We spent Memorial Day weekend at Mom and Dave’s. Bryan and Dave did quite a bit of fishing, but the windy conditions kept the kids (and the moms) off the lake.

Ava was itching to use her fishing pole, so Bryan and Dave took her down to a little inlet nearby. Somehow, she managed to outfish both of them in pretty short order.

Using a Little Tykes fishing pole and a minnow, she caught a catfish . . . then a largemouth bass, and a drum, and then a carp.

Here she is with her bass—my mom took this photo down by the lake.

When they came back to the house, Olivia checked out their catch.

“There’s fishes in there!”

Yeah, big ones! Look at the mouth on that bass.

Here’s the whole crew:

And, in what might just be my favorite photo ever, the “largemouth bass” pose:

Thanks to Ava’s luck, Mom and Dave served up a fabulous fish fry before we left yesterday. Happy Memorial Day!

Thanks to all the wonderful mothers in our lives. We love you–hope you have a great day!

Ava and Olivia spent spring break with Mom and Dave at the lake, allowing Bryan and I to act like we’re 22 again (we’re not). While the girls spent their days coloring and playing outside, we eschewed plans to organize the basement and plan our summer trips in order to watch basketball and spend St. Patrick’s Day downtown.

I’m sure the girls would have happily stayed at Mom’s another few days, we were very relieved to have them—and our normal routine—back.

Although it was only a week, Olivia’s vocabulary seems to have exploded, and Ava’s adding and subtracting numbers that I have to think twice about. They both look like they’ve grown at least a couple of inches. We kept in close touch via the phone a few times a day, but it’s just not the same as having them here.

There’s adorable little reminders about the good time they had—when I put Olivia to bed on Friday night, she said, “Sweet dreams,” which I knew she had heard from my mom.

I recall quite fondly the time I spent at my grandparents’ houses growing up (and still today), so I’m grateful we have parents so willing to take them in for a few days at a time. The Smiths get their turn later this summer—Bryan and I will have outgrown this irresponsible phase by then, and perhaps we’ll use that time to clean the basement. Or go to a concert. We’ll see.

Doug took these photos of the girls in their Christmas dresses–which were handmade by my mom–last December. I can’t believe I never posted them! Olivia was quite a little stinker that day, but Ava was all smiles.

This is one of my favorite photos of Ava. I still can’t put on a dress without spinning like this, and I’m almost 32.

I do love these two photos of Olivia. In the first one, she’s examining a lady bug. The second is perhaps the most beautiful photo we have of her.

Thanks, Mom and Doug!