Memorial Day 2013

Memorial Day::  "A day of remembering the man and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces".

I'm guilty like I'm sure others are who get busy in the little day to day things and forgets what a privilege it is to have a "normal" day to get lost up in. It's heartbreaking to think of the families who had to give up a loved one or ones so that we can live in this free country that we call home. I am so glad 145 years ago that a specific day was chosen to honor these men and women so we can express our gratitude.

This Memorial Day we were in town as opposed to the last few years and we managed to cram 3 weekends worth of excitement into 3 days! The first part was a visit from Brian followed by Jiggle Jam and then ending the weekend in Garnett...

Brian's Visit::

We were lucky enough to start the weekend off right with a special visitor! Brian had not been back to KC in over a year and a half so it was definitely time for a visit! While on the east coast we got pretty spoiled with the amount of time we got to see him! Vince has snuck in a few quick trips into NYC to see him while traveling for work but I hadn't gotten to see him since his last visit.

Friday night we dropped Ben off at my parents and went to dinner at Houston's on the Plaza. It was great food, great wine and great company! It was so nice to have a "grown-up" dinner! After dinner we picked Ben up and proceeded to enjoy the nice weather on our patio with a few bottles of wine. On Saturday we headed up to Lawrence and walked around campus, Mass St and ate lunch at Jefferson's. It is always so much fun listening to Brian & Vince reminisce about the "good old days"! There is always a new story that gets me in tears from laughing so hard. I hope we get to see Brian sooner than later-our time with him went by way to fast this weekend!

Jiggle Jam::

Sunday we got up early so we could get to Crown Center by 10am when Jiggle Jam opened! Since this was our first year in town for the holiday it was also our first time at Jiggle Jam! Jiggle Jam is a super fun music festival for kiddos-it has numerous stages, bounce houses, bubble tent, craft tents, face painting, rock wall climbing and much more! And boy did it not disappoint our toddler! Ben had such a great time! I think his favorite was the bounce houses- he really wanted to climb up this huge inflatable with a rope ladder and then slide down the huge slide. We really didn't think he would go through with it but he did and he did it all by himself! He got his face painted for the 1st time...a dinosaur! The train ride was his least favorite-I had to walk along side the train and he held my hand but by his second ride he was doing much better! We took him to Fritz's for lunch and he was so so so excited! I have a feeling that Jiggle Jam will be a new tradition in our family!

Garnett::

After nap time we loaded up the car and headed down to Garnett to spend the rest of the weekend with the Katzer's! We took Miles with us who was so excited to go on a trip and we took Paige back down with us as well. Ben was in heaven having Paige in the backseat with him! When we got there Kurt mentioned he needed to move some cows and could use our help so we headed right out. Ben was so excited! He loves to see the cows! And he was so happy to run around with Paige. After we got the cows moved we had a nice dinner back at their house and Kurt's dad & brother joined us! We had a great time chatting around the bonfire after Ben went to sleep! Garnett is one of our favorite weekend get aways-its so nice to be out of the city sometimes! We can't wait for our next free weekend so we can go back down!

Mothers Day 2013

I am so thankful to Ben...he made me a Mommy. It is a gift I can never repay him for. He made one of my most desired dreams become a reality. While I can honestly say it is more fulfilling than I ever imagined he also challenges me in ways I never imagined. He makes me a better person and for that I am indebted again to him. Mommy loves you to the moon and back Bean!

Ben wanted to make special presents for his GG, Grandma & Grandma Marq...so "we" decided to paint some pots and then let him pick out flowers for them. He had such a great time making them! He was so proud of himself!

Mothers Day morning started with me getting to sleep in-not that Ben is an early riser but still it was nice to not have my normal wake up call. Ben was so excited to tell me "Happy Mommys Day" he was full of hugs and kisses for me and then he asked me if it was his birthday! Vince & Ben were so excited to give me their gifts! Ben gave me a heart shaped charm with his thumbprint on one side and his initials in the back side. I love love love it! Vince got me a necklace that says v heart s! I also love it! I am one spoiled girl! I am so lucky that I have such great boys in my life!

We invited Vince's Mom & Grandma (Jimmy too) over for a Mothers Day Brunch. It was a great visit and a quite tasty brunch (if I do say so myself)! Ben had so much fun showing them his "park"! I love seeing Ben with his Great-Grandma & Grandma. It is so special that Ben is lucky enough to spend 1 day a week with his Grandma. They have such a great time together and such a great bond.

