Mother's Day Weekend

Mother's Day weekend was a whirlwind!

I'm still going to the gym 4-6 times a week and meeting with a personal trainer named Dominque who has been helping me perfect my form for my big lifts and teaching me various other exercises to do to increase my overall strength and ability. I love it! 

Here I am at 38 weeks! I am so over being pregnant. They have me scheduled for an induction May 16th (I'll be 39 weeks and 1 day). I can't wait to meet this little baby of mine!

Lance and Scott rode in the Cap to Cap 50-mile ride! Lance did a fantastic job, especially considering he was one week out from being hit by a car. We ended up renting him a sweet bike from a local bike shop--it was super light which made it even more fun to ride.

I love that Lance can share this hobby with his dad. I know he will have fond memories of the hours spent together. It truly is priceless.  

We picked Lance up from Charlottesville after the ride late Saturday afternoon and drove up to Ashburn to celebrate with Grandmom and PopPop. The kids helped me make this cute planter for Grandmom. She has been loving plants lately and her house feels like a jungle, so we figured this would be perfect.

The boys did handprints (they each picked the paint colors) and the girls did butterflies with their feet. The paint is enamel that you bake to make permanent, so hopefully it'll last for years to come.

I love the way it turned out! I may have to make one for me (if I could ever keep any plant alive). 

Our attempts at a picture with all the kids:

I can't believe we will be adding our caboose in a few short days! 

George broke out his creativity skills and built a grill so he could make me my favorite ribeye.

George has ruined restaurant steak for me. I have yet to find one that is as flavorful, juicy, and tender as the steaks George cooks.

This sweet girl raided Grandmom's garden and brought me these pretty flowers.

In years past, we would celebrate with my mom, too, but she has since moved to New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Jason and Amy were in town and made sure she felt special. All the kids pitched in to get her an Apple watch and a beautiful robe.

Since Lexi was born on Father's Day, I was hoping this baby would be born on Mother's Day, but the day came and went without a baby. I guess we'll just have to wait for the 16th!

Happy Mother's Day! I am so grateful I get to be a mom to these 5, almost 6 kids of mine. They make me crazy and give me more reasons to be happy than I ever dreamed. I can't imagine a better life than the one I have now. Often when I'm out at the store with all the kids, I'll get looks or comments, most often "wow! Your hands are full!" Yes, they are full. Full of love, full of fun, full of tears, full of hard moments and heartbreak, and full of joy. I wouldn't trade a piece of it for the world!

Goats, pigs, chickens--and a bicycle accident

We were invited by some friends to visit a cute little farm with Cole, Lily, and Lexi one Saturday and had a wonderful time learning about the animals with Farmer Tom.

Lexi may have been the most excited of the kids. She LOVED every single animal she saw.

First stop, feeding the goats and turkeys.

After Farmer Tom showed the kids how to feed without getting nibbled, the kids went to town.

She was totally not fazed by the huge goats, although I'm not sure she ever figured out they weren't actually small horses.

There were some baby piglets next door with a momma feeding them. They are so cute at this age.

We then went to a larger pen and fed the adolescent pigs. This was quite the experience, as the pigs had no manners whatsoever and would push and shove until you gave them food.

Lexi was still unfazed 

Piggy back ride!

Cole was his quiet self, carefully taking it all in and enjoying being with the animals.

Turkeys!

Lily loved being with friends.

I think Cole liked the chickens best. He really enjoyed trying to touch their feathers and collect eggs.

If she could have, Lily would have brought every single feather home with her.

Love my kiddos! I really had a good time hanging out with my younger three.

We even got to hold a baby chick!

Last stop was the bunnies. 

After learning about the animals, we had a picnic with our friends the Palmers from next door. This chicken was extremely friendly and stole a lot of the kids' food!

While we were petting the bunnies at the end, I got the scariest phone call. Lance had been hit by a car while cycling with his dad and was on his way to the hospital in an ambulance. He had been trying to cross a road at a crossway on the bike trail and the car wasn't paying attention and ran right into him. Being two hours away, I was going a little crazy. Thankfully, he was relatively okay--no broken bones, no concussion (I LOVE helmets!), and no blood. Just a really bad bruise where his leg got sandwiched between his bike and the car that hit him.

His bike was also pretty totaled with a taco'd rim and who knows what else. Lance and Scott are scheduled to ride in a 50 mile bike ride called Cap to Cap starting in Richmond in a week, so we'll see how he recovers. He's a tough kid and doesn't seem too shaken, so I'm hopeful his recovery will be quick.

May flowers and tree swings

This sums up how we feel this spring with two boys in soccer with games at separate fields each Saturday:

George and I usually split the games, with me going early for Cole's and George taking Jude to his later.  

Cole has really taken to soccer! He seems to enjoy it and is actually okay at it. (A big deal since none of our kids seem overly athletic.)

He's doing Hot Shots again and while he is one of the oldest on the team, it's been good for him to learn how to not get upset when the ball doesn't make it into the goal every time or someone steals his ball. He's getting there!

As a mom, it seems like my kids are always at each other's throats. I remember as a kid not understanding why my parents would get upset when we argued with each other since the next second we'd be fine and playing again. We would fight, but we loved each other and enjoyed being together. I need to remind myself that the loud and the crazy is easy to hear and see, so it seems like that's all there is, but the sweet moments happen too--just quieter and off to the side.

Our dogwood is finally in bloom! This tree is a bit sporadic, some years fully blooming and other years growing a spattering of blossoms. This year was amazing! This picture does not do it justice, but it was a joy to have the lovely flowers in our yard.

Bus stop tree-climbing!

Popsicles and swings--the best afternoon!

One afternoon we met up with one of Cole's buddies from school and had a great time playing at a park. The kids all disappeared into the woods adjacent and spent a couple hours building forts and swinging on this long vine (?). It took Cole and Jude a few tries, but they both got it!

I love the spring and the lack of bugs! It makes playing outside so much more enjoyable!

At 38 weeks, I am now VERY ready to have this baby! I've been feeling good, some braxton hicks, but nothing too exciting. They have offered to induce me on May 16th (I'll be 39 weeks and 1 day) and I took them up on the offer. My mom isn't coming until after the baby is born, so we need to be able to plan childcare for all the other kiddos and George can plan his work schedule. So--May 16th, baby! Now all we need is a name. Here is a short list of a few we've discussed:

Vivian

Jovie (suggested by Lily)

Maya

Violet

Scarlett

Zoey

We want to use Ann as the middle name. Lance likes the name Valerie, too. George and I aren't feeling strongly about any of the names, so I guess we'll see!