What Would Jefferson Do?

Happy Tax Day! It's been another fantastic day in the Espinosa household.

Believe it or not, the image to the left is pretty much the only Easter family photo I was able to take this year. No cooperation!!!

My first blueberry bush has yielded a grand total of 19 blueberries for me. I am really hoping it's not done for the year. My zinnias have all collapsed but my tea olive is sprouting right up, and I think one of my lantanas is making a come back! Noemie's fourth tooth is finally making some headway as well. Not like she needs it that much- she tore through 2 and a half slices of pizza yesterday. Noemie does not mess around when it comes to her feedings. Dominic's most recent feat was reaching the top of the web feature of our local park. Fearless, he climbed the 10 or so feet to the top of the platform. Judging from the looks of parents in the area, he may be the youngest (and probably the tinyest) kid to ever get that high. He's incredible. We even overheard him speaking Korean in the shower (specifically, he said 당신이 인 방법, which sounds roughly like "otoshemnika" and means "how are you?" I'm not kidding, by the way.) He's also ridiculously particular. Earlier today he bumped his head and requested that Danny wipe his tears exactly where he was standing. He also indicated to Danny which specific bathroom towel he desired to have his tears wiped with.

The highlight of my day was a trip to the capitol to enjoy a non-partisan assembly of citizens concerned about our $11 trillion deficit. In the spirit of Gio and the founding fathers, I carried a poster that declared my allegiance to the principles espoused by one Thomas Jefferson. Amy carried her chihuahua Rosie. It was really fun! I find it telling that even though about 2000 people showed up, no mention of the event appeared in Tallahassee's main newspaper, the Tallahassee Democrat. I did see a FEMA van drive by, though. Take heed- when the Department of Homeland Security issues a terrorist warning because its opposition threatens to criticize Congress, we should all be alarmed. (Notice Amy's angry-tax-payer face in her picture.)

Tampa Recap

Tampa? Where's that?

It's where we'll see la Tia Rodmar and Abuela Thais (and Tia Aida and Tio Luis and Luisito and Elizabeth and Alexander and Amy and Jessica and Eric, and Benji, and dos gatos y un perro, and Joellen, and the zoo!)

This boy has no... zero.... nada fear of heights.

He is, however, scared of carousels. Until they start moving, that is. Then that's all he wants to do. I think someone's ready for the Magic Kingdom.



Taking a photo with the Komodo dragon
(Wait mom, my hair's not ready!)



Noemie was one with the goats in the petting zoo





Yum, Yum!



What's going on in this picture? You tell me!

Flip it and reverse it

We decided to stay put for the month of April, which turned out to be a wise decision. It dawned on me earlier today that the closing on our house is scheduled for 5 weeks from now. Whoa! In the next five weeks we have to pack up everything we own (except the blueberry bushes- so sad!) and move to... well, I don't know where we're going! To make matters even more exciting, we have trips to Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami scheduled in that time! AHHH!

I really am excited. Life is really unpredictable these days. It's been raining non-stop here in Tallahassee. I thought, "How would my hair look different if I washed it in rainwater?" So I set out two large bowls for catchement and collected about a gallon and a half in two hours. And with that, I washed my hair. My hair is softer! See? Unpredictable. Or here's another example. Boys generally have impulses to do boyish things, jumping out of trees, peeing on things, or running an earthworm up their noses and out their mouths. Thankfully, most boys have their impulses tempered by some degree of common sense. The common sense that says "don't jump out of the tree and land on abuela", "I shouldn't pee on the walls of my house," or "I don't want to swallow if there's an earthworm in my pharaygeal orifice." But every now and then, the common sense mechanism hiccups. Such an episode happend yesterday when Dominic was playing near Noemie in our closet. Noemie, who has recently taken up the fashion of having her tongue sticking out at all times, was minding her own business when Dominic had a lapse and kicked her square in the face. He may be two years old, but Dominic is a soccer star in the making with quite a punt. And, really, it doesn't take much force behind a kick in the face for it to cause some damage. Noemie's three little teeth pierced her tongue. Oh the blood. Now who could have seen that coming? Unpredictable!

We have been so blessed. It really is a miracle that Danny and I have made it these past 7 months without missing a mortgage payment or eating out of trashcans. God in his infinite greatness has met all of our needs through our friends and family, as well as through those mysterious ways of his, matching unexpected income with unexpected bills, almost to the penny. Danny still doesn't have an offer of employment but I am confident that we are being taken care of. I have no idea what our life will look like in two months. But Noemie will still be smiling and Dominic will still be in time-out for the aforementioned incident (just kidding. )

Dominic sings "Row, row, row your boat":
Lo Lo Lo boat
chan chee
moly moly moly moly
lye fa pa'gee