For a change, some pictures of our kids...

We've had a lovely spring week, and the kids got a Dad day on Monday where they went to the capitol and to the park and got spoiled rotten! Mark also went to their preschool on Friday where he taught weather; in the picture below Autumn is serving as his assistant! Marisa had a wonderful three-day social work conference here in Charleston, so no overnight stays required. Today was a special MOPS recognition service at our MOPS church, so the kids and I got dressed up for that... Mark's working a long stretch of days now. We've been working on the house and yard a lot too; yesterday the kids and I planted our vegetable seeds in the garden, and today planted some flowering bulbs in the front. In our free time (ha ha) Mark is upholding his duties as subdivision secretary, and Marisa is campaigning for Obama. Never a dull moment in our house! Have a great week everyone and enjoy the pics!

Mark and Autumn do a weather demonstration for the kids' preschool class.

Autumn has been really honing her climbing skills and is quite fearless. Here she perches atop a climbing wall at Cato Park on Daddy Day.

Evan has been stopping to smell the flowers lately!

On the way to work/church this a.m., we took a family jaunt to Big Lots to pick up a fabulously priced patio furniture set. The kids were so good we gave in when they asked for a pony ride. The blog will feature a picture of the set... as soon as I finish putting the chairs together (ah, that's why it was so cheap!)

National Zoo and Visitors, too!

We've had two action-packed, beautiful weekends in a row with family and friends. Last weekend we took a trip to Stafford, VA to see our dear friends/old neighbors Zach & Teresa, and their kids Maggie and Caleb. When we first moved to WV they lived next door to our new house and they were so welcoming. The kids played all year together, but they had to do a military move to VA for a year. Next they will be voyaging to Okinawa for three years! So we were certainly happy to spend some quality time together. We had an fun and exhausting day trip to DC where we explored the National Zoo. After five hours at the zoo, we were taking turns carrying three exhausted four-year-old uphill, laughing because we thought we would be able to "stop" on the way home to see the Cherry Blossom festival at the tidal pool... the other funny thing about the day is we dressed in many layers expecting cool, wet weather and found ourselves sweating at the zoo in a sunny 70 degrees! Many of us came home with sunburns. The next day we stopped in Charlottesville, VA on the way home at an adorable artsy-fartsy children's museum where the kids had a blast! Thanks Zach and Teresa for a wonderful visit.

Metra-riding pros Maggie and Caleb show Autumn and Evan the ropes their first time riding the train.

Autumn checks out a furry tarantula at the zoo.

Friends forever!

Evan snoozes on a sunburned Daddy after a long day at the zoo.

This weekend, Mark's brother Joe, his wife Judy, and their son Danny came to see us on their spring break. We enjoyed some down time, and a lovely outing to Coonskin Park where we took in nature, tried to prevent our three children from falling into the river, and got ourselves some Ellen's Homemade Ice Cream in downtown Charleston. Danny is now 2 1/2 and the three kids really interact now - today Evan was picking Danny up in a hug and carrying him around...terribly cute. And Autumn thanks Aunt Judy and Uncle Joe for drawing lots of cats, horses, dogs and unicorns with her! We love you guys!

Judy, Joe, and Danny

Goofy cousins enjoying lunch together

Evan and Autumn remembered swinging double like this when they were a lot smaller...it didn't work so well with a combined weight of over 80 pounds!

We enjoyed some of Ellen's homemade ice cream, our favorite downtown Charleston spot.

Have a great day!