A quick trip to DC for a conference lead to an invitation to meet with Congressman Frank Lobiondo at his office and a staff-guided tour of the Capitol Building. That should serve as our history curriculum for this week, I'd say!

We were escorted through the security checkpoints and the tunnels that connect the offices and the Capitol itself. No sign of Jack Bauer, though. Once again the matching navy Land's End blazers proved to be an excellent wardrobe investment. We own them in a range of sizes and have pulled them out of the closet for short-notice special occasions with remarkable frequency.

Had to catch these great poses of the boys admiring the interior of the Capitol dome. We were definitely outnumbered by a flock of red-hatters in the rotunda. They are just adorable and are probably a political force in their own right!

Ta-Dah!!!!!

Finished!

Thank You!!

I am so grateful to EVERYONE who responded to the questions in the last post, either in "comments" or via email. Your thoughts were fascinating and articulated so clearly the heavy burdens placed on women in our culture...hmmm..or do we place them upon ourselves? It's all very complicated and I hope to share some of the similar themes that came through in a future post once I have digested it all.

Little Luddy is the winner of the book, "Feathers from My Nest" by Beth Moore. consolation prizes will be given to those who are at MOPS this Thursday! Here is a sneak preview...Birdie slaved over the ModPodge for hours helping me get them glued up before I take off for a little field trip with the wee men tomorrow. In case you were wondering how long it takes to decoupage 50 one-gallon paint cans: 9 hours. Ridiculous, but they are so adorable. I'll post a pic of the finished product once we add the mini pompom fringe and vintage Easter tags. Oh, and the vintage tinsel garland and grosgrain ribbons. Visually delicious. They are inspired by a little can I saw at Blissful Living Studio. (scroll back to the Phoenix posts)

Labs!

Spring has sprung and so has much of our canine's hair. The spring shed is our girl's one and only fault. After much thought, I have determined that it is not an act of cruelty to vaccuum a dog who does not mind it...much.

Heavenly

I do believe the scriptures say that He is building me a mansion in glory. Not to be presumptuous, but I would not mind if mine was something like 503 Chapel Rd., Sedona, AZ.

And maybe HE could be my next door neighbor. We may have driven each other crazy by then. Thus the His and Hers mansions. His will be a moss-covered Irish castle with dark wooden paneling throughout.

God's grace and good chemistry.

Aunt Susan's Narcotics

Some people do drugs. Our Aunt Susan does Sedona.(see previous posts)

These pictures should knock the bronchitis right out of her. FDA approved, I'm sure.

We felt a certain obligation to pay a visit to Fiona at Garland's Indian Jewelry on her behalf. Did my part to stimulate the local economy.

Domestic Bliss

And THEN we followed our handy-dandy map over to Main St. in Mesa to a place I had found through bloggy connections...Domestic Bliss. This place is practically edible. Not just another crafts boutique, though. How often I have visited such places and thought, oh I could make that myself, if only I had the time...and the materials, and the talent. Get this: Domestic Bliss the boutique is adjacent to Blissful Living Studio, which is an adorable workshop where you can register to attend classes for everything from vintage aprons to blog embellishment. Membership is available, or you can choose classes a la carte. Their site has a marvelous blog of its own with links to their instructors' blogs. Check it out!

The Heard Museum

The Heard Museum is amazing. Hall after hall of Native American artwork. Testimonials that are almost too heartbreaking to bear. More tribes than I had ever known of. And where was I when the Indian Schools were mentioned in history class? I think they were mysteriously omitted in our textbooks. Let's move on. I feel a homeschooling rant coming on.

All of this was perfect inspiration for the trip that the kids and I are going on with a church group to a reservation in New Mexico this August. We hope to serve the people there, learn about their lives and beliefs, and earn the privilege of sharing ours. As an aside, we appreciate any prayers for the many resources and finances that need to be gathered for this adventure. We will be shipping a week's worth of teaching materials and crafts to presented to children in various venues and may not have much advance notice of exactly where we will be and how many children might attend. Lots of logistical and training matters need tending to between now and then.

Can't wait to see it all come together!

In the Heard Museum shop I couldn't resist an out-of-print book entitled "Presbyterian Attitudes Toward The Native Americans:18__-1879." A little light reading ...it may or may not be applicable...I'll let you know!

Meanwhile, M. had a blast spending every penny of his remaining birthday money on a talking stick, a mallet, a t-shirt, and some books. He wanted this sheep for his big sis the sheep freak, but acknowledged that it wouldn't squeeze into his suitcase.

The Phoenix Zoo

M.'s favorite place for sure.
Up close with the monkeys!

So blessed to spend a day with this sweet boy. He talked at length and with an air of authority about every animal in sight and at times laughed out loud at himself. I'm not even sure that he needed me there other than to pay for the camel ride, but it was fun to tag along.

