March Mishmash

Well, March has definitely been a mishmash of events down here in Virginia. The month started out with a snow day for the kids. I was annoyed because it all melted before noon and they could have at least had a 2 hr. delay instead. The school will have to make up the day, so the last day of school will now be on a Monday. The kids will be in school for only 3 hours on Monday, June 7th. Crazy.


 Ted visited his mom in Maryland for a weekend while I remained home to chauffeur the kids around. His mom is doing o.k. Hospice wants to come and talk with her about getting treatment for the pain in her legs. She still can stand and walk with some kind of aid but her speech is beginning to slur just a little. She is coping well with ALS and has managed to get a motorized chair from a local ALS support group and an escalator so she can get upstairs.


Alex and Matthew's soccer season is just beginning with practices twice a week. Thankfully, they both have practice on Thursdays at the same location which saves us a lot of time, cutting 4 days of commuting down to three. We switched them over to a local AYSO league which a friend told us about and is much closer to our house than the other soccer league they played with last fall.



Sophia recently had a very small role in a school play about inventors. She was happy to get a part and played the scientist Newton.

This month she had the last two meets of the season. The championship meet was today and thankfully my sister was able to bring her to it. She and her teammates did very well. Her two best swimming strokes are the breaststroke and the backstroke. She placed 1st and 2nd in these events.

Spring is definitely in the air although mother nature seems to have relapses every now and then. The daffodils, crocuses, dogwoods and cherry trees are in full bloom. Last weekend we had gorgeous, sunny weather. But, today's high was only 50 degrees.

This morning, Ted and I attended the Commissioning Ceremony of the USS NEW MEXICO (SSN 779), the Navy's newest VIRGINIA-Class fast-attack submarine, at the Norfolk Naval Station. It was cold and windy and we wore our long winter coats. At least it wasn't raining. The ceremony itself was only about an hour long. This submarine was built 4 months ahead of schedule and so far took the shortest time to be built...about  70 months. After the ceremony a nice reception was held underneath an enormous tent right by the pier.


This is a picture of the USS NEW MEXICO with the Navy's newest aircraft carrier, USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77) in the background.

 
This poor sailor had to stand in the cold and wind for about an hour before finally getting to hoist the flag.

In the last part of the Commissioning Ceremony, the sailors were ordered to "man the boat". They all ran across the gangplank and stood at attention.

Matthew turns 7 years old on March 31st. He is growing like a weed. We recently had a family celebration. His official party is tomorrow. He can't wait!

We wish you all a very Happy and Blessed Easter. Enjoy the spring break with your families!!