Mother's Day Re-Do + Jam-Packed Weekend

On actual Mother's Day, all three of us were under the weather, so we just went into survival mode to get through the day.  We postponed our planned activities to this past weekend :)  Our tradition has been to go to the zoo on Mother's Day (we even kept this going when we were in New Orleans a couple of years ago!).  So, Saturday morning we headed off to the Zoo!  We had perfect timing and got to see LOTS of animals in action and a few animals we hadn't seen in our last few visits.  Jackson always is excited to head to the zoo, and he had a great time :)

The otters were fantastically playful, and Jackson LOVES getting right up to the window to watch their tricks.  He was more than happy to pose with the statue of them!

 And to give them hugs :)

 Watching the elephants.  The elephant area at the zoo is really nice, and the elephants were being pretty funny!

 My wish has finally come true: whenever Jackson saw an animal statue, he ASKED to take a picture with it!  YES!

 The pandas haven't ever been out when we've taken Jackson to the zoo, but Saturday they were!  You can see one just to the right of Josh's head :)

 Checking on the lions.  Now that Jackson has seen "The Lion King," we were able to tell him that the meerkats in the small mammal house were just like Timon!  He didn't seem that impressed :(  Jackson's new favorite animal was the clouded leopard.  He begged to go back to see him a second time before we left--that wasn't quite as impressive since he was just sleeping in a tree, but that's ok!

We came home from the zoo and Jackson took a nice, long nap!  When Jackson woke up, he had friends to play with right away!  Mary Jo, Mark, James, and Bobby came over to play and have dinner.  These boys were SO excited to see each other!  

What better to play with for two friends than trains, cars, trucks, and more cars?

 Bobby found a seat just his size!

 It was a gorgeous evening, so we ate outside!  Jackson and James got to be the cool kids and sit by themselves.

 Silly faces!

 A little time with the pirate table before it was time say, "Goodbye!"

I can't believe I didn't get any pictures from the rest of the weekend :(  Sunday I redeemed one of my coupons for 24-hours off duty!  I didn't plan super-well though, and I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself.  I did sleep in a bit and go to the grocery store by myself.  LOL  Josh and Jackson took a fun walk in the woods and had lots of fun playing :)  After Jackson's nap we headed to a couple furniture stores in search of new couches!  We think we may have settled on a set...  We also went to Qdoba for dinner to round out our re-do of Mother's Day the day before--it was DELICIOUS!!!

Monday was wild and crazy!  We started the day off bright and early with a check-up at the doctor (everything looks and sounds great!).  We had a few moments at home before the Bascoms arrived.  Josh and David left to go golfing with Stuart and Rick, and Sarah and I loaded all three kids in the van to make a run to Michael's and then Chik-fil-a for lunch :)  Everyone did technically nap, but it was not a great nap for anyone :(  We did have a few moments to sit down during naptime and learn how to make ADORABLE hair bows from Rachel!!!  Obviously, we won't be needing those accessories HERE, but I thought it would be fun to learn how to make them and give them as gifts!  We DO have plenty of little girls in our life!  We had invited the Sacbibits and Rooneys to come over for dinner once the guys were done golfing.  In the span of about 15 minutes Sarah packed her gear and kids up to be ready to go as soon as the guys got back, Karen, Kiera, and Owen arrived, Rachel and all three of her kids were leaving to go back to their house (only to come back a bit later to join us for dinner!), and the guys showed up!  It was quite challenging to keep track of who was coming and going--phew!  I think everyone had a great time--the kids definitely did :)  Josh grilled some delicious burgers and hot dogs, and then we had lots of yummy sides to go with everything!  Unfortunately, it rained ALL day (including during golf), so we had to stay inside for eating and playing, but it was still a good time.   After everyone left, Josh and I were chatting and realized neither of us could believe our doctor appointment had been the same day--LOL!  Phew!