Family Get Together

Papa's paternal side of the family got together at the lake house today and the kids were so happy to be surrounded by cousins. (I think they are their "third cousins"?) There were kids playing everywhere between cousin A's 6 little ones, cousin J's 3, our 3, and Aunt N's little one. 

(Not all of the little ones made it into the pictures)

The kids had fun fishing, scooping up snails, and finding crayfish. 

Pudge & Great Uncle Steve with two little crayfish

After the cousins left, the kids spent some time fishing on the dock.

And, of course, Papa did too

Pudge's Preschool and Soccer Pictures

Park with Pequeño

As we were getting in the car after dropping the older boys at school, Pequeño sweetly asked if we could take his new rubber duck (his prize from yesterday's dentist appointment) to the park. So, after returning our library books, we went to a small nearby park to spend the morning. He took his duck all around the park and set him down "so he could show him how to play". 

Before leaving to pick up Pudge from preschool, we sat on a bench with our drinks. As soon as he started drinking it, he said "This is delicious! Will you take a picture of my juice?"

Mother's Day 2016

This year, Mother's Day was a busy one. Papa had to work so he missed out on the fun. However, Abuela and Abuelo came down to spend the day with us. Since it was on a Sunday,  Little Bear and Pudge both had soccer games. 

Unfortunately, they overlapped in time so we had to split up. We all drove to where Little Bear's game was since his pre-game practice started a little earlier than when Pudge needed to be at his field. So, I was able to see a few minutes of his practice before Pudge and I left to drive to where his game would be. (Pequeño had decided to stay with Abuelo and Abuela to watch Little Bear's game). I'm told that his team did a great job and Little Bear was really happy that they were able to watch him play.

Pudge was snack duty for his game so, in stereotypical soccer mom style, we brought orange slices and water bottles which my dad thought was hilarious. 

He did a great job and it's fun to see the 5 year olds starting to grasp the concept of how to actually play. 

In the game, he scored 3 goals (and managed to lose a shoe during the last one). 

Both kids games finished at the same time so we made plans to meet at a restaurant for dinner. We had originally planned to go to Texas Roadhouse but since they don't take reservations, the wait would have been over an hour long. 

So, we decided to go to our favorite diner which had their Mother's Day menu. 

The kids were more than happy with the choice and the food was really good as usual. 

Afterwards, we went back to our house to have dessert (donuts) and visit for a little bit before Abuelo and Abuela headed home. 

Fun Day Together

Papa has been working a lot recently so we happily took advantage of being able to spend his day off together. In the morning, we took the kids to breakfast at a local diner. Little Bear had earned a "Golden Ticket" at school on Friday so he was able to choose some way for us all to celebrate. He chose "having a healthy day" and wanted to exercise as a family. 

So after breakfast, we headed over to a nearby park to play... 

And go on a walk & run...

and explore...

(The kids found mushrooms)

(Looking for frogs)

Pudge found an egg in the creek which looked like it had been a painted Easter egg. Since Easter was over a month ago, I got a little nervous when Papa asked him how it felt and he squeezed it and said "It's squishy!". Thank Goodness that it didn't squish everywhere! 

Pequeño wanted a picture of him making his wish.

Papa found an inchworm on a silk thread which the boys thought was really cool. 

Before leaving, Pequeño requested a picture with this tree although he wouldn't stand still long enough for me to get one that wasn't blurry or had his eyes open...

Mother's Day muffins from Little Bear

Little Bear's class spent their morning making muffins in their school cafeteria to bring home for Mother's Day gifts. They made a few different kinds and each chose two muffins to bring home. One for them and one for mom. Little Bear chose a blueberry muffin for me (my favorite!) and a cinnamon one for himself. Their teacher told them to give their moms the present a little early so that the muffins wouldn't be dried out and he happily obliged. He was sweet enough to offer to share his muffin with his brothers so we cut them both in half and Little Bear and Pequeño chose cinnamon while Pudge and I chose blueberry. 

Mother's Day Brunch with Pudge

This morning was Mother's Day Brunch with Pudge's preschool class. He had been looking forward to getting to spend the morning together and show me all of the songs they have been learning over the past few weeks. The kids had each made an "About Mom" book which was really cute.