Thanks, cat

Patrick's Birthday Dinner

Who had a birthday and finished an externship in March?

This guy.

Nana and Popped stopped by on their way north for a family celebration. Nana brought Easter eggs.

She likes holidays. She hid them for Shane before we picked him up from school.

Patrick arrived shortly after the eggs-stravaganza. Nana ambushed him at the door (she was still excited).

Only the light wasn't adequate and Nana's excitement was unabated.

The next picture was a keeper!

It's hard to get everyone in focus in this family. And that's okay, because it's the way we like it.

After a little, we all went out for a sushi dinner. Patrick and Shane both tried their first ever sushi rolls (or at least the first rolls they ever liked! ABC Rolls - Avocado, Banana and Cucumber).

It was around this time, Carrie joined us. She headed over straight after work.

The desert was something special. Anytime there's a fire indoors and there are no casualties, it's a special night.

Shane wanted Patrick's desert lit on fire "again!"

Patrick probably did too, but he settled with eating it.

We headed home full and tired. Shane dug into a bag of St. Patrick's gear Nana and Pop brought.

We all hung out for a few minutes before it was time to say good night.

Carrie took Shane up to bed and Nana and Pop slipped out the front door.

I threw a cat on Patrick.

Happy belated Birthday, Bro. Feel free to stop by any time you're in town. Congratulations on your externship, too!

Changing Charlottesville

We haven't had our house for a full year, but it's clear Charlottesville is expanding rapidly. I drive past multiple construction lots every day. 

It's a little under 2 miles to work and I see this every day.

The dorm went from foundation to a skeleton in 3 quarters. There's a new development of townhouses across from a cemetary, too. I've seen full houses built driving back and forth to work.

Oh, and the new hotel on Main Street? I saw it go from skeleton to pool installation on the way home from wrestling practices. There's a big new shopping center with a Wegmans being built south of us on the way to Shane's preschool. River's new mom is in a new townhouse in a new development in progress a mile further down the road.

Lots and lots of change. I see why so many locals have commented on it.

Lately, I noticed a bunch of trees were taken down near the townhouse we rented. It looks like a hundred new townhouses are scheduled to go up by this time next year. If I quit teaching, I could easily find construction work at this rate.

Does this post mark me as a local now?

Random Thing I'm Interested In

An AI beat a world class Go player for the first time over the weekend! In 2004 when I took an AI class in college (we used Lisp), the teacher talked about how difficult Go was for an AI. Many current experts predicted we were still at least 10 years away from an AI Go victory.

Look it up if you're interested: AlphaGo vs Lee Sedol.

Faux Sleep

I had to bust Shane. He turned on his lights after bedtime to read.

EDIT: For the record, I was half-proud and half-annoyed. I only let him see the annoyed so he'd get his butt to bed, though!

"Ah, the Great Outdoors!"

I read somewhere that the average American kid only plays outside for 7 minutes a day. It was probably from one of those "Tell you what you want to hear" Facebook type articles that no one ever double checks because it's what they want to hear, but still...it rings true to my experience. In NOVA, I had students who didn't know the names of streets in their neighborhood (or even their own). 

Not Shane!  

I think it's important to establish a 'porch presence.' If we're never outside, we'll be inside all day. That's no way to meet neighbors, get fresh air, or have an adventure!

Shane and I dodged dog poop to collect dandelion for Mommy, Sunday. We put them in a toy dumpster.

The bean suitcase came out to play, as well.

Which became an impromptu bean planting lesson/ceremony when Carrie came out.

We'll see if they grow!

Charlie and her parents came out later. Matt and I drew a basketball court with chalk. He killed me in a game of PIG. Shane wanted to have a picnic and ate crackers in the grass. Charlie brought graham crackers.

We still don't know many of our neighbors who don't have kids, but they've certainly seen us around!

Saturday in Crozet (It rhymes)

Carrie doesn't work today? Let's go on an adventure!

Well, after we stop by Carrie's work first. She had to vacuum something. You know what? Crozet is close by. Let's get coffee, muffins, and a haircut.

And that's how it all started. We got coffee, muffins, and Carrie communicated how to cut my hair to the person with scissors. I hate getting a haircut without her around. My only requests for a barber are "shorter" and "nothing crazy." Carrie picks up on far more than I do.

Meanwhile, Shane was in Mommy-mode. He attached himself to Carrie's hip. Usually, he goes high-energy and becomes my problem. Carrie worked late all week, so maybe Shane wanted to catch back up.

Our next stop was the library. Libraries rock.

Carrie took a break...,

...while Shane introduced himself to anyone that looked his age. He took a turn on the computer, too.

Our last stop was a Mexican restaurant. Shane was still unusually low-energy. He and Carrie started to draw the restaurant together. His eye for detail is developing.

It was a good morning out. We went out, explored, ate well, and knocked some things off the to-do list. Shane used his brain and stayed entertained without electronics (mostly).

The weather was perfect, too. I'm going to be sad when the summer heat hits. We need to make the most of spring while it's here!

Sooooo Social

"Want to watch me play?" Shane asked.

No, not really, but, "Sure."

"Let's go sit on the couch!"

"Ok!"

A day later when I sat down to type this:  "Mommy, do you want to watch me play?!"

This Picture Makes Carrie Nervous

Shane inherited my monkey.

Now I understand how Nana felt when we were all scaling heights. Trees are a physical puzzle + adrenaline rush.

I only had time for one quick pic before moving into 'safety net' range.

Best Not To Wait