One day while picking up the kids from the bus stop, we found a friendly black dog roaming the street without an owner.  He passed us more than once.  After sufficiently looking around and not finding a person to go with this dog, we decided to bring him home with us.

I happily noticed he had a collar and tags. Once we brought him to our fenced backyard we got him some water and checked the info on his tags.

We found out his name was PJ and his owner was listed with a phone number.  As an added bonus, his tags also let us know he was vaccinated for rabies. Even though he was a very calm and nice dog, since we didn’t know much about him we were still a little cautious around him.

Sophie was super excited when I called the number and had to leave a message instead of talking to someone.  She immediately said, “Can he sleep with me tonight?!”.  I promptly answered, “He won’t be staying with us that long.”

No more than 30 minutes later the owner called back and I told him where we were.  Apparently PJ was at the vet earlier in the day and when they got home PJ must have gotten away outside of the electric fence.

The kids were sad to see him go so quickly, but sure enjoyed him for the short time he stayed with us.  Maybe we’ll break down and get a dog one of these days.  I think the kids would love it.

Even with the mild winter, we’ve been itching to get out of the house at any sign of nice weather.

One day after school we took an impromptu bike ride to a nearby park.

After sufficiently playing on all the equipment, the kids started exploring and found a fun stream to play around.

Many rocks thrown and lots of mud later, it was time to go home!

If it’s one thing Fairfax County has a lot of (besides people and cars), it’s parks!
A few days later we drove to another nearby park, Eakin Park.

Same routine: play on equipment…

then find a stream.

Truman is in Kindergarten now, so it’s about time he starts thinking about his future!

While he was home sick with me this week he informed me of the things he wants to be when he grows up.

There are four of them, not in any particular order:

1. A Carpenter

2. A Pet Shop Owner

3. An Inventor

4. The President

Obviously he’s been giving this a lot of thought!

One evening we enjoyed dinner with friends at a local pizza place and then took a walk over to the red caboose. You have no idea how fun climbing on a real train can be!

"Watch out, here I come. Toot, toot!"

"Mom, did you see me driving this thing?!"

"I love trains!"

"Ah, the perfect spot to enjoy the rest of my pizza."

"All aboard!"

The other night I was talking to Sophie and she was thinking out-loud about how Grandma Sue only has Sophie, Truman, and Archer as her grandkids.  I pointed out that it’s because Justin is Grandma’s only child.

Then Sophie said, “And Grandma is probably too old to have any more children, right?”

I said, “Yeah.”

Then she said, “Did she have her tonsils out so she can’t have any more kids?”

Inquisitively, I asked, “Tonsils?”

Then she began giggling uncontrollably.

Finally she said, “No, wait. (giggles)  Not tonsils.  (giggles) What are those things called? (giggles)”

More giggles…