She is my sunshine, my only sunshine...

Everyone in our house is sick. All 3 of us have colds, and poor Ava has her first ear infection. But as usual she's all smiles, and busy soaking us with her giant, open-mouthed kisses. I've never seen a kid so dedicated to being happy, no matter how she feels. I swear she could make lemonade out of roadkill. Of all the adorable and charming things I love about her, this might be my favorite.

Joel and Kristen brought the boys for a visit last week, and though Ava isn't quite sure what to make of them yet (Charlie's a rather enthusiastic hugger), it was so great having them all here. We had some gorgeous weather on Thursday so we piled kids, strollers, sun hats, and diaper bags into two cars and hauled it all to the zoo. It took us an hour and a half to get everybody ready, 35 minutes to get there, and another 20 to get everyone and everything out of the cars and headed to the front gate, but once we got inside it was all worth it. Tyson was having more fun than any other kid there. Here are some pics from our adventure.

The weather turned nasty on Friday, but since the Easter Bunny had hopped all the way to Grant Ranch from, um, well, wherever it is that he lives, we dressed up the kiddos and went to see him. Apparently there weren't very many parents dumb enough to take their little ones out in a snow storm just to see a giant rabbit, so we had him all to ourselves for a while. Ava was pretty confused by the whole thing, and Charlie was certain the bunny was up to something, so Andy helped out and got involved.

Lisa, I think that picture is a contender for next year's calendar. And maybe this one as well...

Sorry, Joel. I couldn't help myself. I'll expect payback when we come to see you in July, but I don't care. It was worth it. :)