Mother’s Day Celebration
Huge Mother’s Day chalk message on the driveway from Karlie!
I am blessed. Yesterday I was reminded again of how much God has given me. A family that loves me despite all my imperfections. Jake and the girls showered me with love on Mother’s Day. Even though Jake was on call this Mother’s Day weekend and was a little busier than normal, he made time to celebrate. It was a great day with the family.
They made me breakfast in bed. We went to church. Jake and the girls made an amazing lunch. That afternoon we relaxed, read books together, opened gifts, played games, and had fun. Thankful for my family and a chance to spend the day together. Their thoughtfulness made me feel loved and appreciated.
Breakfast in bed – cheesy scrambled eggs, ham, and sauteed mushrooms! Delicious!
Fresh flowers from the girls (they got them from Children’s Church)
Putting together the pinwheel steaks!
They choose what ingredients to stuff the steak with for lunch
Pinwheel steaks ready to go into the oven!
Stuffed with tomatoes, swiss cheese, goat cheese, bacon, ham, spinach, mushrooms, sunflowers, cranberries, and more goodies!
My steak was AMAZING!
Huge stuffed portobello mushroom! Stuffed with spinach, hummus, and topped with toasted granola – so tasty!
Mother’s Day cards from Jake and the girls. Karlie’s was the kitten and Brina’s the puppy.
Brina picked out a beautiful pink rose bush for me!
Karlie picked out a gorgeous red rose bush for me!
Adorable handmade flowers from my girls! Brina made the bright yellow one and Karlie made the blue and red one!
A place to sit and talk with Jake or read with the kids. Very comfy!
Sweet note from Brina. The top says “I am thankful to have a Mom like you because you are nice to me and play with me.” The bottom has a cute little poem!
Colorful Mother’s Day Butterfly from Brina
Cute card from Brina
Mother’s Day note from Brina wanting to know if I can play or cook with her! Love my girls!
Vibrant Mother’s Day drawing from Karlie
Sweet poem and note from Karlie on the back of her drawing.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
But no one a flower,
Just like you!
Happy Mother’s Day! Hope you are having a nice and relaxing day. Do you like the card and rose? The rose is a rare blue rose that only grows on Neptune! May you please read to me on the deck?
Thankful for my family! I treasure these times we have together. I am blessed.
Travel & Vacation: Cute Panda Bears and Wildlife Show at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
Panda Bear content to relax and eat bamboo
The panda bears were one of the girls favorite animals to visit at the Atlanta Zoo. I think the big fascination was watching the twin panda cubs. It was a little harder to get a picture of both of them at the same time, but the kids loved watching them eat and play. The Wildlife Show on birds was pretty neat too. Of course the girls went up after the show to ask more questions about the birds. The zoo worker was really great with the kids and patient in answering all the questions. On the way out the girls wanted a picture with the gorilla. It was a great day at the zoo.
You can read more about our adventure at the Atlanta Zoo on my Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA), Travel & Vacation: Lions, Tigers, Seals, Reptiles, Bears, and more at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA), and Travel & Vacation: Orangutan Easter Egg Hunt at Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) blog posts.
Looking pretty cute!
Look out, showing some teeth this time. Watch out! They may look cute and adorable, but I think it would not be a good idea to pet them with teeth that size.
Someone found an Easter pinata
Loving the bamboo
Peeling the bamboo stick apart, eating some pieces, and putting the other pieces on his belly for later.
Crunchy, but delicious
Good stuff
Panada’s look so cute
Checking things out around the pen
Heading towards some more goodies
Twin panda’s in their cage. One sleeping on the log and the other one eating some bamboo
Relaxing and chewing on some bamboo
Bird Show in the Wildlife Theater at the Atlanta Zoo
Getting all their questions answered
Brina giving Willie B a hug
Karlie and Brina enjoyed the Atlanta Zoo
Karlie all smiles
Travel & Vacation: Orangutan Easter Egg Hunt at Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
He’s eying that cool looking pinata egg with sweet Easter treats inside it!
Another one of the neat events at the Atlanta Zoo was the Easter treats for the animals. We were able to get front row viewing at the Orangutan Easter egg hunt. It was super cute. There was a Mommy with a little one which the girls thought was adorable.
