The kids had a ball at the zoo today. They played on the playground. We could barely find Lauren because she was lost in the huge play tower with the 3-story slide. Jake and Beth loved the big foam room — Beth was a regular gymnast:

We did have time to get a family picture for Lauren’s school project:

And one meerkat just had to strike a pose for us:

Thomas, everyone’s favorite train, came to Nashville for a visit. Everyone had a great time (until it was time to leave). See lots more pictures in Image Gallery 54.

The first game of the year was against Lauren’s old team (the Bumblebees). Her new team is the Red Dragons:

Lauren is back playing soccer again. Here she is at practice (OK, a little blurry):

Meanwhile, Jake and Beth had wandered off. I went to go find them up to no good on the playground:

Jen took her mom and the kids on a weekend trip to get away from me. They had a great time exploring eastern Tennessee near Gatlinburg. Here are a few pictures, but there are a lot more in Image Galleries 52 and 53.