April: in a few words and a bunch, a bunch of pictures

On April Fool's Day we took a trip do Dollywood. Claire is a thrill ride junkie. If she were tall enough to ride all the big rides, she'd definitely do it. The boys are much more hesitant, though Sam is beginning to hone in on the particular type of ride that he enjoys- the spinning ones. Having season passes to Dollywood, we try to get the most use out of it as we can. It's right at about 3 hours to get there, which is just about the limit (or perhaps just a little past) of what Claire can handle in the car. Unfortunately, it's more than a diaper can handle, apparently. We had nearly arrived when she announced that she was wet, and boy was she ever! Unfortunately, I hadn't thought to bring a change of day clothes, but I do always bring pajamas for the ride home. So, Claire was sporting her brothers' old pajama pants around Dollywood most of the day. We washed her others in a bathroom sink and once they had dried from the sun, she was cute once again.

Dad got to go on his first field trip chaperon experience. He went to Columbia with Sam's class. He only had stewardship over Sam and his two best buddies. They toured the State House and museum. A miraculous event occurred; lunch was included with the field trip and Sam discovered he can, indeed, eat a deli meat sandwich. Ever since, he has been eating them with regularity. 

Nathanael began his first season of baseball. He played for the Pirates. And, sadly, it appears that we captured no posed images of him in his adorable uniform.

Dad traveled to Utah for a job interview. Coincidentally, he also received a request for an interview with the folks from BYU's MBA program at the same time, but was unable to squeeze it in while in Utah. After later having the interview via Skype, Paul was accepted to the program, but after much agonizing deliberation, we decided not to pursue that option. 

 Nathanael had his turn bringing home the class "pet", a stuffed bumblebee named Buzz. Apparently, stuffed class pets, and the requirement to have a fun-packed weekend with said pet, are now all the rage. Buzz went with the kids to their friends' house while Paul and I went on a date. Then Buzz got dragged all over downtown Greenville as the kids and I visited a bunch of historic sites to fulfill requirements for a class project of Sam's. After that, Buzz spent the rest of the weekend in the car.

Whilst washing the boys' bedding one April day, some of their stuffed animals needed some freshening up. Having always just tossed them in the washer and dryer previously, I gave no thought to doing the same as usual. But when Nathanael's favorite Little Critter, nicknamed Furvy, came out with a jheri curl, I couldn't stop laughing. When Nathanael first caught sight of Furvy, his face was a mixture of shock and nervous laughter. He spent the next 24 hours an emotional mess over Furvy's new 'do. Dad guilted me into ordering a new one from Amazon. It pained me to buy Furvy's replacement for $12 when Santa found the original on clearance for $2.50. But when the new Furvy arrived, all was right again in the universe.

Claire got to go to Chick Fil A to decorate cupcakes for toddler time. We also went to an art place a couple of times.

Random favorites from April: