Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend Justin had the chance to go to the Indy 500 with a couple friends.  He really enjoyed it.  He took some videos on his phone of the race...which Ethan asks to watch over and over :)  This video is the start of the race so...you can see the pace car at the beginning and the cars obviously aren't up to full speed yet.

Since Daddy went to the race, we had to watch it at home.  Ethan LOVED it!

Worn out from the annual Memorial Day Flag Ceremony & breakfast that started at 8am.  

First time eating cereal

Ethan said he wanted his picture taken since I was taking them of Claire eating :)

We had a Memorial Day cookout with Friends and the Missionaries- Justin & Steve at the grill

Kids in the sprinkler

Mary Mary Quite Contrary...

How does your Garden Grow?

Tomatoes, Sugar-snap Peas, Lettuce, Carrots, Onions

Justin's potato Plot: Red & Yukon gold

Weeding in our corn

Ethan and Wesley "helping" in the corn and cucumbers

Butternut squash, yellow squash; green, yellow & banana peppers, eggplant

Conversations with a Toddler

Party Hat

Getting dressed in the morning Ethan puts his shirt bunched up on his head and says, "Look at ME!"
Brittney, "Nice hat".
Ethan, "It's my Party Hat"

What?  Where does he get this stuff?

Ethan as Mr Potato Head

Camping

Over Lunch I say, "Ethan do you want to go play at the Park after Lunch"
Ethan Whining, "No Mommy NO, no park..." me in shock that he doesn't want to go to the park, "You don't want to go to the park Ethan?"
Ethan, still whining, "Noooo, I wan go camping"

That's my boy!

The next day I say, "Ethan we're going to go to Wesley's house today and play"
Ethan, "No Wesley's House! I wan go camping"

Hahaha! I'm sensing a theme:)  I think we may have to do a backyard camp out to hold him over until our camping trip the end of June.

Happily Ever After

Ethan has recently found an interest in fairytales and recognizes that princesses wear crowns.  So handing me a clip-on bow for Claire's crazy hair he says,

"Here Mom, make Claire a princess!"

Apparently he thinks if you have anything on your head, you're a princess.  So now if he sees me or Claire with anything on our head, like a clip or headband, he calls us princesses all day :)

Life of Something Like It

Playing with Claire

After coming in from playing in the sprinkler, Ethan noticed a fly in the house.  He HATES flies, but lucky for him, our dog loves to chase them and eat them.

She has to have something in her mouth at all times...recently her foot has been her most popular choice

napping with daddy

playing with the weedwacker headphones

at his first dentist appointment, showing off his toothbrush they gave him...don't worry that's a sugar-free sucker they gave him :)

hanging with mommy

putting a ball in the ball maze at the children's museum

Strawberry Fields Forever

 We took the family strawberry picking at a local strawberry farm.  After picking 14lbs for strawberries we headed to their indoor store to enjoy some ice cream as a family.  We turned our 14lbs of strawberries into freezer jams and froze some of the strawberries for pies and smoothies.  After heading home from the farm, we decided to enjoy our spoils that night with "breakfast for dinner" that included our freshly made strawberry jam, and a drink of strawberry lemonade.  Yum!  Another fun-filled family day :)

heading out to the strawberry field to pick

Ethan was quite the picker.  Loved looking for the color red and , surprisingly , didn't even eat any off the plant.

helping daddy cut strawberries...really just trying to get daddy to be mr potato head

Ethan stirring in pectin

Ethan loved mashing the strawberries

strawberry jam

We threw in some raspberries and  blackberries to make some forest berry jam...Yummy!

Enjoying our spoils with our "breakfast for dinner" of eggs, bacon,  toast with strawberry jam, and even strawberry lemonade.

Who Do You Think You Are?

William Benson Solomon Caton

(1872-1959)

Turns out William Caton is my Great, Great, Great Uncle.  I discovered this picture and information about him in a history book from my hometown.  William was one of 8 children, having 5 sisters...it's amazing he even survived his childhood with all those sisters :)  William established the firm "William & Son"" in 1903 and became a prominent figure in my hometown of Terre Haute, but most importantly a man of honesty and hardwork.  Here are some excerpts from the book "History of Vigo County"...

      "William Caton & Son, who are engaged in the general contracting business at Terre Haute, are well-known to the building interests of the city.... building up his reputation by honest skillful work, until he has reached a position of eminence in this field at Terre Haute...His firm is one of the leaders in Terre Haute, and employs 90 men during busy season...Mr Caton is the owner of a fine farm of 240 acres in Prairie Creek Township, Vigo County.  This farm is one of the best in the county, and has been brought to a high state of productiveness.  He has it stocked with pure bred Big Type Poland China swine, and is also a cattle feeder."  

No wonder me and my brother have an affinity for swine and country living.  We even showed pigs in 4-H.  It's amazing to learn of all the commonalities we have with our ancestors, creating a better understanding of who we are today.  Our family is continuing to learn more about our ancestors through our genealogy work and can't wait to discover more personal stories, like this one.         

Celebrating Motherhood

We kicked off the Mother's Day weekend with some family camping with our church.  This was our first family camping trip since having Claire.  We all had a blast.  Saturday was our big Mother's Day celebration; we planted a new tree in our yard and then Justin and Ethan washed my car as a present for Mother's day.  We then headed to Indy to meet up with my mom and grandma for a Mother's day lunch.  It's always great to be around family.  Then Justin took me to the local bookstore to walk around while he walked around with the kiddos.  I have always LOVED bookstores and don't get to visit them often with two young kids...it's hard to get that relaxing feeling when you're chasing kids around.  As crazy as it sounds, that was probably my favorite gift from Justin.  We then headed to Coldstone for ice cream that we ate sitting in our car...when a ginormous SPIDER jumped next to my arm on the car door.  I am DEATHLY afraid of spiders so without even realizing it, I dove into the backseat between the car seats (where there's really no room for an adult) and apparently kept screaming "Oh God! Oh God!" repeatedly at the top of lungs.  Justin killed the spider and then had to tell me what I had done...I didn't even realized I had acted that way because I was paralyzed with fear.  So after apologies to all for my use of the G word, we all had a good laugh at my ridiculous behavior :) hahaha!  We then decided at the last minute to see the AVENGERS.  Ethan LOVES superheroes, but this movie wasn't really child-appropriate so I spent the majority of the time out in the hall with the kids.  When the movie was over, Justin said "Sorry. Some mother's day movie, huh", since I didn't get to see the movie.  To which I replied, "well, I felt like a mother" :)   It was a wonderful day!  On Sunday Justin and Ethan made me breakfast in bed, crepes with my favorite filling, greek yogurt and fresh strawberries.  That night Justin made our traditional Mother's Day dinner, my favorite, Lemon Chicken.  I am so grateful for all the thoughtfulness, time, and energy my hubby put forth to make this a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.  It was a wonderful example for our children to see daddy put forth so much effort to celebrate motherhood so they can understand the importance and divine nature of such a role, and hopefully carry that respect and appreciation into adulthood.   

Now....what to do for Father's Day :)

Family Camping Trip      

Daddy and Ethan washing Mommy's car

Great Gma Elsie and Claire at Mother's Day lunch

Mimi, Ethan, and Claire at Mother's Day lunch

Breakfast in bed- Crepes with my favorite filling, Greek yogurt and strawberries