Happy Mother's Day!

Today I celebrated my third Mother's Day...each year it just gets better and better. Maybe it's because with each year, I get another kiddo and need more of a break! :-) We started the day off going to church and then met my family at Ogo's to eat. It was a fantastic meal as usual and I was sad that my meal was cut a little short due to the fact that Gracie wanted nothing to do with her bottle so since I was wearing a dress, I had to go feed her in the restroom. This is my first and last time doing this! After lunch, we headed to Mimi and Papa's. Mimi and I watched Bride Wars while the boys slept, then everyone watched the kiddos while I watched another movie. The boys had fun fishing and riding various motorized vehicles! I finished my wonderful day by taking a bath before returning home. Thanks to everyone who made my day so special!

Proud mommy's!

Gracie and Cyle chillin' while Mommy relaxes!

I have to admit that I'm a little jealous that Ididn't get to see Gavin catching all those fish!

Yep, gotta have two of everything!

Thanks, Daddy!

Gavin giving Mimi her boquet of "wonderful smelling" flowers.

What a ham!

Go Papa Go!

We went to Quincy this morning to support Papa as he ran his first half-marathon. I cannot imagine running this far, so kudos to all of you that I saw running! We just made it in time to see Papa rounding the corner as he came off the bridge...not in time to be able to get a picture. :-( We then raced to the next spot only to get there in time for Mimi to jump out of the van, take a pic, and give him a Woo-hoo! The runners would be coming back on the same road so we decided to camp out and wait and be able to tell Papa he only had two more miles to go. The boys enjoyed watching the numerous airplanes, digging in the dirt, and cheering on the runners while we waited. Papa came over and gave the boys hi-fives this time and Gunner took off running after him. It was so cute! We then raced to the finish line just in time to see him come in at the 1:57 mark. Great job, Papa!

Papa was easy to spot wearing his yellow t-shirt!

Due to the colder-than-expected temps, the boys weren't able to sport their t-shirts until the very end.

Gracie was getting inspired to run!

Gavin and another little race fan dug in the dirt to pass the time.

We see a yellow shirt!

Yep, it's Papa!

You better get running, Papa!

The FINISH line!

Gavin showing off Papa's medal.

I had to add a little "bling" to Gracie's shirt!

The First Day of Shorts!

Today was our last MOPS meeting of the year. Despite the gloomy weather and running 30 minutes behind, we still hopped in the van and headed for the finale. The schedule changed and we were all together-moms and kiddos. The moms made bags while the children ran and played. We had corn dogs, caramel apples, and snow cones to go along with our carnival theme for the year. Gavin was a happy boy as he got to see Alicia. Alicia is a volunteer for the little ones and Gavin happens to think she is Diego's sister from TV. It's really quite funny! We headed home for naps afterward to wake up to beautiful sunshine! It got up 78 degrees so it was perfect for the boy's first day in shorts. We got out the excavator and Gavin had a ball. Yay for Spring!

Gracie was all smiles for most of the day!

Practicing posing for tomorrow's pictures!

Don't you just feel the love?!

Fish Frenzy!

Another beautiful day! We got up early and headed to the library for story hour only to find that they had canceled it during the month of May to "plan" for the summer. Mommy thought this was a little silly considering story hour is only held for one hour, two days a week and it's the same thing both days! We had our own story hour as mommy read from the Big Book "Big Red Barn" and then several other board books. We headed to the park in Keokuk thereafter and found it to be less crowded than usual. This was good for mommy to get the hang of all three little ones. Later in the evening, we headed to Mimi and Papa's to eat pizza with Cyle and the rest of the family. Daddy brought the 4-wheeler and fishing poles for entertainment. Gavin caught his first two fish of the season - a blue gill and a bass. He was pretty proud of himself! We took a bath in the "big" tub and Gavin washed me and got off all the "boobie milk" I had supposedly squirted all over myself. What a character!

These were Daddy and Gavin's expressions when they heard mommy starting the 4-wheeler.

Gavin reels in his blue gill!

Surprisingly, he wanted to touch it!

Of course, it HAD to start raining! It's a good thing Mimi was covering my princess with an umbrella...she's so sweet she definitely would have melted!

And, the bass!

Today we had absolutely beautiful weather! We played outside most of the day, making a lot of trips up and down the "hill" with the push car. Gavin made friends with a stray squirrel and rediscovered his love for Baby Jaguar. Gunner, although wearing different shoes, still tripped over his feet 100 times but is making progress manuevering the little 4-wheeler. Gracie was as sweet as ever in her Naartjie tunic and shorts and let mommy know it's about time to start cereal!

Loving Our Daddy!

All smiles for Daddy!

Such a good Daddy!

Daddy, your face tickles!

A little snuggling after a long day!

Mommy and Me!

Gracie, you are the sweetest thing on the face of this earth! Thank you for all the joy you bring to my life!