Marking Milestones

The day I have been dreading for at least a decade occurred today! The big 3-0! That's right, I now join my husband in the thirty-something club. I feared it might be one of the most depressing days thus far, but it turned out pretty great. Scott took us shopping and then we went to dinner at Maggiano's. Just when I thought I could take no more fun, we came home and we had a "PRINCESS" themed party. Complete with balloons, cake, magic wands, flowers, and princess plates. I think he feels bad that everything in our house revolves around boys-balls, cars, bugs, and stinky smells. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I actually realized how very blessed I am. I have a great husband, terrific kids, a mom who still puts me before herself, and a pretty happy life. Maybe thirty isn't so bad. Did I mention it is also our 9th wedding anniversary and we still love each other. What more could you ask for?

CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?

Can you guess which child is the morning person?

RIDE 'EM COWBOY!

Nash shows off his crazy rodeo skills on Atley's wild pony named Lucky! YEE HAW!!

21st Century, Here We Come!

Well, we finally did it! With the encouragement of lots of friends we are finally embracing the blog revolution. We hope others will join us so that we can all keep in touch while our families grow and change each day! We have been a bit reluctant to start a blog, mostly because we are afraid everyone will realize just how boring our lives really are, but then again maybe Granny will like it, if we post lots of pictures.

TRIP TO PHILLY!

In February we took a 2 hour road trip north to Philadelphia. We wanted to visit America's first capital. Despite the fact that it was freezing cold, we saw a girl get hit by a car, and Atley lost a shoe on the trip, we had a great time. We visited Constitution Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed. We went to Benjamin Franklin's grave which was littered with pennies to memorialize him. We learned all about the Liberty Bell. We visited Betsy Ross's house and learned about the creation of our first flag. Atley also had the privilege of sitting in George Washington's pew at Christ's Church where all of the founding father's attended church while in Philadelphia. Christ's Church hasn't missed a Sunday service since the late 1600's. Of course the highlight of the trip was eating an authentic Philly Cheesesteak!

Smithsonian Kite Festival

The boys had a great time on the Washington Mall at the annual Smithsonian Kite Festival. It is part of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Thousands of people with thousands of kites fill the mall from the Capital Building to the Washington Monument. Daddy helped Atley build his kite and the cold, windy day was perfect for kite flying. Nash spent most of his time chasing a little girl with a fish kite. "Fish" is his favorite word. Of course Atley's favorite part was riding the METRO with a million other festival goers. Needless, to say this was his mommy's least favorite part. There is something a little spooky about being packed like a sardine in a subway car as it travels at high speeds in a leaky tunnel under the Potomac River.

ATLEY STARTS SOCCER

Atley started soccer a few weeks ago and he seems to really enjoy it. Is he a star yet? Not quite. We are convinced he could be great if he wouldn't stop to pick a dandelion on his way to score a goal or feel the need to identify the airplanes that are flying over our heads as Boeing 737's or MD80's. We gotta love him!