Yolande

We had a lovely Mother's Day weekend. Saturday the girls and I went to a lovely tea that was put on by some of the Kindergarten Mom's at Kate's school.
 The tea was adorable. I am trying to convince one of my girls to have a Tea Party Birthday Party!
We got our picture taken & they made these adorable frames at the tea party for Mother's Day.

 I enjoyed my donut & coffee in bed :)
The 2 dozen roses they gave me. Gorgeous.

Kevin, vacuuming the couch. What a guy!

They sent me out of the house (in Kevin's car) so that Kevin could wash & clean out my car.
I enjoyed a quiet trip to Target (by myself!!!) and I also went and got a mani/pedi.
So relaxing, so thankful for my awesome husband giving me the day "off"
 After I got home it was time to get ready for our Mother's Day Dinner.
Because we live within 5 minutes of our parents & siblings (So blessed!), we decided to host Mother's Day Dinner at our house. That way, we could celebrate Mother's Day with BOTH of our Mom's and not run around all day splitting up time between our families.
We are also extremely blessed that my parents and Kevin's parents get along fabulously.
Our parents, chilling poolside with Luke:

 The weather was gorgeous so we had the entire get together outside so the kids could swim.
My sisters brought the appetizers.

Corn Dip! Recipe {Here}



My sister's first Mother's Day!

My first Mother's Day as a boy mom! Love, love, love this kid.

First Mother's Day as a mom of THREE!

I LOVED all the handmade cards they made me. Please note the envelope Kate made me with the SF on it, for the San Francisco Giants. She knows (and shares) my love of the Giants.

And, the cards they made me? Covered in Fall Decorations because they know Fall is my FAVORITE and that I LOVE FALL.

This card? Made me tear up.

Love what Kate made at school. That's ME! :)
 Look what my sister in law made my my mother law? I want it!

For dinner, we grilled some Salmon on the BBQ.  Yum!

And, a bunch of yummy sides!
Couscous Arugula Salad:

Strawberry Spinach Salad: {Recipe Here}

Party Potatoes:

The entire spread:

My sisters & I with our mom:

Kevin & his brother with their mom:

 It was such a nice, relaxing time. Truly, a great, great, day.

As my Father-In-Law was leaving our house Sunday night, I said,
"Thank you for coming over. I am so glad that you & my parents like each other. It is just easier to celebrate some holidays all together"
His response?  
"We don't just like each other, we LOVE each other." 

And, that my friends is how I teared up for the approximately the 42nd time on Mother's Day.

The best part of Mother's Day is that it is always on a Sunday, so you can celebrate Mother's Day all weekend long! This Mother's Day weekend started off with Kevin letting me sleep in until 9:30 on Saturday and having French Toast & coffee made when I got up. Score!

After breakfast we surprised Claire with a big girl bike that Kevin found on craigslist for $5. SCORE! It is a Disney princess bike, so Claire was ecstatic.

Kate on the other hand, had a total and complete meltdown because Claire got a bike and she didn't. I have never seen Kate have a meltdown like that before. I wish I took video of her or took pictures of her because it was ridiculous. We sent to her room & she stayed there for over 30 minutes crying that she wanted a new bike. She wheeled her current bike to the side yard & said she wanted to give it away and get a new bike like Claire....she doesn't realize that Claire's bike is a junker compared to hers.
*sigh*
Kevin's best friend Brian & 2 of his kids stopped by to play and have lunch and then after lunch Kevin ripped out the overhang in our backyard.

The wood on the overhang was rotting and in REALLY bad shape. It had tons of dry rot. It was time for it to come down! While Kevin ripped it down, the girls napped & I was able to run some errands. By myself! Heavenly!

When I got home, the overhang was gone. It opens up our backyard SO much.
Our plan was to rebuild a new overhang/pergola, but because it opens up the patio so much and gives the girls more room to ride bikes, etc...we might not put a new one up! But, we might need a overhang to give shelter from the afternoon sun, since it gets so hot back there. Decisions, decisions! Not sure what to do!

The girls doing a show for us before bedtime:
For dinner I made PW's Linguine with Clam Sauce...yum, yum, yum.

I made a yummy dinner because we were celebrating the year anniversary of moving into this house! Exactly 1 year ago yesterday, we closed escrow on our house. I am so thankful that God put us in this house, on this court. It has been an amazing year & so many memories have been made. When I think back to the journey & story about how we got this house, it honestly brings tears to my eyes. I am overwhelmed with God's plan and how He orchestrated the whole situation.
We took a picture in front of our house today because that is what we did last year on May 7th (the day we closed escrow & we got the keys to the house)
Last night Kevin and I looked back on pictures of the house when we first bought it and it has been so fun to see all the projects that we have done on the house in the past year.
We are Do it Yourself type people, so this house has definitely been a labor of love for us.
And, also a Money Pit, but we still love it!

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This morning, I had another yummy breakfast waiting for me.
Kevin & Claire went and got doughnuts this morning:

And, Kevin got me these tulips. My Mother's Day present was my garden boxes that he built!

I helped in Kate's Sunday School class this morning and when we got home from church I told her & Claire that what I wanted for Mother's Day was for them to take some pictures with me.

I am always the one taking the pictures and I am rarely in them.

So, for Mother's Day, I wanted Kevin to take a few pictures of me & my girls!
This was the best we could get!

I gave up on getting some with both of them, so we went for getting individual ones with each of them! First up, me and Kate....the little girl who made me a Mother!
My first born....the sweetest little girl I know (excpet for when she doesn't get a craigslist bike, then watch out)
Love this one. Love it so much:
And then there's Claire....
My spirited child....so full of life & spunk.

The one who has challenged me & stretched me the most in her 2.5 years of life. The one who brings so much energy, spunk & pizazz to our lives.

Thank you, Kevin for taking these pictures.
I know how much you "love" taking pictures.....

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For dinner, we went to Chinese food with my sisters, parents & Kevin's parents.
My mom & my girls:

There are no words to describe how amazing my mom is. She is one of my heros, I look up to her in so many ways.
Here is the card I gave my mom, my friend Becky made the card.

Here is the necklace that Kate made me at preschool for Mother's Day:
Kate was so, so, so proud of this necklace. She asked me to wear it to school tomorrow so I can show all my students. You bet I am!

Now we are home....the girls are (finally) asleep and Kevin and I are going to have some chocolate chip cookie pie for dessert....

......and watch Little Fockers.
(Hello, is there anything better $1 movie rentals? Genius!!)

A great end to a great day.
It has been a simple, but lovely weekend.
Hope yours has been lovely as well!

P.S. Thank you to everyone who linked up recipes for my Cupcake Carnival last week. There are so many delicious recipes...check them out here!