Mother's Day 2010

Mother's Day has always been a big deal in my family. For as long as I can remember my Step-Dad and Pappa would cook a delicious meal for my Nanny and Mom and my sisters and I would help serve them by setting the table, refilling drinks, passing out dessert, etc. Now that I have joined the "mom club" it has been wonderful to be on the other end and get to be spoiled for a day rather than doing the serving.

Mother's Day this year started out with Vince and I working in the nursery during 1st service at church, and then we stayed for 2nd service so that I could hear our pastor's wife give her annual Mother's Day message. After church we headed to my parents house where an incredible meal of salad, chicken enchiladas, beans, and rice was already waiting on us. (My Step-Dad and Pappa prepared it while we were at church.)

We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting, watching the kids play, opening Mother's Day presents and eating pie.... We didn't even leave until 9:00!

I throughly enjoyed celebrating this special day with the amazing women in my family!

Meet Levi Oscar

I think I've mentioned this before, but Grafton loves birds and any kind of creature that swims. As a result, last year for his birthday my grandparents (Grafton calls them Nanny & Pappa GG) bought him some bird feeders and a bird bath.

This Sunday was Nanny's birthday and Grafton drew her a fish picture as a gift and then told her he wanted a fish of his own.

I guess he asked the right person because this is what she delivered to our house two days later...

An Oscar fish that Grafton named Levi Oscar (Levi after his cousin and Oscar, well, because he's an Oscar).

It has been love at first sight!

We even ate dinner by Levi Oscar's new tank so that we wouldn't miss a moment of him swimming!

The Best Sunday EVER!

Sunday morning started out just like every other Sunday morning around the Brown House. We woke up early, rushed to get ready, and headed to church. However, this Sunday was a little different because Grafton was singing two Christmas Songs on the big stage with his class.

For the occasion we dressed the kids in the matching outfits that their grandparents gave them.

Grafton was excited to wear his dressy clothes, but not very excited to have his picture taken in them!

To get the kids on stage in a proper order, they all held onto a black string and headed up.

I am proud to say that Grafton was the most boisterous singer in the entire choir!

Once church was over, I headed over to the mall with my cousin, grandmother, mom, sister, and aunt to celebrate my Mom's birthday. We started out by having Greek food, then went to the movies, and finished our day with shopping!

My aunt had to head out after lunch and wasn't able to make it into any of our pictures. :0(

We went to a mall that is mostly outside and it started pouring the rain. That didn't stop us though! It just made me want to sing, "Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful...."

We ended our Girl's Day Out with coffee at Starbuck's, took one last picture, and then headed our separate ways.

When I got home I immediately put on my pajamas and then spent the remainder of my evening with with my three favorite guys.... Vince, Grafton & Deklan!

Feed the Birds

Grafton loves animals, and even more specifically, ocean life and birds. Whenever we go to the zoo the birds are one of the animals he likes to watch the longest. He comes by this fascination honestly because my Grandmother is also an avid bird lover. In fact, she's known as "The Bird Lady" in the retirement community in which she lives.

For Grafton's birthday my Grandparents decided to help Grafton with his bird watching by buying him a hummingbird feeder, two wild bird feeders, and a bird bath. They came by our house a few days before Grafton's birthday party so that they could spend the afternoon putting everything together.

Grafton's "Nanny GG" explained to him what everything was for and which type of birds each feeder would attract.

We walked to the dirt lot across from our house to find rocks so that Grafton could weigh down the bird feeder. 

My grandparents secretly left some river rocks there for Grafton to find.

Next, it was time to mix the birdseed for the feeders.

The limbs on our trees are not heavy enough to hold the feeders, so we purchased a rod-iron stand to hang them from. Now we constantly have birds at our house from sun up to sun down. Grafton enjoys watching them, filling up the feeders with seed, and replenishing their water every couple of days.

Thank you Nanny & Pappa GG!

Taco Salad Tuesday

For as long as I can remember, the clubhouse in the community where my grandparents live has been serving taco salads as their special every Tuesday.  I meet them for lunch a few times a year to have a taco salad and enjoy the company of two of my favorite people.

Today the boys and I joined my grandparents for "Taco Salad Tuesday" and we were able to sit outside where the weather was perfect!  I was impressed at how well both of my children behaved, which is always a relief.

After lunch we went back to my grandparents house where Deklan napped and Grafton played a little golf in their backyard, watched a movie, snacked on a cookie, and...

Tried on my Pappa's cowboy boots.  

It was a wonderful Tuesday and Grafton is already asking when he can go back to his Nanny & Pappa GG's.  The "GG" stands for Great Grandparents, and GREAT Grandparents they are!