Fun, Fun, Fun

Since Spring has sprung in the Northwestern part of Virginia, we have been enjoying the beautiful weather.  It has been filled with fun, fun, fun!  We hosted the family get-together for Easter, visited friends in Leesburg, the National Zoo, fishing trips, meet-ups and just being kids outside!

Easter was a great time of food, fun, and family.  We saw some family that we haven't seen in a couple of years, others that it had only been a couple of weeks. What I love about family is

that no matter what, you can just pick up like you left off... having a good time.  We played some Rock Band, ate a wonderful meal brought together by everyone, and visited

 (while watching the Masters golf tournament.)  During this time, I also thought about the wonderful gift we were celebrating, the gift of eternal life.  I thought about how on this day, the people whom loved Jesus so much was able to celebrate life again because He conquered death!  In this time of remembrance, I thought about my daughter and the chance I will have to be with her again. Praise the Lord, for He has risen! 

After Easter Sunday, we were invited by my cousins and Aunt Helen to go to the National Zoo with them.  This would be Stephen's 3rd trip

 there and Scott's first.Scott did well for being 6 months old and off normal routine.  Stephen had a blast like most 3 year olds would.. He loved the animals but more than that loved the time with his cousin Amy. We saw elephants, snakes, iguanas, apes, and creepy crawlies, but Stephen's favorite was the Silverback Gorillas.  One mother was even like me... Packing a baby!

Peter had to go on a business trip to San Francisco for a couple of days so we went to Leesburg and stayed the night at our friend

 Lisa's house.  Stephen and Julia were inseparable.  We visited the farm museum and the kids had a great time riding tractors, playing store, milking cows, jockeying horses, and looking at old farm equipment.

Another fun thing we did on a rainy day last week was go to a bounce house.  In this place, they had many of the inflatable bouncers and Stephen had a blast!

One weekend, Daddy decided that it would be fun to go fishing and expose Stephen to the world of camping.  They set the tent up in the back yard, and we headed to Issiac Walton Range and dropped in a line.  Although the boys were unsuccessful, Stephen got to reel in his first fish of the year, the one Mom snagged on a spinner! I think it was a brown trout...

We are loving the Spring! And the BEAUTIFUL flowers!

Can't wait to see what the next weeks bring! We have a busy May so keep looking for new updates!

Fun Weekend

As Easter approaches and we find ourselves amist the chaos, we certianly see the value of family. Since my sister, Stephanie, has to work on Easter weekend, we decided to get together the weekend before.  Jarrod and Stephanie decided to come to our home on Saturday and spend the night to go to church with us on Sunday.  After church, we went down to Dad's house in Edinburg for Palm Sunday Dinner since they will be at Me-Me's house for Easter and to celebrate her 75th birthday.  

We had a great time with Steph and Jarrod, even though it was a short, quick trip.  Saturday, Jarrod helped Peter plant some spring flowers and spread some mulch while Steph and I went to the grocery store and had some girl time with Scott (Stephen stayed with the boys and

 helped dig holes!).  After dinner, Steph and I played some ROCK BAND with our group, Fallout Sisters. It was a blast, especially after we got the hang of it again.  The next time we play, we will be able to try and earn a tour bus! Then the boys took over the video games and we went upstairs where she showed me a new feature on my computer called Photo Booth.

  WE had a blast taking all sorts of pictures...

Sunday we went to church at our new church, Emmaus, and they felt why we liked it so much. It is a family and the people are there to welcome you with open arms.  I love to feel like I am part of the church, not just a number or face in the crowd.  They will greet you and talk to you and try to genuinely get to know you.  I have made some great friends there.  Anyway, we then went down to Dad's and had a wonderful Sunday dinner~ Ham, potato casserole, salad, squash, homemade bread, and Jello yummy (at least that is what I call it!).  We filled our bellies then the kids had a Easter Egg hunt. 

Both Christiana and Stephen had fun finding the candy filled eggs.  Scott enjoyed sitting in the grass and soaking up some rays.

Peter and Jarrod had a major game of latter ball.

 The boys later put together dad and Bobbie-Mom's new toy- the eliptical machine.  They felt great after getting it together but when they tried it, soon felt like they were out of shape (its really a hard workout!).   Mom went through some of her Longaberger baskets and gave quite a few to Steph and me, to our husband's dismay.  Dad was glad to  have the extra space though!  

We had a great weekend with our family and can't wait to see them again!

Later in the week, I found out that during this trip to Dad's it would be the last time I would see my old cat, Tiger.  He was nearly 15 years old but pretty sick.  I now cherish the pictures that have him in them so his memory can live on with us.