First good snow in VA

We had a few inches of snowfall today, and the boys had lots of fun playing in it and helping me shovel the walkways.  Actually, Jack and Thomas were serious helpers and we got our shoveling done in record time.  It's a weird feeling to be on the other side of those years of always-hands-on parenting (i.e. having to be actively involved in all the clothing, toileting, feeding, etc. that happens), at least for Jack and Thomas.  They can get their snow gear on (with a little help with stubborn zippers) and can follow directions about where/how to shovel snow, and actually do a good job.  Even Peter is getting more independent, and it's a weird feeling to realize that we've never had a child as old as Peter (2.5 years now) without a newborn in the picture as well. 

Anyway, the boys were pretending their shovels were snowplows and they really attacked the walkways.  We're on a corner lot with a looong sidewalk that wraps around our property, so there was a fair amount to be done, even though (thankfully) we didn't get that much snowfall.  Apparently schools were closing and had early dismissals all around here, which I'm sure the folks up in Buffalo would find a little ridiculous!

In other news, we're keeping busy with the daily tasks of schooling, home stuff, David's work, etc.  These pictures are from a little while ago when we took our first trip to DC, but they're kind of cool:

Adventures in VA

We've had a few great adventures in the VA and DC areas over the last couple of weeks.  This past weekend, we went to Washington's Mount Vernon estate --  a huge mansion (especially by 1700s standards) and rolling lawns situated right on the Potomac river.  It was beautiful, especially with all the fall leaves still in brilliant colors.  We were joined by Victoria and Lance, some dear friends from college, and we had a lovely day.  We saw Washington's tomb, his bedroom, and some trees that he planted that are still alive today. 

This is the front of the Washington's mansion.

The big tree on the left was planted by George Washington himself!

Happy Halloween!

Great Falls Park

Home tour

I kept waiting to take a video walkthrough of the house until it looked cleaner or better, but I just went took the plunge and took a video anyway. So, please pardon any random kid socks, blankets, full laundry baskets, unmade beds, etc. that you might see :)!

Settling In

We have one week under our belts here in VA. It's been a trying week, all the unpacking and organizing while keeping up on Jack's school work and maintaining some sense of normal routine. I keep meaning to take pictures of our home, but the moving truck came in mid-week and I couldn't bring myself to take pictures with brown boxes all over the place! I think most of the boxes in the house have been unpacked now, so I'll work on getting some pictures up soon.

I think we've turned the corner, though, and things should be getting easier from here on out. We went on our first field trip on Friday to the Air and Space Museum in Chantilly. It's about 15 minutes from here, and the boys really enjoyed it. We've been there before -- on our May 2009 trip back East -- but it's a long time in a little kids' life. Peter kept marveling at all the airplanes and telling me he was going to ride in them. Jack and Thomas listened as I read the descriptions for the planes, and they really seemed to be absorbing it. It was time to go home for lunch before we had seen the entire museum, but it was great to know that we live so close that we could visit anytime we want. They have an IMAX theater there, and I think David and I will take the boys to an IMAX show about airplanes sometime -- I bet they'd love it!

We also got a library card on Friday, and the boys got to check out new books. Even Peter found a little book about diggers that he's been carrying all around.

Weather-wise, we had a few warm days when we first arrived, but then it started cooling down. The leaves are starting to change, and we're hoping to go to a park or take a nice drive to really see the leaves and take pictures before they fall off.

We ordered Halloween costumes for the boys, and they're very excited about them. Originally I was going to make my own, but I had trouble finding the materials I needed (I guess there was a run on white sweats!), so I gave in and bought some inexpensive costumes online. David has high standards for Halloween because he has great memories of the costumes his Mom made him as a kid, but even he agreed that it was acceptable to buy costumes considering our moving craziness :). So Jack and Peter will be motorcycle drivers and Thomas will be Iron Man.

So, life is starting to settle in a little and feel normal. David has next Friday off, and that may be when we take the kids to DC for the first time. We haven't decided what we'll see yet, but we'll be sure to take lots of pictures. I know eventually I'll manage the kids on the metro by myself, but for that first time I'm looking forward to having some extra hands!

Last day in Colorado

We have a rental house secured in Herndon, VA, our belongings are on the moving truck, our cars are on the car carrier, we've completed our exit walk-through with our landlord here, and aside from some laundry and packing tonight, we're ready for Virginia. It feels really good to be at this point. It seems like the last several weeks have had so many ups and downs (and honestly, a little skewed toward the downs), and it's a relief to know where we're going and to be mostly ready to be there.

Maybe it's good, in a way, that the past few weeks have been challenging. I've been so busy organizing, packing, conducting lease business over phone and e-mail, etc. that I haven't really had time to be too sad about leaving CO. We really have had a wonderful stay here. Let's see -- some of the highlights:

- Camping (truthfully, cabining) up in the Rocky Mountains with family
- Fishing
- Summer T-ball
- Swim lessons
- Fossil hunting
- Thunderstorms and hail
- Pikes Peak
- Spending time with family and friends who came to visit us
- All the boys' birthdays
- Cave of the Winds
- Dinosaur Museum
- Beautiful parks
- BBQs with David's co-workers

We left the Winter of our Discontent in Buffalo and came here to a Golden Spring and Summer. I know we'll enjoy our time in VA, but I'm sure CO will always be a special place to us.

Please keep our travels tomorrow in your prayers! We will be sure to offer up any frustrations or stresses for the intentions of our family and friends. We'll update you soon after we arrive and get settled in.