Wednesday, June 27, 2012

States Mania... or should I say, Maine-ia?

The twins, especially Caleb, have become utterly obsessed with states, as in the United States. Thanks to an iPhone app called "Stack the States", and the fact that they can now both read, they probably have more extensive knowledge of states, their capitals, landmarks, and where they are located in relation to each other, than most adults, let alone their fellow 6-year-olds. For example, they know that Charleston is the capital of West Virginia, that Pennsylvania is the Keystone State, that HI is the abbreviation for Hawaii, that Arizona shares a border with Nevada, and that the Space Needle is in Washington. They can identify all of the states by shape, and can even distinguish all those similar-looking big boxy states out west. Moses has taken up a residual interest in states, too, and regularly reminds us that his favorite state is Oregon. Caleb says that when he grows up he wants to be a solider so that the Army will send him to live in lots of different states, since we quickly shot down his initial proposal that our family of five board an airplane to visit all of the far-away states.

As an extension of their obsession with states, looking for non-Virginia license plates has become the boys' new favorite pastime. Every car ride, whether it's a quick jaunt to the neighborhood pool or a lengthy 3-hour road trip, is peppered with constant loud exclamations such as, "Oh look, I see Maryland!" and "That car is from New Hamster!" Despite pointing out to the boys multiple times that Maryland cars are nearly as ubiquitous as Virginia cars since it's right across the river, they still beam with excitement at the sight of a Maryland license plate. And living in a neighborhood with a strong military presence, the boys have had the joy of seeing Alaska, South Dakota, Florida, Texas, and Vermont plates on a daily basis. The boys get particularly excited in anticipation of seeing a non-Virginia plate when they observe that a car that doesn't have a license plate on the front bumper, since we explained to them that Virginia law requires a license plate in the front and back of the vehicle. Our road trip to West Virginia last weekend to attend Joe's cousin's wedding was a non-stop, very loud barrage of "Oh look! I see a car that's..." Once we crossed the state line, Joshua speculated that  West Virginian children would see our van and say, "Oh look, I see Virginia car!"