Other April Fun

On April 3rd, we celebrated our favorite Daddy and Husband in the whole world!  What a blessing he is to each of us.  His strength of character and strong dedication to his faith and our family are priceless and for him we are so grateful.  We love you dearly Shawn!  May God bless you with a healthy and joy filled year ahead!

Rootbeer cupcakes from baked from the heart by Nicholas and Grace

His Nana - 105 years old :-)

Fun times around the house

Grace and Nicholas joined a club track team this spring for the first time - Alpha Crush.  They practice 3 days a week at Wills Park and ran in 6-8 meets on the weekends.  They loved it and ran so well!  They both discovered a new joy for running this spring!

Henry played soccer with the CMLS this spring - 3rd/4th grade team against other Catholic schools - and Shawn coached.  Though it was a tough season with not one single win, Henry actually scored several goals.  Henry still had a lot of fun with his buddies and quality time with Dad.  Shawn and Brandon taught the boys a lot and were excellent coaches. 

Samuel also played soccer this season for SPC, had a great season - but apparently I didn't get a single picture!  In addition to soccer he trid a new sport for the first time - Lacrosse!  First time for anyone in our family.  It was an instructional league that met twice weekly.  He had a lot of fun and learned a lot.  Our competitive little guy was just bummed that they didn't have games :-)

Birthday party fun!

Roses looking great this spring...and super fragrant!

My Godson, Connor, made his First Communion in late April.  Unfortunately our whole family couldn't make the trip back to Missouri, but Henry and I flew home for the special event.  This was Henry's first airplane trip since he was 1 year old so he was excited (the plane ticket was a birthday gift to him).  It was a quick 48 hour trip home but such a fun one and special time together with Henry!

God bless you Connor!

What a beautiful day!

Henry really loved the time with his cousins, Connor, Matthew and Asher.

They even roasted s'mores together one night at Aunt Mindy and Uncle Cody's house.

This was the first time I was able to be back home since Dad's tombstone was placed.  It was a beautiful but emotional moment to visit it for the first time.

Spring Break - Disney World 2021

For Spring Break this year we had a big treat!  We headed to Orlando for 5 days, and thanks to the immense generosity of Uncle Randy and Auto Bernie, we were able to spend 2 days at Walt Disney World on a budget.  They set their brand new RV up at a campground 20 minutes from the parks for us,  to stay in for the week.  We all had fun "glamping" for the first time.

Our home for the week

Henry and Nicholas bunked above the cab, while Sam and Grace slept on made up beds over the table, and Shawn and I had a queen bed in a bedroom!

We enjoyed a grill out the night we arrived, before Uncle Randy and Aunt Bernie headed out.

On the Monorail on our way to Day 1: Magic Kingdom

Disney parks were operating at 35% capacity which is why we decided to go now, despite the fact we had to wear masks.  It was so nice to have fewer crowds! The weather was perfect, not hot at all, and we had an amazing fun time open to close at the park!

The characters welcoming us 

Sam rode Space Mountain for the first time - we all learned he's a roller coaster fanatic like both his brothers!

Parades popped up randomly through out the day

Gotta love Swiss Family Robinson's Treehouse!!

This is how easy it was to get pictures with no one else in it with the decreased crowds!

Grace's favorite was still the Tea Cups!

Grace and I went on the Tom Sawyer paddleboat cruise while the boys went on Thunder Mountain (she does NOT like roller coasters!)

The boys and I went on Splash Mountain for the first time and wow - that was awesome!

Day 3:  Hollywood Studios

This was the first time we had been to Galaxy's Edge - we all loved it!

Rise of the Resistance

Nicholas used some of his saved birthday money to build a custom droid at the Droid Depot

Super fun Coke bottles

It was also our first time at Toy Story Land - also amazing!!!

On Day 2 and 4, we spent time at the campground swimming, playing putt-putt, and other games.

We also visited Disney Springs twice

And on one of those days we visited the Basilica of the national Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe.  It was so lovely!

We lit a candle and said a prayer for cousin Mitch

A lot of beautiful artwork

One of the most beautiful sculptures of St. Joseph

St. Michael the Archangel Defend us in Battle

We went on a rosary walk in the garden

On our last day, Scott, Kim and Skye came to meet us for lunch, along with Uncle Randy and Aunt Bernie.  Scott and Kim had just bought a home in the Villages, not far from Orlando.

What a wonderful vacation!  We are so grateful!