Mother's Day Weekend in Pictures

So it was Mother's Day! I know I was really mad in my last post, but after reading the verses I added to the end of it, I asked God to help me be happy and to learn to let things go, especially when I have no control of them, so that I can enjoy the time that we do have together. And also so that I don't make Eric and the boys feel bad because I'm angry that we're not having enough time.

And so, having resolved to be happy and enjoy every moment of the weekend (even though there were fewer moments than we wanted to have), I decided to take pictures of pretty much everything we did, and post them on here in a blog. Now Eric and I can pull the blog up on our blackberries anytime this week, and think about all the fun stuff we managed to cram into 3/4 of a weekend!

I'm starting with a picture that we actually took at the end of the weekend. We decided to take some family pictures for Mother's Day, and this one is my favorite. We took them in our own back yard with a tripod. I'm sure the neighbors thought we looked silly, but I love the pictures we got, so I don't care. :)

And now we will go back to the beginning! Let's start on Friday. *Please excuse the quality of the rest of the pictures. I took them on my blackberry camera, which is-as we all know-crappity.

We decided that a date night was in order, considering the fact that we will only see each other for a day and a half out of the next 2 weeks. I knew Iron Man 2 was coming out on Friday, and I also knew that Eric would LOVE to see it. So I dropped Caleb off at school and went down to the theater to buy tickets for it. I went early in the day because Fairbanks only has one theater, and when something popular comes out, you better get your tickets early! I was glad I did, too, because so many people were there buying Iron Man tickets!

When we got to the theater, Nate recognized that this is the place where Daddy recently took him to see How to Train Your Dragon. He got very excited and started talking about the "dwagons". I bought the tickets, knowing all along that when I had to take him out of that theater without going to see the "dwagons", this was going to happen:

And it did! I felt kinda bad for him. I had to pick him up and carry him to the car, and I promised him some gold fish later, so it was all good.

We went to the movie around 7. I did not enjoy the first Iron Man, so I was expecting to be bored, but I actually really enjoyed it! And of course the best part was getting some alone time with my very best buddy!

This picture was after the movie. At around 9:30. Gaining a lot of daylight now!

And where were the boys while Eric and I were out? Why, they were with our good friends, the Shirleys! And they had such a blast, too! Sam enjoyed the baby pod seat:

And Caleb and Nate enjoyed going out to the playground with Addison!

Ok, so that's Friday. Moving on the Saturday. First Eric had to work. It wasn't as upsetting as I thought it would be, partly because he was only there for a few hours, and partly because I was busy at an FRG committee meeting. After that, we dropped the van off at Walmart to have the oil changed, had lunch, went for a drive, and then went to Pioneer Park! The boys love the playground there.

Nate enjoyed the swings and the slide. I didn't get a picture of him on the slide because there were always other kids in the way! Bummer! But isn't he cute on the swing?

Even Sam got to get in on the action. Here he is in his first ever ride on a swing!

So when we got home that night, after the boys were in bed, Eric and I decided to go a little crazy. One of the rear turn signals on the van had gone out, so we decided to have Eric teach me how to replace it. I wanted to learn in case I need to replace one while he's in the field or deployed, and I'd rather do it myself than take it to a shop and pay, and be told that I need $10,000 worth of work done because I'm a woman and they think I don't know anything about cars. They're right, by the way, but still.

This is real Army wife stuff, just so you know. :)

Here is our newly replaced turn signal bulb, replaced, of course, by me! Yay!

And while we were out there, I asked Eric to show me how to change a tire. So here I am taking the tire off, and then putting it back on. So now I know what to do in case I ever have a flat! And I got very, very dirty!

Man, that stuff was fun!

Ok, moving on to Mother's Day itself. We went out to a Chinese restaurant in town. I love Chinese food, but we almost never eat it. Ask Eric why. Ahem......

Anyway, his food came with an orange as a garnish, and they cut the peel like this:

...which I thought was cool enough to take a picture of.

And of course, there were gifts. I don't have pictures of all the gifts yet, but those are coming! Eric did a hand and foot print project for me with the boys, and Caleb made me this little bowl in school:

And there you have it. Mother's Day weekend. It was packed full of fun stuff, and I am so glad we got to enjoy it all together!

I love you, Eric! See you soon!