Flag Day

 You only get one Flag Day, so we had to make it special.  In normal circumstances (not during Covid) everyone meets together to get their assignment and get a flag of their country, but because of Covid, Flag Day was virtual (surprise surprise).  On the bright side, the kids were able to attend, and we made a little party out of it.  I ordered a pack of 100 random different country toothpick flags.  Out of the 49 countries that were on Josh's bid list, there were 29 country flags in our bag of random flags.  We put those flags on our mini cupcakes.

 It worked out that our flag was one of those 29!

If you don't know what flag that is, and you didn't see my social media post about it, then I guess you will have to keep reading to find out! :)

Flag Day hour (as Pay called it) took place at 1 pm, right during Tiny T's nap- Thank goodness! Since Josh was required to have his camera on, we all dressed up.  We hooked Josh's lap top into the tv, and we were all in the camera view of his laptop during the presentation.  The kids sat so good listening and waiting.  We, were of course, on mute the whole time, so when somebody did have a question, it wasn't a big deal.

I set my phone (camera) up in front of the tv to record our reaction for when we found out our country. A picture of the flag of  the country being announced took up the full screen, then the announcer would say the city, country, job and then say the specialist or officer (employee) assigned to that country with a smaller picture of the specialist or officer overlaying on the flag picture.  Every time it was a possibility for us, we would warn the kids and Josh and I both had butterflies until the moment passed and it wasn't ours. 

When the announcer called Brasilia, Brazil- Consular, I knew it was us... I didn't have butterflies.  Sure enough they called Josh's name, and we were so excited.  Brasilia was one of our top choices, and the more we learn about it the more we are excited to go! Trexton didn't know what was going on when he woke up, but he did see the cupcakes and that's all he cared about.

We will be in DC for a bit longer (until early next year) while Josh does more training, including language training for Portuguese.  

Get ready for us Brasilia because we are getting ready for you!!!

Grandma Molly Visits us in DC

Molly just happen to come during a rainy weekend, but we didn't let that slow us down.  She was here for 4 days, and we did lots of exploring with her.

While Josh did his training on Friday, we went to the Martin Luther King Jr. Library and got a library card for our family, and checked out some books.  On our way back we stopped at the Smoothie King, where we can get $5 smoothies on Fridays.  We may or may not have been there several times (usually on Fridays).  Then, once Josh was done, we braved the rain, and went to the Museum of the Bible.  It had some fascinating exhibits, especially about the Old Testament.

Saturday we rented a car and left the city for Josh's birthday.  As much fun as we are having living right in DC, it was a nice break to get out of the city.  The kids loved the wide open spaces, and Payson kept saying he wanted to live in the country.  We went to Great Falls at George Washington Memorial Parkway, then hit up a cozy, well priced, cafe on the outskirts of Harpers Ferry before we went into the town of Harpers Ferry. Our last adventure stop was Monocacy Battle Field, which is one battle field Josh and I had never been to before, and the kids loved it.  They asked all sorts of questions, and played their own adventures of Civil War.

Sunday was nicer weather, so we enjoyed walking around the monuments on the National Mall.  I had never seen the FDR and Martin Luther King Jr. monuments before, and I really liked them.  It was also Mother's Day, so I was sure to snap a picture of Molly and I with the Washington Monument behind us.  (I don't think you can really see the monument in the picture, though).

Molly had to go home on Monday, but not before Josh and I snuck in a lunch date to a revolving sushi bar. It was really fun, and I enjoyed watching our ordered food zip in, and also grabbing optional rolls and sushi as it passed by us on the conveyer belt.

Thanks for visiting for Josh's birthday and Mother's Day, Grandma Molly! We love you!