Benson Benjamin Strawder

Ole Benny Cat.  The kids loved you so.  Stephen and I always thought that if you could talk, you would have a British accent.  I'll never forget the day I found you and took you in.  You washed up to Oxford, MS after Hurricane Katrina came through MS.  I bought you a plush light blue velvet pillow to curl up on and you loved it.  That's when you earned the nickname 'Princey Bensy'.  The pillow became so dirty and worn out we eventually had to throw it away.  
 

Bri loved on you so much the past 3 years and Jax had started using you as a pillow lately.  You were always so patient with the kids and kept them entertained.   We had never known a cat quite like you and I don't think there will be another one with your personality and un-cat-like characteristics.  Thanks for all the great laughs and memories.  You are greatly missed and will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Comfy on Benson

 

Princey Bensy

 Queen Bri and Prince Benson

Mother's Day Weekend!

After having terrible storms late Thursday and early Friday, the weekend turned out to be beautiful!  Saturday morning started out with the American Cancer Society 'Making Strides' 5k!  Stephen walked with me and it was his first 5k.  It was a great event and I'm so glad we were able to join and that the weather was amazing.  Later we made a quick trip to the lake to feed the ducks and came across sweet little black baby ducks.  Bri and I were not able to catch any today but it was fun watching them play.  We also went shopping for Grandma's Mother's Day gift.  Later that night we took the kiddos to their first drive-in movie at John Eagle Honda.  Wreck-It Ralph was showing and we had plenty of food, candy, and drinks.  Bri got super comfy on the blanket with pillows and watched intensely.  Jackson didn't make it through the whole movie of course, but I finally got him to sleep comfortably in my arms.  All the kids slept on the way home so Stephen and I tucked them into bed when we got home and then called it a night.  It was a lovely but exhausting day!

I was definitely glad for the rest since I knew we had a fun-filled Sunday ahead of us!  I wanted to have a picnic at the park and play with the kids all day.  So we went by Little Caesar's and grabbed a pizza and headed to the lake.  Stephen broke out the Barbie fishing pole after we ate and I blew bubbles for the kiddos to play with.  We actually did catch a catfish - Bri was so surprised and thought it was adorable lol!  She wanted to pet it and take it home - ha!  Jackson had fun chowing down on pizza and catching bubbles that flew by.  He's such an easy-going baby!

Oh yeah, I gave my mom new tennis shoes that she got to test out at the park and some chocolate truffle coffe and peppermint tea.  I figured the tea would be relaxing after having such a fun weekend.  And, I got some pretty awesome gifts from my babies.  Brianna kept telling me that there was a treasure box upstairs that she wanted me to get.  Word to the wise - don't take three year olds shopping for gifts - they can't keep secrets!  Ha, thankfully like I told Stephen, I had no clue what she was talking about!  But she did pick out a cute animal print treasure box for me and filled it with chocolates.  She also made a cute pencil holder for my office desk.  She painted every piece of it and put stickers on it herself - I love it and it is in use on my desk now!  Stephen also helped Bri and Jax pick out a new piece of artwork for the house.  He thought it would look great above the mantle - too bad it is about a foot too tall!  Bri tried to tell him it would not fit, but he just knew it would.... too funny!  So now the challenge is finding a good spot for it but we will make it work! 

To top off the day, I requested smoked brisket for dinner.  So Stephen got the smoker going and we had a delicious dinner. 

Seriously the weekend was wonderful.  It was my first Mother's Day with Jackson and it was so special.  I can't believe I am the mother to these two amazing babies... how lucky am I?!

Below are a few fun pics of all the good times.  Enjoy!