Memorial Day weekend

I would first like to thank all of those wonderful people who have dedicated their lives to serving and protecting our country. Thank you for all of your sacrifices! 
To begin our long weekend, we spent Saturday and Sunday at Lake Louisa. My in-laws have a lake house (or three) on Lake Louisa, which is a small, fresh water lake in Central Virginia. Its a small lake, but packed with great people! Its definitely a perfect "get-away" and it is only a short drive!

 This was Ethan's first time in the water.  He decided to enjoy eating some sand first. :)

Daddy and Ethan

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My water baby! She would live in there if she could! 









After a long day of playing in the sun, Maddy fell fast asleep on Daddy. No worries, Daddy was wide awake. :)

Daddy and Maddy relaxing on the water.

Ethan and cousin Emma

 I decided to make some festive cupcakes. My assistant helped make them... and OF COURSE had to sample them to make sure they were OK to take!

Needed to make the red a little darker, but you get the point! :)

On Monday, we headed to Granddad and Grandma Locke's house for a cookout.  Maddy spent some time in the dragon pool.

    

Sweet Ethan and his beautiful blue eyes <3

Uncle Andrew and Maddy then put on a "musical" performance for everyone. 
As you can see, it was quite entertaining. Ah, if only I had captured this on video.  

Maddy stuck with the symbols.

Uncle Andrew was really getting into this jam session! 

Indoor fun

It has been raining A LOT lately. There are only so many crafts that I can do with Maddy before she is just plain tired of being in the house. So, I decided to make use of a certificate to Jumpin' Jimmies (thank you Grandma Harper for the certificate).  We met up with some of our neighbor friends and had a great time!  We will definitely be going back, especially when Ethan gets a bit bigger.

Maddy's favorite jumper was Mickey Mouse themed. This was the slide. She was perfectly content in this one. :)

 They had several other bouncers to choose from, but they were a bit larger and built for bigger children. Maddy tried to bounce in them, but quickly decided to leave once the older boys joined her. :) She preferred to stay in the preschool themed bouncer. :)

Ethan wanted to join in the fun so badly!! Soon enough, Ethan. Soon enough. :)












Later that afternoon, Ethan and Maddy had some fun in the playroom.  This is probably the best room in our house.  Shortly after Maddy was born, we turned the bonus room above the garage into the playroom. I honestly do not know where all of these toys would go if we did not have this room! Its just the perfect "play place" for the kids. Another bonus... the dogs are not allowed in this area so no dog hair to contend with!!!

Kitchen fun!

Such a big boy standing up! He really LOVES to help his big sister. They are currently fixing "dinner" for mommy.

We may have a future chef on our hands!!

Ethan's latest development... pushing the walker all by himself. Can't believe how fast the time is going!  Again, I am so appreciative that I am able to spend this time with both of my kiddos!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

A trip to the Zoo!

I have been trying to get my husband to go to the zoo for YEARS! We were finally able to take the kids to the zoo on Friday. What a wonderful day! Luckily, we even had perfect weather!  We had a bit of a rough start. The parking lots were full by the time we arrived so we drove around for 30 minutes trying to find parking on the street. Finally, after feeding a 2 hour meter several blocks away, we were off! By the time we reached the zoo, the parking lots had opened back up! Ha! So Jeff (what a great guy) ran all the way back to the car and moved it to the perfect spot in one of the zoo lots. Good thing too! We had very tired children by the end of the day (and tired parents too!).

We started off with a picnic. Maddy and Ethan were very happy to eat, but especially to be out of the car! :)    They were so well behaved.  <3

Then we headed off to see the elephants! My favorite!!! They are still working on the elephant house, but the outside enclosure has come a long way since my last visit to the zoo. They have a lot more room to roam... which is always a good thing to see! I just love elephants!  Definitely would be a dream job to work with these guys! 

Aren't they just beautiful? 

Unfortunately, the pandas were not outside during our visit so we had to fight the crowds to see them inside. Maddy loved this guy!

One more of the elephants!! 

I wasn't able to take very many pictures of the orangutangs or gorillas. I was able to capture this guy though. He was hiding under a box and picking through the straw. His counterparts were right up at the glass and seemed to be thriving from all of the attention they were receiving. 

Tortoise for Maddy! :)

These ladies were majestic!  I believe there were at least 5 of them just relaxing on the hill.

 Jeff pushing the stroller and hauling Ethan in our awesome Kidpack, while I was taking pictures of course! :)  Maddy was tired of walking by the time we reached the big cat exhibit. Jeff had taken her into the small mammal exhibit and she came out talking about the porcupine! haha!

Beautiful tiger

Male cubs. There were at least 4-5 of them hanging out up there.

I just loved his face! So sweet... or maybe he was just salivating over the people watching him??

Such a beautiful guy!

Madelyn loved the Zebras!! 

Beautiful cheetah!

Ethan and I on our way out of the Zoo.

We were not able to see all of the animals on this visit, but I'm sure we will be back soon. 

Maddy was ready for a nap!

Little man enjoying some time to stretch his legs.

 

What a cutie!! Just love this little guy!

Since the children were soooooo good during our 2+ hour car ride home, we decided to finish our day off with a little ice cream treat for Maddy. :)

I think she was pleased! :) 

Such a silly girl! She says this is her "big" smile. 

And she had no problem at all finishing almost all of it!




What a GREAT day!! We are fortunate to live close enough to visit the Zoo and all of the other amazing sites that DC has to offer.  I love that I can pack the family up, pack a lunch and take a trip to the Zoo for free (minus parking of course). I have no problem paying the Zoo for parking. Its the least I can do to help financially care for those beautiful animals!
When was the last time you visited the zoo?? 
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/
Happy Spring!

Happy Mother's Day

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! I am truly blessed to have an amazing husband and children that did everything they could to make me have a great weekend!  I received some beautiful gifts from my husband and special children.

I will cherish Ethan's hand print forever! I understand Maddy picked out the picture herself. She says this is her "big" smile. The frame also has her voice recorded on it. So special!! And thank you Jeff for this beautiful bag!

We were able to spend time with both Grandmothers and some extended family too!

Maddy and Ethan with Grandma Harper

Maddy visiting with Great Grandma McCarthy!

Ethan's first visit with Great Grandma!

  

Maddy enjoying a story with Great Aunt Kim :)

 Then we spent some time with Grandma Locke. Maddy helped to plant pumpkin seeds and worked in the garden.







 Ethan even got to spend a little time with Granddad while Grandma and Maddy were planting seeds.

I made these photo pots as Mother's Day gifts for the Grandmas this year... wish I could take credit for the idea, but I found this treasure on Pinterest. The initial creator made them as gifts for teacher appreciation week. I thought they would be great for mother's day. :) They were definitely a lot of fun to make!

one completed, one still drying...

finished product... just needs a bow!

  

Found this... thought I would post for my babies. I'm so thankful to be your mommy. 

Legacy You are my legacy.
My whole world revolves around you,
everything you are and will some day be.
Everything I do, every decision I make
is made with you in mind.
You are precious, important and
worth everything.
You matter to me.
You are my mission.
The never ending dirty dishes
can't compare to my everlasting love.
The heaping piles of soiled laundry
cannot top the mountain of joy in my heart.
The constant daily discipline
and teaching are non negotiable.
You will one day appreciate.
You are brilliant.
You soak in the world around you
with such wonder and amazement.
Your strong body, creative mind and tender spirit
are growing right before me.
One day I will see the fruit of my labor
and you will become who God made you to be.
You are my legacy.
~author unknown