Well Hello Again!

 Serious updates abound!

Anna is now 18 years old. I'm writing this entry because I suggested she go and read through it when the three of us were all together in Houston the week of Oct 27 where we all met up to sell our Houston house after owning it for 24.5 years. It turns out that, yes indeed, the move was "one day inevitable."

How did we get here? Well...

After my 2015 detail with NASA HQ, I returned to my old job in the ISS Program Science Office (in OZ) down at JSC. We were fine, I suppose, but I was a bit restless after having that HQ experience. My job was no longer really challenging, and then in 2018 I received a call from HQ Chief Scientist's Office asking me to consider coming back. This time my intent would be turning the one-year detail into a permanent position. I wanted the three of us to go up together for the year, put Anna into 6th grade there, and give it a test run.

In a nutshell, I convinced my management to let me go, and we packed up back to the same apartment complex in Pentagon City I did my detail in 2015. After a year I was offered a permanent position and Paul decided to close his clinic (it was the right time, he was ready), and we put our Houston house up for rent, with Anna enrolled at Gunston Middle School, then purchased our new (to us but 85 years old) Arlington, VA home in Dec 2019.

Turns out we survived the longest government shutdown in history under the first Trump term (at the time, anyway) and then we moved into our new house on 7th St S just in time for the world to go through one big historical event nobody asked for: COVID-19. The big lockdown. Just a day or two after our return from a Dubai event we three were invited to (and had a blast)! It felt like the airport shutdowns were chasing us across the globe...

Anyway all the fun and shenanigans between COVID and the present day, in which Trump has returned for a second term because Americans are afraid of Pronouns and are addicted to Reality TV- this time to destroy our democracy because he's a sad, bullied toddler- are documented on my Facebook page (and oh boy all over the media).

The world has significantly changed since my last post. Well, I mean that was almost 10 years ago. I've changed too. I just turned 50! We've collected 2 dogs (Oreo in Nov 2015 and Hershey in May 2020, COVID dog) and KC is still around. Been fighting hormones and an additional layer of belly fat, more gray hair, and oh yes I left the civil service to join private industry: Blue Origin in April 2022. Turns out when Jeff Bezo's space company calls to ask if you'd be interested in being the chief scientist of the space station they're building (to replace the ISS which is retiring in 2030), I guess you have to think hard about that. With the right package deal and lots of tears, I said goodbye to my dream job, my brand, my identity and job security and thought "welp I give this three years and this will either be the best thing to happen to my career, or I'll be out on the street! This could go either way!"

It's now 2025 and I'm still employed at Blue for now. I've survived a few rounds of layoffs and am still chugging away on the space station called Orbital Reef, though it's unclear what the future holds. As it turns out, job security is an illusion. I am finally understanding what it means to risk losing your livelihood at any moment the company decides to do it, and the level of anxiety that forms the foundation of Americans' bad sleeping habits. With Elon Musk and his grifting cronies being put in charge of "Government Efficiency" after Trump won the 2024 election (Backstory: he lost in 2021 to Biden so we had about 4 years to shore up our democracy and prepare for the worst if Trump's criminal trials failed and the American voters were so sick of high post-pandemic prices they figured "who cares" if he's a dictator? Democracy is a privilege, and we don't need it!!"- it turns out that government jobs weren't secure after all. Many of my friends and colleagues across the agencies were flat out fired without cause (how can this happen? Because Congress Republicans lack gonads and the Supreme Court this summer basically turned the role of President into King) so I guess job security isn't really a thing. Even my NASA colleague who took my role when I left for Blue was flat out fired and the Office of the Chief Scientist was shuttered. And she bled NASA as much as I did and this was an extreme example of SUCK.

Anyway, here we are. Most of my family is MAGA (ughhhh why? Because they're afraid of gender neutral bathrooms)? It's disheartening and has destroyed in 10 months everything Paul, Anna, and I have worked so hard to build over these years. All the things that we 3 embody are being destroyed: women's rights, science, immigrant families, civil service, healthcare/wellness, veterans, small businesses, free speech, and higher education. We embody all of it. It's under complete destruction daily and it will be hard for this country to come back from it.

