Mailing a box

I rarely ever mail anything from here, but this week I sent a box home.

Shawarma was there to make sure it all went well.  The other two tried to squeeze inside for the It it Fits, It Ships check, but changed their minds at the last minute.

Today was the Dead Sea Marathon.

No, we didn't participate.  But we saw kids who did, and Rebecca said "I should have done that."  So looks like next year we'll be heading out to the Dead Sea Marathon, and hope that the weather is as overcast and cool as it was today.

Instead we went to the baseball field for Nicholas's first baseball game.  This has been a whirlwind week with regards to baseball.  Last Friday Nicholas watched his friends play with the Amman Little League.  He came home raving about how he wanted to join.

Let me remind you that we are not a baseball family.  It's right on par with golf, as far as I'm concerned.

But all week, baseball baseball baseball.

So we did what all good parents do, we inquired.  Was it too late to register, was there room on a team, etc.    From the game he went to, and threw a ball around, and swung a bat a few times, all it took was a phone call and he was on a team.

I don't do baseball.

But this morning, the first day of Spring Break I might add, I and most of the family were up and out the door at 8 a.m. to stop at Starbucks and head to the field.

No one else was there.  It rained overnight and was overcast and drippy, no one thought to check email or the website.  Fabulous.  Friday here is Sunday at home, so nothing aside from some coffee shops are open at that hour.

We went home, spent some time with the xBox Kinect, before packing up again and heading to horseback riding where J and R are doing awesome.  I am so impressed with how well Jonathon listens and follows directions when he's on a horse.  Nicholas brought his glove and a ball and they tossed that around for a bit as well.

Looks like the game might be rescheduled for later this week.  Or not.  We're on Spring Break so getting everyone together could be a challenge even though not all the kids are ACSers.  I guess we just wait and see.

Honestly, Nicholas could use another practice before an actual game, if for nothing else than to just settle in with the team.

I'm actually pretty proud of him for finding something that caught his interest and being pushy about it.  Nicholas is very mellow, laid back, and a homebody.  This is so out of his comfort zone, but he went with it.

I guess there will be more of that to come with my nearly 13 year old.

Polar Bear Plunge 2013

OK, it was more a hot tub plunge after the solar panels and sunshine did their work the past couple weeks, but the anticipation was all they could have hoped for.

She got sunburned at the triathlon,
everywhere but her permanent marker number.

And then, the plunge.

Welcome summer pool season!  

Where the water is far warmer than the air temperature and the whipping wind.

But they are kids, and they don't care.

1 April 2013

This morning I woke up to a sad message from my parents.  Ovi, the gerbil named after Alex Ovechkin from the Washington Capitals, the gerbil that we gave to them when we left last summer, had passed.  He had quite a set-up at my parents' house.  Several house pods, extensive tunnels, plenty of bedding to fling and treats to eat.

The message I received:  It is finished

Ovi passed away peacefully today after three days of shutting down.

Sad.  So sad.  He was only 2 ½ years old.  I guess that is nearly old age for a gerbil.  Or maybe he had one wafer thin treat too many.  We’ll never know, will we?  Since they got Ovi my dad said he didn’t like the little rodent and why hadn’t it died already?  My mom says he’s kidding, he doted on that gerbil far more than we ever did.

But if you’re like me, you read that message.  Then read it again.  And said, huh… it is finished… three days…  Easter Sunday…  And then glanced at the date.  

Uh huh.

Me: Oh goodness.  Well we have bad news of our own, we’ve been put on ordered departure and will be in VA on Wednesday.  I hope you don’t mind if we stay with you?  Most likely it won’t be for more than 2 or 3 months?  Six at the worst.  Is that OK?  Oh, and we’ve been allowed to bring the 4 cats too.

My folks live in a 3 bedroom townhouse.  When we stay with them for a week it’s a squeeze.  They aren’t really pet people either, see my comment about my dad’s thoughts on Ovi.

Home: What prompted this sudden departure?  Please provide itinerary.  You renting a car at Dulles, or do we need to bring our two cars?

