Mother's Day in The Vern

F A M I L Y D A Y ! 

We road-tripped it north a few hours today, only to arrive at my parents' and be cattled right back into the car for the short backtrack trip to Foundation Park [aka Mt. Vernon's new pride & joy!]

We picknicked. We hiked a little. We laughed, we played... and we fished.
'Twas a day better cataloged via photo than my words ;)

quality time with pappy & nana

feet & family :) 

my better half

lookin' thrilled...

these two made a makeshift fishing pole

Eventually, we made it back to the house to clean up a little and put together the dinner menu for the rest of the family who were due in: Heidi, Jonathan, Emmie & Hanny.

Before the family rolled in, we got to see the progress of Mom & Dad's work on the train set. To say I'm impressed is a huge understatement:

The family rolled in...

All I know right now is that I'm spent, so I know Sydni's well past her limit. It's been such a beautiful day, and I am one content, tired and grateful mama.

Gooooood Night!

xo | cmd

Dad's Birthday Bash

Loaded post, heeeere we go!

Today was Dad's birthday celebration! I'll cut to the chase, since it's been a long day and I want to make sure I get everything in here ;)


First things first. Yoga.
There is something I can't translate into words about how... perfect it is here in the mornings.

#yogaeverydamnday

Once the rest of the family was up and at it, we started in on breakfast preparation. Dad wanted birthday pancakes, so he led the way alongside the best little helper in the house.

Soon Nana came and scooted him from kitchen to patio table setup, and consequently picked up where he left off in the pancake mixing. After all, she made the stuff...

This was Sydni's reaction when I told her that the entire family was coming, and that we'd voted her responsible for making a "bajiiiiiiillion" pancakes:

"uhhhh.. no way, mom"

^My adorable little mad scientist!

Moving on.. Did I tell you Sydni and my parents have formed a band? It's uhhh.. a joyous sound - we'll just put it that way, haha. Just kidding. They love every second of the ruckus..

Nana & Pappy even purchased water balloons to add to the fun. We never actually got around to the water part, but Sydni showed us how to properly inflate and flash-deflate them.

moments before she let go & sent it flying!

It wasn't long before my sister, nephew, niece & great nieces [whaaaat?!.. yeah] arrived. From there on out until the time they left, it was picture time, badminton time and celebration time.

emmie & sydni
model & photographer in training!

ya gotta start somewhere... ;)

my sister heidi & her granddaughters, along with my mini-me

joyful hanny!
precious little great-niece of mine ♥

sweet moment between heidi & hanny

silly sister candid moments

the big girls emmie & sydni chasing bubbles around the yard

mom & rob

sweet little hanny

my compassionate little girl & spanky, the 21-year-old cat
we adopted as a kitten, when i was a child ♥

lady cornhuskers [minus the other two big girls]

my better half ♥♥

♥ sisters.

no makeup, no fuss, no worries.
♥

Last but certainly not least [& disappointingly sans Sydni, who insisted that she wanted no more pictures. In her defense, she was a trooper for the rest of the day!] - the celebration of my dad. Happy birthday, to you! We LOVE you! 

happy birthday, dad!

I love this family of mine. I'm still not over the fact that Sydni wasn't in that last picture, but she sure made Pappy's weekend by being there for his birthday party.

We're en route back to Cincinnati now and looking to take it easy for the rest of the night. It feels like a Sunday but I'm thankful we still have one more day. Here's to the rest of the weekend!

xo | cmd

HOME!

I'M HOME! 

mtv, ohio!

Welcome to good old Mount Vernon, Ohio (: This is the first and only place that's ever really been home to me, and now that I only live a couple hours away, it's again becoming a more frequent check-in for weekend plans. Sydni and I loaded up this morning and headed off to Nana & Pappy's for a day celebrating Dad's birthday. 

best. roadtrip buddy. ever!

We pulled up to the house, and almost immediately, I felt the stress of a long week and the disappointment of Rob not being able to join us slightly subside. This house will never disappoint me. There's a Miranda Lambert song [House That Built Me] that is beyond appropriate and applicable when it comes to me and this house.. 


home.

"Up those stairs, in that little back bedroom.. is where I did my homework and I learned to play guitar... And I bet you didn't know, that under that live oak, my favorite dog is buried in the yard" - Miranda Lambert, 'House That Built Me'

*Sigh. Being home, in this house, is one of the most relaxing things I think I'll ever know in this world. This is the house my parents built, from the ground up. I grew up in this house, and for every line of that Miranda song, I truly do believe this house built me more than I ever built anything around this house. 

i can never get enough of this place! back deck sittin'.... (:

Sydni and I took a nice mid-morning/early afternoon nap before the family started showing up; we spent the afternoon together catching up, playing games and of course celebrating Dad's birthday weekend. To say I love my family is an understatement. 

the little girls - best friends!

seeester ♥

[dutch] sister. [italian] mom. [filipina] me. #ADOPTEDKIDS! haha 

badminton is bloodsport in my family :/ ha

favorite of the night.. all of us!

dad & his favorite birthday present:
hangtime with sydni!♥♥

So uhhh, yeah! We were also supposed to make an appearance at the Dan Emmett festival downtown Mt.V tonight, but we hadn't anticipated the family staying as late as they did. It worked out just as well, because if I'm being honest, I have very little interest in seeing the Osmonds. Sorry. I'm sure it would've been fun with the family and such, but I'll take my family over that any night.

Tomorrow is more of this, before I head home again.
*Yawn..

xo | cmd