Sorry for being away so long

I am finally posting pictures again. I don't feel like I have had any free time since Christmas (now I know how my parents must have felt with three kids), but things are getting better. I was essentially gone for most of March - Hilton Head and Phoenix at the beginning and Orlando toward the end.

Emma is crawling now, but I believe she only learned to crawl so she could pull up on things and start learning to walk.

A day rarely goes by when Molly doesn't say something that makes Dea and me laugh. We don't remember Madeline being so coherent at this age, but that was a long time ago.

Madeline is really growing up, and as you will see in some of the photos, she is getting really good at drawing. She was recently identified at school as gifted (of course, there was no doubt considering who her parents are).

Anyway, I hope the pictures satisfy the cravings, and I will try to post more regularly in the future.

Happy Easter!

 

Making a sign for the Easter Bunny

 

New floors

Bill helped me install hardwood floors in our living and dining rooms at the beginning of the month. The new floor is so much nicer than the ugly old worn-out carpet.

 

Mt. Humphreys

This is the highest mountain in Arizona (12,633'). It is about 50 miles away from here. Flagstaff lies on the south side of the mountain. I spent the night in Flagstaff and fell in love with the town. Someday (not anytime soon, Dea) we will be moving there.

 

Arizona, March 2007

I went to a conference in Phoenix the first week of March. The conference ended on Thursday morning and my plane didn't leave until Friday afternoon, so I took advantage of the really nice Infiniti I had rented and drove three hours to the Grand Canyon. I was completely overwhelmed by the scale (I experienced something similar at Death Valley a few years ago); it was impossible for my brain to comprehend the size of the canyon. The picture was made on the South Rim; the North Rim is about 8 miles away and 1000 feet higher. I have many more pictures, but I won't post them since it is really just a big hole.

The South Rim sits at about 6000', so snow is common in the winter.

A wild goat walking by the trail.

Navajo flea market. After leaving here I encountered one of those wonderfully straight desert roads; I was able to hit 1** mph.

 

more Hilton Head

It occurred to me on this trip that my girls have spent more nights in hotels than I did in my first 20 years.

 

Hilton Head, 3/2/2007

 

more of Madeline's art

 

Dora the Explorer

Madeline has expressed the desire to become an artist when she grows up. I can't say I have really encouraged her (I want a dentist in the family), but when I saw her draw this freehand for Molly I was totally amazed. She has developed a whole system for drawing Dora, starting with the hair line with the two triangles in it. I hope Emma likes teeth...

 

2/6/2007

 

I'm a sucker for these kind of photos.

 

 

Global warming, Jan 2007

This was the first time in my memory that I did yard work in January.

 

The first snow of 2007

 

Winter hiking

It was warm enough for Madeline and I to make our favorite hike up Bear Fence Mountain on Jan 20. You can see the ski trails on the tip of Masanutten Mountain.

 

1/14/2007

 

Seriously, Madeline considers this a nice looking outfit.