My Baby Boy is Four!

My little David turned 4 Wednesday! It seems not so long ago that I brought him home from the hospital. He is growing so fast. I think he is going to grow up to be either an actor or an author. The stories he comes up with are so imaginative. He is so entertaining! When I think of David, I think of how full of life he is. Here are 5 pictures from his life so far:
Newborn, still loves being all curled up
First birthday, kid on the right! Can you tell he is excited?!
Here David is at age two, at Carolina Beach in North Carolina.
David is 3 in this picture, watching Andrew's soccer game with Daddy

Here is my big four year old! My, how time is flying. I want to enjoy every moment, because before I know it, he will be all grown up.

The Bear went over the Mountain

On Monday afternoon, our family went back to Skyline Drive. In the evening when we were getting ready to leave the park, this black bear walked across the road in front of our car. The kids were delighted, and Phil and I were too!
Anyway, we spent some more time in Shenandoah National Park yesterday. We asked the rangers for an easy walking trail for the little ones. It was still over a mile, but it was a great walk. We saw 3 deer yesterday; one of them was on our hike. Here are some more mountain pictures for you:
Taking a break on the hike
I just can't stop taking pictures of all the beautiful butterflies! I love them!
When I was a kid, we used to climb this mountain a couple times a year as a family or with the youth group. When our own kids are older, we will take them on that climb too.

In the meantime, they can climb little "mountains".

This deer was standing right next to the road, eating leaves for dinner. She was almost close enough to touch. I took this picture from the car window. The kids were so excited. We have been enjoying looking at God's creations at Skyline Drive.

Lines, Lines, Lines

We went to King's Dominion as a family on Saturday for a few hours, and we had a great time. I don't think we would have had fun though without our season passes! Traffic was bad, and by the time we got to the park, the lines were the longest I've seen all season. It was all okay though, because we can go back. Beauty of the season pass!
We spent the few hours we had taking the kids on all the kid rides. You know, it doesn't matter how busy the park is, the kiddie rides are never too busy. The kids got to ride on lots of things. I love watching their faces light up with joy when they are on the rides. I do think Andrew is starting to get a bit bored with the rides that just go in circles. Yet, he was pretty good about not complaining. David and Andrew did get to go on the small roller coaster, Scooby Doo. The log flume was a long line, but we saved that for after dark when the line really drops off. That is one of our family favorites. In a year or two, Christina will be allowed to ride that too. Here are a few pictures of our day.We saw this frog while waiting in line. One advantage of long lines is that you get to see things that you would otherwise miss.
Christina is on the kiddie version of the swinging boat ride. Looks like she will love roller coasters in the future!
David and Christina enjoying a drive
Christina and Andrew are having a turn together now.
So, in spite of taking forever to get to KD and the long lines, we still managed to have a fun evening together. I'll try to forget the girl fight I walked in on in the bathroom! The bathroom attendant had to break it up and tell the girls it wasn't worth fighting over. I guess they had been swearing and angry. Turns out one claimed the other had cut in the bathroom line! I'm glad my family had fun at the park instead of becoming angry. Lines teach patience, right?!

What a fun day! Part Three(final)

We decided to stop by a pizza place on our way home. It is called Spitony's Pizza. We have driven by it many times. Phil and I always make jokes about it, and the kids always laugh. We have nicknamed it "Spit on Your Pizza". Anyway, we thought it was about time we tried it out. It had a very local feel to it, and the pizza was pretty good. Nobody spit on it as far as we know!
Today was one of those perfect family memorable days!

What a fun day! Part Two

Shenandoah National Park

After our visit to the farm, I did not want to go home! I asked Phil to start driving down the road to see where we would end up. We used to do this back when we were dating. We would cruise around Virginia and discover cool new places to visit. So, we loaded up on snacks at a gas station with the cheapest gas I have seen for months and started driving. We ended up going to Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. The entrance fee for one visit was 15 dollars, but it was 30 dollars for a pass that is good for a year! We got the annual pass which means we get to go back. We didn't see any bears this time, although people in the park told us they had seen bears today. We did see a couple English bulldogs, but they weren't wild animals. The butterflies were out in full force though, and were absolutely beautiful. Here are some beautiful pictures of our time in the park:
Kids on the road trip! They kept saying they were cold with the windows rolled down, but it was such a warm day. I guess they should bring their blankets next time.
Sitting in the park with a beautiful view
I'm really proud of some of the pictures I took today; the butterflies were so beautiful, and they were everywhere!

I thought this old tree looked pretty neat.

I just can't get enough of this view! I'm so glad we got the annual pass. This will be so pretty this fall too!

My boys! They were really hoping to see a bear I think! They still had a great time.
Daddy and the kids on top of a mountain

I will end this post with a couple more butterflies and notice the bumblebees too.

What a fun day! Part One

Frying Pan Park:

Today was such a wonderful family day that I think I will split this into a few posts. We started this morning out with no real plans. All I knew was that it was a beautiful day outside, and I didn't want to spend it at home cleaning. Phil usually cooks breakfast on Saturday mornings(I know, I'm spoiled, but it is really sweet of him). Today I gave him a break and we went to Panera's for breakfast for yummy bagels. Then it was off to the farm. Yes, in busy Fairfax County there is a park called Frying Pan Park with farm animals and everything. . . . and it is FREE which is a rare thing around here. My daddy used to take me to the same park as a kid, so it is a special place to take my own kids. Here are some pictures of our farm visit.
These are the newborn baby pigs. Pretty cute for pigs!This is the baby goat. He seems a little shy.

This is Michael the horse patiently meeting Christina.
Christina fell in love with the chickens. She kept running back to go see them. She kept saying "quack quack".

All three kids on a pretend tractor ride
Andrew at the farm's playground; I can't believe he's growing up so fast. He's 6 years old and almost starting first grade.