April's in the Bag!

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And just like that, April's in the bag.

There is no pool to overlook and no gin & tonic in sight, but I couldn't help but think of Mom as I sat on the deck picking green beans watching the boys play lax and listening to Margaret joyfully, "woo-hoo!" on the swing.  I wonder if they will remember these times.

 As Andrew played goalie, Matthew meticulously lined up all of his balls before he started shooting practice.

 Beautiful day for a game at St. Anne's...and comical when their opponents make them look like the poor guys in town....#goodpeoplewatching

 Sometimes, you just have to grab the closest rocket, poop in your pants, and pass out next to your sleeping bag.

"Dear Jesus, thank you for dieing on the cross for our lives.  It should've been me on the cross.  We don't deserve it.  Oh thank you Jesus.  I can never thank you enough.  Amen."

 School Fun Fair with Violet

The VERY best part of preschool is the opportunity to go read to their class and watch them do their morning weather and calendar routine, complete with "Blast Off!".

 Having finished all of his AWANA verse memorization for the year already, Andrew unselfishly helps the non-readers without even being asked, we are told by his leaders.

 Kathy's Sip n See at Grace Estates, complete with Baby Olivia, Lauren's priceless stories, and Ray Charles, apparently.

 Andrew lost 10 teeth fairly quickly, but hasn't lost any in over a year.  X-rays show he has two permanent teeth primed and ready to drop, but with no space.  So a double K-9 extraction was ordered. 

Quick and easy (for him), but I think I'll not watch next time if we go through this again. My stomach's getting queasier with age!

Good grief, those suckers were HUGE!!!

 Days later, Little Miss lost her first tooth---by contrast, you can barely even see it!

Waking up Margaret every morning---yep, there's a child in there somewhere.

 Making progress!  (And we're doing other things in the potty now, too - Hallelujah.)

 The Annual Dogwood Festival Parade, 

with acts and bands from all over VA and PA.

 Daddy, once again, pleading for a motorcycle for his birthday.

 Sunday afternoon game on the high school's turf field.  

I love everything about this picture.

 

 And the mysterious snaking plant is off the ground and blooming!

 

 An oldie from Christmas that just snuck in....

 His favorite place to sleep lately....not gonna be pretty the night he rolls off. 

Talent Show & Birthday Parties

One of the neat things about a smaller church is that you can have intimate functions like an annual talent show.  Andrew played his upcoming recital piece and did just great----no nerves at all and said it was really fun, just like playing in church! 

All three sang their books of their Bible song from AWANA.  Matthew might be the only child too young for AWANA that has already mastered some of the K-2 material----he's going rock the 3 & 4 year old material next year!  Really wish I could have trusted Matthew with a mic because his pronunciation of some of the books is absolutely priceless!

Birthday parties are so much more fun 

when the birthday boy's mom is a photographer:) 

6 year Princess party - they're in Heaven.

 Sweet, sweet friends...patiently waiting for Margaret to finish gymnastics and reading their magazines to each other.

Spring Break

About half of Andrew and Margaret's friends are at Disney and/or Legoland this week...understandable as they are the perfect ages for it.  But they have been great with my line that they got a baby brother for LIFE instead of a Spring Break trip:-)  Some day....but not yet.  

   
Dog sitting to start the week...

The morning after UNC's-Villanova game, Andrew caught up on the 2nd half.  His reaction to Carolina's 3 with 4.7 seconds left...

              And then his reaction to Villanova's buzzer beater 3-pointer...

Winston-Salem to visit Lalu and Big Rob. 

Spring Break doesn't have to be fancy or expensive to be entertaining...rides on Big Orange were a BIG hit! 

  

Krispie Kreme Factory

 Surprise visit with REAL firemen while visiting Wake Forest.

 

 The Demon Deacon at the baseball stadium. 

 

Off to Richmond, Putt-Putt was hysterical:-)

After going to Krispy Kreme in Winston, Andrew decided our family needed to be the Krispy Kreme Baseball Teme, "We need to spell 'teme' how they spell 'kreme'".  The entire ride home he was creating the team, practice and game details working around our current family activity schedule, home and away jerseys, what each family member would actually wear to accommodate the colors, the batting order, how we would adjust for different aged/skilled players, etc.  The list of minute details goes on and on.  The kid's creativity never ceases to amaze me.

First on the Short Pump Train

 73 and 3 (can you see his little head?), watching the Masters.

After the Masters ended for the day, Andrew was watching the Blue/Orange Florida football game on TV, a Denver lax game on my computer, while keeping up with the Oriels on my phone...and of course a college hockey game was on in the bedroom.  Too much screen time??  At least it's not junk.

 Getting ready for church---this is what it's all about:-)