Another Average Day: Meeting John Edwards and Chuck E. Cheese

Last night I got a huge surprise - an invite from our realtor’s sister Karen, who is involved with the Democratic Party, to join her in seeing John Edwards today in his visit to Charleston! What an opportunity! So after a hectic day Mark and I managed to meet in Charleston, swap kids and vehicles, and I was off to meet the former Senator/current Presidential Candidate. Karen was a riot (this was my first time meeting her) and with some of her friends we had a blast at a private, invitation-only event at the Marriott! John was so friendly and personable - and I was thrilled to get to shake his hand and wish him well. His speech was very real, down-to-earth, and inspiring, and I am just so grateful that I got to experience such a cool event. On the way out, a local news reporter asked if I’d mind giving a response, and Karen snapped this pic while I was talking.

When I got home at 7:30, I was worried because Mark and the kids weren’t home yet. They pulled up a few minutes later bubbling with excitement that Daddy had taken them to Chuck E. Cheese. They had a great time, and even got to meet the rodent himself, who as Evan said was “walking around and patting heads.” They had this machine that (after snapping an image) pretended to "sketch" Autumn and Evan; souveneirs of their fun little trip. What an exciting day in pellfam world!

Summer Fake-Out

We've been enjoying nearly a week of 80 degree days and watching trees blossom! It's been amazing. On Monday we took a little mountain hike at a county park near our home, and the kids climbed pretty well. We just got a new metal roof put on last week and according to my friend next-door, we are the talk of the neighborhood for trying something new. We had friends over for dinner on Saturday and you'd swear it was a 4th of July party as we lounged in the grass at dusk swatting bugs, chasing kids, and eating cheesecake. Simply fabulous. Last fall, the kids and I planted about 40 tulip bulbs all around the yard, and they are just days away now from opening up. It is so refreshing to experience spring with little ones. We've enjoyed the summer tease thoroughly - though a cold front tonight will knock us all the way down to the 60s tomorrow. Just a couple weeks ago, "60s" seemed very warm!

Cityscapes

Having just passed the Vernal Equinox, Spring is being felt in our corner of the world. Marisa and the kids are spending at least 2-3 hours a day outside planting, playing, walking, etc. As for me, it's nice to be able to roll down the window on the way back from work... lately, we've had some afternoons in the 60s/70s. Everything is still just pre-greenup, but the higher sun angles and mild temps are making for some beautiful days. Taking it all in, I snapped a few pics of downtown Charleston in the past week. But for a more "current" view, the WCHS-TV Charleston SkyCam has been added on the right bar, which you can click for a bigger version.

Speaking of Charleston, if you want some more intimate views and blurbs about our fair State Capitol, I highly suggest a stroll over to the DowntownWV Blog of "The Gazz." It's part of the Charleston Gazette Newspaper's web site. I got hooked on it during our last couple months in Montana, when we were eagerly awaiting our move to West Virginia. Lots of local flavor, including cool old architecture, city quirks, etc. Enjoy! -Mark

And from the homefront...

Yesterday got so warm and muggy that we actually turned the AC on for a little while! The children of the neighborhood were frolicking about the streets in last summer's clothes, that don't quite fit anymore. Today was cold and rainy, and this jaunt you see here was, for the first day in a very long time, the only time the kids and I left the house all day. I forced myself to stay home, which is hard for me! We all have colds, and a big weekend ahead, so we played dollhouse and did puzzles and paints and watched some videos. It was quite cozy and nice. I've been getting ready for our huge MOPS consignment sale this weekend - I'm selling a ton of stuff! It will be quite the event with over 90 consignors and 50 volunteers, including security! I'm really excited about it, except for having to take the kids with me tommorrow for consignor drop-off - it will be an absolute zoo. But my dear neighbor Teresa is watching the kids tommorrow evening so I can go to the volunteer-only pre-sale (yeay!) and then pick up Mark from the airport. We are excited to have him back home!

Bonjour from Boise

It's the third day of IMET (Incident Meteorologist) training in Boise Idaho, where I have joined roughly 7 dozen or so colleagues from across the country... from rookies and veterans. Today, I even met the Director of the National Weather Service, General Johnson. He just sat down next to me and said, "So, what should I talk about?" a couple minutes before addressing all of the IMETs. Pretty funny. I am overwhelmed by all that I have learned here; feelings of "where do I begin" since I am a rookie and have so much to learn. But I also really know now that THIS is the program in which I belong, where I will be dispatched to hazardous incidents - wildfires, chemical releases, etc. - to provide weather support. Basically, having incident responders/firefighters/others directly relying on me to break down the computer models into an absolutely clear, concrete forecast, from which they can initiate their strategy for the day. Well, gotta go... heading to the IMET dinner. -Mark

Seedlings

We've been enjoying watching our seeds sprout indoors, however, the pumpkins weren't quite necessary to start this early. You can see them on the right straining to get into the picture. In other news, we've been very busy lately and it's caught up with me and Mark; we've both got a bug now and I'm hoping the kids don't get too sick. Mark leaves tomorrow for a week-long training in Boise on fire weather, and we've been busy with meetings, birthday parties, church activities, and playing outside in the recent warm days. Today was also a big day for my mom, who moved into her new condo! I wish I could've been there to help, but with the kids in tow I am usually more of a hinderance than help. We'll be in MI for Easter to check out the new digs. We also enjoyed a spontaneous visit on Wednesday from Popski and Dixie as part of a 4,000 mile road trip! Thanks for helping to fix our door, Popski!

Dad Day

On Thursday, I had an all-day training for West Virginia Birth-Three, a program I will be enrolling with as an independant contractual social worker. This was very exciting for me, as I've been out of the professional world for some time now! It was also exciting for the kids as they got to spend an entire day just with Dad. In the morning he took them to the park, and in the afternoon he took them swimming at YMCA. And when I came in at 4:30, here they were, all plum-tuckered out on Daddy's lap!