Mother's Day

I'm working on getting everyone caught up - so here is how Mother's Day weekend went.
It was a very busy, very fun weekend!!! On Friday night we stayed with my best friend Sarah and her family. Jackson and Joe had a great time playing and Kate tried as hard as she could to keep up. It's funny because Jackson (almost 5) and Joe (just turned 4) are the same size and have the same color hair. They look a lot alike just like Sarah and I did at their age - yes we have known each other for that long!
On Saturday we took Joe to the Zoo and met Sara, Matt, Matthew and Keith. It was a beautiful day and the Zoo was a little crowded. The kids had a blast. Kate had not been to the Zoo since she was under a year old. She loved seeing all of the animals. Of course we had to ride the train also - Joe and Jackson are very fond of trains.
We had a lot of fun!
On Saturday night Sara and I took my mom out to dinner for Mother's Day. We went to The Cheesecake Factory at the Galleria and then did a little shopping.
Sunday was my niece Brittany's confirmation. It was an eventful day. The storm from the night before had cause the electricity to be out at church. Most of the service was by candlelight and flashlight. In the middle of Communion the lights came back on! Brittany looked beautiful and I was very proud of her. After the service Brian and Susan had a luncheon/party to celebrate. It was nice to visit with family and friends. Kevin left a little early and took the kids to visit his mom. He brought home Pirrone's Pizza - yummy!!!
Like I said - it was a great weekend!!
Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Weekend with Friends

I know it has been a while. Things have been very busy these days. We have a lot to share with you - so look for a few posts this week.
First let's go back a little to the middle of April when we had our friends Mike and Tracie and their girls Lily(4) and Elly(1) stay with us overnight. They arrived on Saturday afternoon and the kids enjoyed playing outside. Mike and Kevin took Lily and Jackson to the park and they played on the playground and even attempted flying a kite. Saturday night after the kids went to bed, the adults enjoyed the Wii. Mike and Kevin stayed up late playing Guitar Hero! On Sunday morning, Tracie made us chocolate chip pancakes - they were delicious! Then we headed over to the Ropp Cheese Farm. We got to see the cows and how cheese is made. After naps we BBQ'd then said goodbye to our friends.
We had a great time.
Here are some pics of the weekend.
Thank you Tracie for sending them!

My baby is going to Kindergarten!

Tonight Kevin, Jackson and I went to register Jackson for Kg.
I just can't believe he is going to be in Kg. in August.
We went to the school and the teachers took the kids to show them the Kg. rooms and do some activities with them while the parents stayed in the cafeteria and listened to the principal talk and then filled out paperwork.
Jackson had a great time and he is really excited about starting Kg. Ask him about it the next time you talk to him. He loves to talk about it.
Wow! I think I am still in shock! I can't even imagine what I will be like on the first day!!!

Melissa

Funny!

So - it is very cold and rainy here today.(actually it sleeted and snowed a little earlier in the afternoon!) I had to take Kate to the dr. because she woke up yesterday with a fever. I thought for sure it was another ear infection - turns out it is a throat infection! Yuck! Poor thing. She is being a trooper though.
Anways - we were playing in Kate's room this afternoon and Kate decided to change her clothes which then prompted Jackson to join in.





They are so funny!

Melissa

Spring Break

OK - I promised another post this weekend. I am trying to catch up - so here is a post about our Easter and Spring Break.
Easter weekend was cold but fun. We spent the weekend visiting with friends and family. The Easter Bunny left baskets full of goodies for the kids and even managed to leave some eggs for hunting at various places we visited. I'd have to say the best egg hunt was at my cousin Susie's house. It actually started snowing while the kids were hunting eggs! All in all it was a busy but fun weekend.
Kevin left Monday evening to head back home while the kids and I stayed and visited for the week since Jackson was on Spring Break. We spent the week visiting everyone we could fit in. On Wednesday we spent the day with Aunt Sue, Brittany, Brett and Sydney. We went to the Transportation Museum and then had lunch at McDonald's. Jackson also visited with his friends, Elijah, Nick, Alex and Joe. It was an exhausting but fun week. I had so many pictures it was hard to choose which ones to post so I chose pictures of the kids with their cousins. Enjoy!

Melissa
PS - the picture of Jackson with the Easter Bunny is a picture of him with his cousin because Steve was the Easter Bunny at Church! Notice there isn't a pic of Kate with the Easter Bunny. She was terrified of him. She held on for dear life and cried if she was in the same room with him!

Matthew

Hello - I know it has been a long time since I have posted something. I have a lot to post about - but I wanted to start with the most important.
Most if not all of you that read this blog have met my very cute nephew Matthew.
Matthew was born in October and he has Cystic Fibrosis. He is doing awesome and is a very big boy. He almost weighs as much as Kate:)
On May 17th many of us in my family are participating in the Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis at Tower Grove Park. Each walker is asked to raise money for the very important work that the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation does.
So - if you would like to donate money in honor or Matthew, click on the following link:
Walk for Matthew
It should take you my homepage and there will be a place where you can donate. My goal is $150 but I would love to raise more. There is also a place to register with our team (Bubba's Army) if you would like to walk with us.
I know in Matthew's lifetime they will find a cure.

Thanks -
Melissa

PS - Look for more posts this weekend:)

At the request of my father.....

I am here to update my blog. My dad sent me an email today asking me to update the blog. It has been a little busy around here. The kids and I spent the week after Easter in St. Louis. We had a great time visiting with family and friends. I caught a cold towards the end of the trip so I spent the weekend we got home resting while Kevin spent some "daddy time" with the kids:)
Once Monday hit we had to start getting ready for our neighborhood garage sale which took place Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It was a little nuts trying to get ready for it (I also hosted my book club that Wednesday) but it was a lot of fun and we got rid of a lot of junk. There were four families on our block that participated and because it was the first garage sale of the season (that's why they do it the first weekend on April every year) there were a lot of people who came out. Seriously - on Thursday the sale was from 3PM - 7PM (weird time - but that's how they do things up here) and there were times you couldn't even get down our block because there were so many cars!
It was crazy!
This week brought us back to our normal routines. Swim classes started back up again this week. Jackson is doing a great job. He almost went of the diving board today. He got a little scared when he got to the end. Maybe next time!
We are getting ready for another trip to St. Louis for baby Matthew's baptism on Sunday. We are also going to spend the night with Kevin's brother and sister-in-law in their new house on Friday night. Jackson is excited to have a sleepover with Uncle Keith.
I have to go put the kids down for a nap. I promise I will get back on later today or tomorrow to post some pics and update on the kids. They are so funny lately.

Melissa