First swim of the season

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Memorial Day Project

You KNOW you have good friends when you decide to do a backyard project and they jump right in and don't think twice about it. (Truth be told, it was both Eric and Ford who told Chris they wanted to start working on our back yard... it's very bare).

So my job was to stain the wood (Chris and I dis this before the guys came over) -- AND to keep the beverages coming.


They worked non-stop from about 11:30 until 7:00 or so. Our back yard is starting to have character! Here it is before:





Fabulous grass, but that's really it. And now, we have three beautifully crafted beds, with hearty (and heat tolerant) plants. The best part? Ford added lights, so at night - it looks absolutely amazing. Wanna see?









We need to stain the fence to match ... and then the pergola is next. LOVE it!!

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Playing Beauty Shop with Papa

He was such a good sport about it.


Both my munchkins "attacked" Papa a few weekends ago. They decided it was time to play "beauty shop."



Papa was the victim.


Bless his heart. I'm not sure if the finished product was what he was looking for.... but the kids had a BLAST.


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More Silly Faces....

...just cause we like to make 'em. :)















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Perfect dinner

The weather was unseasonably cool today. We had plans to go to the water park, but at 60 degrees -- we decided against it. But it warmed up enough to have an outdoor dinner tonight.


The kids love it when we do this. Nothing fancy....just Johnny's pizza on paper plates.



But it sure made for two happy kiddos!

Sweet sister

My sweet sister has been home a lot since she had Catherine. Home sick? I think so. But I'm ok with that... cause that means she's FINALLY ready to move home.


And I am excited about that. :) I always thought I'd be the last to move home. Turns out -- I was the first.


But after you have another little angel like this, it makes you want to be closer to family. Who cN blame her? We're a decent family. ;)

Raising kids with my sister would be a BLAST. Yes, we have our differences -- but we'd be able to hang out more... shop together.. exchange babysitting each other's kids for date night.

I've been patiently waiting for this for a while. :)

Lessons from daddy

Chris: "Brady, who is the greatest speed metal band of all time?"

Brady: (looking completely confused).. "..Ummmm .."

Chris: "It's Megadeath, Brady. Can you say Megadeath?"

Brady: "Mega...desth."

Chris: "That's right. And don't ever forget that your daddy taught you that."




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Mother's Day

Mother's Day is my favorite day of the WHOLE year. More than Christmas... more than my birthday... more than Thanksgiving, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Easter, Kwanza, MLK Day, etc, etc, etc.

It's the penultimate because the greatest gifts of my life are my children. Yes, the can frustrate the hell out of me sometimes. But at the end of the day, I am extremely blessed to have a vivacious, bubbly, sweet-spirited little girl .... and an energetic, loving, snuggly little boy. One of each and the best daddy and the world to share these gifts with.


Of course, "Muffins with Mom" is a great way to start the weekend. My little man brought me a muffin and we shared a cup of juice.


Kennedy's 1st grade class hosted a Mother's Day Tea. We enjoyed a cookie and lemonade sitting on a blanket outside.


And look at the sweetest hand-made gifts. Is there anything more heartfelt than a handprint on a gift bag or a Mommy Coupon Book (good for items like doing the dishes, taking out the trash, cleaning room, etc) or a picture frame decorated by such sweet little hands?


No doubt -- Mother's Day is MY favorite day....

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