The Easter Eggs were made of jello and placed throughout the pen, pinata eggs full of special treats, leaf baskets with goodies, and cardboard cutouts with peanut like substance on the back for the orangutans to enjoy. They had a lot of fun finding and snacking on their treats. Even the baby found some. They had paper garland hanging up which the orangutans enjoyed moving and playing with as well.
You can read more about our adventure at the Atlanta Zoo on my Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) and Travel & Vacation: Lions, Tigers, Seals, Reptiles, Bears, and more at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) blog posts.
An edible Easter egg in the tree and one on the rock in the background….waiting to be found!
Swinging out to get the Easter garland
Oh yeah, this eggs mine!
Climbed up on top of the platform for this pinata treat
Enjoying the goodies inside the pinata Easter egg
Holding the cardboard cutout of the bunny rabbit and licking the treat off the back of it
Hanging out near the hammock picking up and eating eggs, delicious!
Look closely, he’s got a green jello egg in his mouth
Momma and baby
Sitting in the shade – Mom and Baby (the baby is not really little, but obviously still under its Mother’s care)
Mom and baby kisses
Licking the goodness off the back of the cardboard Easter egg decoration
Mom and baby looking for some more treats
The baby wasn’t too sure about everything at first so it stuck near its Mom at the beginning of the Easter Egg Hunt
The baby is getting brave. He is climbing the pole to get the Easter basket, with a little Chick, and goodies.
Made it, now to grab it and head back down.
The Mom watched the baby climb, get the treats, and bring them back down. Then she took the items from the baby and ate them herself, ha! The baby did get some treats, but Momma Orangutan got the first dibs!
Rearranging the Easter Garland in their pen.
Travel & Vacation: Lions, Tigers, Seals, Reptiles, Bears, and more at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
Lioness pacing on her rock
We had a blast seeing all the animals on our recent trip to the Atlanta Zoo. We arrived just as the Zoo opened in the morning and stayed until closing. The kids loved seeing all the animals, the activities, and special events. It was a busy, packed, and fun day together. We walked all over the area of the zoo several times over. The morning was a little cooler, but it was very comfortable by mid-morning (not too cold or hot). You can read more about our adventure on my Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) blog post.
The two lionesses were playing and pouncing on each other while we were there. They were so fast we weren’t able to get a non-blurry picture of both of them together. It was neat to watch them playing around instead of just sleeping on their rock.
Better watch out….
Tiger giving himself a bath.
Out for a stroll
The seal was catching the fish they were throwing at them. You can see the fish right in front of him.
Karlie and Brina learning about snakes.
Karlie having fun
Learning more about this little turtle
Curled up and watching people as they go by his cage
Brina fascinated by all the animals
What’s in this one!?
Karlie and Mommy having fun at the Atlanta Zoo
Me and my girls! They are growing up so fast. Thankful for these little adventures together as a family!
Brina was always good a spotting the animals really quickly, not sure how she does it so fast!
The snake was following the heat from Karlie’s hand
Jake and his girls at the Atlanta Zoo
Jake is always so good about explaining and showing the girls different pieces of information about the animals. The snake is acting like it might try to strike Jake’s hand through the glass in this picture, but it never did.
The bear brought this branch with leaves on top of the platform so he could eat it by himself without the other one bothering him.
Fun times!
They loved learning about all the different wildlife.
Love my family! Grateful for the opportunity to hang out at the Atlanta Zoo for the day!
Such a rough life…. They look so cute and cuddly.
This is a “Tanuki” it is very timid and doesn’t come out very often per one of the zoo workers that we asked. We walked by its cage multiple times and never saw it out until almost the end of the day. It gets spooked easy so it is not visible very often.
How does your Mom carry you!? Silly girls – Brina and Karlie
Karlie loves brushing the farm animals. She is currently on her way to brush another one.
Brina talking with the zoo worker about goats and asking questions. He was really nice and pointed out several different types of goats and characteristics of the ones near her.
Brina and Karlie brushing one goat. Lots of TLC for this Mamma goat. They always love the interactive animal adventures.
The giraffe is eying us while the ostrich was too busy eating to give us any attention
Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
Our family at the Atlanta Zoo!
We surprised the girls with a long weekend trip to Atlanta, Georgia over Easter weekend. They were very excited to go explore the Atlanta area. We are members of our local zoo so we were able to get into the Atlanta Zoo at a discount which was really nice. The kids love animals, learning more about various ones, interacting, and so much more.