Still our kiddo headed out to Colorado State University this fall (we're so proud of her) to major in food science (yeah girl, we LOVE FOOD!!) and hopefully do something with her career that benefits humanity. She didn't go alone, but with her immigrant boyfriend, Ernesto, who we also love, and who is majoring in Mechanical Engineering.

Stop there and realize the weirdness about our kiddo going to CSU. This wasn't forced by us (hey it's cheaper and closer to go to a great Virginia university!) but she fell in love with the campus during one of our visits a few years ago and that was the beginning. We're super excited to be bouncing back and forth to/from Fort Collins! I mean, especially given this post and this post. Spoiler alert: we're totally paying for her college like I said we wouldn't do. Oh well, blame the hormones.

She just came home (to Arlington, VA) for her first Thanksgiving visit and now she's on her way back to FOCO. I'd post pictures but this blog is so old I'm not yet sure how to connect my iphone photos. In the meantime, we are still hanging in on Facebook. 

Oh and check out Anna's instragram page anna._.bakes07  She's had her own little baking business all through high school and it's been amazing!

Good night my 8 year old

When you wake up you'll be 9. I love you so much. You had a birthday party that started an Jumping World, then moved tithe house where you each decorated your own cakes with Amanda (beach theme was your choice), then bouncy-housed the night away till a sleep over commenced at midnight (mom shut that down :)). Another party at home, though smaller (to save our sanity!).

Stop growing so much!

















We love being your parents!!!

Houston Home Weekend

During this DC detail I come back to Houston for a long weekend every 2-3 weeks. Actually it never feels "long" enough! This weekend was our friend's wedding, and we lucked out and scored Rob Thomas concert timing in Austin too!






Anna had asked to come to the concert and I made her promise not to change her mind if I bought her a ticket. She stayed true to her word and enjoyed every minute of it! As she wore headphones to protect her ears from the loud music, I looked around and realized-uhhhhhhh there were no other kids here. Like at all. Wait, I think there was a 12 yr old or two. Nobody seemed shocked so Ok! She enjoyed herself the way I did as a kid at a concert- reserved, and enjoying watching but not Get-up-Ouchyo-Seat going nuts. Just chill, taking it all in. It was a win! After she said she liked it better than They Might Be Giants :) Well there are many reasons for that- one of which the venue we were in last night was small and amazing with seating. Where they tape Austin City Limits TV show so top class venue. Plus she knew almost all the songs- more than TMBG- and the ones se didn't know she's asked for on her iPod. She was such a big kid- it was totally fun to have her there. WOW! She even recorded some video for me :)



Anna with Willie Nelson in her new Rob Thomas TShirt.



The RT tour bus




After the concert we watched them walk Rob Thomas's dogs! :)



I'm pretty sure she may have a crush on Rob Thomas now!

Fun weekend but now siting in the airport to get back to work. 11 more sleeps till they come back to DC!

Sooper Dooper Looper

Here's the coaster I bribed Anna to ride, which worked, and she ride it over and over and over...

Best vacation EVER!

Paul and Anna came up here to DC for TWO WEEKS! And I took vacation time!
It started Father's Day weekend and ended with the 4th of July celebrations. We are usually at Dad's for the 4th but this year we were supposed to be in London and then last minute it was canceled and all plans redirected...long story short we had 2 weeks vacation up here!

The Saturday after they arrived, the Smithsonian had a family archaeology dig day! Anna had been begging to try a dig, so I asked for them to make an exception for their 10yr old + only rule. Anna had a BLAST (her words). In fact I hadn't seen her so excited about something that didn't involve swimming :) The interns even showed her around the labs, including the maps they use, some bones, and lab tools. She was hooked. I kept waiting for her to say she was bored but no way! The dig was only 2.5hrs. Perfect in my opinion but she would have been happy to stay longer! She helped the interns uncover a foundation to something no one is sure about yet.






























































Her first little find: ceramic chip :)



















































Next day, Father's Day. How do we celebrate the man who takes care of us? By a trip to the Indiana Jones Exhibit at the Nat Geo museum! And surprisingly fitting the day after our archaeology dig :)





























































































That afternoon we headed to Hershey Park in PA! We checked in to a Hershey campground cabin, made our own chocolate bars, and played with FIREFLIES! Something Anna had never experienced, and Paul and I hadn't seen since kids. What ever happened to them in the South? They ended up being all over PA and MD on our travels!






























































