Motherhood

My journey towards motherhood began many years ago growing up on the farm surrounded by my family.  It was there that I watched my mom, aunt and grandma, mother with confidence, humility, grace, and humor.  I learned what it meant to be a woman of God, a loving wife and a competent mother from these woman.  As I grew older I began to watch my cousins get married and have children of their own.  When you thought I wasn't watching I was.  I witness the journey of motherhood as Lori, Lisa and Beth raised their families and allowed me to be participate in their children's lives.  I then married into a family where I gained a mother in law, grandmother, and many aunts who all demonstrated the importance of tradition and bringing ones' unique style to this journey of motherhood.
As I take time to reflect on what Mother's day really means and as I was honored and pampered by my own boys, I realize that I don't tell these important women enough the impact they have had on making me the mother I am today.  Each of you...Mom, Aunt Kit, Grandma Katzenmeier, Lori, Lisa, Beth, Carole, Grandma Reitha, Aunt Darlene, Aunt Kristi, Aunt Michelle, and Aunt Becki, have all played a vital role in making me the mother that I am today and my boys have you to thank.
By opening your homes and families to me, you allowed me to gain knowledge and experience regarding this amazing job of being a mom.  I won't say that it is always easy or even enjoyable but there is no other way I could imagine my life.  Each day brings new challenges, joys and lessons to be learned.
Before I sign off I want to acknowledge the amazing young women that I get to go through this journey of motherhood with.  You have been the reassuring words I needed in time of crisis and the shoulders I could lean on when my strength has lessened.  I am so blessed to be discovering mother hood with such great support through amazing friends.
I am sure that as life gets busy and May soon leaves us for summer, I will once again forget to tell each of you as often as I should how important you are to me and how much I have learned from you.  So, please know that I thank and praise God for each of you in my life and that you have taught me more than you will ever know.

San Diego

We were able to take a quick trip to San Diego to take Tanner and Trey to Sea World.  It was Tanner and Trey's first airplane ride and they both did fantastic.  Tanner loves flying and every time we landed he wanted to know "fly more mommy?"  We were able to spend three days playing at Sea World.  Below is a glimpse into our trip.  

Tanner with the penguin when we first entered Sea World.

Tanner with the killer whales.  With the floor to ceiling tank walls we were able to get really close to these huge animals.  Tanner was in awe watching them swim and then couldn't stop talking about how the big whales splashed him during the show.

Beings we were on vacation we let Tanner pick any dessert he wanted.  He picked this chocolate pudding with cool whip and sprinkles.  The funny thing is he doesn't like chocolate and really just wanted the sprinkles...but he was happy.

Tanner loved being able to touch and pick up the sea stars in the tidal pool.  He did such a great job of keeping them in the water and pointing out the various colors.

Tanner, Grandma Mary, and Trey in the shark tunnel.  After going through the first time Tanner and I left Grandma and Trey with the stroller and we went through again.  

Tanner with "Snappy" the turtle.  

Tanner with Shamu the whale.  After waiting in line to see Shamu, Tanner ran up to him and gave him a huge hug.  He was then all smiles while giving him high fives and holding his fin while I snapped pictures.

This kid has no fear.  There was an area in the middle of Sea World with rides and splash parks for younger kids.  We decided to take Tanner on the rides and he loved every single one of them.  Here is Tyler and Tanner on a sea boat ride the went back and forth and twirled around.

Tyler and Tanner on the airplanes.  The ride went round and round while Tanner was able to control when the plane went up and down.  Needless to say, he spent most of the time as high as he could be.

All of us (except Trey) on the sea star spin.  We couldn't get the sea star to spin fast enough for Tanner.  He loved all the rides and truly couldn't get enough.

Even though most the pictures don't show it, Trey did come on the trip with us.  He was great with all the hustle and bustle and slept almost the entire time on both flights.  Here is Grandma Mary, Trey and Tanner in front of the sea turtle pool.

Here is our family.  It was such a blessing to get away for a short while and spend time together.  I can't begin to describe and pictures don't do justice to the joy we saw on Tanner's face the entire trip.  

Here was Tanner and I's favorite animal.  The turtles were so peaceful and big.  We loved watching them swim around and we were able to watch them above ground as well, sleeping on the sand.

Tanner with the turtle.  I think it was his favorite place to sit.  He needed to stop and visit every time we were in the area.

Here is how Trey spent most the trip.   He was able to look around while being protected from the sun.  

Tanner and Trey hanging out in the hotel.  Trey was quite suspicious of Tanner laying next to him.

Brotherly love.

Tanner playing a game with Tyler.  He had to pick a duck and then that determined the prize that he won.

Here was the duck that Tanner picked out as his prize.  Due to the size of Tanner's prize, we traded it in for a smaller version so that he could bring it home with us.

Here is Tanner running through the splash park.  The water would shoot up from the holes in the ground. I love the look of pure joy on his face.  He thought it was fun to get wet and tried to anticipate which one would shoot up next so that he could catch all the water.

This pretty much sums up every night of our trip.  Tanner did so great during the day and truly went nonstop that by 7:30 at night he was asking to go to bed.  

I love the peaceful look on his face.

Overall, we had an amazing time and can't wait to go on more vacations with our amazing little travelers.

Special Visitors!

Last week we had some very special visitors.  My cousin and his family drove the extra miles to come see our house, have lunch, and visit for a while.  The house was full with 5 kids, 3 of them being under the age of 1.  Before the afternoons was over Tanner and Cassidy had riden motorcycles, shot hoops, eaten pizza, tackled the adults, driven the remote control car and entertained us all.  Rylee, Sawyer, and Trey weren't sure what was taking place.

Grandma/Aunt Mary with all the kids.

Cassidy and Tanner giving us their best cheesy smiles.

Showing each other their tongues.  We had so much fun with our family and can't wait to see them in a couple of weeks.