Happy Father's Day!

This year, Brian received an extra special Father's Day gift. He won the MLB contest "My Dad, My Hero"! 2 weeks ago, I nominated Brian in a Major League Baseball contest that submitted a 300 word or less essay on why your dad is your MVP on behalf of the boys. 2 days ago we received word that out of 250+ nominees for the Philadelphia Phillies, Brian was chosen as their MVP Dad! The prize includes being recognized at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia prior to a Phillies home game. Today an article was posted on the Phillies home page on the web recognizing Brian. We don't have word from the Phillies rep yet on which game we will attend or what the details regarding the trip will be, but sometime in the near future the O'Donnell family will be traveling to Philadelphia to meet the Phillies!!!

Watermelon Treat

Last night Blake was hungry for watermelon before bed. He ended up make such a mess that I moved him to the middle of the wood floor so that it and he were easier to clean up!

He ended up with a bath prior to bedtime as a result!

First Haircut!

Well, Blake has been developing a tuft of hair now that we lovingly referred to as "the baby toupee". The other day we decided that it was time to say goodbye to the toupee and get a "big boy" haircut!

Unlike his brother at this age, Blake didn't seem to mind the attention.

Daddy had to help stabilize his head so we could reach and cut the tricky parts. Two cowlicks will do that!

Near the end, he was ready to be done sitting still. Brady was right there to tell him "Everything is OK Blakester" and "Good job Blake".

All done now and so handsome! What a big boy we have now!

Outdoor Activities

Brian and I finally bought and put up the new swing set for the kids that we budgeted for! (By "put up" I mean "hired someone to put up"!) They were thrilled and spend a ton of time outside now! It's fun to have an activity other than just playing with balls on the deck now!

Baby Bard Owls

Grandpa Mike put up an owl box in his back yard sometime back and this spring he had a Bard owl that nested in it. There are 2 babies currently in the box and Brady and I went out to see them today while picking up the pug that Grandpa was babysitting for us while we were at The Dells.

Brady wasn't so sure at first, but after some coaxing from Grandpa and Mom, reached out to touch this little one.

Then he decided to be more gutsy once he realized that he liked them and go peek in on the 2 babies in their house. (It's a good thing Grandpa is strong!)

Here they are! They are getting pretty big already and will probably be leaving the nest soon. What a fun/rare opportunity!

Wisconsin Dells

This weekend Brian had the opportunity to attend the Nike coaches clinic in Wisconsin Dells with 2 good friends/coaches, Gretchen and Nick. As luck would have it, Nick and Mandy have a daughter, Addison, who will be 2 yrs old in June. She, Brady and Blake are fast friends. The kids had a blast at the indoor water park at the hotel that we stayed in. Mandy and I had more fun this year too because the kids were older and able to do more things!

Brady LOVED the water slides in the kiddie pool!

Blake really enjoyed the water too!

Mandy and I did brave the park by ourselves with the kids on Friday afternoon, but it was more fun to have the dads there to be able to do more things!

Happy Easter!

What a fun Easter we had this year! I had to work, but the bunny conveniently came while we were are church so that I could partake in the events!

Blake was tricky to get to smile for a picture. He wanted to eat more candy!

Finding the baskets the bunny left.

Finding the sand toys the bunny hid as well as eggs this year.

Checking out what was in the eggs..........

Mostly they received candy and coins for their new piggy banks the bunny brought! The hunt was so much more entertaining and louder this year!