Heavenly Mommy

My mom came down to visit for Annelise's birthday weekend, which just happened to coincide with Easter this year! It's so much easier now that we've moved South; the trip is half as long with NO SNOW or WVa mountains. (Plus, it's to a place she actually wants to visit. :-P) We had a *dreamy* time!!! Sample day: on Thursday, after getting the kids to school & JB's car to the repair shop, we had tea & coffee at Elements Coffee Company, fell in love with too much (but at 75% off!) at Love Letters Monograms & Gifts, had the quintessential Southern lunch at Cafe 230:

baked Sissy's bday cake, & went to Will's t-ball game! ♥ This is my heaven...

On Saturday, after the huge church community Easter egg hunt & while JB went to a movie he has been dying to see, the kids *finally* got to ride the train at Chehaw! They then had a ball showing LaLa around the zoo. We got super close to the meerkats:

And it was so special to share with my mom, esp. after last Monday, b/c we both kept saying how my dad would have been going NUTS over this place and how he would have just burst taking the kids around. She said she sees him constantly in Annelise - she looks SO MUCH like him! It is an AMAZING feeling to have that connection and see those genes physically in front of you, again, after a decade...

We came home for the kids to splash in our pool while we grilled:

(Can I tell you how awesome it is not to have all the prep of traveling to the pool? Kids want to swim? It's a very private yard. Strip down & just jump right in! :-D) As they swam, we hung out in the late afternoon sun, and I just soaked in how gorgeous our weather, this home, and this lush, green neighborhood are. So very blessed...

We ate the most amazing grilled chicken, sweet corn on the cob, & LaLa's homemade mac & cheese for dinner. Again, pure heaven...

Only downside was that she had to leave post-bunny but before church on Easter morning. I don't recommend this, unless you want hysterically bawling sugar-glazed children.