Sweet Anniversary Gift

Look what I received for my wedding anniversary gift last week. I've always wanted one of these for my car. Looks like I'm topless with no chest. Bahaha. And there are three little ones. We're getting closer to Maggie's referral. Looks like the end of June or July. What will my rowdy boys do with a little girl?

Happy Memorial Day!

We had a fabulous time with family this weekend. We did spend Saturday at home where we showed an early interest in the guitar. Maybe Liam will take after one of his uncles. We hope so.

Then we had a short lesson in turtles when this little guy came for a visit.

Mike released him into the wild.

On Sunday, we celebrated Mike's parents' 40th wedding anniversary. Since Mike was driving I had a small margarita - probably one of the most powerful I've had in a long time. I don't drink very often so halfway through this glass I realized there was more alcohol than fruity flavor. Whoo.

Liam hung out with cousin Allie.

Jack hung out with his best friend cousin Dalton. Dalton calls him Jacque.

On Monday, we went to a small town Memorial Day parade. Besides the heat, it was lovely.

The reason we were there.

Jack stashes away his candy.

Liam had a front row seat on my lap. Look at how curly his hair is.

This nice man let the boys get up close with his horse.

Still waving the red, white and blue on the ride to Grandpa's and Grandma's house.

Mike, the Cicada Hunter. He actually loves messing with those silly things.

RIP Cicadas.

Garrett is doing great! It's amazing how fast children can bounce back from surgeries.

Me and my baby.

Meaghan and Jack work on a bike.

My heart runneth over. I had such a great time this weekend. I hope you did too.

Weekend in Review

Garrett is home. His surgery went great on Friday. The doctors think they have everything out this time. Hopefully, he won't be back except for regular check-ups.

Our weekend was busy and lots of fun. On Saturday, we attended the Parents as Teachers end-of-the-year luncheon.

We also attended a graduation party for a young man I babysat while in college. Boy, that made me feel old. Of course, it was hard to recognize the five-year-old in the 18-year-old's face. He is going into international studies. Very exciting!

And we attended Aunt Jay's graduation ceremony and party on Sunday. She is on her way to big things. We are very happy for her.

The party was so much fun!

We even managed to get a smile out of Liam who is suffering big-time teeth cutting pain. All the seniors who attended the party were thrown in the pool. I hear it was nice and cold. They were all good sports.

Eli and Liam liked feeling the water on their feet. Looks like Liam wanted to go swimming!

Got a picture of cousin Chris "diving" in.

Grandpa and Eli.

Garrett

My nephew is scheduled to have surgery tomorrow to remove the growth in his head. Poor little guy. They went in for an MRI yesterday and he said something like, "I'm fine" when they first arrived at the hospital. Please keep him in your prayers!

Jumpin! and Walkin!

Jack had to jump about a dozen times for me tonight so I could take a gazillion pictures trying to capture him in flight. As he'd say, "I'm a really good jumper!"

And look who's walking!

Baby Liam is walking. He walks with his arms out like a mini Frankenstein. He's so cute!! He already crawls after Jack. Pretty soon, he'll be running. Watch out Jack!

Scenes from a Shoot

I had fun with Jack and two of his friends at daycare yesterday. I shot video of them trying to spell the word "FUN." As you can see, each child had a letter. The video captured them mostly goofing off. The above still is their tribute to "Say Anything."

This was Liam's first shoot. He held the exclamation point at the end. My little guy did an excellent job! He was thrilled to be a part of mommy's silly shoot.

The finished product will promote a Family Fun Fest held by the local Parks and Recreation.

Weekend in Review

We've had a nice but too short weekend. Yesterday, we attended a Domestic/International Adoption picnic. It was nice to see friends and meet new ones at this unique event that brought people together who have adopted from the United States, Guatemala, Thailand, Taiwan, Ethiopia, China and Korea. I feel blessed to be a part of this group of friends. Adoption has enriched our lives in many ways.

We spent today at my parents' house. It was a quiet day since the weather was so miserable outside. It looks like the weather will be better by the middle/end of this week. Fingers crossed!

Grandpa played a game with Liam called "Place Pink Donut on Baby Liam's Head and Then It Falls Off.". He loved it! When Grandpa recovered the donut he'd hand it to Liam. Then Liam would drop it on the floor and get excited when Grandpa put it back on his head.

Silly squirrel! (BTW: Liam borrowed a shirt from the future Miss Maggie today. Notice the frilly sleeves.)

Grandpa showed Jack how to put together a couple of chains.

"Patty cake. Patty cake. Baker's man. Roll it up. Roll it up. And throw it in the pan!"

Playing Ball

We attended a Parks and Recreation soccer event tonight. Jack did great when we arrived, then decided he would rather do this. Apparently, he wanted to play baseball instead.

Liam was ready to play.

Would our super star actually play?

Maybe dad could talk him into it.

Eventually, he went back on the field.

When Mohawk boy and another kid fell down, Jack went after the ball. Gotta love the spaced out boy.

Liam enjoyed a piggy back ride.

Time to put the balls away.

Teamwork!

Happy Mother's Day!

We spent a relaxing day with my folks today. With Grandpa standing nearby, Jack was finally able to feed the baby calf.

We took a walk to the creek which made me a little nostalgic and reminded me of fun childhood days. After a rain, while the creek was still running, we would go swimming bringing along a tractor inner tube. We (all four kids) would get on the tube then slowly work our way to the same area then flip! Today, the creek was running and even smelled (not bad) like it did when I was a child. We saw little minnows but they wouldn't nibble Meaghan's or Jack's feet. I'm doing my best to convince mom and dad to buy a swimming pool so we can all have some fun and keep Meaghan from swimming in the creek this summer.

The kids had a blast soaking their feet.

Good thing Grandma had three umbrellas at the house because the kids all decided they needed one today.

My nephew Garrett (below) is headed to Children's Hospital for brain surgery this month. More than a year ago, doctors removed growth near his left ear but they missed some of it. During a recent visit, an MRI detected the area had grown bigger. Please say a prayer for my nephew and all children who have to undergo scary stuff at such a young age. This big boy will not be happy when he wakes up in the hospital with an IV stuck in his arm. 

Squirrel!

We hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!