First roller coaster of our first night was a disaster! It was Laff Trak, a new indoor coaster ride that was supposed to be easy and fun! She was game, and then right at the first drop, she lost it and cried-literally with tears- for the remaining 60 seconds or so of the ride! WTF. Dismayed parents. She used to love coasters, but we admitted to a spark of worry after she cried on a roller coaster at Legoland last year- one that she had loved over and over again just the year before when she was like 5! So here we were again...bummed since Hershey is known for its great coasters, even for kids. We tried not to be frustrated, didn't want to force her, and used some magic words about support and being nervous and risk and blah blah if she decided to try again tomorrow. The next morning first up she tackled the comet: a wooden coaster with a pretty big drop. Her idea, and we were thrilled. She loved it, and that was it, over and over. I bribed her with a gift shop trip if she'd ride the loop coaster, which she did- over and over- and ended up with a few stuffed animals on sale and a pillow/blanket combo. Also got the kid the danged T-shirt!












By end of day 1 she was asking to ride that first coaster again- WHAT?! And she ended up riding it like 3 more times during our 2 days there. That park is awesome. Even has a water park that doesn't require a separate ticket so you can bounce from wet to dry throughout the day!





























































So many more pictures are on A and P's i-stuff. And Paul's got the rides on his Go-Pro. I took an afternoon to get a chocolate spa treatment (very cool) and they hit the park without me, including the arcade (they're a famous arcade duo...never come home
Empty handed. They hit the jackpot!











After Hershey, onward to Lacaster county, to spend a day learning about the Amish. We stayed in a B&B for a different change of pace, here: http://m.ejbowmanhouse.com

Our first stop was at America's oldest commercial pretzel shop, Julius Stergis http://www.juliussturgis.com, where we learned to twist pretzels and learned some history!



























Is it weird the only pictures I took of the entire Amish experience was this- some old fashioned candy cigarettes in the local general store that we hadn't seen since kids?!











Anna took lots of pics and videos. I'll have to get them off her iPod. One thing extra we love about her- when she asks for her iPod while we are traveling, it's not for reasons you'd think- she wants lots of videos and photos. She amazes us! I need to get those!

After we had a beautiful day learning about the Amish, including visiting farms for fresh ice cream and cheese, we kept heading east to Glenmoore to visit our old friends, the Hayfords. Paul's Air Force BFF of like 20 yrs now. Marc and Christina are fantastic community leaders, have great kids, and made sure we had a blast! Anna was smitten with their oldest daughter, Jayda so followed her EVERYWHERE!



















































































They joined us for a day trip to Philadelphia, where we got soggy but made great memories :)














































Liberty Bell










Archaeological ruins of the original White House (president's home) in Phili before DC became the new location.


After we said goodbye to the Hayfords, we met up with a Phili friend I'd known for 8 yrs online from a March Baby community board and Facebook. She's super cool in person, as is her daughter and her husband. So neat to finally meet! The kids have birthdays just 3 days apart. Surreal!





















Then good-bye to Phili (after a hotel stay and breakfast at Reading Terminal Market), and onward to NYC for a They Might Be Giants family show in Brooklyn. These are super rare so we couldn't pass it up since Anna was bummed she couldn't come to the one Paul and I went to in Brooklyn last month. Good thing we allowed enough time for traffic- we ended up in the middle of Manhattan caught in the middle of a historic gay pride parade, the day after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage! D'OH! We'd have taken a minute to reflect on this historic accident if we weren't pressing to get to the show after coming so far, and we all had to pee badly! Paul's amazing driving skills, even in intimidating NYC, saved us!!












For the next few days she couldn't believe she had seen TMBG in person. Like most of us concert goers, she enjoyed the favorites and was also bummed over ones she didn't recognize. She said they sounded young but looked old (why yes, sweetie). And was overall just shocked to get so close up!

Lucky. Kid. This timing just happened to work out!































Yes, the TMBG generation is growing up together :)







After some Brooklyn pizza, which Anna didn't like (what does SHE know?), it was back to DC that night, completing the first 7 days! The next 7 days consisted of hanging out around DC, including lots of outdoors. With temps maxing out at only 84, and blissful in the shade, why stay in?

