James Monroe. Bonus Round.

We say it every time we come to Virginia. "Next time we will visit James Monroe's house too." Truth is, he literally lives around the corner from Thomas Jefferson. But honestly, if you are trying to squeeze both Monticello and Montpellier in on the same day, there just isn't time for poor old James Monroe. It is a shame too. He was the 5th President, and the last president that was a founding father. He supported the founding of colonies in Africa for freed slaves. These colonies later became Liberia, and the capitol is "Monrovia". Now that we bought ourselves an extra day, we stopped on by.

We toured his lovely gardens...

Walked a winding path...

And toured his 4 room estate. A mansion that we could truly identify with.

We have now officially toured the houses of all the founding father presidents. Go team!

We're Back!

Remember that time we went to Virginia? 

Well, I'm not done blogging about it yet, in fact, I haven't even gotten to the main attraction, Montpelier! 

Home of James and Dolly Madison. 

Pops and I came here 13 years ago when it was still in the DuPont era.

Here is Pops in the rear of the house.

Here I am on the front lawn. We toured the house, but there was no evidence of the Madison's ever living here. It was steeped in the decor of the roaring 1920s, even a horse room with about a bizzillion pictures of horses. 

There was even a horse race track out front (there still is!).

Right after this trip the historical society started restoring the mansion to the Madison Era.  Pops and I were pumped to hear this because we were disappointed in the lack of Madison's presence. 

We vowed to come back.

Sandy and I stopped by 6 years later. They had made significant progress removing the pink plaster and all of the additions. Superkid and Abz were not impressed. 

I vowed to return.

Pops and I heard that the mansion is open again for tours. We have been talking about going all year. We seized the chance over school vacation week. The house is not open for tours on Monday and we made plans to visit cousins and friends over the weekend while they were available, so that made Tuesday the big day. First, we stopped by Monticello and then hit the road for Montpelier. With Montpelier, Virginia in the GPS we hit the road. About an hour and a half later we landed in Montpelier, Virginia. Turns out to be about an hour away from James Madison's Montpelier. Major disappointment. Especially since it was going to close for tours in 30 minutes and we were planning on starting our drive home that night. And sadly we had our cousins with us who had never been there before either. Bummer. We did go back and walk through the gardens that night. We just couldn't take it so we extended our vaycay 1 more day. We booked a room nearby in Charlotte and drowned our sorrows in the pool (this is LC's winking face)!

We toured the last remains of the DuPont era, the gardens and race track.

Abz and I went on a tour of the house...

While the guys paid their respects at the family cemetery.

We all stopped and visited with the Madison's.

Then the little Toads and I toured the "Temple", James Madison's outdoor office, while Pops and Superkid toured the house.

We also did a little excavating, which was the coolest thing ever. We dug up actual artifacts from the property, then washed them and categorized them. Very cool.

Walking the halls and rooms of this great estate was well worth the trip. I am in love with James Madison and his commitment to make this crazy American experiment work. I have to admit I got a little emotional when I heard the tour guide talk of how James Madison locked himself in his library for a year studying government types and coming up with a plan to replace the Articles of Confederation. I am so happy he cared. You gotta love those founding fathers. 

The kids tolerate all this nonsense from their parents because there is usually a trip to the gift shop for a souvenir. I told them the only souvenir I wanted was an awesome picture of the family on the front lawn (look at Tad give it his all).

We will be back. They are still working to restore the Madison's belongings, including James Madison's library!

Teacher Appreciation Night

The kids anxiously awaited their teacher's arrival at the church's 22nd annual Teacher Appreciation Night.

Superkid invited his 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Breen. I didn't get the best picture of this moment. Trying to minimize the  awkwardness for everyone. Superkid was as always an awesome host. Mrs. Breen was impressed and said in her 22 years of teaching she never had been invited to anything as special as this and never felt so honored. Nice work Superkid.

Tadpole invited his Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Carey. She is expecting her first baby in August. We encouraged Tad to make small talk with his teacher and ask about her life. He said to her, "So, Mrs. Ca-w-ey. You're going to be a "mudder" soon. What do you think about that?" Sounds like they had plenty to talk about.

