What do you get when you mix Rhinos, guns, clubs and wine?

MOTHER'S DAY!

I haven't blogged about Mother's Day just yet, so I thought I'd do it before Father's Day arrived.

Our Mother's Day festivities were incredible. First, ON Mother's Day, I woke up to about 30 of these laying on Ruthie's changing table surrounded by stuffed animals.

Then, on the 26th of May, in Evansville, we had a montage of our early dating days. We started with a trip to Evansville's Mesker Park Zoo. It was very hot, but very fun. They have brand new exhibits, and it has come a long way from the sad display of only lemurs we saw on Dec. 31, 1999.

We then played Laser Tag and Put Put at Bob Wather's. This was our first date in the Fall of 1999 with Eric Michel and Ashley Lotus (now Gaffney.) Oh how exciting (and awkward) first dates go. Though this time was no less awkward for different reasons.

I would like to proudly announce that I "won" 8th place in Laser Tag (out of 6 twelve year old players, and 2 grown married adults) after busting my lip on a 12 year old boy's head. Let's just say, this was us...or at least we aspire to be this someday...SO fun! I don't know who was more shocked by 2 grown adults playing Laser Tag, the kids or the staff (we had 10+ years seniority on both parties.)

In Put Put, I ALMOST won. But, alas, Danny beat me. You know what "almost winning" is? LOSING. I am terrible at Put Put, which is why I dislike the game. I can't "reset" Put Put like I can reset Diddy Kong Racing. Everyone knows that if I don't win, I don't want to play. I even get nervous during raffles due to the fact that I have no control over the outcome of the situation. It stems back to my childhood days of Dad changing the rules to Candy land so that he can win. Let's just say I have legitimate issues with competition.

After we got nice and sweaty with a hot zoo, Laser Tag and Put Put, we had a nice romantic dinner in the wine cellar of Madeleine's. Luckily, we were alone in the wine cellar- so not only did we offend nobody with our sweaty selves, we could continue our hyper and "mature" selves without embarrassment. We practiced our ball room dancing while waiting for our wine and food to come out. The dinner ended early, so we raced home to see our Ruthie Roo before bedtime. A whole 5 hours without her was enough for this mommy!

It was an amazing Mother's day, and I love every bit of being a mother. I can honestly say, so far, motherhood has exceeded all my expectations. Every morning, I look down at her while we cuddle and I can't believe she is ours! People say they love being an aunt or uncle, grandma or grandpa because at the end of the day, they can send the kids home with the parents. But being a mommy is even better! As a mommy, I don't have to send her home with anyone else, she's ours! And that is an amazing feeling.