Mother's Day 2013

The one thing I wanted to do on Mother's Day this year was spend it with as many of my favorite moms as I could, so while it wasn't possible to be with all my favorites, I could at least make a dent in the list with a trip to York!  So after our softball game that Friday, I loaded up the boys in their PJs with their favorite blankets, and got on the road. We didn't leave until after 8pm, so I fully expected both kids to fall asleep at some point on the trip... but they never cease to amaze me!  Liam, of all people, was asleep minutes after we got on the turnpike (!), while Joergen, of ALL people, was wide awake, marveling at every truck and construction vehicle on the way (in the dark and pouring rain, no less!), until well after we'd hit York County.  "Mommy, wook! A goo-night 'struction site! And I saw a buhdozer!  And and and!  And an esscavator!  A mini-esscavator!  And a twahctor!"  Throughout the trip I would keep checking my rearview mirror to see if he had fallen asleep, and sure enough, I'd find him looking out the window with two big brown doe-eyes, neck strained so as not to miss a single thing.

Dad had his usual Friday night basketball game, so he met us at Nana and Grandpa's house the next morning.  We met my good friend Desiree (another favorite mom) and her kids over at Cousler Park on Saturday morning for a little while-- until we got poured on, that is!-- and then it was off to Normandie Ridge to join GG, Nana, Aunt Jayne, and Joanne for lunch.  After lunch, we spent some time visiting with everyone at Aunt Jayne's apartment.

Aunt Jayne and GeeGee

Daddy and Joergen giggling

Liam, Mommy, and Joanne

Now Joanne had brought her cat Smudge with her on the trip, and the boys were obsessed with trying to get that poor cat to come out and play with them.

Those kids tried everything they could think of to get Smudgie out from under that bed, but that cat would have none of it!  Meanwhile, Joanne and I had fun trying to remember the old game of Cat's Cradle with a piece of string the boys had found to try to lure Smudge out.  Like the boys, though, we were pretty unsuccessful.

Back at the ranch, while Joergen settled in for his afternoon nap, Liam was thrilled to get to help Grandpa clean the deck.

That evening after dinner, the boys were so kind as to serenade us with a little dinner music.  Aren't they sweet?

The picture is certainly worth a thousand words... and in this case, a thousand decibels!  

Liam and Joergen had so much fun at Nana's piano (more fun than we had listening to it, anyway!).  Liam then took a solo turn to play his old standby favorite song while Joergen danced-- and I finally got his little moves on camera!  He takes his dancing quite seriously!

Nana saved the day (and our eardrums) by getting out an old Disney songbook and playing some songs for the boys.  They were completely and utterly enthralled.

On Mother's Day morning, we went to Normandie Ridge for brunch after mass.  Someone was pretty excited!

My reasons for celebrating:

Everyone met in Aunt Jayne's apartment before heading downstairs for brunch.  I really treasure these times with my grandma!

Could it be?!  A picture with everyone looking right at the camera and smiling?!

GeeGee, Joanne, Aunt Jayne, Nana, Grandpa, Mom, Liam, and Joergen.  Daddy is behind the camera!

We had a few minutes to wait before we could be seated, so we decided to move into the community living room to give all the mamas their gifts. 

Once seated at our table, Liam got to learn a most important skill:

Thank you to Dad, Liam, and Joergen for giving me such a special Mother's Day again this year.  We had such a wonderful weekend with family and friends, and can't wait to celebrate more of our favorite moms on vacation this summer!

A few of my favorite mementos from my Mother's Day celebration.