Color Fix

The Banker was off to his meetings to do what bankers do, and M and I zipped off to the Phoenix Botanical Gardens. So nice of them to arrange to have an exhibit of my favorite glass artist, Dale Chihuly's work set throughout the gardens. Could not believe it. Too perfect to be coincidence. Where did I just hear the quote that coincidence is simply when God chooses to remain anonymous? Delightful.

On Our Way

We did make it through security after all! It takes a village for us to get away without all of the kids. No less than 10 of our friends looked after the kiddoes at some point during our trip. We have great friends- thanks everybody!
Once we arrived at the airport, we settled in with breakfast and had a little visit with Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell who shared our flight on his way to the NBA championship game. A great flight, in spite of the fact that the battery on M's dvd player failed to charge the night before. The novelty of cloud-watching satisfied him for most of the trip. That, and a soda from the flight attendant's cart.

Before posting our time in Phoenix, I have to introduce another

Susan. She is Aunt Susan to most of us here at the Pink Victorian and she is one of a kind. She and Uncle Paul live in the Northeast but are meant to be somewhere in the Southwest...New Mexico, maybe Sedona. She is regularly decorated with her collection of exquisite Native American jewelry, and the exterior of her townhouse should be coated in adobe to compliment the interior and she is also perfectly comfortable visiting with a nephew's bearded dragon; another desert dweller. She makes routine pilgrimages to the West, but is in need of a good dose of red rock and sunshine after a challenging Yankee winter and a nasty bout of bronchitis. Thus the ABUNDANT vacation photos to follow.

M. used every bit of his b-day check from Uncle Paul and Aunt Susan at the gift shop of the Heard Museum in Phoenix. She must be very pleased. Thanks Aunt Susan! Hope the vicarious vacation does your heart good.

Wild Goose Chase

It was a brilliant idea. Or it would have been. We were wanting to do something creative this Valentines Day for a set of Floridian grandparents who abandon us for sunnier climes each autumn and return in the spring when the weather here is more to their liking. Snowbirds. A few days before the holiday we were on our way home from piano lessons and passed a field covered with at least a thousand large, white snow geese making a migratory pit stop. We hurried home for the camera, quickly cut out red paper hearts for the boys to hold up in front of the massive flock. I would snap the clever pose and post it with the caption "We Love Snowbirds!". Problem. In the brief time that it took us to fetch our props, the entire bunch of birds vanished. Gone. I'm talking about a thousand birds or more. We drove around thinking they must be SOMEWHERE nearby, but not a snow goose was to be found. What we did find was a pitiful scraggly flock of winter starved turkeys. If you squint, you can see that a couple of them were even attempting to mate. No snowbirds, just passionate turkeys. We tried.

We Love Snowbirds!

Eek!! I really have neglected the poor blog! I'm hoping to do a quick catch-up before another little hiatus while I am in Phoenix next week. It's been the busiest January we've had in a few years.

M. has already packed his little suitcase in anticipation of his flight west. I think Homeland Security might object to the plastic rifle butt sticking out of his carry-on. And he packed more clothing for his Build-A-Bear puppy dog than he did for himself. His other must-haves? A bathing suit and his favorite pj's. We're off to the convenience store for the main reason he loves to fly: bubblegum!

NoHo Field Trip Part 3: M&J Trims and Times Square

Off to M&J Trims in the garment district to get some edging for Isabelle's bib. They have EV-ER-Y-THING for trimming and handbag hardware, millinery doo-dads, tassels and ribbons. Overwhelming. Completely overwhelming.

An obligatory stop at the Apple store. One of each please.


Shopping for finger puppets for another cousin from a street vendor. A silly dispute over which was Yoda and which was Shrek. I wanted neither, but some days these kiddoes can argue over ANYTHING! We bought a generic monkey for Cousin and moved on.

S. Coveting some running shoes at the Adidas store.

When we said we were leaving SoHo (derived from SOuth of HOuston) someone asked, "Now where? NoHo??." Logical. There must be something north of Houston.
Love that.

NoHo Field Trip Part 2: NYC Library

Between The Lions.

The Reading Room.
And after that we took a brisk walk to The Times Square Toys'R'Us Store with its ferris wheel and mobs of shoppers for a mini-shopping spree with Christmas money. Followed by a mild panic attack for Mommy...M. doesn't like to hold hands much and well, it is Times Square. Clearly not designed with a family of 7 in mind. Easy for a maternal imagination to migrate from a released hand-hold to a lost child to human trafficking. Perfectly legitimate concerns. A ride on Daddy's shoulders-the best solution.

Time for a relaxing dinner in the back room at The Heartland Brewery. Bellies filled, we joined the line of cars in the Lincoln Tunnel headed to the more sedate life of South Jersey. NYC...a nice place to visit...

NoHo Field Trip Part 1: Bryant Park

Just some sweet shots of a whimsical carousel in Bryant Park, alongside the skate pond.
Those too cool to ride.

Those who ride and look cool anyway.

Not pictured: The Banker who was looking for parking. He would represent those without whom the ride would not be possible. You only go around once in life- enjoy the ride!