Just Give The Bird A Pepsi Already!

Dear Carter,
Curse you blogger! I had a HUGE post about the aviary written last night, and when I went to publish it last night the whole thing was lost. So, now you get the shortened version.

After the trauma that occurred when we lost Polly and Popcorn's eggs, I wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to go to the Tracy Aviary , but the trip was already planned so off we went.

When we turned a corner, your sister was thrilled to see this crazy peacock.
Apparently he REALLY wanted a Pepsi because he kept bashing his head into the machine over and over again. At one point he even bodyslammed it. It was quite amusing to watch, and I did take some video, but it has to stay under wraps because it is going to be footage in Mikey's summer blockbuster movie appropriately called "Beefcake".
After watching the peacock go crazy, your brother and sister fed some apples to these beautiful birds.
It was a lot of fun to see all of the different kinds of birds.
And I smiled a little when I saw these little babies following their mommy.

Eight Days

Dear Carter,

Oh my goodness! I can't believe that it's really been eight days since I last blogged. Life has been simply CRAZY with making sure that I'm kepping your brother and sister busy. It's no excuse....I feel so guilty when I don't work on your blog. It's one of my ways that I take time out of my day to remember you. Not that I really need to take time out to remember you because you are on my mind every second of every day, but it still feels good to do something for you.

I cleaned up your gravesite today. We took some of our fresh flowers from the backyard and put them in your vase. I hope that you like them!

I've been doing a lot of reading time with Mikey and Jovie lately. We got library cards, and have been going once a week to pick out new books. I always thought that I preferred buying books to keep from the thrift store, but I must admit that I'm now getting hooked on the borrowing. It's really cool to see what types of books interest them, and see their curiosity build. These are some of my favorite parts of being a mommy, and I'm definitely trying to linger on each moment!

Tomorrow I'm taking your brother and sister to the splash pad. This will be the first time we've gone this year. I hope to update tomorrow night with pictures, and also catch up with some of our blog friends.

Goodbye On Father's Day

Dear Carter,

I know that today had to be tough on your daddy. I can't believe that this is his second Father's Day without you. It brings some comfort to know that you are up there spending time with his daddy I'm sure. I hope you guys are having one heck of a party!

We had a bittersweet day today. Our priest, Monsignor Bonnell, gave his last mass this morning. He is retiring and moving to Ohio. It is so tough for us to imagine our church life without him there to shepherd us. I wrote a post about him before: Goodbye. Your Daddy and I attended his retirement party a few weeks ago, and it was really neat to hear all of the stories from people who his teachings have impacted.
The message that he wanted to leave us with is to always ALWAYS do as God would want you to do. Of course this is always the rule we try to live by, but to hear it put so bluntly has made me continue to try and focus on this in my every day life. As he finished his sermon today, he quoted Sir Thomas More by stating "Farewell, my dear child, and pray for me, and I shall for you and all your friends, that we may merrily meet in Heaven."
I'm looking forward to the day that I merrily meet you in Heaven.

Tiny Dancer

Dear Carter,
Here are some pictures from Jovie's dance recital last week. She did a fantastic job! I love seeing how far she's come since we started dance classes. She started out by showing off her tumbling skills. I didn't get many pictures of that part because I had to be ready for her costume change. Then it was on to her dance.

She's so adorable!! Even big brother Mikey was proud of her. Thank you so much to her teacher, and one of my very favorite friends, Stephanie for turning our girl into a dancing superstar!

Too bad little Jovie is one sick kid today. Hopefully she feels a bit better tomorrow.

The Fire Department

Dear Carter,
I'm sure that post title might have gotten some attention! I was just uploading some pictures from our trip to the Aviary today (which was planned before the trauma of yesterday), and I realized that I hadn't blogged about a couple of important events yet.
So here we go, prepare for a couple of days of catch up!

During the last week of school, it is tradition for our city's fire department to spray down the students. The weather had been pretty bad that week, but they still went through with it. We were lucky that the weather did warm up a bit for at least that part of the day. Your brother was so cute and would shepherd Jovie through the crowd. Most of the time he was either holding her hand, or had his arm around her. I just love that brotherly love!

They got drenched!!

They kept on running over to me, and then would go back in for another round. All of the kids thought this was the coolest thing ever!

Our weather has been so off and on, that it wasn't until late last week that your brother and sister got to play in the water again. They FINALLY got the hang of the Slip and Slide.

Let the Summer water fun begin!