essential.

I did a mental calculation and determined this was our 14th move in/out of various dorm rooms, storage units, and on and off campus apartments with our two girls since the oldest started uni in 2006. We are not done yet. This one will stay put for a while but daughter2 is still a college student so there are a few more moves in my future. Whenever I write about moving my girls I always get comments saying people left their kids to their own devices to figure it all out. I guess we could do that too and my parents certainly weren't renting trucks to haul my belongings from place to place but I didn't have a lot. What I owned pretty much fit in my car. I wasn't moving any furniture to speak of until I got married and then I had the hubs to do the lifting and hauling. Daughter1 is moving living room, kitchen, and bedroom furniture and the reality is she needs help to do it. Both my girls are tiny so there is no way either of them could move a big day bed or heavy dresser alone. I couldn't do that myself.

We have had a lot of geography between us since our girls went off to university so we are always glad for any chance we have to spend time with them. I need to know there are locks on the doors and lights in the parking lot and the area is safe and not sketchy. Mostly though I need to see their space and have a picture of that in my head.

Sunday we headed for home...we were making a stop enroute to visit the hubs sister and her family who live about an hour now from Daughter1. She followed us in her car so she could say hi to her cousins and make the weekend last just a little bit longer. My sil fixed us a nice lunch and we sat on their lovely screened porch and chatted. There was some mulberry picking and some butterfly chasing...


...and a little swinging too. The neighbor girls stopped by so it was a fun afternoon. Here are all the 'kids' getting excited about the next and final Harry Potter movie premiering next month. I'll let you guess which one in this group is the most excited. I'll give you a hint...


It is not the eleven year olds. ahem.

13 comments:

  1. Oh I am glad your daughter is enjoying her new job! THEY ARE LUCKY TO HAVE US! :))) I did think you gave her a nice purse! Rainboots - practical and important! Happy Birthday to her!

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  2. my now-sophomore college student is HARRY POTTER 4ever...i honestly don't know how she'll cope once it is over. she'll be in the midst of beginning her nursing studies so i'm hopeful it will demand her time and won't be so traumatic.
    love all the pics, happy birthday to your girl, and i'm sure she's extremely thankful for everything you orchestrated to get her settled ;) Love see you love on your girls :)

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  3. I hope you can see this. I'm worried you will break up with me soon for not commenting!

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  4. I was JUST informing the Hubby he was just going to have to "go down there and help her out." :) Miss K. is also moving twice in as many months. ugh.

    Daughter1 looks so happy. Doesn't it just make everything so worth it?!

    Our children are Blessed, that's for sure.

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  5. I can completely understand wanting to participate in the moves; we've done it a few times already with our college sophomore son and our high school daughter is already talking up about her Mom and Dad will be helping her move/decorate/settle in.
    All the best to Daughter1!

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  6. It was such a fun afternoon. Glad you guys stopped by! See you again soon.

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  7. It sounds like a lotta work, but it sounds like a lotta fun too.

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  8. DD2 decided not to take a car to DC- she drives the boytoy's car if she needs one but HATES driving in DC. She got her rain boots for Christmas. :)

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  9. Happy Birthday to your daughter!
    Blessings and prayers,
    andrea

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  10. I hop you own stock in UHAUL with all those moves under your belt! Hopefully this is it for a couple years. I'm glad you made it to Arlington, we went for the first time over Spring Break it was amazing to see. Enjoy your week!

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  11. Awww...I'm glad that your daughter officially got moved in, and that you were able to spend some time together.

    How neat that your dad is buried at Arlington!

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  12. i'm on your side. i'd want to have the picture of where my girls would be resting their pretty little heads, too. rain boots... too cute. ;)

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  13. What a fabulous weekend. I know there was painting and moving involved but how awesome to spend time with #1. Love the boots! We have moved our children a number of times too and it's not over yet. How wonderful that you got to visit your dad at the cemetery. Sounds like your daughter is going to have a wonderful time in DC. Also awesome that you visited with your SIL.

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