Welcome to the Year of the World Cup

Kelly's last two posts precluded a first entry-less month since the WT blog was born. Her tale of our Chicago trip was an impressively detailed account. Though, it missed in a retelling of the restless body syndrome Noelle exhibited on our flight back. I put up a valiant effort holding on to Tiny Baby Special for the two hour ordeal. She apparently mistook the jet for Gymboree, climbing, dancing, bouncing, and squirming during the seat belt instruction, before, during, and after the beverage service, and culminated the display of her energies while we taxied to the gate. Kel enjoyed a relaxing flight while Lucas snoozed in her arms.

A week ago we unofficially moved in with Marma in Oviedo. This house offers bundles of space. Of particular benefit is the spacious screened patio and wide grassed yard, where we encounter the dogs' surprises only occasionally (at the duplex, not encountering any droppings was the surprise). Here all can retreat to their private quarters following a fight, while in the duplex we were crammed into one room and had to talk things out. On the down side, as this house is one story, the kids' room's proximity to the living room requires a call to action when they nap: hushed footsteps, whispered chatting, escorting Kel's grandma to her own nap (as she had habitually taken to doing dishes the minute they go to sleep, clanging and dinging with abandon), and sequestering the pets in a carpeted room, as their claws on the hardwood floor are like rapid fire rifle shots.

We plan to stay here until our duplex is sold or rented. I recently had to turn down a job offer in Suffolk, Virginia, fearing that a move now, while continuing to pay a mortgage, would be financially risky. (Hopefully this saving period will enable us to shift some cash towards Noelle or Lucas's tuition at the University of Virginia). We plan to survive the heat with a steady prescription of water parks and iced tea.

Yes, this is a World Cup year. Expect few entries for a month starting on June 11th. Lucas won't be writing either.