Mother's Day at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Mother's Day morning, I got up early and went to see my dear friend Karen run a 5K in Central Park--I didn't actually see her cross the finish, but she was running and I was there. After breakfast with her and a little bit of shoe shopping (during which I cursed my children for the fact my feet have grown a full size since I got pregnant with AJ) the crew headed out to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for an afternoon in the sun. We'd just missed the cherry blossoms, but the azaleas and lilac were out in force, and so were the crowds. So, we avoided some of the big draws and headed for more sparsely populated patches of grass, which we were later informed we shouldn't have been on anyway, hence the smaller crowds (!).

It was a great afternoon and I think these pics reveal some of the great truths in our life--we have 2 beautiful boys--and they have 2 beautiful moms. Colton and Auden are so incredibly lucky to have Jes in their lives and Leighton and I may be even more lucky. She has taken these kids on with an energy, care, and love that you can't truly appreciate until you see her with them. They respect and abuse her just as they do us. They accept her as a member of the family, a best friend, and a parental partner. She has patience with them that goes beyond anything I could ever muster and she is somehow able to keep pace with their energy long after we are both flat on the floor. Practically, it is no secret we would be up a creek without her participation and investment in our family. But, more importantly, her silent agreement to invest in the life forces that are these two kids is a gift to them that I hope they will eventually appreciate.

We both had a great Mother's Day.