Me:  ;) 4/1/13

My dad:  We took you seriously.  Mom is even late to work because of it… didn’t think you’d do that on Ovi’s message.

My mom:  That was the worst April Fool’s joke ever J Papa and I were already in high gear making plans for your arrival.  Please, please don’t do that again. 

Hope all is really well with you.

…and the kicker…

BTW, Ovi really is gone.  He’s left a little hole in our world.

So at the same time I strike April Fool’s gold… the joke was on me.

RIP little guy. You'll be missed.

P.S. 

Me to Rebecca: Ovi died.

Rebecca: No way!

Me:  Really.  You know he was only supposed to live a couple years, so it’s about right.

*pause*

Rebecca: I thought you meant Ovechkin.  I was going to look it up on Google.

The Unicorns

Today, three of us got sunburned out in West Irbid.  We should know better.  Say hello to the first Wild and Free Adventures Triathlon and Duathlon.

She was so relieved there was a "No Swimming" sign.
Then bummed when swimming was OKed for today.

Looking towards the Jordan Valley area.

Red Bull was a major sponsor.

The muck when we first arrived at 9 a.m.

There's a lake in Jordan.  It's far away, anywhere from 2 to 2 1/2 hours away from Amman.  A dammed river, the water level is steadily dropping still.  The Jordan Valley is a major agricultural zone so every drop of water matters.

When the race organizers first checked the course at 6 a.m., the lake was clear.  A brisk wind brought in muck and plenty of it.  While it wasn't solid enough to walk on, it was plenty strong to support growing grass and rocks.

Rebecca was the youngest participant aside from one boy who did the short race.  Actually, let me 'splain.  There were 4 races run (Sprint Triathlon - 800m swim/15km bike/6km run, Sprint Duathlon, Novice Triathlon - 400m swim/10km bike/4km run, Novice Duathlon) , with a bunch of categories including the adult class, the 18 and under, and the 16 and under.  The only category that did not have multiple categories was the team race, where each person completed one portion.  Rebecca was part of a team.

On your mark...

The muck pile had grown so much while we waited (an expected 9:30a.m. start time became an actual 12p.m. start time, I'd expected to be home by 2, we made it back to the school at 5:30) when a large traveling muck island crashed into the already existing muck beach.  The entry point for the swimmers moved from the near rocks to the far rocks.  There were about 25 swimmers.

And they're off.

Photo of swimmers in a lake just don't do the sport justice. Her swimming partner was an ACS math teacher, the swimmer for the ACS team.

To complete 800m meant swimming from the rocks to the far buoy, along the coast to the near buoy, then along the muck island back to the rock... checking in and then doing it all a second time.

She and Mr. Lewis swam neck and neck until the last 1/6 of the race when Mr. Lewis pulled ahead, but the marker was up at the transition stage at the bikes where her teammate was waiting, so Becca ran ahead of Mr. Lewis while he stopped to pull on shoes.

She came in 4th out of 25.  Against the cold, and the current, and the sticks and muck and swimmers twice as big as her.  Because, you know, she rocks.

They were completely covered in muck because the lake was filled with it.  It filled her hair and her swimsuit.  Not as bad as Mr. Lewis though.  And some of the swimmers swam through the muck island instead of around it, which looked to be about as fast a snail moving through molasses.

Down at the ecolodge.  Leftover ruins.

Becca had to take a potty break (why she didn't do so in the lake we don't know, she says she was busy swimming), so we went down to the EcoLodge.  The "lodge" is rustic.  Cabins do have power and even AC, but without bathrooms, and the fields around are filled with all sorts of nasty plants and bugs that simple want to attack you.  On our first trek down (thank you, coffee) we went with another ACS teacher, her kids, and her visiting parents.  We took the running track which at points was barely passable with the nettles and thorns.  Thank goodness we wore jeans, but it still hurt.  We took the road back which was long and steep.  The second time we decided we would be smarter and went the back way because we "saw a path" that led directly from the road to the restroom.  Only it didn't and the nettles and thorns were even worse that way, with a path that quickly fizzled out. We pushed our way through, came out scratched and itchy and hot and sweaty, and swore about how much we hated nature. Again the road brought us back.

