What a week!

~Faye, Andrew and Ainsley came for a visit and stayed a week. They were a great help, fun to play with, and wonderful company. We took them to church, went on outings, shopped and toured around.
~On Thursday afternoon, Mark and Andrew went with a friend of Mark's to the firing range. Both guys shot their first (and second) gun. They really enjoyed themselves and reinforced their understanding of the dangers of guns.


~Before the men went out shooting on Thursday, I took Faye, Andrew and Ainsley, along with Hannah and David to Jefferson City to check out some sites. We toured the State House and the Governor's mansion. The State House was pretty cool, especially the Governor's office (which is oval and 2.5 times the size of the Oval Office in D.C.). Hannah actually got to use the secret bathroom off of the Governor's secretary's office (this office used to be the Governor's office before 1968). When the receptionist offered it to us, we hadn't even noticed that there was a door there. The door blended into the woodwork on the walls. The bathroom was nothing special, but did have a shower in it that Hannah was particularly fond of. At the Governor's mansion we had to wait outside for the tours to begin again after lunch. While we were waiting we noticed a pile of garter snakes on the sidewalk beside the gate entrance. There were five of them and they were all snuggled together in a pile. Hannah really liked that they surprised me (and I surprised them too by nearly stepping on them). She didn't want to go into the mansion, instead wanted to watch them. It took five groundsmen to remove them. The mansion was beautiful, but Hannah was too tired to enjoy it, so she and I waited in the courtyard for the tour to end. Fortunately it was 76 degrees out so it was nice to be outdoors.
~Nearly every evening Andrew and I committed to have a hymn sing. It was really special. We used a new hymnbook that Andrew brought for me.
~On Tuesday James had his first dental cleaning. He got to watch Finding Nemo and really enjoyed it. No cavities!
~David had his four month appointment on Tuesday and weighed in at almost 16 pounds. He is doing great health-wise and we are truly thankful.
~David cut his first tooth on Thursday afternoon!
~Hannah and James were invited to a birthday party at the regional airport today. It turned out to be the most amazing birthday party that any of us had ever been to. The children got a tour of the airport; a chance to sit in the airport fire trucks and watch one of the trucks spray water at them from a distance; and most incredibly, sit in the cockpit (and "drive") the birthday boy's grandmother's small airplane! Mark and I were very disappointed that we had left the camera at home.