mother's day picnic

Since I have been so busy over the last month, I have so many pictures to post. Business has really taken off which is an absolute blessing for us during this economy, but with that comes more and more evenings with my face buried in my computer invoicing and returning email. Trying to entertain two kids during the day along with balancing my workout schedule and play dates I found myself spending less and less time in the office during the day. I have now put the kids in daycare two days a week which gives me two full days to catch up on work and now I have my evenings to enjoy time with my family!

Mother's day was a busy day for us. We had gone camping for the weekend but packed up early on Sunday to get Rylee back to her mom and Gary had reserved a terrific brunch at Villa Olivia for me and his Mom. After eating way too much food at brunch we headed over to a forest preserve in Wheaton where my mom's family meets every year for a cook out. It was such a gorgeous day so we went out there to see my Grandma and my mom. My mom's side of the family is so big, it is great to be able to see everyone all at once like that.

There is a big lake right by where they set up so of course Zach (with the aid of my cousin Annie) spent a good portion of the day fishing. He loved it! Brie was running around everywhere and I spent the first hour getting her to realize she could not go any where near the water! She gave up after a while and few temper tantrums!

By the end of the day everyone was wiped and we came home to spend the rest of the day relaxing. I really enjoyed spending the day with all of my family. Gary of course hit a home run with my gift. He (and the kids) got me the new book reader The Nook by Barnes and Noble. I have been wanting an electronic book for a while, and this one is so cool. It actually shows you the color covers of the books before you choose which ones to by. It has free cellular service so you can download books, newspapers, and magazines from anywhere. He really knows how to spoil me ;)