My Mom's Visit

So this is literally 3-4 weeks old, but life has been busy for us with 3. But my wonderful mother visited to help us out and stayed for 10 days. She arrived a few days after Jane was born and was such a big help! In looking through the pictures I am absolutely appalled that we don't have any pictures (not a single one!) of my mom holding little Jane! Crazy, sad, disappointing, disgusting, etc.... I know! Anyway, here are some pics of her time with us... even if she's not necessarily in many of them (sorry mom!)

Mom and I took the kids to a local park one of the days and the kids had fun walking around the little pond and over the bridges of the various streams. It was a beautiful day!

Then Nathan discovered how fun it was to throw rocks into the water and was set for the rest of the time that we were there. He just loved this and was so excited to find new rocks that he could throw.

Sarah liked this equally as much and showed Nathan how much fun it was to throw the rocks into a bigger body of water.

The night before Mom flew home we drove up to my Aunt and Uncle's house (Rick and Laurie) in Fruitland, ID to stay the night and spend some time there. Sarah and Nathan have been there a handful of times and as soon as we got there they both made a bee-line for the basement and the massive toy collection. I don't think these toys get used as much as they used to but Nathan and Sarah love that area of the house. We usually have to check on them to make sure they're both alive, hydrated or let them know it's time to eat. My two cousins Claire and Kade enjoy spending time with Sarah and Nathan as well.
Here's my cousin Emma showing off the pizza's that were made that night. They sure look good, Huh!
I don't think my Aunt Laurie knows that I got this pic of her, but she and Rick are such wonderful hosts and so fun to be with. We really appreciated our time there.

The next morning we made a Costco run and then went to the Zoo in Boise (Thanks to Mary's siblings for the Zoo pass!). The kids had a great time and enjoyed being able to see the animals... it's not the greatest zoo in the world but kids are sometimes just as excited to see the squirrel's and geese in the park as they are to see the actual caged animals, so it works just fine for now. Here's a cameo of my mom as well. Sarah was so excited to use some of the money that she earned from winning a coloring contest on the carousel and got to ride it two times consecutively. I took plenty of pics but here are two of them.

Sarah enjoyed pushing Nathan around in the stroller all by herself, though she lamented a few times that he was getting "bigger".
Nathan's patented head first slide, with one problem: this slide is "built for speed" and doesn't have as much drag as the typical slide at a park. The result: Nathan seriously went launching face first into the woodchips and I was surprised that he wasn't bleeding, though he was a little shaken. He reverted to the traditional form of sliding after the initial spill but then was back to his old ways after a few turns but he learned to use his hands as brakes. It was cute.
Last fall when we last came here this slide(a giraffe, you slide down the neck/head) was under construction, so the kids were excited to use it this time. Sarah was able to consume her apple while she was making trips up and down the slide.

In addition to all the stuff above, mom was just such a big help in general. Mary seemed to really enjoy spending time with her and being able to have someone to talk with about all kinds of stuff. Mom helped a ton on the garden by prepping it for planting and also did a lot of weeding while the kids would play outside. She, of course, was a big help in cooking and keeping the house clean and she totally took care of Sarah and Nathan so that Mary could rest and take care of Jane. And there was certainly no shortage of offers to be up with Jane in the middle of the night. It's so wonderful to have my Mom come and be there with us and just be so willing to help in whatever way she can. It was wonderful to have her and everyone was sad to see her go! Thanks Mom!