Since it was Easter weekend at the Atlanta Zoo the animals were getting special treats to enjoy for the Holiday. The new Amphibian & Reptile Exhibit also opened the weekend we were there as well. There were a lot of people at the zoo, but it was so big we had plenty of time do see and do almost everything (some things the kids enjoyed it so much we did it again).
Pink Flamingos were hanging out peacefully near the entrance to the zoo
So excited….Karlie and Brina! They have their maps out and are ready to GO!
The birds were sleeping peacefully all together on one branch.
It was a little chilly when we first got there in the shade at opening, but no one was complaining!
Birds of all colors
Brina soaking it all in. She loves animals.
Playing around in the water puddles.
Karlie smiling as she quietly watches the birds and little kids.
Meerkat’s roaming around in their pen.
There is always one Meerkat on watch (or guard) for predators
They gave the Meerkats a pillow case stuffed full of hay, little bugs, and special treats. They were a little timid about it at first, but before long they were all taking turns going into the pillow case and digging out their special treats.
Are you done yet! Hurry up and get your bug so I can get my turn inside the Easter treat sack!!!
They look cute, but serious. Look at those claws on this meerkat! Yikes!
Rhino heading out into the sun after getting some sticky mud on itself to protect it from a sunburn.
This rhino was moving the stick around and chewing on it. Must of had something tasty on it.
They drew flowers, easter eggs, and bunny rabbits with chalk on the rocks in the Zebra’s pen.
The warthogs got hard boiled and colored Easter eggs for their special treat. They both found the first one about the same time.
Someone found the purple Easter egg!
The elephants had Easter eggs that had a jello consistency that they place in baskets made of leaves. This elephant just discovered the basket of leaves and is moving it out of the way so she can eat her jello Easter egg.
Whole lot of elephants! They had a huge pen and sometimes if you couldn’t see them on one side you had to go around to see them in a different section.
Jake and his girls exploring the Atlanta Zoo
Beautiful bird
Brina found Big Bird’s Nest!!! HA!
My two little chickies in the huge nest!
Karlie thought the nest was hilarious!
Tooth Fairy Visits and Braces!
Karlie tooth fairy reward
There is a lot going on around our house lately regarding teeth. Recently, Brina got a spacer and braces for her teeth. Both girls have lost some of their baby teeth too. The tooth fairy has been staying busy at our house. We do a variety of different things for the tooth fairy. Typically we give a note, cash and a special gift. The special gift can be a book, necklace, toy, or a variety of different items that appeal to the specific child.
Brina showing off her new braces!
Another tooth fairy gift for Karlie
Tooth fairy is now visiting Brina’s room
Travel & Vacation: Dry Erase Board Notes
Karlie’s dry erase board note to Jake
In case you already haven’t noticed our family LOVES to travel. Occasionally when Jake travels for work the rest of us get to tag along with him. A lot of times his days are long and we don’t always get to see him throughout the day. On our last work trip I told the girls to bring their dry erase boards and markers so we could “leave Daddy a note” for the day. If he came back to the hotel room and we were not there he could see our notes, know what we were up to, and hopefully feel the love that we were sending his way. It is not always possible to know when he may have a moment to run back to the room and if we are across town we cannot make it back in time to say “hi” so this is a little way to let him know that we are thinking about him even though we couldn’t be there to give him a hug in person.
During this recent trip all of us were up with the sun at 6 am every morning and off in our separate ways shortly thereafter. Sometimes it would be midnight or later before we reconnected again. Several times Jake also left a note on the back of the dry erase boards for us which the girls loved. If he had a few minutes and knew that we would be getting back really late he would prep dinner for us so we could make it quickly while the girls were showering so they could eat, relax for a few minutes, and crash in bed.
We ate all but one breakfast and dinner in our hotel room. All our lunches we packed in our backpacks and would eat whenever we were exploring for that day. To help with the preparation and meal plan we brought a hot pot (yes, like the ones you use in college) to make our meals. We were able to make some good, quick, healthy, and inexpensive meals in our hotel room like sloppy joes, mac-n-cheese, chicken & rice, soup, and more! It was nice to relax together at the end of the day before hitting the bed.
