Dear Friends and Family,
We've been wonderfully busy since our return from vacation. I made it home in time to join up with my neighborhood moms for a Mom's Night Out. We always have fun when we get together!
The kids started spring break on Thursday before Easter. To lure them into feeling like their Spring Break was going to be awesome, I let them have friends over for the day. We started at a park near the beach and then we headed to Six Flags! The kids were all so excited. We had free buddy passes so our friends were ecstatic about getting to go too. On Friday it was a different story - I declared war against the weeds in our yard and God bless my kids, because they were eager to join the battle with me!
Unfortunately, Will's allergies have been horrendous, so he happily played with worms, slugs, and insects while Claire and I did the real work. Claire was so cute. She said, "Mom, let's surprise Daddy and get all of it done while he's at work!" I said, "Great idea!"
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| While we were working, the yard waste truck came by and we got to empty all of our full cans! We filled six cans with weeds! (Will smiles with his bug cup! "Mom, can I keep them as pets?") |
We found another thing in the garden that I didn't want as a pet - a baby snake! Yikes!
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| See it up top? It was so small, the head was about the size of my thumb nail and it's whole body could have fit in the palm of my hand. |
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| Will's banana slug is trying to escape the bug cup! |
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| We took a gardening break to dye Easter Eggs! |
Thanks to my helpers, Chris returned home to an almost weed free yard. The following day, we finished weeding and mulched all the beds! Whew! That was a job! (Mom and Dad...we missed you! Claire kept saying, "It's just too bad we don't have Mimi and Poppy! This would be so much easier!")
Saturday was also the Blessing of the Baskets at church. Claire and I took a break from our work in the yard to join the ceremony. It's actually a Polish tradition, and since my good friend Maggie is Polish, we enjoy it now too.
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| We had a very small crowd and Deacon is great with the kids. So he said, "Let's have the kids do the readings and they can bless the baskets with the holy water too!" |
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| Claire was excited to get to read the blessing of the pastries/cupcakes! |
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| Our group with our baskets! |
Lisa and Taylor (standing on the end at the right of the picture) suggested we meet back up for dinner later. We ended up going to their beautiful new home in our neighborhood to grill. Chris, Colin and Kevin even got to work on an electrical project at their pier. (A relaxing evening with friends was just what Chris and I needed after a day in the yard.) Everyone brought food and we had a little feast.
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| What a view! |
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| The moms walked down to the end of the pier to enjoy a glass of wine! |
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| Meanwhile, the guys did some wiring work on the boat lift. |
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| Our sweet girls: Frances, Claire, and Taylor |
We had a very quiet Easter compared to years past. When the kids got up and saw that the Easter Bunny hadn't come yet, I told them we should go out in the neighborhood and see if we could find him. You will be surprised to learn that when we returned home, the Easter Bunny came! I said, "Maybe he was waiting to make sure we wouldn't see him!"
After Easter Mass and our Easter lunch, the kids and I decided to go for a walk. We ended up at another friend/neighbor's house who lives on the water and the next thing I knew, the kids were in swim suits and jumping in the bay!
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| Hanging with my peeps! |
Monday only got more exciting when my dear friend, Stephanie Catalano Bogenschutz, (who was in D.C. for the White House Easter Egg Roll) came for a visit! Our kids had fun playing together and we had fun catching up.
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| Will, Claire and Bode at the pier! |
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| Beach race! |
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| Best High School Buddies Forever! |
I hope everyone else had an amazing Easter break! Claire makes her first communion this weekend, so please say a little prayer for her! She is doing a reading during the petitions and she's very excited! At Easter Mass, I said to her just before communion, "Claire! This is the last time you go up with your arms crossed. A week from today, you will be able to get communion with me and Daddy!" Claire just glowed!
Have a great week!
Love,
Bethie
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