It's Been a Busy Few Weeks

We had a great visit with family while we were in Northern Virginia over spring break. We did Belle's baptism and naming and we got to see most of the immediate family. A few members of our family weren't able to make it and they were sorely missed.

The rest of the week was very full as we wanted to take Jack to see a few things in DC, Belle of course is just along for the ride at this point. On Monday we went to the National Zoo but as it is still pretty much winter many of the animals were hibernating or they were renovating exhibits for their busy months. However, there were still plenty of animals to see and it's a great zoo to walk around. We also went to see the FDR memorial on our way home as Bruce and I hadn't had a chance to see it yet. It's beautiful and particularly timely with what is going on with our economy today. On Tuesday we hung out at my parents house and let Jack and Belle and cousin Autumn have time to play (Jack and Belle adore their older cousin), that afternoon Bruce and I decided to bite the bullet and buy a mini-van. With two kids we really need the space and Jack always wants to climb into the car himself. Jack loves the new car and he is still gushing about it "I love big car, I love it." I am still getting used to driving such a big vehicle. On Wednesday we took all three kids to the Natural History Museum as we had promised Jack that he would get to see dinosaurs this week, Autumn also loves dinosaurs so both toddlers were thrilled by their afternoon at the museum. My dad was able to meet my mom, Bruce, me and the kids for lunch which was a nice treat for all of us. Thursday was filled with a trip to Sport Bounce, it's a place that has huge inflatables for the kids to jump in and slide down (pictures will be up soon). Bruce had to take Jack down once and then he was hooked. He scampered up himself from that point on and some of those slides are very big. We followed that up with a few hours at Chuck E. Cheese (much to Bruce's chagrin). Jack and Autumn had a great time running around and it's always difficult to drag them out of there and I'm happy to announce that Bruce survived his first trip to Chuck E. Cheese. Friday we took the kids to the Baltimore Aquarium, it's a great aquarium and all three kids loved it.

The longer we live away from the east coast the harder it is for me to leave my family after a visit. At least we had a comfortable ride back to Arkansas for us and the kids and after a week or so away it's always nice to come home.