Every time we left for the day each girl would get out their dry erase boards and leave a note for Jake. I would add an note to the bottom or side of each of their notes. They had a lot of fun doing this for him and looked forward to it every morning.
Brina’s note to Daddy
Karlie letting Daddy know we are going to check out the animals!
Brina’s note to Daddy with a variety of colors.
Karlie’s note that includes a “heart family” of all of us. Cute!
Brina’s note with hearts and letting him know to have “fun and do a good job”!
Brina’s note to Dad with my note to the love of my love.
Jake’s note letting us know he prepped the meal and all we had to do is add water and boil.
Sweet note from my Handsome man!
Note from Karlie with her and Daddy as heart people.
The girls love their Dad so very much. It is precious to see how they enjoy not only doing little things for him, but also how excited they get to spend some extra time with him. Thankful for a husband who works so hard to provide for our family. He takes good care of all of us and always makes each of us feel special. He is thoughtful, generous, and kind. Even though he works hard he always makes a point to spend time with us as a family. I am blessed in many ways.
If your spouse travels and you go along with them you can easily do this for your spouse as well. It was super simple, but made everyone feel more connected throughout the long days apart. I hope that it made Jake’s days a little bit brighter.
I Love You Too!
“I Love U” spelled out with their Magformers Set
It is always a pleasant surprise when you walk into a room and find a nice saying or artwork waiting for you. The other day I walked into the dining room and this is what was on the kitchen table. An “I Love You” message and smiley face.
Thankful for my kids. Their creativeness and their little ways of reminding us that they truly do appreciate and love us as well. They requested that I take a picture of their artwork so they could send a message to some people and let them know that they were thinking of them on this particular day.
It’s the little things like this that make me smile. Parenting can be tough some days, but it is also very rewarding too. Grateful for these special moments when they demonstrate love, happiness, and the desire to brighten the days of others.
A Magformer smile waiting to be discovered on the table!Travel & Vacation: Walt Disney World Epcot (Orlando, FL)
Spending the day at Epcot
Thankful for a chance to spend time with the family at Disney’s Epcot. It was so much fun. The kids kept up remarkably well and had great attitudes the entire busy day. I am grateful for kids who love to learn and explore new places. They just soaked in all the neat stuff going on at Epcot in. The second day was not as hot which was nice too.
They got me to go on Mission Space again. This time we went on the Orange ride which is more intense. Let’s just say I was looking a little green after this ride, thankfully this picture was taken before take off.
Jake and Brina cruising along
Image Works was a cool place to explore
Playing music at Image Works
Our own little Mickey Mouse. Karlie wanted the black hat and ears.
Our own little Minnie Mouse. Brina wanted the headband with a red and white Minnie Mouse bow.
Walking with Dad, so exciting!
Sweet girls.
All smiles
Pausing graciously to let me take a picture even though she’s worried about missing something!
Brina Bee
On the move
Taking in all the cool sights around her
We found a place that engraved names onto leather bracelets.
The girls have unique names which makes it impossible to find items with their names on it so we got these for them as a souvenir. They were fascinated watching the worker do the engraving and proud of their bracelets.
Travel & Vacation: It’s a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise at Disney’s Magic Kingdom (Orlando, FL)
Brina and Jake riding on the boat through It’s a Small World
The lines weren’t too long so we were able to get onto several rides, however, we had a couple hiccups with some as well. The kids liked It’s a Small World so much that we did it 2 times. The Pirates of the Caribbean was a little bit of a disappointment because we stood in line for an hour and were 10 people from the front of the line when it broke down so we didn’t get to go on it. It took us another 30 minutes to get back out because we had to wait for all the people behind us leave. The girls did well and had a great attitude despite the long wait time. The Jungle Cruise was a fun boat ride with lots of neat sights along the way. The kids really enjoyed it.
Smiling and soaking in all the sights at It’s a Small World
It’s a Small World banner as you go in
Fascinating!
Always something to look at on the boat ride
Still smiling while waiting in the long line for the Pirates of the Caribbean
Catching up and chatting while in line
Yay, found a place to sit while waiting
Going on the Jungle Cruise
All smiles on the Jungle Cruise
Beautiful waterfall
They loved looking at all the animals and sights on the Jungle Cruise
So much fun!