After Ben's snoozer we headed over to Papa White Truck & Grandma Marq's house! Ben was so excited to give Grandma Marq the card he made her and give her his pot! Ben & Grandma Marq were on a mission to see some deer-well Ben was on a mission and Marq was wishing them to show their face to make Ben happy! Grandma Marq will do anything to make Ben happy! He is one lucky boy to have her in his life! Luckily Papa White Truck had a few pics of the deer on his phone and that seemed to appease him!

For dinner we headed to my parents house where I apparently dropped the ball getting a picture of us or Ben & her. Fail. I literally have one of the best moms in the world. If I can only be half the mom she is I will be happy. She is my mom but also my friend. She knows exactly what I need and when I need it-sometimes even before I do. She is the mom that braves a stomach flu infested house to help. She is the mom that will come to your house while you are on vacation and clean it, do the laundry and stock your fridge. She is the mom who will make your favorite red jello with bananas or chicken & crunchy noodles because she know it will make things anything better. She is the mom who will stay up all night with her newborn grandson just so her daughter could sleep. She is the mom that volunteers to do the things no one else wants to. She is incredibly selfless and incredibly loving. She is one of the best GG's ever! And I love how Ben & her have such an amazing bond. Sometimes I know he would rather be with her than with me. He is also lucky to spend 1 day a week with her and get spoiled rotten! I love you Mom!

A BIG Thank You to my fabulous hubby and amazing son for making my 3rd Mothers Day so special! I love you both more than you will ever know! 

My Silly Boys

Here are some funny pics from this weekend of Ben & his Daddy goofing around...I'm loving Ben's facial expressions!

Patrick & Leah

4.28.2013

It's official...we have a new member of the McCormack family-Leah is officially a McCormack! And I could not be any happier! All I have ever been able to say about Patrick & Leah is that they are the perfect pair. I know that is such a cliche but it is the truth. The first time I met Leah I was newly pregnant and in town to share our news with our family and close friends. She won me over in no time with her sweet demeanor and genuine quest to get to know Vince & I. And she had gotten me the cutest little onsie for our Itty Bitty to boot!. She was so genuine. I knew early on before even meeting her that Patrick was smitten with her. As more time went by and we got to know her even better I realized why...these two were going to live happily ever after. And on April 28, 2013 they officially started the first of many chapters in the storybook. Vince, Ben & I had the honor of being in their wedding. It touched us so much that we got to stand next the the happy couple as they promised to love each other for better or worse. I am so excited to see all the joys the future holds for them! Congrats Mr & Mrs McCormack! Love You!

Marco Island 2013

We got back a few weeks ago from our annual Marco Island trip. This year my parents wanted to join us and we rented a nice 3 bedroom house with a pool! Ben, Vince & I headed down on Saturday-we flew into Ft Lauderdale instead of Ft Meyers this year since it would be a direct flight. We decided that an extra hour or so in the car was worth it in exchange for a direct flight. This was our first trip that we had to buy Ben his own plane ticket so we brought his car seat on with us and we were pleasantly surprised how well Ben did! He never asked to get out of his car seat-he kept busy with new toys and new videos on my iPad. He even took a snoozer! The first night we ordered pizza from our favorite pizza place and just relaxed. Our first full day on the island started at our favorite breakfast spot and then we spent the day at the beach! Ben had such a great time on the beach! He loved being in the water, building sandcastles and "feeding the turtles" (throwing shells back into the water)! My parents got in Monday around dinner time. Ben was so excited to see them! The rest of the trip was spent at the pool or on the beach! Ben was such a fish in the pool. We could not get him out of it! He would put on his floaties and go and go and go. I think we may have a future swimmer on our hands. We also enjoyed good food and good drinks! We went to all our favorite restaurants at least once. We did do one thing we had not done before and that was going on a shelling. We took a short boat trip out to a little island and had the whole island to ourselves! We spent a few hours walking the island and picking shells. Ben had a great time he was so excited to see dolphins swimming by the boat. We found a ton of shells! And of course Vince insisted that we bring them all home with us because he just couldn't pick his favorites! The week went by way to fast as it always does. It was such a great time and we loved showing my parents why we love Marco so much.