Mother's Day Weekend 2015

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! We did not do anything over the top, but simply spent a lot of time together as a family. I loved it!

On Saturday, we started off by taking Bonnie Mom on a hike. We had lots of fun and made it all the way down to the creek. Of course, it had just rained, so it was very muddy. Thankfully, I had the great idea of letting the boys play in the sprinkler when we returned from hiking!

Later that day, I was able to take Evan to the creek to look for crayfish. He caught several crayfish and was even able to catch a salamander! I really enjoyed the one on one time with Evan. That rarely happens and it was so nice to talk to him and enjoy some special fun with just the two of us.

On Mother's Day, we went to the park to play. Evan rode his bike and looked for creatures. Once Preston saw Evan looking in the water, he joined in the search too. We saw lots of frogs and turtles and even got to hold a baby turtle!

After the park, we picked up lunch from Subway and went to Putney Pond for a picnic. The weather was beautiful and the boys enjoyed playing after lunch.

In the evening, my parents, as well as my sister and her children joined us for dinner. We just got take out, which was nice, since none of the kids are fans of sitting in a restaurant. Dinner at home was definitely more relaxing and the kids had fun playing together in the backyard.

I really enjoy being a mom and celebrating the weekend with my family was perfect. Being a mom can be so tough at times, but it brings me SO much joy. I love Evan and Preston more than words can express and I am so happy that I get the opportunity to get to be their mom. They are some of my greatest blessings and I am grateful for each and every day that I get to spend with them.

Our hike was so much fun. Preston can do many of the same things that Evan can do now, which makes everything really fun.

Evan found a toad!

Preston really liked the creek. In fact, he was so excited, he walked right in, shoes and all!

The sprinkler was lots of fun!

Evan had fun in the sprinkler, but also really liked riding his new bike all around the backyard.

 

 

Evan and I had lots of fun searching for crayfish.

 

Preston really enjoys playgrounds, so he had a great time at Hays Kennedy Park.

Here is Evan looking for creatures, which is what he loves to do!

Our picnic lunch included knock knock jokes from Preston. He tends to use his hand to "knock" as he says "knock knock." He is just the cutest thing!

Putney Pond was beautiful, as always, and the boys had fun playing around the pond after our lunch.

Mommy and Evan

Mommy and Preston

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

 

 

Carl helped to make my Mother's Day weekend lots of fun. I am so grateful that he is such a great guy!

 

Derby Festival Fun!

We just wrapped up two weeks of celebration here in Louisville. The Kentucky Derby Festival was tons of fun and we got to participate in many different events, including Thunder Over Louisville, The Great Steamboat Race, Fest-a-Ville and Oaks. We also had a small Derby party with our dear friends, the Congletons, my mom and dad, and the Amshoffs. Derby is such a fun time in our city and I am so glad that we had lots of family fun, as well as fun with our friends. Go, Baby, Go!

The Kentucky Derby Festival kick off with Thunder Over Louisville. The weather was beautiful and we had fun walking around and playing, before going up in one of the Humana buildings to enjoy dinner and fireworks.

I have only a few pictures from the event, because sweet little Preston Matthew wanted to look at the pictures on my phone and accidentally deleted most of them. Oh well!

Preston loved the bus ride downtown!

Evan was SO excited for the fireworks to start!

I love this picture of my boys! We all enjoyed the fireworks. As always, it was a great show!

We headed to Fest-a-Ville to watch The Great Steamboat Race. Evan had fun posing, while we waited for Daddy to join us.

The boys had fun watching the start of the race and then we headed over to the rides.

This year, Evan's first grade class participated in the Chancey Derby Parade, as the lovely folks on Millionaire's Row! Evan was a big winner! =

Giddy up!

Carl and I enjoyed a beautiful Oaks Day with our friends. I even picked the winner of the race!

Preston happily posed for a few pictures on Derby Day, but my favorite is the one that I took while he was being silly and spinning. It is blurry, but it captures all the fun!

The kids had lots of fun in the hot tub! Of course, they also had fun doing water rockets, playing in the water table, watching a movie, etc.

 

 

 

Happy Derby!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Preston!

Preston recently turned 3 years old and we had a great time celebrating our sweet boy! His actual birthday was on a Wednesday and since Carl and I had to work and Evan had school, we planned to celebrate at home that evening, with pizza, cake and presents. I guess Preston expected to see lots of decorations and have presents in the morning, because when he woke up and did not see anything, he asked, "Where's my birthday?" It was so cute, but I felt bad that he was disappointed. So, when he asked for an ice cream sandwich for breakfast, I happily gave him one, which made his day! Plus, since he did not have school, he got to wear his Ninja Turtle pajamas for most of the day!

Evan and I wanted Preston to be excited for his birthday, so we stopped to get him balloons before picking him up from Aunt Heather's house. He was SO happy to see his balloons when he got in the van and exclaimed, "My birthday!" We spent the evening opening presents, playing, and enjoying a cookie cake and his new presents. It was wonderful and everyone had a great time!

Preston's party was on Saturday. After MANY suggestions, including a Ninja Turtle birthday, a frog birthday, a bear birthday, a dragon birthday (How to Train Your Dragon), a cow birthday, and MANY more, he finally chose a Ninja Turtle themed party. There were lots of Ninja Turtle decorations and lots of Ninja Turtle gifts! The weather was rainy and cool, so we spent the party time playing, watching Ninja Turtles, eating pizza and cake, and opening presents. Preston had a great time!

Happy birthday, Preston! We love you more that words can ever say! You are a fun little boy, who can be quite spunky at times. You love your pets, especially the dogs, and you absolutely love being outside and playing. Of course, you also really like watching your "shows." We couldn't imagine our lives without you sweet smile or your loud laugh. We love you to the moon and back, sweet boy!

"Ice cream for breakfast? Yes, please!"

"My birthday!"

Our sweet boy posed for a couple of pictures, before opening his presents.

Present time!

Daddy got a Star Wars cookie cake! Yummy!

I showed Preston lots of cake designs and he chose this design. Aunt Heather did a great job. The cake looked great and tasted great too!

Alex is getting so big!

Preston liked his chair from Bonnie Mom and Grandpa. He wanted to help put it together! Thankfully, Granddaddy was able to lend a hand!

When the rain stopped, Preston went outside and had lots of fun playing in this puddle! He is just so much fun!

Caroline had fun running laps around the house!

Emily

The boys wanted to show off their toys!

Grammy, Granddaddy and Preston

Both of my boys are so much fun! I adore them and love them VERY much!

On a final note, Preston really loved his birthday and he is so excited to turn three years old. Now, he tells me, "Happy birthday, Mom!" as part of our bedtime routine. He also says, "I love you, Mom!" and I believe the two statements mean just about the same thing to him!