This and that

On the last Wednesday of every month, the local public schools have a 3-hour early release day.  And since Wednesday is also a dance day for Frances, we decided to head downtown a little early to explore the riverfront (with the hopes of seeing Daddy, too, but sadly he was in a meeting).

It was perfect weather (even a little too warm), so we'll try it again at the end of this month.

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A couple of weekends ago, we took the kids to Henricus Historical Park.  I had never been there and Will hadn't been since childhood.  We stumbled upon an historical reenactment, which the kids loved.

The muskets were a little loud for Frances.  George, predictably, loved them.

They also had brought in the Godspeed, one of the ships usually parked in Jamestown, for the occasion.  

It's not an historical reenactment without crafts.

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Frances, warrior princess

Be afraid.

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Frances and her first grade best friend, Madeline.

The greatest thing about Madeline is that she lives right in our neighborhood.  So once-a-week playdates are almost a given.

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Someone missed Gram-E and Mr. Pyles while they were on their Florida vacation.

We spent many mornings ringing that doorbell in hopes they had returned early.

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This is how I spent most of my days with George--chasing behind him on the scooter.

It's pretty much attached to his hip at this point.

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A typical after-school shot.

With the weather at almost perfect temperatures, I force the kids outside after school nearly every afternoon.  They hem and haw at first, but I'm convinced it's good for them.  Plus, left to their own devices, they've come up with some pretty clever games and activities.  Including, the toy tree:

The tiniest tree in our yard holding every single play object.  I had to laugh.

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I woke up this morning to find this:

Will remembers everything--even the anniversary of our engagement.  Even on those evenings when I was less than cheery when he finally made it home after a long day of work.  I have no idea what I did to deserve him, but there is no doubt I would have said "YES!" every day these last ten years.  Happy 10th Engagement Anniversary, Will!

And happy Thursday, everyone!