Birthdays & Kids

This month has been a busy one.  Bill turned the big FOUR ZERO and celebrated w/doughnuts and a Maple bonzai tree.  Shannon also treated him to an Elton John concert.  We also had a full day outing (kid free thanks to Grammy!) in DC.  That was Shannon's b'day request and was great fun.  We hit the Smithsonian castle, botanical garden, Library of Congress, Union Station, the Archives (where we saw the Bill of Rights, Constitution and Declaration of Independence), Nat'l Museum of Art, and ate sushi for dinner.  It was a full day!  Enjoy the pics....

Bill's two Maple trees....happy birthday!

Shannon's birthday outing at the Wash Botanical Garden

Safety first!

She loves that balloon!

Reagan fell fast asleep during lunch this week!

Bill's birthday cake

Bill's birthday gift....at the Elton John concert.

Birthdays and Celebrations

Just a few pictures from the last couple months.  Haven't had much time to post lately, but we did capture some good photos of Maddie's birthday, Bill's promotion ceremony, and just some candid shots of the family.  Enjoy!

Can you believe she's 6??

Taking after her big sister already!

She loves the camera.

Anyone seen my 2 front teeth?

Reagan celebrated M's birthday w/a cupcake too.

Grammy bought Maddie an easel and she loves it!

Family pic after the promotion ceremony at the Nat'l Museum of the Marine Corps.

Long Overdue!

So I realize we're way overdue for this post, so I'll quickly catch you up on the 'goings-ons' w/the Maples.  Bill had shoulder surgery, so that's my first excuse for not blogging!  Since then, we've gone camping twice, kids have finished school, R has progressed from walking to running everywhere and is very talkative, Bill has taken a few trips out west for work, Shannon has been very active in MOPS and taken up running again (yeah for the treadmill!), and there's probably lots more than I'm missing.  Sorry Lucy for that terrible run-on sentence, but at least you're up to speed now!  Our most recent camping trip included the Bells, who camped right next to us at the Natural Bridge, VA.  We camped for 4 days, then they took M & H home w/them while we continued to VA Beach and Raleigh to enjoy some more vacation and see old friends.  Nine days in the camper was a record for us, and so much fun.  M & H are now w/Grammy and Pop Pop and will be back home in 1 week!  Yay!  Anyhow, below are some random pictures from our adventures camping and at home over the past couple months.  Enjoy!

He eventually wrenched this out of Shannon's hand and enjoyed the whole bucket!

R 'wrenched' this bag out of our snack bag and dug in!

The cousins looking sharp!

Our camping trip to Front Royal, VA.

This is where we found her!

Llamas at a local zoo in F. Royal.

Went to a huge playground in F. Royal and found this.  Didn't even play on the playground!

No, those aren't their swimsuits, but it was fun!

Took in afternoon fireworks at Mt Vernon on the 4th.

Drive through safari park in Natural Bridge.  It was awesome.

Girls growing up!

As the author is limited to only one hand for awhile, this post will be rather short.  Just wanted to share some recent photos of the girls.  Enjoy!

Another of Grammy's creations.

 Rockin the headband at Party City!

At the Sheep & Wool festival last wkend.

Training wheels are off!  Check out the video below...

She refused to sit!

Reagan is mobile!

Our littlest one is now very mobile, both crawling and on two feet!  And her favorite thing is the dishwasher, so she comes running when she hears it open!  Watch her pause to wait for the moment to seize the washer.  Enjoy! 

March Madness!

So it's been a crazy month as you can tell from the title, and we're not talking college basketball.  We've had a little boy turn 4, multiple snowstorms, camping, visits from both grandparents, Connie & Matt, and a bunch of other stuff too!  So rather than tell all those stories, we'll just show them.  Enjoy!

 Maddie melts too.....hearts!

Grammy made matching Easter dresses.

Reagan loved the bubbles.  The video below tells all.

And there were these times too!  :(

Hunter and friend Julie at his b'day party.

Priceless.

Reagan loves to...make messes!  :)

Reagan had such fun w/Aunt Connie.

One of her many looks.

Baltimore!

We took a day last weekend to visit Baltimore.  We took in the aquarium, some delicious local seafood and the Arundel Mills shopping mall.  It was great fun....see for yourself!

The kiddos sitting on a whale vertebrae!

Our eldest...she's gonna steal some hearts!  Already has...

This is Bill's favorite snake.  Can't wait to get one!!

The jellyfish exhibit was pretty cool...at least from outside the tank.