Talapia

Jakob has found a new food group. Fish. He had a sample of talapia at SAM'S and has been having it weekly since then. Today we went to Wegman's, my favorite grocery store, and had lunch. The variety in this "food court" is amazing. Jakob had seared talapia with green beans. When asked what kind of sauce he would like he requested ketchup. The chef raised his eyebrows a little at this request, but did provide the ketchup on the side.
Another wonderful thing at Wegman's is their rolls. They have the most delicious rolls in all kinds of flavors. My favorite is the olive oil and rosemary roll. It takes just like the bread and olive oil you get at Macaroni Grill without having to dip it. Jakob likes the cheese rolls and the pretzel rolls. They are all wonderful. We walked out with a dozen for our small family of 3. We love it days old too! The minute George walked in the house he went for the rolls and said he had been thinking about them all day. Yummy!

Why?

Jakob is asking a lot of questions lately. Well, he's been asking a lot of questions for the last 3 years. The questions he is asking lately are harder than they ever have been. The following are a few I remember:

• Why did God make me?
• What is the difference between regular paper and money?
• What are my nails made out of?
• Can we get a new dog when BJ dies?
• How did I get out of your belly?
• Why do all the unhealthy foods taste better than the healthy foods?
• Why do I have to practice reading when I am not in school?
• Why does time go slower when I am in the learning centers at school?
• Why are some people blind?
• Why are people mean?

These are just a few questions he has asked lately that I have really had to think about my answers. I have put him off sometimes by saying I had to think about that for a little while. (sometimes he'll forget his question) I love his curiosity, but I am struggling to find the answers he will understand. Some of the answers I don't understand.

Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun...

Finally shined down on us! This weekend we spent most of our time outside.
On Saturday it was a little cool but Jakob and George were determined to get the vegetable garden started. They dug up a lot of ivy and prepared the soil for veggie seeds. Jakob has pumpkin, sunflower, radish and carrot seeds. We will hopefully plant them next weekend. I cleaned the house in the morning and then went for a manicure and a pedicure. A sure sign sandal weather is on its way.
Sunday was beautiful. After church and lunch we spent all afternoon outside playing and doing yard work. Jakob is getting so good on his bicycle. He crashes a lot, but only because he is trying new tricks. We love our new front yard and the cul-de-sac. It is so much more kid-friendly. Lots of room to kick a ball and ride scooters.
Next week brings more opportunity to play outside. Warm weather should be here to stay. Tuesday will be soccer in Woodbridge. Wednesday I have bible study and Thursday we have a play date with Jakob's school friend, Olivia.

Today we made a trip into DC to visit some museums. We tried to get tickets for the Treasury Building to see how money was printed, but they had no more tickets. We headed to the American History Museum and played in the lab. Jakob did several experiments with carbon dioxide. He saw what happened when you added the gas to a liquid acid indicator and it changed color. He liked when the instructor poured the invisible gas from dry ice on top of a candle flame and it went out. He explained the carbon dioxide smothered the flame and didn't allow the oxygen get to the flame. Then he went on to have the kids blow through a straw into the acid indicator and their breath turned the water a different color. WOW!! The best experiment was the smoke stack that happened when you put it in with some kind of water the kids filled with carbon dioxide and then put a straw in the beaker and sealed the top so the water vapor could only escape out the straw. COOL!!! The last experiment was dry ice in soap and water. Great soap bubbles that smoked when you popped them. We spent hours in the lab.
For lunch we made our way over to the Natural History Museum to see the Butterfly Exhibit. Lots of butterflies. Lunch at the cafe and we had a full day. Home before the rush and early to bed for another full day tomorrow.

Sign, Pee and Summer

Sunday was another super busy day. The highlight was while we were sitting in church. This Sunday we had a unique experience hearing an orator, Marquis Laughlin tell the first part of the Book of John. While he was telling the story Jakob wrote a note for George. It said "Kac Me" or in our words, "Kick Me". He put it on George's chest. What a great literary contribution our son has given to the world.
After church Grandma Betty, Jakob and I went to a birthday party at Hidden Pond Nature Center in Springfield. Jakob got to pet turtles, snakes, frogs and other crawly pond animals. It was great. The best part was when the frog peed on the first row of kids. EWWW!
I have started signing Jakob up for classes. At the end of March he will start basketball on Saturdays and a week later he starts a class on recycling paper. This summer he is signed up for two, one week, half-day camps at Hidden Pond. I think he will enjoy the nature classes. They will be exploring the pond life and native animals. Jakob's pretty sure he'll get dirty and wet.

Bears, Sales and Fish

Today we had George's parents visiting and we had a lazy morning and a busy afternoon. We started with a great breakfast and playing with a lunch/snack following. We all piled into the car and we were off to the Potomac Mills to buy a bear. Jakob has been getting a $3 allowance since he turned six. He puts .25 into a charity fund and $1 into a save fund. He spends the rest on whatever he wants. When a coupon from Build-a-Bear came in the mail it was a stuffed animal he wanted. He saved $6.00 to cover the cost of the animal and was thrilled with his choice of "Lilly" a tan bear he picked out.
After the mall we headed to Manassas to pick up some consignment items I had dropped off the previous Saturday to sell. We only had 7 things that didn't sell. A great success.
George's mom has wanted to eat at Bone Fish Grill for awhile now and we were able to fit it in this visit. Once we were seated we ordered drinks. The waiter brought Jakob a regular tall glass of water and said, "I brought you a regular glass of water, don't spill it." And of course we know what happened 10 minutes later right? The tables are covered with paper and it was soaked. Luckily we hadn't gotten our meals yet and with some effort the staff changed the paper and got us all set up right before the meal came. The manager was super nice to Jakob and offered him calamaris (which he declined) and brought over a fish book at the end of dinner to show Jakob the kind of fish he had eaten. During the fish discussion the manager showed Jakob a fish from Hawaii. When Jakob informed him he had been born in Hawaii we were shown all the fish from Hawaii. A very fun meal with lots of individual attention. Great food too.

Snow Day

Yesterday brought 8 inches of snow to Northern Virginia. Beautiful, fluffy white stuff that we haven't seen so much of since we left Wichita in 2000. Jakob and I headed out for a day full of shoveling and snowball making. We bought a snowball maker yesterday at Target in anticipation of all this snow. It was the best purchase I've made in awhile. Jakob kept thanking me for the purchase and kept saying, "This is the best day ever!"

Jakob always got frustrated when making snowballs because, quite frankly, it's hard for a kid to get it packed down and a form a snowball. The snowball maker is perfect because it packs the snow together for a perfectly round snowball. So much fun. BJ really enjoyed it too. He was pretty sure he could catch the snowball and got really frustrated when he couldn't find it after he had caught it in his mouth. Hilarious.

We made two trips outside for snow fun and eventually ended up back inside for some hot chocolate. We are sad George missed the snow. We are hoping there is enough still around tomorrow when he will be home. Jakob and I have plans for that snowball maker. Hee hee.