Happy Mother's Day!

How could I not have a happy one with his crew?! Emma, Ryan, and Lila (sort of) served me breakfast in bed - very nice! After church, my mom, sister and I went shopping for the afternoon. It's my birthday next week, so I didn't even have to pay for anything! Ryan took the girls home, straightened the house, cut the grass, and met us at my dad's house where they had prepared dinner for us. Not that I don't love spending time with my girls, but this was a pretty nice alternative!

Oh and my new basket of red geraniums looks great hanging on the front porch!

Watering Can

Lila is such a big help in the garden. So is Trudy. Check out this sequence:



All of that yard work sure makes you thirsty!

The Rest of Gramma's VIsit

Gramma has been gone for over a week now, but I've finally gotten around to updating my blog. We had a wonderfully full visit. Ryan and I pride ourselves on not overscheduling our children, but we literally had something to do every night that she was here. Thanks for letting us drag you around, Gramma. We had so much fun!

Awana Awards Night

My raspberry farmers

Lila's Grandmothers

Emma's Art Show

Lovin' Gramma

Leaving for the airport

We also had the Awana Fun Fair, the Clothing Exchange, Soccer practices/games, several daytime shopping excursions (Gramma and I shop well together!), and a Chuck E. Cheese party!

I bet she was ready to get home to her quiet life with just Papa!

The Zoo

We joined the zoo on Friday and enjoyed a beautiful day there with Gramma. Emma had a half day of school, so we picked her up and had a great time. Here are some pictures from the day - again Gramma is the photographer - I'll have to start taking the pictures myself!

Fun With Gramma

Here's a few of the fun things we've done with Gramma here visiting. She's not in any pictures I just noticed - because she's the photographer!

Went to see Emma's school work at the mall expo:
Emma's soccer practice:


Yard work/wheelbarrow ride:

Shopping (with a purse) at Petsmart:

Neighborhood Clean Up

Last Saturday was Neighborhood Clean Up day. We tore out a bunch of plants to make room for new ones, and Emma got to replant the old ones however she wanted. She was truly a huge help - worked just as hard, fast and well as any of the adults. And she loved being able to make her own gardening decisions - apparently her mother is a bit overbearing in the garden!

Lila was happy as could be just sitting in the dirt with a spade and rake. I thought she'd be done quickly and I'd get out of doing too much work, but NO - we stayed for hours! Thanks a lot, Lila!

Purple Play Sand!?!

Do they have a cool Dad or what?!