Springtime

For Mother's Day every year I beg my kids to let me take their pictures! They don their new Easter garb and begrudgingly get ready for church 10 long minutes early so that I can shutter- bug them nearly to death!! I love them for it!! These are some of my favorites!!

Mother's Day

Having children who are comfortable and fluent on the computer is a blessing.  Michael made this for me for Mother's Day!  He thought I needed a new Facebook background!  I love it!!

B is for Burgers and Bowling

Alphabet Date 2
B is for Burgers and Bowling

Tonight Ben and I (finally) went out on our second Alphabet Date!  We went to Splitsville, in Fredericksburg, for Burgers and Bowling.  We had so much fun!  Ben, of course, broke 100 and I...well let's just say I was proud to bowl without bumpers! 

We got home early to cuddle and enjoy one of our favorite movies, Back to the Future. We also endulged in Ben's "Better Than Sex" birthday cake (which it wasn't!)  This alphabet dating is fun and I am really looking forward to what the letter "C" will bring!!

Roxy the Box Turtle

Virginia is overflowing with wildlife.  Most come in the six legged variety, BLAG, but there are a few others that we have come to really enjoy.  We have seen many deer, a few opossums, beaver, skunks, rabbits, squirrels, foxes and even a coyote within a mile of our home.  The birds are bright and happy.  The lake provides us with frogs, toads, fish, muskrats and TURTLES. 

Spencer especially loves the turtles.  He has already saved two wandering turtles from imminent roadside danger.  Both were actually a type of tortoise, the Eastern Box Turtle.  He brought them both home, watched them, played with them and ultimately let them be his pets that live in our yard (which means they will, more than likely, never be seen again! )

He has enjoyed learning about them on the Internet and can tell you how to determine their sex and their age.  I suppose one of the perks of living out in the back forty is that you get to have wildlife encounters that can enrich your life and the lives of your children.  Here's hoping he doesn't feel the need to rescue a snake.  I can do without that kind of enrichment.

Now You See It...Now You Don't

Spencer is seven years old and in first grade. One would guess that he would be a pro at loosing teeth, after all everyone of his first grade classmates have lost at least one. Unfortunately, genetics have declared that my children will get teeth late and lose teeth late. ( I blame Ben!!)

Tooth loss is somewhat of a status indicater in first grade and our little guy has been struggling with his position on ladder rung zero. Well, for the last few weeks he has been hopeful...there has been a wiggle.

He has worked fervantly, if ever so gently and finally...he lost his tooth. He pulled it out himself and he has been standing a little taller for the last two days!!

He is now working on another tooth that is a bit wiggly. I have no doubt that soon he will be have a little pumpkin smile and be sitting pretty on the top of his status ladder!

His exclamation, "I am just so proud of myself!"

Now you see it!!

Now you don't!!

A is for Antiques

Alphabet Date 1

A is for Antiques

Saturday morning, Ben and I left a house full of sleeping kids and went antique shopping. I have wanted to do this since we moved here to VA and wonderful Ben decided to make it our first Alphabet date. There are shops all over and it's such a historical place, we knew we would see interesting things.

Some of my favorite things we found were benches, chairs and chests with beautiful wood work. All were either sold or way out of our budget but still so fun to find. I am not into delicate or dainty things but I really enjoyed all the old tea sets and china. One of my favorite finds of the day was an old brass diving helmet, the huge round kind with the round glass door in the front...so cool!!

My take home treasure from our adventure is an old Mason jar filled with wooden spools. I absolutely love it. I saw it on the shelf and my heart jumped...silly I know but true. We only allotted $20 each for our treasure hunting and we only ended up spending $9, total. It was so much fun.

I can say, without a doubt, our first Alphabet date was a huge success!! I want it to be 'A' again this weekend!!

Michael and Mountain View High School Soccer