Conover Family: June 2012

I have always been a stickler for bed time. It has always been between 7:30-8:30 but the moment school ended bed time was out the window. Lets take tonight for instance. Bed time was pushed back because we were busy chasing eachother in circles around our kitchen and dinining room and trying to figure out why the nasal voice doesn't come out of Dylan when his nostrils are pinched. Clearly we are people of priority. We have really been having some fun evenings with the kids but this has greatly reduced my time to get things done. So much has happened since I last posted that I know I'll leave some dear memories out, which leads me to question how memorable they really were.
Dylan's Doings: finished the school year strong and had impressive Cogat scores and report card. Loves to put up finger quotation marks while he speaks thinking its witty but it really doesn't "work." May have gotten worse, or may have slightly improved during basketball, its still up for debate. But he did have fun whenever he made a basket. He made lots of baskets early on in his league and as the weeks passed he took way more shots and way less of those shots actually made it in the hoop! Chris and I were so entertained, we had lots of laughs and embarrassing soccer parent moments as well. Dylan has begun fencing and is enjoying that. Not so much enjoying swim team but I'm trying to convince him he will. Still trying to convince him he'll be grateful one day for making him do piano. Why aren't legos fashioned into a team sport yet, huh?! Summer olympics 2016....anyone? He still reads up a storm. We got Chris a book called Supersonic Saints for Father's Day and by the end of the day Dylan had finished the book. It was one of those gifts. One where the giver really wanted what he was giving. Dylan received the "Good and Plenty" award at school's end because he read so much and what he read was good stuff. He also received the PE award and he doesn't know why. :)
Ethanisms: Ethan has found his knack and that is fencing! He is really pretty quick at his feet and has so much fun in this sport. He did a great job at basketball even though he never made a basket once. He did well at defence and actually ran up and down the court. This an improvement as he used to skip to bases during baseball. There weren't even snacks at the end of each basketball game and he still stuck with it! If you know Ethan you know this is a big deal! He is a great reader but hasn't found a love of it yet. He does enjoy recipe books which isn't really a good thing. He starts to beg for us to make various sweet things that I have no business making. Why no business? Some people have a sweet tooth, I have sweet teeth. Ethan makes me laugh more than anyone and has this silly slapstick way with his limbs. He would be really enthused about swim team if only they let him use his snorkel. Each night we repeat why that isn't an acceptable thing to do. Ethan will happily swim himself to the point of drowning. We have caught him twice right on the verge. The most recent time I was reaching out to grab him when the life guard blew his whistle and jumped in. There was no one else around and he heard me talking to Ethan, we were right next to the life guard stand and all was calm I just noticed Eth was starting to have a hard time keeping himself afloat so I got right over to him. I think maybe the lifeguard was trying to impress a girl.. who knows, but if you've ever read The Magic School Bus: On the Ocean Floor, you'll know who I'm talking about!
Faith's Fits: She threw the biggest possible fit today at my doctor appointment with a retina specialist at Johns Hopkin's. She had an excuse, we were there 3 1/2 hours AND it ran into her nap time, AND...her sucker broke. Wouldn't you scream like the dragons in Lord of the Rings if your sucker broke too? It was the end of the world, well almost. I could tell people were getting really uncomfortable and that it was all they could do to keep themselves from running out of the office as fast as they could with their arms flailing above their heads but they kept their calm and even offered help and empathy. People are SO good! I am so grateful for nice people. I'm grateful for Faith, too. She still loves to dance and mother Channing and take whatever she can from Ethan. If our family functioned according to Darwin, she would be the last one standing. That girl can hold her own. I'm trying to think of other things to say about her but tonight my mind is so fogged up with the waiting room episode that I may need therapy to work through it in order to remember the happier times. I'll post some pictures, that'll be therapeutic. She really is sweet. Oh yeah, now I remember, she always wants us to "wash this!" She wants to show us everything she can do and insists on having an audience. She is fearless in the water. We put a life jacket on her and she is at home in the water. She jumps off the diving board and keeps up with the boys. She won't tolerate us holding on to her in the pool. She is in to singing baby bumble bee.
Chananigans: He learned to crawl! Another reason I can't get a thing done. Our home isn't conducive to crawling babies with our 3 flights of stairs and boys who like legos. Channing likes to crawl to vents in the floor and pick them up. These are really awkward objects and I have realized Fisher Price probably doesn't have plans to produce toy vents. He'll stand and scoot around pieces of furniture and I have a feeling our crawling days are numbered.
MajCon: Chris pinned on Major rank on the first of the month and we were able take part in the ceremony and had such a nice time getting to see the people he works with. Chris honored his family in his speach and really highlighted the kids and made it fun and special for them. He had special top secret certificates made up for them and gave them special dart guns. We were all able to pin the rank on him. Chris made us all laugh when he referred to himself as being a deer in the headlights as he started his new job and that those in his office had done well at keeping him from being roadkill. The ceremony/lunch was in a huge conference room crowded with his coworkers and he did well keeping us all entertained. He spoke so highly of them and their efforts to keep soldiers safe. It has been neat watching Chris evolve at his job. It really is a good fit for him out here. They appreciate him so much and his office was so warm to the kids and I.
Other notable highlights are the visit of Uncle Glenn and Aunt Pam who have recently moved to our area to serve at the Temple here in DC. Glenn is Chris's uncle on his dad's side and has been so helpful with my family history. We are happy to be near them now. My brother Allen's wife Krissy and their 3 girls came up for a visit from NC and we enjoyed them so much as well. A visit from cousins rivals Christmas, it may even be the favorite.

Kids with Jessica, Erica, Amanda and bull frog.

Uncle Glenn and Aunt Pam

We were on our way to the Pentagon and the Treasury when we noticed all traffic being stopped on bridges and the westbound lane. I pulled out my camera because Chris was pretty sure the President was somewhere in the area. It was exciting to pass by the motorcade.

At Pentagon, photo taken before I was told I couldn't take pictures.

In General Schwartz's office. I was given permission to have this one taken. We had just passed General Schwartz in the hall and he stopped to shake our hands and tried his hand at recruiting the boys to the Air Force. He was so kind and made us feel like he didn't have anything else to do but to visit with us. His personal assistant was trying to keep him on schedule and had to remind him he had places to go! He is really a good guy and we were all giddy to have met him. I was too embarrassed to ask if I could snap a picture of him with the family after my previous scolding.

Maybe one day Ethan.

Dylan may acheive this one day soon, he doesn't ever spend his money. I always wonder what he is saving for. He did buy bubble gum the other day because he wants to learn how to blow bubbles but that has been his only purchase since I can remember. Its nice to know I can always borrow money from him!