Fun with (what I think is supposed to be) English

This is one of Laura's new Hawaiian-themed flip-flops, purchased at a major sporting-goods store in Milan on Saturday. Yes, they were made in China, but so are plenty of other things printed with English phrases that actually make sense. (Also, I should mention that I forgot to take a photo of one of the shoes until yesterday, after they'd been worn some. How in the world do children destroy flip-flops so quickly?)

You may be the last to know

It's bidding season for Foreign Service types, and this year is a big one for us.
Now that it seems to be common knowledge among our relatives and co-workers, I'll go ahead and mention that Kevin is going to Afghanistan next year.
What this means:
The kids and I probably will stay here.
We're awaiting word on what the State Department calls a linked assignment, which means we should know within the next few weeks where we'll be going after Kevin returns from Kabul.
I may be even crazier than you've always suspected.
Assuming we do indeed stay here, that means you all have more chances to come and visit us. I'll have the calendar ready for all of your calls ...

Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir

This sounds like a romance novel but is far from it. It's historical fiction about the life of Lady Jane Grey, who was queen of England for nine days back in the 1500s. There's no romance (in the bodice-ripper sense) at all, I assure you.
I thought this was well-written -- the author also has done numerous nonfiction works on major figures from English history, so she knows her stuff -- and an interesting story in general. (Much of it is historically accurate as far as I can tell, although of course the dialogue and thoughts were created.) It also was interesting because I've been to many of the locations mentioned. Plus, the descriptions of the clothes, the ladies' gowns in particular, are excellent.

It's a different kind of engineering

The air conditioning unit in our living room recently had to be replaced, and the brilliant solution involved a new unit. Which was great and all except that the one we'd had was a floor one designed to blow air up, and the one it was replaced with really is a ceiling unit designed to blow down. So while it does a wonderful job of cooling an 8-by-8-foot section of hardwood, it leaves something to be desired. So if you walk into our house at some point this summer, you'll see this:
I'm oh-so-thankful for air conditioning. How did I ever survive without it?

The Boy of the Three-Year Nap

This was the title of the book Laura produced for Young Authors' Day at school. The nap in question was only mentioned in passing and not part of the main storyline, but I suppose it is a catchy title.
Here we are at the event, which was Friday morning. Those movie posters in the display behind us were produced by an Upper School class and were quite interesting.

Things you find humorous when you move a lot

We were walking near our hotel in London late one afternoon and saw this:And while I felt sorry for the guys -- especially the one on the bottom -- I thought to myself that they should be thankful they weren't moving a piano.
Yeah, we have a piano, and the movers had to get it up three floors. And although the guys moving our stuff had an electronic lift attached to their truck, I'm still pretty happy I wasn't here to see how they got it into the building.

Laura's artwork on display at the consulate

Some American School of Milan student artwork is being displayed in the halls of the consulate, and Laura's art teacher sent photos to all of the parents since not everyone has access to the building. (I have access to the building, of course, but haven't been in since the paintings went up.)
That's my girl's masterpiece on the lower right.

We went to London so you don't have to

You can just look at our photos and imagine the toddler drama. Or you can try to block the vision of toddler drama from your mind. Your call. These are in no particular order, as we usually use multiple cameras and dump them in the same folder on the computer. Yes, it's quite a system.
Laura on the London Eye. That's Charing Cross Station just to the left of her head.
The Horse Guards Parade from the London Eye. I've never been there in person, but it looks cool. That monument is to soldiers from World War I.
Look, kids! Big Ben! Parliament! Owen not looking at the camera!
The cloisters at Westminster Abbey.
In the British Museum.
The Millennium Bridge and Tate Modern from atop St. Paul's.
St. Paul's from the Millennium Bridge. No, I don't know who that woman in the foreground is.
In Trafalgar Square before we went into the National Gallery. (We came out in the middle of this.)
Owen takes a break from his complicated sight-seeing life to watch Bear in the Big Blue House in the hotel room.
Owen pets a goat at the London Zoo.
Tower Bridge.
And my favorite photo from the trip, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey from the London Eye.
I have high hopes that some day we'll be able to see everything we'd like on a trip with minimum kid drama. This wasn't that time. But it's good to have goals, right?

Farewell, faithful friend. And now I will harvest your organs ...

Our Sony camera, plaything of Owen as of late, has gone to the great darkroom in the sky. Yes, I know digital cameras have nothing to do with darkrooms, but I think it still fits.
While whacking it against the floor one last time -- an unconventional repair method for sure, but one that has fixed previous ailments -- I inadvertently pressed the button to bring up photos on the camera. (I'd already removed the memory stick and now have taken out the battery as well.) Up popped a few shots from 2006 and 2010 that I had no idea existed. The first couple were of Laura upstairs in our house in Colorado from Nov. 7, 2006.
This is particularly funny because we still have this shirt, although it's Owen who wears it. Deirdre and I had a conversation about it last week, as she's the one who bought it for Laura. (There's a similar shirt that was purchased at an ACES silent auction by our friend Kathy for her son James that now has been passed along to Nate.)
The second set of photos is from Jan. 3, 2010, and are of Owen in our apartment in Virginia. This probably is the best one even though his face is dirty.
Poor camera. He only ever did what he was asked of him, including entertaining a toddler. At least he had a long, productive life.