Two Great Men

We just returned from a nice family vacation.

We took a little road trip down to the Florida Gulf Coast, and we stopped off in Mississippi on our way down to visit with my family.

These are my grandfathers - two men that were always an important part of my life growing up, and I hope that never changes.

This is my Grandaddy (please pardon these lovely expressions on my munchkins).



He has hearing aids and when you hug him and get close to his ears, they whistle at you - been that way as long as I can remember hugging him.

I love that little whistle.

This is my Papaw (again, please pardon the lack of cooperation from my munchkins).



There isn't anything this man can't do. He was a dairy farmer all his life, and if anything broke, and I mean ANYTHING, he could fix it. He can make anything, and he has a thing for pulling pony-tails of little girls. He did this to me growing up, and I can only imagine him full of devilment doing the same thing to his sisters and classmates in grade school. I think of him often when I pull my hair back in a pony-tail.

These men.

These phenomenal men.

They are important to me, and I only wish that my children would know them and love them the way I know them and love them. It's sad for me to live so far away from them, but I take what I can get, and know that my children will hopefully have their own lovely memories of these two to share one day.

I'm thinking of reusing these pictures and writing a post about how to get children to cooperate in family photos and give you genuine expressions . . . what do you think? . . . these are just priceless to me. :)

My Babes

Just want to say. . .



That I love these little monkeys.

That's all.

Almost Trashed

This photo, for whatever reason, didn't make the original edited cut from the carnival pictures I took last weekend.

I have no idea why.



Because I love everything about this picture.

Hope you are having a wonderful week.

Daddy's New Toy

We are getting old and starting to buy things that remind us of our childhood.

Dirck said he bought it for these two.



But I know better.

He bought this because it makes him feel like that carefree little kid in grade school that would spend hours at his Aunt and Uncle's house playing PacMan and drinking sodas.

Don't we all want to feel like that kid again . . . even if only or a few hours?

A Day-Maker

What a lovely feeling to get flowers at work.



Thanks Amy for thinking of me!

So . . . How's it feel?

We celebrated a birthday today.

My baby - my BABY - is 2 years old. She was a tiny little thing just a short time ago, and I look at her now and wonder when all this happened?

Due to her recent infatuation with cats, I made a little Hello-Kitty cake for her. "MY kitty cake!" she would yell to her brother . . . who only felt compelled to yell the same thing back to her. Now imagine this over and over about 100 times, and you've just spent the past afternoon at our house.



So, how's it feel to be the big 0-2?



Guess the thumbs-up is a good indication that she's OK with growing older.

Silliness

I just can't help myself.

I know I've posted some of these images, but feel I need to post a few more.





These silly kiddos.

God love them!

On Letting Go

Before the rain and wind settled heavily into our area this past weekend, we spent some time enjoying a local carnival.



I'm amazed at how big my kiddos are getting.

I had a "moment" when they were itching to get on the motorcycle and didn't want me to stand beside them where I may have teared up a bit.

What do you mean you don't want me to stand here? Don't you need me? Aren't you afraid that you may fall off if I'm not here to hold your hand? Are you sure you don' t need me? (all an internal struggle, I promise)



My boy's ready to go back. Next time he wants to ride the Ferris Wheel.

Next time, he'll be big enough to ride it too.

Next time, I'll keep those thoughts to myself, I promise. :)

Dreaming of Blue Skies

Rain, rain go away.

Come again another day.



I'm ready for more sunshine and blue skies (like in the bubble reflection).

Is it raining where you are today?

Have a fantastic week!

I Heart Faces: "Celebrating Mom" Challenge

I know, I know . . . there's no Mom in this picture.

BUT. . .

without that big dude down there,

there would be no little dude down there.

And that little dude down there

is what helps makes Motherhood so wonderful to me!



To see more images that celebrate motherhood, head on over to iheartfaces and check out all the entries!

On Mother's Day

These moments
are fleeting.

These children are growing
too fast.

This day is a reminder to:

Not take things too seriously. . .

Savor these fleeting moments. . .

and

Love these children like crazy. . .



And to never, ever for one second not appreciate how much I love having them in my life!

Happy Mother's Day!

Outside

We are LOVING that the days are getting longer.

There's much more time for goofing off outside.



And that makes these kiddos happy.

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Toy Box

Dirck's father made this toy box for my boy shortly after he was born.

He's made one of these for all 13 of his grandchildren.

We love it.

He used to joke when Dirck and I were engaged for 5 years, that he was just going to go ahead and make a toy box with the name "Oops" on it.



So glad we could give him a proper grandchild with a proper name.

"Oops" just sounds so silly for a child's name.

The Library

It was a little chilly this past weekend, so we set off on Saturday morning for the library.

They didn't really have any interest in the books (they never do when we are there).

They only wanted to play with the toys.

Today, it was trains and the accessories that go along with the trains.

I managed to snap a few shots of them playing . . . these are always my favorite shots of my kiddos.

Real.

Simple.

Them - just being themselves.



Have a wonderful week!

I Couldn't Resist . . .

Since drooling over my kiddo's new shoes. . . .

(you may remember this post here)

I had to go out and get some for myself.



I got Dirck a pair as well . . . if you see us out and about, we'll all be rockin' the Cons!