Mother's Day 2014

This year was a great Mother's Day. What better way to celebrate this day than to have your daughter's birthday ON Mother's Day? And to have your own mother in town for the occasion? 

The preschool celebrated the moms the week before. I was in Adelyn's class on Thursday and James's class on Friday. 

 Adelyn's teachers had us decorate a cute picture frame and then provided a lovely brunch, all made from scratch by her teacher. We ate on crystal plates and were given gifts that I'll always treasure (flower pots painted with their fingerprints). 

James's mothers day was equally sweet. We had a yummy breakfast and got a cute picture holder. 

The past 2 weeks have been straight up crazy with all of the celebrations- Mother's Day, both kids' birthdays celebrated at school, Adelyn's actual birthday, end of year parties at school, PreK graduation, end of outreach church celebration....all in addition to the regular stuff (tutoring, soccer, dance, etc). I know this doesn't go with the whole "Mother's Day" subject. I really just mean to say that May is a busy time of year! I am so glad that we have this much to celebrate and thankful that my kids are healthy enough to enjoy these things. BUT, I am tired! :)

 So....on the actual Mother's Day, it was Adelyn's birthday. My mom and I surprised her with breakfast at the American Girl Doll Bistro. I figured this would be a treat for us all. My mom and I don't have to cook and Adelyn dines at her favorite place. She thought we were going to Waffle House (and was pretty pumped about that). Imagine her face when she saw that red star!

 Saige and Adelyn are both looking especially beautiful. 

 The food was actually pretty good! Adelyn had blueberry pancakes. They even brought Saige a little plate and cup, which Adelyn fed her on. Adorable. 

 TRIED to get a good picture with Adelyn and James. A'int happenin'. 

 So this is what we did instead. 

And how cute is James in that hat??!!

We went to eat at Tam's Tavern with Seth's parents and sister's family. After naps, we ate dinner at Seth's grandfather's. I think any day that involves that much good food is a good day! :) I am thankful for all the females that made this day possible- my mom, Seth's sweet mom, and my sweet daughter (who was born on the day before Mother's Day 5 years ago!). 

Adelyn's 5th birthday

My little girl, who is seeming not-so-little anymore, turned FIVE on Sunday, May 11th.  Happy birthday, sweet Adelyn!

We started off her birthday weekend by celebrating at school on Friday. I brought in cupcakes and Capri-suns. 

 My parents came in town Saturday afternoon and gave her presents from them and my brother

Her party was at 4:15 at Sweet and Sassy (which she calls Sweet Ms. Sassy....better than her friend who accidently called it Sweet and Sexy! Ha, ha!). This is a girly-girls DREAM party. Adelyn chose the princess theme. This allowed all the girls to put on a princess dress, get their hair in an updo, get make up, and get their fingers painted. All of this was followed by a walk down the runway and a dance party.

 Little Ms. getting her fingers painted.

Finished product: princess bun, PINK eye shadow, and entirely too much lipstick. I personally think she looked much prettier before she came. :) I think they just matched the eye shadow to the girls' dresses. Pink eye shadow is not the most flattering choice.

 Here is Princess Adelyn walking down the runway. They asked the girls some questions beforehand and announced the answers. Adelyn said that in her kingdom, people would be required to eat ice cream everyday.

The girls 

 

The cake (Frozen)

 Let them eat cake!

 Family shot in front of Sweet and Sassy

 Afterwards we ate at Ichiban, a Japanese steakhouse.

Then we came home and she dove into her gifts!

 

On Sunday morning, her actual birthday, she opened five gifts from Seth and me

The Frozen castle! Funny story....you can't find this thing anywhere. I was able to find one at a Walmart in Charlotte (kinda sorta not really close to where my parents live) in a pretty sketchy part of town. My sweet mom "risked her life" going to get this thing. 

My parents gave Adelyn roller skates! Here she is Sunday afternoon trying them out!

On Sunday night, Seth's parents gave Adelyn a NEW American Girl doll. Now she and Emily both have Marie-Grace. These are two very excited girls!

Adelyn is a good mix of introvert and extrovert. She can be a little shy, but warms up quickly and then is silly, sweet, and loyal. She loves her American Girl dolls, books, and pretending 24/7. She likes to play outside, but not necessarily sports. Her reading is coming along beautifully. Adelyn is a definite rule-follower and dislikes being in any sort of trouble. She has a heart of gold and I am proud that I get to be her mom. Thank you, Lord for this precious  girl!

Monterey, CA

Seth had a race at Mazda Raceway (what used to be Laguna Seca) in Monterey, CA on Saturday, May 3rd. Seth, his parents, and I flew out on Wednesday. My sweet mom kept the kids until Sunday. I LOVE going to California. The weather was fantastic and it was nice to take a break! 

We flew into San Francisco and made the drive down. We stopped in Watsonville, where a lot of our produce comes from. Picture fields and fields of berries and vegetables! We ended up going to this produce stand again on our way back to San Fran. They have these homemade fig bars that are to die far. The produce was SO much cheaper than what we pay at home! 

Our hotel was on the ocean. On our first night, Seth and I had a drink before dinner and relaxed. Excuse the glasses....I either had pink eye or bad allergies this day. 

Thursday morning, I went for a BEAUTIFUL run! This trail goes as far as you can see in either direction. The flowers that can grow in this area are gorgeous. They have the perfect climate and things grow effortlessly. 

Seth didn't have to be at the track until later, so we had a little date breakfast at Trailside Cafe. YUM!

I spent the day in Carmel shopping with his parents. Carmel is charming. Everything is way out of my price range, but it's fun to look in all the boutiques. 

On Friday morning, Brenda and I meandered through the streets near the ocean. How cool is this floral tunnel?? We went to the track that afternoon and watched practice and qualifying (Dan qualified the car in 20th)

Saturday Fan Walk just before the race

This is pretty much how the race looked the last half. Seth battled these cars and did awesome!

 Go #82!

 Seth finished 6th. It was a great race! I am normally chasing around the kids and trying to watch the race in between. It was nice to focus just on the race. This is my favorite track to watch from because you're standing on this high hill watching the corkscrew on one side (where it feels like the cars are in your face) and the entire track on the other side. 

After the race, we drove back to San Francisco. We stopped at Phil's Fish Market for a delicious dinner. It's pretty fresh!

Great way to end the trip! We all had so much fun. We flew out early Sunday morning and let me just tell you, I was ready to see Adelyn and James!

I have to give a shout out to my mom for doing an amazing job with the kids. She took them to school, Adelyn had mini-jazz and a soccer game/soccer pictures, she took James to the library, she took them both to a dog show and the park, and they had some awesome quality time with Nana. It's nice to get away and know your children are in great hands. Thanks Mom!