Finally -- an update (especially for Mary Alice)

So the slacker finally got around to posting an update. We've been busy! Once we survived tax season, we zipped off to Chattanooga to welcome our friends Za and Krishon. Za, Chad's best friend, and his wife Krishon moved to Chattanooga from Los Angeles. We're SO EXCITED that we don't have to hop a flight across the country to see them any more! Hooray!

We settled into our hotel, grabbed coffee with Za and Krissy, and crashed for the first night, but we were up bright and early for a huge breakfast at The City Diner Cafe Restaurant (no kidding, that's the whole name!) Stuart really loved eating anything within reach.

We had an awesome Saturday trotting around at Lookout Mountain, Ruby Falls, and an awesome water park downtown. Here's Michael Jackson, I mean Chad, dangling the children over a waterfall. (Just kidding. It's a decorative fountain.)

This is proof that I was actually there. Avery and I were staring directly into the blinding sun, but at least we captured the moment.

Avery and Stuart couldn't get enough of these huge wooden chairs. Unlike Cracker Barrel (or Barrel Cracker, as Avery calls it), these aren't for sale.

BEAUTIFUL view!!!

You can see 47 states from this viewfinder! (Okay, not really--but maybe 7, I think.)

Avery didn't care how cold the water was. She was in the middle of it.

Stuart, on the other hand, screamed like a girl.

Stuart loved the back of Za's car. There's so much fun to be had with a bag of softballs.

Stuart is pretty infatuated with Krissy.

Avery, too.

Aren't they handsome!

I've tried to forget the rest of the weekend because it was spent hovering over a toilet. The stomach bug got me. It only lasted a few hours, but it took 2 more days to recover. Let's erase that from memory. Delete!

A bunch of my college girlfriends came to town the following weekend to catch up before Lindsey and her family move to Portland. It's quite a task to wrangle all the children, much less photograph them, but we did it. Sort of.

These two are my favorite. .I'm a little biased, I know.

Papa stayed a night with us when he was in town for a funeral. We were just glad to have a little time with him and shower him with attention.

And in the latest news....We went to the beach. No, not all of us. Just Chad and me! It was the best ever! We were a tad bit crispy by the end of the weekend. It was the first time we'd been away from the kids for more than a day since before they were born. Hooray for vacations.

Dear readers (all 2 of you), if you're still hanging with me, I sincerely appreciate it. Till next time...

Mercy!

Please, please, please extend mercy to this woman! I'm so sorry to have gone so long between posts. I definitely haven't lacked things to post about. We have so much going on in our lives right now that I'd like to share. I've just been focused on work and Chad's been dominating the computer (we just survived tax season, so he gets forgiveness.)

Stuart has started taking steps. That's the biggest news in our house. He's also mastered several words. Fun kid. We are so lucky to have such laid-back, easy-going children.

Pictures and videos to come. Hang with me.