Our little slice of Happily Ever After...

Your Presence...

...Time and again I have heard the quote, 'Your Children need your Presence more than your Presents' and I have often thought of it when I didn't have anything planned, or things seemed a little stale but we were simply together...but this weekend, our full intention was to give our children nothing but our presence..now don't get me wrong, our kids get their share of presents but this weekend wasn't about that...after last weekend of flying for Daddy and the fact that we had four days off for the holiday weekend, we were all excited about simply being together...and although tropical storm Isaac dampened our holiday weekend (only literally!)...we decided it was going to be a whole lot of time spent without sunshine...so we geared up for the rain...

...and we started the weekend by checking off a 'kids thing to do' and going to Crown Candy Kitchen in downtown St. Louis...it is famous for it's BLT's, Malts and of course...it's candy...

...and after waiting half hour even at 11am...we were finally seated in one of the 13 tables...and we feasted...to the point that we had to bring our candy home...there was no way we could eat another bite...

...until we got home and had some time to let our food digest...

...and we spent a lot of time in our pj's...we went in the kids rooms to wake them up together, baked muffins and did things that don't easily fit into our regular routine...and we put the phones and the computers away...and did things like reading books...

 ...and tackling Daddy...or tickling Daddy...or just hugging Daddy...

...and getting some bonding time in with Marley...

...and I don't talk often about what a big part of our lives Marley really is...but this sweet dog understands the differences in each of our abilities and only plays as rough as we can handle...which makes her a perfect companion for anyone in the house...even the littlest of Blomgren's...

...and this weekend marked the start of college football...and we love some football in this house...so Saturday was a day of cooking appetizers and wearing our Mizzou colors with pride...

...Thank you Courtney Steinhoff for the awesome Mizzou tutu...it still fits again this year!...Ava is getting very good at smiling for the camera...and walking all by herself...she is getting around very well...notice the gates on the stairs...

 ...and you can't see it from these smiles but tooth number three appeared this weekend...her first on the top...she grows teeth at a snails pace but it doesn't seem to bother her so I am not going to let it bother me...

 ...and then it was time to hit the mall for some play time on the cars and a ride on the carousel...thanks Grandma and Poppy for the leftover tokens from your visit!...

...and when Labor Day finally swung around, there was finally a little sunshine outside so we took full advantage...a BBQ with Grandma and Papa was the perfect way to round out the long weekend...

 ...cooking brownies with Grandma...yummy...

...and that was it, four solid fun filled days all together...and Kirk and I said so many times how good the kids were and how lucky we are to have this time together...we are really in a great phase with the two of them with their sleeping and good behavior...but I know that as soon as I type that...I will be eating my words...if I have learned anything in my three short years of parenthood...it is that the phases are short, whether tough or simple, and that change is inevitable, especially in their young lives...so for that reason, I will savor the memories of the four simple, lazy days celebrating Labor Day together and being present for our kids...which is a perfect present for me...