Friends

My friend came over with her husband, daughter, and nephew this week. Arturo, the husband, cooked all of us lunch while the rest of us hung out in the backyard.

All three girls found a place to dig in the dirt and that's where they stayed for a good two hours. It was as if the dirt was the best kid sitter ever. It was great having Amparo visit and I can't wait to see her again.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day we went to the zoo with Rachael, Eric, and Nick. We all brought lunches and spent the day just hanging out together having fun. It was an easy day and exactly what I needed and wanted.

Afterwards we headed to their house for a BBQ and a little more relaxation. I loved that the kids all got along and the best part of the evening was that the men did all the cooking and the cleaning. Should be Mother's Day every day!

Karate Rocks

My little powerhouse...

Olivia's got the legs!

Mother's Day Tea

First of all, my daughter rocks!!!  Olivia's class invited all the moms to come to class so they could give us our Mother's day gifts and serve us tea and sandwiches. They set the tables with china and flowers and greeted us at the door. They seated us at the table and offered us...

fruit that was brought on a silver platter. Each child took turns serving their mom.

Ava had helped herself to the watermelon before I could snap a photo but I think you can get the idea...

Here they are all waiting their turn to serve the sandwiches, cookies, and scones. They even have the waitress towel over their arms and are prepared.

After all the food was served the class, led by Olivia, recited a thank you message for all that we do for them and they gave us a letter saying why they are thankful for us.

Olivia did a little dance while leading the class.

And my gift... this beautiful necklace made by the sweetest girl in the world.

I think that says it all!!!

Scrumptillious

So today Dave made a comeback after being skunked by the girls on Easter Weekend. He caught this big catfish and...

These two trout. We didn't stay at this location very long due to the high number of rattlesnakes out here...

And as you can see the girls are sitting in some tall grass by the water. So after catching two trout we were on our way to a less scary place which is where the catfish was caught.

Yum Yum grub time!!

Makes me so proud... eating the tail!

The little gobblers.

So of the two kids of fish we all agreed the catfish was the meatiest and best tasting. We will definitely have to go back to that spot again. The fried fish pictured above didn't have the head on since it was too big for my daddy fryer but the smaller one did and Olivia wanted to eat the face and eyes. My grandfather would have loved her. I think there's a little part of his spirit in her. Ava was totally against seeing it caught and then eating it but after the ketchup came out, all we heard was, "More catfish please..."

Look Out!!!

Ava's first time sparring and she showed no fear. I think she actually said, "Mommy, when do I get to do that again?"

And what got into this one? She was so shy at first. Now Olivia can't wait to beat them down.

Playdates

A friend of Olivia's wanted to have a bike race at the park with all the classmates.

Everyone brought their bikes or scooters along with their lunches and we stayed and played for 4 hours. It rocked and the kids were worn out and ready to leave.

Then the next day Olivia went to Grace's house after school for a play date so Ava had Kaylee come over to play. This was Ava's first play date just for her with her friend. She was stoked.

They had snacks together... laughed together...

and of course they collected a menagerie of bugs together.

That was a pretty cool day but after the friends left and Olivia was picked up we had karate...and then things really picked up.