Weekend in Review

What a great weekend! We kicked it off with the Sucker Day Parade Friday evening with our friend Keebee (Keri). I still smile when I think about how much fun Braden had.

Saturday we hit some garage sales (one of our favorite weekend pastimes) and decided to give the actual Sucker Day festivity a go. Braden had fun, but I have to say I did not enjoy being bombarded by all the politicians. I understand wanting to get your message out, but good grief!

Sunday was a heat wave! It was finally warm enough to break out the sprinkler and let the B-Man give it a try. This was his first time with a sprinkler and he loved it....not that we had any doubts. What kid doesn't love running through the sprinkler on a hot day?

Hope all our Canadian friends and family had a happy May 24 weekend!

Weekend in Review

Yes, I realize it's Wednesday and I'm just getting around to posting this. I contemplated skipping "Weekend in Review" because of the delay, but the weekend was too good not to recap and remember. Besides, better late than never, right?

We had family come down from St. Louis this weekend. Namely, Grandpa Mac (we're working on a better name) and Nami (who's real name is Tami, but Braden has renamed). We were afraid it was going to rain all weekend, but we managed to sneak in some fun times in between the stormy weather.

Our friend Keebee (Keri) told us about the St. Jude Dream House open house on Saturday and joined us for a viewing. We didn't buy the tickets to try to win the house, but we did fill out entries to win some free furniture. Here's hoping!!!

After dreaming our way through the dream house, we all went to the Japanese Stroll Gardens. If you live in the area and haven't gone, I really suggest you do. It is beautiful and relaxing, and perfect for pictures...providing you don't forget to charge your batteries....which I did (and that was after we made a special trip to go back by the house since I forgot it in the first place). Oy.

I did manage to get a couple before the batteries gave up the ghost.

This was the last shot I was able to take. I'm generally not good at capturing scenery, but I love this picture. I edited it a little (ok, a lot) more than I did my other pictures, but there's just something about this picture that makes me happy.

The visit went by too quicly, as it always does, but we enjoyed it, as we always do.

Weekend in Review

We woke up Saturday to the sound of a downpour. The morning was something I want to remember for years to come. The three of us snuggled up on the couch under Mike's childhood Star Wars blanket (that thing is comfy cozy for sure) and munched on homemade fresh-from-the-oven blueberry muffins. We took our time, laughed, shared bites, and then cleaned up all the crumbs that didn't make it into Braden's mouth.

And it was still raining. A lot. What to do? Hit the garage sales! We did what we call the "quick get ready" which means just that: get ready as quickly as possible. For me, that usually means donning a baseball hat to hide any sights of unruly bedhead (not that I ever have that). We piled in the car and headed out for the sales. We managed to make a solid morning of it, even though we didn't actually get out of the car. We are big fans of the drive-by method, especially when it's a monsoon (nobody had anything good, anyway). It was still nice to get out, despite the rain.

We managed to get home just in time for the B-Man's nap (always convenient). We were delighted to see the sunshine when he woke up and headed to our neighborhood park to revel in it.

We managed to get in some swinging,

and some "sliding",

and some of this.

Then, he spotted it. The puddle (there were many to choose from). I was thankful we had the forethought to put on his rain boots. By the way, don't you just love his watch? It was actually one I used to play with when I was little and Braden has recently taken up with it. It cracks me up!

Mike (the clever man that he is) looked up at the sky and saw bright skies on one side, and doom and gloom on the other. He made the recommendation we head to the car, like now.

The picture doesn't really do it justice, but you'll get the idea. It was dark and moving in, fast.

We managed to make it to the car and get safely buckled just as the rain started falling, along with the hail. Talk about timing!

Sunday was nice and relaxing. We made it to the later service of church, which Braden calls the party (more on that later) and just enjoyed the day together. It wasn't a super productive weekend thanks to the rain, but, thanks to the rain, it sure was relaxing!