Mother's Day

Ah Mother's Day has come and went again. It is always one of my favorite days. My family always tries to do something to make me feel special. I loved the handwritten cards I got from my boys and the breakfast in bed I was served. Michael rented a Bobby Flay video for me to watch while I was eating breakfast in bed and Joshua woke up early to run in and wish me Happy Mother's Day with a kiss on my forehead. I feel so lucky to be a Mother. I do believe it is a special calling and a big responsibility.

I saw this video on a friend's blog and wanted to share. I hope everyone had a good Mother's Day.

 

 

Zoo Day

Last Friday I woke up with the idea that everyone should stay home from work/school and go with me and Avery to the zoo! Luckily it wasn't too hard to get everyone on board, and we had a special family fun day. 

 After we got in the zoo and got past all of the school children we raced to the giraffes since that is always my favorite exhibit.  Only Joshua and myself were brave enough to feed them and let their long black tongue touch us.

Ethan was excited to see a Rhino, and Joshua was convinced that it was a Triceratops and the dinosaurs really live on earth today.

The monkeys were every one's favorite this time and yes we are handing them branches to eat, in our defense they are within reach of the monkeys so they are probably aren't too bad for them : /

Ethan was so proud of himself for feeding a petting a goat!

Avery is still the lover of all animals that even closely resemble a doggy.  This goat was perfect for her and liked to be snuggled.

I barely got Ethan to agree to touch a stingray and here is proof.  Joshua was all for it and Avery did not want to put her hand in the water at all.

We had a fun but exhausting day. It was already really hot out but I'm glad we were able to spend the whole day together.

Easter at Grandma Connie's

After church on Easter Sunday we drove up to Grandma Connie's house for lunch and an Easter egg hunt. The kids love hunting in my Grandma's back yard since there are so many hiding places and always a little money hidden in their eggs!

Sweet girl in her Easter dress before I changed her into regular clothes.

Coloring Easter Eggs.

Avery ate a whole chocolate bunny and loved it.

Counting their goods.

Grandma bought water squirters and the boys sure got wet.

 

Visiting the Dahl Family

Last month we went to visit Aunt Elizabeth and her family. We got to meet Baby Samuel and play with cousins. We had a good weekend. We played at the park a lot and just hung out.

 

 

Lucy and Avery got along all right with only a few fights this time!

Sweet Baby Samuel!

We ate lots of yummy treats too like Baskin Robbins!



Puppy Love

The Barnum family almost got a dog! We are not a pet family but Avery loves dogs and the boys said they sort of wanted one too. So we picked out what type of dog we wanted a Goldendoodle and went to look at a few. On Avery's birthday we went to the puppy store in the mall so Avery could play with a puppy for a little bit. In the end Michael couldn't bring himself to actually commit to the dog and interest died out : ( For now we will remain petless.

Karate!!

Last month the boys tested for new belts in Karate. They did awesome and both advanced. Ethan received his orange belt and Joshua his yellow belt. They had both been practicing a lot and we are very proud of them!

Avery's 2nd Birthday

Our little girl is already 2. Time has gone by so fast with her and I can't believe that she is already a toddler, who talks and has tons of her own ideas. We love her so much and can't imagine our family without her.


She has really been eating a lot lately and now weighs in at 27lbs and is 34 inches tall
She talks a lot and is now putting together simple sentences
She loves movies, her favorites right now are Finding Nemo, Elmo's ABCs, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse She still absolutely loves doggies (we even considered getting one for her birthday)
She just started using the potty and already doesn't want to keep her diaper on

For her actual birthday, it was just me and her hanging out all day.  She opened some presents in the morning and then we went out.  We met Daddy for lunch and as a special surprise we went to the puppy shop and had them pull out a doggie in a room for us to play with.  I have pics to post but I haven't downloaded them yet from my other camera. 

 

On the Saturday after her birthday we decided to have my family over to celebrate with us.  We had a lunch, opened some presents and of course had some cake too!

Sweet baby Taryn with her adorable cheeks.

Dena actually posing for a good picture with her fiance Tyler.

Fun presents to open for the birthday girl.

Grandma Sandy (and uncles and aunts) gave her a kitchen she absolutely loves playing with.

Birthday cake and icecream, even though she wouldn't blow out the candle since she is still terrified of fire.