Memorial Day Weekend

Long weekends are wonderful, don't get me wrong.  But I think a lot of people forget the real reason why we get the Monday off after the last weekend in May.  Yes, it's nice to have three days instead of the usual two for a weekend, but it's also nice AND important to remember why we get this day, this Memorial Day off.

Without going too much onto a soapbox about this, I did want to start off my post acknowledging the real reason for Memorial Day, aside from the long weekend mentality and BBQs that frequently go along with it.  Memorial Day is to remember and pay homage to all of our troops, serving, having served, and fallen.  So, a big huge thank you to all of our troops, retired, active, and those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice so we can enjoy the freedoms we have here in the US, like BBQs, three day weekends, and lake trips.  This Trace Adkins song sums up nicely what this day is all about, and happens to be one of my favorites.  Enjoy.

So this weekend for the Mooneys was a fun one--because Mike was off Friday, Saturday and Sunday!  Woo hoo!  Thursday, after I caught the crazy bug and took both kiddos to the Zoo by myself, Mike got home and told me that the church close to us was having their end of the year carnival.  It took us about 5 seconds to decide we needed to go, so we whipped up some tacos, woofed them down super quick, and headed to the carnival. 

Patrick had never been on a real "ride" before, so we didn't know how he'd do...but we decided we'd get a few ride tickets and take him on them, assuming he'd be fine and enjoy them (plus, next weekend we were hitting up the carnival at our church and we wanted him to be prepared! ha!).  I elected to take him on the ferris wheel with me and Mike said he'd take him on the spinning dragons ride, cause as certain someone (uh, me) gets motion sick just looking at those rides.

Patrick LOVED the rides.  Like probably too much--he didn't want to get off the ferris wheel, and kept trying to get out of the stroller and run to the other bigger (much scarier!) rides.  Wow.  Little daredevil!  I can't wait for this coming weekend to take him to another carnival so he can ride some more rides!

Mike and I also indulged in a funnel cake and fried oreos.  They were AH-MAZING.  That's our style of a wild and crazy weekend night :) 

I had a fun little photoshoot with my burritos (really just wanting a new background with all three babies, 2 human and 1 fur for my Mac) in their matching Applecheeks diapers this past weekend too.  Our friends at The Baby Bum sent Rosie this adorable Applecheeks headband and it's my new favorite baby item!  So soft, and I love the knot design--very Rosie the Riveter-esque.  She may be wearing it all the time from now on! (Or until I can order some more!!)

Like my "behind the scenes" pic?!  One of my favorites.  And about how my photoshoots at home go--Patrick is always RIGHT THERE to help me out, whether I want him there or not :)

Sidenote: Scooter looks fabulous in Rosie's headband as well :)

On Friday we took Patrick to the train store--Mike had never been there and was wanting to see what all the fuss was about that I kept telling him about.  He got to see it!  Patrick was in heaven with all of the train stuff, and I think he liked showing off to his daddy "his" store as well.

We then headed to a nearby park for a little bit to let Patrick burn off some steam before lunch and naptime.  This kid is fearless: there isn't one playground feature he isn't willing to climb up and tumble down!  All boy, 100%.

My new Tula "Travel Bug" came in the mail and OMG. I.AM.IN.LOVE.  I didn't think I'd be a big fan of the khaki/tan accent, but I absolutely love it.  It's my new favorite thing!  My other Tula Mike can keep in his car (so we always have one with us!) and Patrick can ride on our backs in it as well.  If you're a parent and have little ones, invest in a Tula.  It's the greatest thing EVER.  Why I didn't babywear with Patrick is beyond me...cause this thing is rockin' my socks off and making life with 2 so much easier.

Friday night we went to Mike's parents for dinner--cause his brother Brian was in town--and it was just an absolutely gorgeous night.  Patrick was decked out in his American pride outfit, and I was able to get some snazzy pics of him in it.  He's such a ham--a patriotic ham at that.

Saturday we laid low--actually heading to my parents' house to mow the lawn and straighten up for them before picking them up from the airport after their 10 day trip to Yosemite and California.  We then got to catch up with them at dinner and ice cream--our favorite!  I think they both (well, my mom mostly!) really REALLY missed Patrick and Rosie and were oh-so-happy to see them both on Saturday.  Rosie has definitely perfected her "kissy face".  Ha!

Sunday we spent at my aunt Kate's lake.  I think the last time we were there was last August when we surprised them with Patrick's "big brother" shirt telling them another little Mooney was on the way!  Now, for this trip, Rosie, much bigger and here on the outside, got to enjoy the festivities.  Actually, she did a lot of sleeping, eating, and snuggling and that was about it.

She did crack a few little smirks while we were down there and those just melted my mama heart.  Gosh, I love this little lady!

Patrick, on the other hand, had a jolly ol' time having the run-of-the-mill at the lake.  He got to go for many golf cart rides, a pontoon boat ride, swim in the pool, and oodles of eating and running around outside like a crazy person.  This little boy was definitely in his element.

We had a great time chasing after Patrick, but also enjoying some much-needed family time with Goose, my parents, and my aunts and uncle.  Goose's helper from her nursing home Sarah came and really enjoyed herself--as did we having her there!  She was so good with the kiddos and with Goose!  The food we had was delish (as always, probably ate too much!!), and Patrick had so much fun he protested nap time and was just being wild and crazy all day long.  Again, typical boy.

We decided to head home about 7:30pm, because the storms were starting to roll in, and about 5 seconds after we got in the car, both Rosie and Patrick were passed out.  Patrick NEVER falls asleep in the car, so we know he was definitely worn out (duh, no nap was had!).

Fortunately both kiddos stayed asleep when we got home (after a quick jammie change for Patrick and some milk for Rosie)--and slept great last night.  Patrick slept till 9am, and Rosie woke up just twice to eat and went right back asleep (praise the good Lord she does this!  Another good Mooney sleeper!).

Mike had to work today (booooo), but Patrick, Rosie, and I enjoyed some lazy time this morning (well, they slept and I got up early to grade the last of my students' final exam projects--officially DONE with teaching till August!  WOOT!) before my aunt came up and we went to the fabric store (Cardinals cotton fabric is back!  Patrick needs new sheets and a changing pad cover!) and Fuzzy Taco for lunch.

Oh, did I mention Rosie is SEVEN WEEKS OLD today?!  Seriously.  TOO FAST it's going.  I'm just gonna leave this adorable little smirky pic here and move on...

Well, that's about all for our Memorial Day weekend shenanigans.  It really was a great weekend with family and so nice to have Mike off.  He actually starts a weeks vacation this coming weekend (!!!) so I am soooooo excited about that!  Have a great one friends!