We made it back to the finish line in time to see our two ACS team runners cross.  Our young biker finished his leg 4th overall and in front of our adult team.  He would have been far ahead but he blew a bike tire and waited for a replacement bike.  Our runner made up the time, only to be sent on the wrong path and have to make his way back by traversing over some barbed wire and getting hurt in the process.  He came in about 10 minutes after the ACS teacher team.

Our two teams were the only 2 teams racing, everyone else raced as individuals.  Our kids (all freshmen) were treated as adults, as there was no category for student team.


In this race, there's no award for 2nd place.

Does it look like they care?  Nope.  They rocked the race, and are already talking about next year.

Just to the right of middle are the bathrooms.
Between the road and the restrooms is a field of nastiness.
Don't let how pretty it looks fool you.
Nature sucks.

Kids and Cats.

Videos from dinnertime yesterday. Bad video because the room was dark.  But up because Becca asked.

*yawn* *stretch *smile* See&View

We're all a little tired today, and a nap is called for.  We had a nice brunch out at Blue Fig, along with several other Embassy families, after a rather memorable morning with those same families.

The line outside for security formed at 5 a.m.  We joined in at 7 a.m. so definitely did not get the front row, but while the ballroom could hold 1500 people, we expected only to fill half.  It was cold outside.  Remember how I said yesterday started at about 80 degrees then dropped like a rock with the sandstorm?  This morning was overcast and threatened to rain and 47 degrees.  None of us wore coats because we're dummies.

Let me just say, the Secret Service guys are awesome.  Don't tick them off, like the Peace Corps folks waiting with us did and were unapologetic about, and they are very cordial.  They made sure Jonathon's pop tart went safely through security.

This time was a little different than last time when we met President Bush in Manila.  No chairs to sit on while we waited, for one thing, which can make for a long wait when the President isn't expected until 9 a.m.  Ian didn't have to work this one either.  Last time he was off doing his thing, managing the arrivals at the airport  (and had his photo taken in front of Air Force One) and then dealing with the press corps all day.  We didn't see him.  We also didn't see Katherine as she was at Malacanang Palace for the children's welcome.  That's where the photo of Katherine and Mrs. Bush was taken.  The other 3 and I sat in the heat of the Ambassador's yard and waited for hours.  That's a long time for kids 2, 4, and 6.

This time Ian was with us.  Our friend, Donna, had airport duty and had her photo in front of Air Force One.   It felt like the rest of Embassy was busy with the visit, while Ian held down the Consular fort.  Katherine was with us as well, but hung out with her friends.  The boys were in the affectionately labeled Petting Zoo.  All kids between 7-14 were corralled off the ballroom, which allowed them to play (Nicholas had cards), read (Jonathon had a book), make noise, and hang out with their friends and not underfoot.  About 15 minutes before the President arrived they were shuttled into the ballroom and situated on risers so they could all see and, more importantly, shake hands with the President and Secretary Kerry.  Our boys were in the mix somewhere, but being "so far" in the back of the general assembly I couldn't find them.

About 10 minutes late (yes, it matters!) the guests of honor arrived.  And the deluge of cameras began.

And iPads.  I wish I had a pocket full of rocks to throw at every single iPad that was held for photos, and worse, videos.  If I wanted to watch the whole thing on a screen I would have stayed home.  Not that it was live fed anywhere, but you know what I mean.

Secretary Kerry was a Foreign Service brat starting around 11 years old, and it was great he spoke directly to our kids, and to us, as one of us.  Personal note, his voice is deeper than I expected.  And no, it doesn't matter one bit.  Just sayin'.

Well bummer, my short video of President Obama didn't even get in focus.  Thanks iPad person.

Nicholas and Rebecca shook his hand, the rest of us were not so lucky, but that's OK.

Getting to see him in person was a privilege.  Thank you Mr. President for taking time out of your day to meet with us, it meant a lot.