WHS Breast Cancer 5K

On Sunday, the rain stayed away just long enough for us to enjoy the annual Breast Cancer Awareness 5K that the high school student council sponsors each spring.  Thousands of dollars have been raised through this event, and much of it stays right in Franklin County.  It's always fun to see the community come out in support of such a worthwhile cause.  Calvin has completed several 5Ks, but this is the first time that Oliver has been interested enough to try it.  Which was convenient since this is the first time there has been no vacancy in the double stroller. . . 

Oliver finished up his "race" with Grandma Jo, Grandma Shirley, and Aunt Karen (and there are rumors that he was carried for a bit, but these have yet to be confirmed).

 Calvin finished strong with the other kids who were actually running.  I don't remember his exact time, but I think it was around 40 minutes.

Breast cancer has affected so many women in my life -- I can't wait for the day that there is a cure once and for all!

Evelyn's New Favorite Aunt

At Syd's party this weekend, Aunt Dana got some serious brownie points with the youngest Dwyer by introducing her to ice cream. . .

Mom, why 'ya been holding out on me all these years months??  This stuff is yummy!!

I love you, Aunt Dana!

Just to be fair, we have several more upcoming parties with ice cream possibilities, so Aunt Joy and Aunt Sara, you'll have your chance to catch up! 

Easter Pictures, Continued. . .

We didn't get to take pictures with my Mom (who was enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime European vacation, but not the Clark Griswold kind) or Aunt Dana's family last weekend, so we made up for it prior to Sydney's birthday party yesterday.

First, all of Grandma Jo's grandkids:

Then Grandma Cheryl & Grandpa Kermit with their grandkids, all so pretty in pink!

I also wanted a picture of Evelyn with her godfather, Uncle John.  And Oliver was just so cute, I let him jump in as well.

And one more sweet pic of Calvin & his baby sister.

Okay, I think we can say Easter pictures have officially concluded.  These kids are just so darn cute, though, I can't help but want to point a camera at them!

Beginning the Teenage Years!

Yesterday we celebrated the birthday of my beautiful niece and god-daughter, Sydney, who will be turning THIRTEEN next week!  Oh my, how is that even possible that she could be a teenager?!?  Grandma Jo makes these awesome bouquets for the kids' birthdays, usually filled with candy.  But for this special girl's special birthday, it was filled with make-up -- look out, boys!

It was a "One Direction" birthday theme. . . For those of you who are close to my age and don't know who One Direction is, think New Kids on the Block for the year 2013 (although NKOTB is putting out a new album, I hear. . .)

Sydney with the card Calvin made for her:

The gorgeous flowers she got from her daddy:

The yummy feast Joy & Scott prepared for all of us:

Evelyn & Grandpa Kermit just hangin' out (it was hot and the girl has a lot of insulation, hence the no clothes):

Singing "Happy Birthday" to the birthday girl:

Sydney was the first grandchild on both sides of the family and has been such a blessing since that day we first met her on April 15, 2000.  I'm so thankful that my daughters will have her as a role model in the coming years.  Happy 13th birthday, Sydney Nicole!  We love you!

Weeds Are Takin' Over!

I'm not referring to our yard.  The weeds took over LONG AGO there.  I'm talking about Calvin's super cute First Grade Musical, "How Does Your Garden Grow?" in which Calvin played the part of one of the troublesome WEEDS. . .

 Pretty cute weed, don't you think??

 After all of the beautiful flowers sang their lovely song, the WEEDS came out -- uh oh!  Calvin's line was, "Yo, we're the weeds and we're takin' over!  No more daisies, no more clover!"

 The kids put on a really fabulous performance!

 The weeds taking their bow during the curtain call. . . Great job, guys!!

 And this is the beautiful sunset God treated us to on our drive home.  (Look very closely and you'll see our house and shed on the right side of the picture.)

JM&MB at Bass Pro

Following Easter, the boys were out of school on Monday and Tuesday, and these are the last days off school until THE LAST DAY next month, so definitely had to get in a Just Me & My Boys Day!  There was much discussion as to where we would eat breakfast, as Oliver wanted IHOP and Calvin wanted McDonald's. . .

Once Calvin informed Oliver that he could have pancakes at McDonald's AND they could play at the PlayPlace, Oliver couldn't say no!

When we had finished eating, we took off for Bass Pro.  This is a place we come every Christmas, but really no other time of the year.  I knew the boys would have fun checking out all of the fun at a more relaxed time.  As it turned out, I think we were the only shoppers in the entire place, so the boys had free reign!  

First, the boats. . . They loved trying to decide which one would make the best upgrade for us.

Then the ATVs. . .

. . . and the fish. . .the sawfish was their favorite.  Not sure if that's the technical name for the fish with the saw-like mouth, but that's what the boys called it anyway.

Heading upstairs, they checked out the waterfall. . .

. . . and the shooting game.

Then they had their hearts broken by this mean ol' momma who wouldn't drop $3.95 each on these fabulous "I heart basketball" key chains.  I told them I would take a picture of the treasures so they could always remember them, and these are the faces they gave me.  Pathetic for sure.

All this running around deserves a nice, relaxing break in the camping chairs.

After Bass Pro, we went to Antioch Park to play for a bit before Violet was out of school.  I was really hopeful for a warm JM&MB day this month after the last couple months of freezing weather, but all we could muster was about 35 degrees.  So looking on the bright side, we were the only ones crazy enough to play at the park on a day like this and it was so very peaceful!

When we first got to the park, the boys insisted that they would be warm enough in their hoodies.  After about 20 minutes, they were both simply freezing and we had to go back to the car for their winter coats.

This is such a fun park with tons of hiking/walking trails and also lots of fun playground equipment.

They also had a great time playing with the geese by the lake.

Even though the day was quite chilly, the sun was shining and there were a couple signs around us that spring is indeed on the way. . .

Oh how I love these boys!  Thanks to Grandpa Kermit for keeping Miss Evie so we could have our special day!

Looks like this may conclude our JM&MB days for this school year :(  Oh well, we have so many fun things planned for the summer -- I just can't wait for it to warm up!!