Mother's Day

We kicked off Mother's Day weekend with a special delivery . . . our stuff arrived!  I use that word intentionally.  It is just stuff.  But I'm glad to have most of it back.  Especially the stuff that helps me entertain the kids!  They were mesmerized by the big delivery truck:

 My parents were with us on Sunday, which was a treat.  It's been a while since Ryan or I have celebrated Mother's Day with either of our mothers.

Besides a pedicure at a spa (yipeee!), I got special time with both of my kids.  Gretchen's happened a bit unexpectedly.  After waking up with a fever and nasty rash, we ended up in the ER to find out she has Rubella (which is apparently very common over here).  I actually enjoyed the unexpected change of plans.  There wasn't much I could do for her, but it was special to cuddle my sick little girl on mother's day and be grateful that I get to be her mommy and get to comfort her in a way that no one else can.  She's doing fine and everything should be cleared up in a couple more days. 

Rooke and I got to spend some time together at the library where I was able to read multiple stories with him without being interupted to jump up and keep Gretchen from yanking books off the shelf!  

I'm so thankful for my two little munchkins who call me Mommy (or Mama, or Mom, or MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!)

The Ice Cream Truck

We live in a cul-de-sac loop thing and the ice cream truck visits us almost every day.  Unfortunately, he usually comes around 7:30pm when our kids are already in bed.  Several times, Rooke will hear the music, get out of his bed, raise the blinds, and watch the ice cream dream come to life for other kids.  He's never whined about not getting any or complained that he's already in bed, but politely asked one day when it would be his turn to have some ice cream.  Ryan said the next time we were outside and the ice cream truck came, he could have a cone.  It happened this Saturday while my parents were visiting!  He chose the 1 pound plan vanilla cone without any sprinkles or chocolate flakes.

Without being prompted to do so, he decided to share the cone with his sister

She missed the bite and fell into the ice cream!

Sunny Days

I am so grateful for the sunny weather we've been having.  Playing outside, although a bit forced sometimes, is a great alternative to sitting in the house without our stuff (ie, toys).  Today we took a walk to the corner store to buy a snack and then enjoyed the grapes on our front walk.

Then we watered our loan flower to make it happy.  I've never had a garden.  Or a yard, for that matter.  I have no idea what I'm doing!  But this single yellow rose is my motivation that I should work to figure it out and forget that I have managed to kill all living plants that I've ever owned (much to my mother's chagrin).

Saturday

Saturday was spent together.  The four of us.  All day.  Exploring, eating, playing, walking, sleeping, smiling together.  It was perfect.

We started our day at a local farm, where we enjoyed checking out lots of different animals, treating ourselves to a second breakfast of cake, and buying some fresh sausages that were delicious for dinner.  The farm had a great play space for kids and since we were one of the first families to arrive, Rooke and Gretchen had their pick of tractors!  

On your mark, get set, go . . .

After naps, we headed out for a walk through the public footpaths behind our neighborhood.

The trail led us through a field of rapeseed plants

Rooke came up to me and said, "Mommy, you take a picture and I'll be the guy who jumps up and down behind you!".  Ryan and I were cracking up as I squatted to take the picture, realizing that Rooke was referring to the people who always have to help us get a good family shot by jumping up and down to get the kids' attention.  And he did, indeed, jump and down to get Ryan to smile!

Public footpaths often cross through private property.  The cows and this horse didn't seem to mind us trekking through their field.

Rooke asked for a closer view of the machinery.

They're Hitched

I promised tasty snacks if the kids would sit (on our temporary furniture) and watch THE wedding with me.  I would have loved to be part of the crowd, but knowing the events were going on just one hour away was exciting in itself.  Rooke liked the cars.  Gretchen liked the horses.  I liked it all.

Puppy and Bunny

Puppy Dog and Bunny Rabbit (super creative names, right?!) are usually restricted to inside the house and only travel with us on overnight trips.  But with all the transitions the kids have gone through over the past 6 weeks, Bunny and Puppy have been included more.  Gretchen especially doesn't want to go anywhere without "buh buh".  One day they'll be too embarrassed to love on a stuffed animal, so I like watching the affection now.

The Hunt

And we're back online!  I'll catch up on email eventually, but first I wanted to share some pictures from our fantastic Easter weekend with my parents.  We spent Saturday and Sunday at their house, enjoying walks in summer-like weather, a lively Sunday morning celebration that Christ is ALIVE! and an afternoon of dying, hiding, and hunting for eggs.

She just had to know what was inside.  I finally gave in and let her go for it.

Rooke hung in there for a while, but eventually it was just my mom and I left to the decorating.

Meanwhile, Gretchen was practicing for her senior pictures . . .

The hunt was on . . .