Buttercup's 1st Communion

Today was a beautiful day...

...and pure joy shown on Buttercup's face...

...in anticipation of...

....receiving her Lord for the very 1st time in Holy Communion.

Words cannot express her happiness and bliss as she walked on air all day.

Of course, this event could not go by without a celebration...

....and enough cake for everyone to have their fill.

"Adoremus in Aeternum Santissimum Sacramentum" which translates to "Let us for ever adore the Most Holy Sacrament."

A toast for many blessings.....

...and gifts....

....to honor this special day.

"She's got the joy.....

...joy....

....joy...

....joy....

....down in her heart....

....down in her heart...

....to...

....stay!!!!"

Tantum ergo sacramentum....
"Humbly let us voice our homage
For so great a sacrament;
Let all former rites surrender
To the Lord's New Testament;
What the senses fail to fathom,
Let us grasp through faith's consent!"

Block Party

A birthday gift of blocks from Grandpa and Grandma H.....

...plus a block of time....plus creative minds not having a mental block.........

...equals lots of fun....especially the knocking down part!

Dino-Mite Days

Nacho had a pre-birthday party with Grandma Jo and Grandpa Wes a few days before his actual birthday........

....it started the "dinosaur" theme that carried over to his birthday.....

...on Friday, March 2.  Nacho loves dinosaurs, so what better way to celebrate his birthday than by going to see "Sue"....the most complete set of bones of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.



Nacho was able to celebrate with grandparents again....this time it was with Grandma H. and....



....Grandpa H.

We thoroughly explored the dinosaur area of the museum....

....and breezed by a few other exhibits that were fun and interesting.  There are so many exhibits to look at, but we didn't take the time to see them all.........

.....and Ky wasn't with us, so we will have to go back and visit this wonderful museum again!

The main focus of the quick trip was Sue, the T. Rex.  Nacho went to his first
3-D movie that feautred Sue and how she was dug up and brought to the museum.

Nacho had his new dinosaur umbrella along....

...which he received that morning.....

....but didn't necessarily need it....

...the exact moment that we walked....

...from the museum back to the suburban.

Other presents awaited him once he got home....

...which included a new glove and ball...

...a dinosaur game....

...and creature power suits.....

...which he received two of.......because there are two Kratt Brothers and playing Wild Kratts with a friend is really fun!

Nacho would always break out into a smile.....

......whenever we wished him "Happy Birthday".....and we wished him many "Happy Birthdays" all day long.  It was worth it to see him smile so much!

The day ended with a snowstorm.....Nacho was born during a blizzard, so it seemed right to have snow on his birthday.  The snow didn't stop the basketball tournament that Moe and Rocky were in, so we were able to go to two games to top off the birthday night!

Sharing a dinosaur birthday with a five year old was very special.  Thank-you Nacho for all the fun!

Carving Out Special Time Together

Sunday night was pumpkin carving night....

....and Mark worked hard...

.....using manual labor to help cut and follow specific orders and directions from the younger artists.....

...so much that his mother thought he was "working up" a sweat.
Mark claimed he was just fine.....

....although, we all got a little "worked-up" about this creature who made it inside our house with a free ride on the pumpkin....

The boys tried to use different utensils to get it out....
but then Grandma H. comes right in a squishes it with a napkin.....getting the job done without a squirmish bone whatsoever!

Ky wanted to show (especially Grandpa Wes) how his "double-jointed" arm was good for something.....that something being able to successfully clean out pumpkin guts.

We will now have jack-o-laterns....

....on our front steps tomorrow night!