Abizella invited her Espanol teacher Senora Manning.

Abizella simply adores her. She does let the kids dance during class after all. 

Thanks to Senora Manning, if Abz knows a word in Spanish, she uses it.

Our Littlest Blessing

Pops blessed our littlest Toad last Sunday, May 5th.

We wrapped him up in the same little blanket Aunt Mindy gave me about 14 years ago that she brought home her study abroad in Jerusalem. All the little Toads snuggled in it on their blessing day.

We wish that we could have surrounded our little guy with all of our favorite friends and family, but even his immediate family is quite the crowd these days!

We simply adore him!

Superkid snuggles!

Tadpole tickles.

Abizella squeezes.

Little Chief loves.

Oh Mother's Day!

 Can you believe it is Mother's Day already? 

Good thing too! 

The family is banging out the dishes so I can kick back with the blog and do some catching up.

Times are busy and we do our best to get the most important things done. 

Laundry isn't one of them. 

Superkid came down the stairs the other morning and said, 

"Any chance of getting some clean clothes around here?" 

I took this as a very positive comment. 

#1 The kid is finally self aware about his cleanliness. 

#2 A great opportunity to get the kid ready to be a contributing member of society. 

Guess who is on laundry duty next week? 

This has been a fantastic Mother's Day. Abizella woke me up with a menu she had prepared. She acted both as waitress and chef this morning. Tadpole was the bus boy. I dined in bed. I got coupon books, poems, cards and flowers. 

My favorite coupon was from Superkid for, "50% off Crying". 

When I read it he said, 

"What? I can't control myself around Little Chief and Tadpole". 

Thanks for the reductions in beatings big guy, and the honesty!

This has been a great Mother's Day on another front too!  My sisters and I sent some special love to Glama. I wish I had the kids make some love for me too!

I love my Mom. I have the *BEST* one. Who else but the best Mom *EVER* would wear such a loving tribute to church today? The crown was made for the "Queen Bee" of the Davis Hive, made by Cincha's family. The necklace, representing all of her little grandbaby jewels, was made by Mindur's family. The toe clips (worn here as hair clips) were made by Nerzy's family, representing all the time she spent rubbing Mom's tired feet. The sash, representing Mom's beautiful garden, was made by my little Toads. The lilac corsage was made by Charlene's family to represent the beautiful corsage my Mom made my grandma when she was a little girl.

Happy Birthday Partner!

Happy Birthday Little Chief!

There is nothing the Toads love more than gathering around a cake to celebrate a special occasion!

And around here, you always get a little extra help with your candles!

But you definitely get your own piece of cake!

In fact, there is so much cake that if you choose, you can roll around a little bit in it too.

And don't forget the presents!

With plenty of help from our Grandma's and Grandpa's a kid can be pretty spoiled!

Saddle up Cowboy!

Okay, I'm loving those chaps!

And when the horse gets pooped, there is the alternative trusty steed!

Nothing like a Chocolate Goatee for a serious horseman!

That, and it is always nice to have a little cowgirl side kick!

While a kid only turns 3 once, the party goes on and on around here.

We're glad that you're ours LC. 

We just wouldn't be us without you!

Little Chief Is 3!

Finally an occasion for hit favorite outfit, 

*HIS BIRTHDAY SUIT*! 

And in Little Chief's opinion, there is no better way to spend the morning than a long splashy shower!

...Followed by curling up like a little turtle. 

We call him our little "tortuga".

And as long as we are treating a kid right, why not feed him his favorite meal?

Oatmeal. He asks for it night and day. That and of course chocolate milk. 

He is a Toad after all.

I love this little guy with all my heart. He is fiercely independent, smart as a whip and a bit *naughty*. He has a face loaded with expression. His heart is soft for animals. He adores his brothers and sister. When he was a baby we knew he was our best hugger. He holds on tight. And there is nothing cuter than when he curls up his lips and pulls you in for a kissy.

Happy Birthday big guy! This family loves you to pieces!