The mother of all Mother's Days

This Mother’s Day, I was completely and unabashedly spoiled.

I was able to spend the weekend with my own mother, which as one of four siblings I consider that to be the greatest of gifts.  And it goes without saying that Frances and George are in hog heaven when Nana is in town (iPad, iPhone, and extra attention—what’s not to love?).

And then there was this shiny new toy rolling into our driveway on Saturday afternoon:

We finally decided on our minivan and I could not be happier!  No one can accuse Will and me of impulse purchases because we toiled over what minivan best suited us (with the final two choices being the Odyssey and the Sienna) for months.  But ultimately the Honda Odyssey was the best fit for our family and having driven it for the last two days now, I can honestly say I have no idea how we survived without it.  With a tear in his eye, Will generously traded in his eleven-year-old Honda Accord and is cheerfully driving the Toyota Highlander; so our Honda/Toyota ratio has remained intact.  But it was a little sad to say goodbye to the car that has been with us since Will passed the bar, proposed to me, whisked me away in on our wedding night, and drove the children back and forth to school (quite often) before I stopped working.

Because I am the world’s worst negotiator when it comes to personal purchases (and have zero ability to keep a poker’s face), Will bought the van completely on his own and (after nearly 8 hours of paperwork) got us a fantastic deal.  Roof racks and all-weather mats still to come! 

But my absolute favorite Mother’s Day present was this adorable video that Will made from Frances and George:

(direct link to the video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDnIT0CywYg&feature=em-upload_owner)

As many pictures I take of the children, I am so thankful that Will remembers to take videos.  Those Minnie Mouse voices will change before I know it and I always want to remember how George talks like he has marbles in his mouth and Frances stumbled over the word “available.”  And PS - you can tell all of this footage was filmed during breakfast because Miss F's hair has yet to be touched by Mother's evil brush.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  And a HUGE thank you to my incredible husband who made this Mother's Day the best one yet!