First up: Adventure Park in MD. Outdoor ropes course and zip lines, kid-friendly, with old Houston BFF, Esther and her crew. These kids were great! All had scary moments, including some tears, but all were coachable and completely proud of themselves and wanting more by the end of the day! What a fantastic way to spend the day- cheering each other on and gaining self-confidence! SCORE! We were some incredibly proud parents- no other mom I'd rather spend that kind of a day with. Esther gets it, and she's one of the best moms I know.






























Look, no pics of me on these- I'm always behind the camera :)

After we said goodbye to Esther's crew, we set up camp at Patapsco state park in MD (the Hilton area). What a clean campsite! Private! Wonderful temps, in the trees, complete with fireflies! I had the honor of making our fire using the skills I gained from the wilderness survival class I took at Mountain Shepherd school in June, and it worked!! Anna helped gather the timber from dead trees too :) Alas, the fire only lasted long enough for a few hot dogs and s'mores since the wood bundle we bought was wet and wouldn't burn long. Anna got more great pics of the campsite. Darn it!












Hiking was amazing at this little park! I picked it thinking surely there would be hiking trails that Anna has been begging for, and it was close to the Adventure Park. Surely I was hoping for simply "Good enough." But never anticipated this adventure!
















River beds, waterfalls, old ruins, a suspension bridge- hello? Heaven!! Mental note- the trails were called Forest Glen (or something) and Cascade Falls (Orange Grove area). Never had we hiked anywhere that was so accessible to literally climb waterfalls, swim in little pools, look for snakes and fish. These people here have it made!! Paul and Anna have more pictures-















We saw a guy in the stream creating rock art so we got inspired too :)










Back into the city, I went to work for one day, while Paul and Anna went on a kids pirate ship ride on the Potomac. When in Georgetown, you have cupcakes from Baked and Wired!







Then it's dinner at Bobby Flay's Burger Palace with Esther and crew, and we got to take Nina back with us for a sleepover :) Nina's VERY FIRST SLEEP OVER! They had a riot! Swimming on the rooftop pool, and sleeping in a fort :) They claim they stayed up till 12:59am!













The next day was more play with Esther's crew! I love them. They left Houston when Anna was a month old and she and Nina are just 2 months apart. So they barely know each other but when we all get together it seems we grew up together. That must be True friendship. We miss them but they have made a great life in MD!! Love it!
















Their final full day in DC was the Fourth of July. After having learned about America's freedom from England in Phili, and about George Washington since Nov, and with her trip to London last year, this particular July 4 was most meaningful. We weren't at my dad's (and Anna expressed her dismay at that fact as we watched the DC fireworks). We made it to the Independence Parade, the Jefferson Memorial, and a soaking walk to Arlington Cemetery :)




















Fake frown for the camera as we took shelter in a porta-potty LOL!!

We decided to watch the fireworks from our balcony because hey-we are paying extra for a view like this with no crowds! :) It was a cloudy night so the show wasn't as brilliant as it could have been, and we were actually underwhelmed at the fact that it only lasted 15 minutes!! We thought this would have been a bigger display but eh! Another cool thing about watching from 15 floors up- getting to see the numerous other fireworks displays from nearby cities and events scattered along the DC skyline at the same time. Love!



And now they've just left, headed home to Houston. Anna wanted to stay but thankfully there were no tears- she has lots to look forward to at home. I'm so thankful for getting to spend time with them, and with old friends and new. One of the best parts about being a parent is introducing your kid to the excitement of the world, to get a feel for how others live, for what's possible. I'm not sure how much she will retain, but she certainly is present and takes it all in. Yes she is a booger who also owes me about $20 in gift shop money (addict!) but I am so grateful that at least for now, she loves sharing these experiences with us. This Family is important to her, and as far as 8 year-olds go (the sarcasm, the constant ARE WE THERE YET, HOW MANY MORE MINUTES?!, the shower battles, other areas we constantly work on) I think we have a good one.

Now I'm alone again in the DC apartment, till I head home for a long weekend on Friday. 12.5 weeks left here. That's bitter sweet, as we plot and plan a way to make DC our future second home :)