Weekend in Columbus

I was really excited to go to Columbus, OH to see my friend Amy and celebrate with her for her baby shower so I worked my tail off to get free time over the weekend. I also decided that it would be fun to bring the family with me since the baby shower would only be a couple of hours on Saturday.
We packed the kids late Friday night after I finished working and took off out of town. We had been driving a couple of hours when my cell phone rang. It was Amy telling me that she and her husband had just been in a car accident and she was on her way to the hospital to be checked. I was shaken but didn't want to turn around and go home.
She said she felt fine but that they wanted to check her anyway and so she said she would keep us posted on the status and that she looked forward to having her baby shower the next day.
The next morning, I got a phone call from Amy telling me that they were keeping her in the hospital until that evening and so she would have to miss her baby shower. We were so bummed about it but we packed up the family and went to the hospital to pay her a little visit.
It was nice that we could be there and spend some quiet moments with her in the hospital. We were relieved that she was fine and that she was in very good spirits, but a little tired. She suggested we go to her home that evening after she was released and we could eat together. Meanwhile, she suggested we spend the day at the Columbus Zoo. I thought this was a great idea because in all the years I loved there, I had never been to the Zoo and I hear it is a pretty good one.
I was so glad I had my family with me and we left Amy at the hospital resting and we headed off for some fun at the zoo. It really is a lovely zoo and they had great animals and things for us to see. Both girls seemed to really enjoy it and I know Lorne and I did. Just check out the pictures and you can see the fun!We did end up going to Amy's house that night for dinner with her and Steven and Amy's parents. They catered in some BBQ and it was delicious. We then just rested with them and chatted and got a tour of their new home. It was so very nice to be able to spend time with them, even if it had to include a car accident!

Enjoying Nature

It is starting to get nice enough outside to take the girls out to play. Ava loves to sit in the grass and Jasmine likes to run off her energy and also play with her outdoor toys - like her little car. She is growing so fast, she is almost too big for it.

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service

I caught a couple of funny pictures of Ava at my shop. She had had a diaper explosion and I was remiss in packing an extra change of clothes, so she became naked baby...oh well - it is more acceptable when you are this tiny!

Family Easter Egg Hunt and Dinner

As you can see - Easter was a very busy day for us but so worth it. Everything we did was so fun and we got to spend it with the people we love and care about. After we left the Tabaka house, we headed south to my parents house for a family Easter Egg Hunt and dinner.
When we got there - there was more Easter stuff - more candy, kisses and love. Roman looked cute running around in all his excitement.Then it was time for the kid Easter Egg Hunt - Jasmine and Ava had gone over the day before with Roman and colored all the eggs so that Grandpa could hide them. They found those eggs so fast I almost didn't get my pictures - and you all know how important that is to me. Even Ava had the best time when she figured out what was going on.After the kids hunt, my dad had hidden eggs for all the adults. It was so fun watching everyone go and find eggs. I wanted to find eggs but I wanted someone to take pictures so I opted to be the photographer and giggled watching everyone run around.After all the eggs that could be found were found - I believe there were more left that didn't get found - it was time for a delicious dinner. We all sat at a huge table together and ate some amazing food my mom had put together for us.After dinner, we spent quality time together enjoying the brisk coolness of the patio and each others company. It was such a nice Easter - I love our family gatherings - even though they are hectic, they are so very important to me.