Update

I know, it's been a while.  We've been a bit busy.  ;-)  Here are a few things that have happened since I last wrote:

Clare's travel volleyball team won the gold (for the 2nd time!)  They've been doing very well in their tournaments.

It snowed!  We got about 11 inches with this one and the kids got out of school.  Again.  

Mia really likes the snow.  

Clare's team played in a tournament in Indiana, PA.  There was a wedding reception at our hotel one of the nights and the girls really got into dancing to the songs.  Here they are dancing to YMCA.  

The wedding party invited all of the volleyball girls to the dance floor to do the Harlem Shake.  They had a blast!

 It snowed AGAIN!  This time wasn't as bad as the last, but the kids still missed school.  Ugh!

Daniel likes the peace and quiet when it's snowing, so he decided just to lay in the yard for a while.  

Daniel surpassed Clare in height.  He's soooo proud of himself.

We went to Philadelphia on Easter weekend for a big volleyball tournament.  None of us had ever been there, so it was cool seeing all the historical sites.  Clare spent most of her time with the team, but they still did a little sightseeing in their free time.  I took this picture of Tom and Daniel in line to see the Liberty Bell so you could see how tall Daniel has gotten.  He's catching up!

Here's Daniel and the Liberty Bell:

We had time to tour Independence Hall where the Second Continental Congress met, George Washington was appointed commander in chief of the Continental Army, the Declaration of Independence was signed, the design of the American flag was agreed upon, the Articles of Confederation were adopted, and the U.S. Constitution was drafted.  What an interesting place - especially for political science majors like me!  The park ranger who led the tour was excellent.  We were even allowed upstairs.  

Even though we weren't home for Easter, the Easter Bunny still paid a visit to Daniel (and the volleyball girls!)  He was very happy with his Peeps.  

Here's a picture of the girls.  They played well in this VERY tough tournament.  

We drove through Lancaster County, PA, on our way to Gettysburg when the tournament was over.  I want to go back and do a little more exploring when the weather is better.

The cows came back to the meadow behind our house.  We love the cows.

I went down to North Carolina for a few days to help my parents go through their stuff.  They will be moving in the next year or so and have to cut out about 1/2 or more of their stuff.  It won't be easy, especially for two people who have always been very frugal - they save EVERYTHING!  ("No, we can't get rid of that.  I use it." [maybe 10 years ago!!]  Nevertheless, they were able to part with quite a bit and are on their way to a simpler life.  ;-)  

This picture is of the mountains of east Tennessee on my way home (no, I didn't take this as I was driving.  I stopped at an overlook.)  

The day I returned from NC, this was the view as I sat on the porch eating dinner and sipping my wine.  It was good to be home.