Jamestown Adventure

Our final Spring Break Adventure was to Jamestown!  We were trying to squeeze in all the fun Virginia things we could...  Both Adeline and Alden had studied some about Jamestown and they were excited to check it out.  Al had to travel to California for work- so off the 5 of us went!

Checking out the canoes the indians made

An Indian Home- they were undecided if they would like to live in it...

Learning how the indians turned animals bones into weapons, utensils, and sewing needles! 

They LOVED exploring the boats- all 3 of them!

As we are exploring a boat, I hear my name- and it's my old college room mate and her family!  She graciously offered to take a picture for us! 

The boys liked these bunk beds...

See, the girls don't need their own rooms!

Team Work to fire a cannon...

Looking fierce in their armor

They all got to hold a musket- and loved it!

Outside the Settlement

The highlight of the day- the free ferry across the James....

It was such a fun day- and it wasn't over!  I surprised them with a trip to Virginia Beach!!

Washington DC Adventure

On Wednesday, Al took off, and we all headed into Washington, DC, for an adventure!  Luckily for us, Asher's best friend, K, and her Momma, who is my good friend and co-worker, were also going to DC for the day, so we met up!  It was such fun- and it made our life SO much easier!  The kids love each other and stuck together despite the crazy crowds!

SO excited to see each other

Using K's picnic blanket to keep warm!

Ready to explore Air and Space

Touching the moon!

Trying some space ice-cream!

After the sardine experience of Air and Space, we decided to walk to the Lincoln Memorial.  We stopped at the base of the Washington Monument for a photo op.

Having another adult is awesome- proof we were ALL there!

We had a great time despite the chilliness and dampness of the day!  Thanks T and K for helping us!!

Cinderella

Tuesday of Spring Break was a down-day....  The kids just played, Asher never changed out of his pjs, I grocery shopped, Al worked....  During Asher's nap time, the girls decided to spend some of their Easter money and go see Cinderella (thank you MarMars and PopPops!).  It was fun to share that sweet movie with my girls- I hope they can be kind and courageous, too....

Easter in NY 2015

Friday after school, we headed to NY to celebrate Easter.  The kids did great in the car and were so happy to get to MarMar and PopPops!

Saturday we dyed Easter Eggs and played at the park- it was super cold, so when MarMar turned on Hop, we happily watched!

Sunday morning we enjoyed the slightly warmed temps and were able to capture a few cute pics of the kiddos!

When we got home from church, Nate, Uncle Frank and Aunty Jen were there!  The cousins just jumped into playing with each other- so sweet!  They enjoyed an egg hunt- what a difference a year makes- Asher only needed help finding the eggs with just his name on them!

Monday we headed to a free local zoo!  The kids loved getting to see all the animals up close!  The strutting peacock, a drowsy black bear, and "wrestling" ducks were huge hits!  You never know what you will see at a zoo in springtime....  The kids are still talking about how seeing the "wrestling" ducks was one of their favorite parts of Spring Break....

After the zoo, the kids played outside some getting rid of some wiggles- we headed home at bedtime.

Everyone had a great time- snoozing away by 6:45pm!

Monument 10K

This could be Al's final Monument 10K to run- and he's been running in this race for over 12 years!  With this in mind, I dug out the kids winter jackets and blankets, and we went downtown to cheer for him!  It actually flurried on us and was by the far the coldest Monument 10K, but it was worth it!  As an added bonus, we were able to see our friends the L's run by, too!  Of course, we did get our traditional Dunkin Donuts to munch on- and the kids loved the pompoms and clappers that were passed out.

It was cold, but oh-so-fun!  Who knows- maybe we will drive up and Al will continue this tradition....

For Sale and Sold!

Since we are moving to Atlanta, we needed to sell our current home....  We decluttered, cleaned, and decluttered some more, and did more cleaning....  We listed it Tuesday at 10am, and had a solid offer by 8pm Wednesday!  I am SO thankful we only had to have the house show-worthy for 2 days- that is hard with 4 kiddos and 1 sick dog!  Once again God has shown His favor and we are thankful!

Alden is an expert dust-bunny-finder!

Addie is an excellent little-kid-entertainer

He is dedicated to eradicating the dust and cobwebs!

We had new windows installed- so pretty!

Playing on the playground during a showing

We have a great Community Group- another family opened their home so we could still meet on Wednesday!

Ode to Kierke

Kierke- our faithful and amazing furry girl for a little over 14 years.  She was an amazing little puppy who followed me home, and stayed....  She has lived in every home we have- and that is saying something!  She welcomed home each of our children- you should have seen the look she gave us when we walked in with Asher and Annalise!  She was an amazing pet and member of our family.

On Tuesday, we had to put her to sleep- the poor thing had severe bone cancer.  She was in intense pain and didn't deserve to end her days that way.  

A little over 2 weeks ago, she started limping a little.  We figured she hurt herself barking at the neighbor's dog.  The limping got worse and she couldn't go up or down the stairs without being carried, so Al called the vet.  Since she had just been in for a check-up, they figured, given her age, it must be arthritis.  We gave her some aspirin and waited- it seemed to help a little the first 2 days.  The  middle of the night on the 2nd day, she made a mess all over the carpet- and you could tell she felt terrible about it.  

Al took her into the vet- we were told it was either a severe case of arthritis or bone cancer.  We decided to give her some pain meds and watch...  The pain meds only made her loopy- she still limped and couldn't do the stairs.  On Monday, Al took her in for the x-ray to determine the cause.  We were told it was advanced bone cancer.  She had probably had it for awhile, but she just masked the pain.

It was awful, but we decided to put her to sleep the following day.  Al was going to be out of town and then we would be driving to NY for Easter- the drive to NY would have been incredibly painful for her.   We told the kids- we all cried and hugged on her- we fed her meatballs and scrambled eggs- the only real food she had eaten in days.

On Tuesday, I was able to meet Al at the vet and pet and love on Kierke as she passed.  The vet assured us we were making the kindest decision.  He told us if Kierke were his pet, he would be doing the exact same decision.

It's been sad to come home to an empty house and I feel the kids are handling it pretty well. Since Kierke was so old, we have had time to discuss her imminent death with the kids, so I feel they were are prepared as they could have been.   They have unanimously decided that we need another dog as soon as we move to Atlanta and it will be named Midlothian!  

We love your Kierke- you were amazing and we are so thankful for how you enriched our lives!