Family!

Well, we've been having a great time with Anne and David. A sampling:

--Tuesday Rachel and I got flu shots at a free health clinic in one of the local high schools, the one Rachel will be going to if we stay in the area. We could have gone to a pediatrician on Drew's health plan, but we've been so busy and frazzled with other things that as soon as I saw the announcement about the clinic, I jumped on it. It was a huge, huge relief for me to have us both get shots, because I've been feeling irresponsible for not doing so until now. On the way out of the clinic we ran into a bake sale and I got to chatting with the woman in charge of it, who happens to be a journalist and we had a long talk about the public affairs/journalism world out here. These encounters are what I'm beginning to call Quintessential Arlington Moments.

Then we all drove to the Ballston Metro parking garage, hopped on the train and David, Rachel and I went to the Air & Space Museum on the Mall while Anne visited some other museums. I got a great shot of David and Rachel under the Voyager, which David helped build, and he seemed to enjoy taking her around the museum and explaining the concepts of thrust and other engineering terms. We went outside to take a break at one point -- it was a beautiful day, in the high 60s -- then went back inside to see a movie at the Planetarium. At 5 we met up with Anne, having taken a pedicab from our side of the Mall to where she was, and then we continued on to the great Mexican restaurant they'd chosen for dinner. The pedicab driver was so nice, he was enchanted with Rachel and sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and threw some D.C. landmarks into the lyrics. She cracked up, she's so easily amused these days. Drew joined us around 6:15 and we all shared small plates.

The food was fabulous but on the Metro on the way home I began feeling queasy, probably because I don't eat Mexican food that often. When we got home, I had to go upstairs and lie down for a while until I felt better.

--Wednesday I had a lunch meeting, so Anne and David took the Metro with me. I got off at Pentagon City..only to have my lunch date forget about meeting me. Grumpily I decided to take the Metro into D.C. and meet Drew for lunch, which of course was great, and then when I got home the day was so gorgeous that I decided to take a late afternoon bike ride down the W&OD trail. I got almost all the way to Vienna. The sunset alone was worth it. I'm still in the Portland frame of mind that says I MUST be outside whenever there's sun because it could disappear all in one moment and I'll be facing six months of rain. Dad, this is probably a demented version of your 10 o'clock rule on weekends. If so, it's definitely working.

When we all got home, Drew warmed up the turkey soup he made from the carcass of last weekend's turkey at Dan and Beryle's. Paired with my parsley-flecked dumplings, it was a great meal and David and Anne were profusely glad we'd made it. We all had the last of the pumpkin cocoa cake for dessert.

--Today Anne and David were on their own; I considered going into D.C. to do museums with Anne but then got caught running errands in the morning (including FedExing a copy of the law school magazine to Montana for a contest) and then really wanted to swim this afternoon, so I ended up working at home (answering emails, organizing my list of jobs I want to apply to) and then making chocolate chip cookies for Ivy's dad, Billy, whose birthday is tonight. They weren't home when Rachel and I stopped over after school, so hopefully I'll be able to deliver them tomorrow. In the meantime, there's plenty left for us (including Anne and David, of course, who are staying until Sunday)....