Congrats, Hunter, on a SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE!

We never thought the day would come, but it did! Hunt finally defended and it was successful. He is only a few formalities away from a Master's in Electrical Engineering and, hopefully, only a few weeks away from starting his new job in Maryland!!! This calls for a big, family celebration!

Happy Fifth Birthday, Archie!

I'll probably never stop saying this on birthdays, but I can't believe my baby boy is FIVE!
What's the best part about a birthday? The cake, the presents? Archie was pretty thrilled by it all. So far, his favorite present has been his Hess Jet. (Yes, the collectible truck series from the gas station.) We're going to take him to pick out a brand new bike when we get to Maryland, but I guess since he hasn't actually seen it yet, he can't get but so excited. We're planning another "friend" party next week when we visit Blacksburg to see his old friends and so Hunt can FINALLY defend his thesis :)

Opening the Hess Jet:

Grandpa lighting the candle on Grandma's classic "sad cake"

Awwww....My little pumpkin five years ago in Bangkok, Thailand. How precious! We love you, Archie, and can't wait to see what changes the next five years will bring.

Coasting on the Flat Lands!

One really great thing about Chesapeake is how FLAT it is! That makes biking easy and fun. Grace loves her new Dora bike. Archie got his first 16 inch bike and is now riding it without training wheels. Archie wasn't exactly thrilled with the prospect of learning to ride it the "hard"way, but I think it was worth the effort.

Swim Like a Fish!

I am SO happy for Archie and Grace. They are both going underwater now. Archie is even swimming with his face in. Way to go!!!

The Cutest Velociraptor!

We took Archie and Grace to the Living Museum last week and saw real (moving) dinosaurs. It was pretty cool! Archie got to be the special helper for the live animal show, and he got dressed up as a velociraptor! He shared stage time with that cute little snow owl perched on the man's hand!





 This nice volunteer brought out the telescope just for Archie and Grace. Since it was day, you (obviously) couldn't see the night sky, but they were able to see some bees making honey.

 Cool "LIVE" dinos!