Dia de le Madre

This year, Mark really wanted to get our families together for Mother's Day. So, we picked a restaurant, made a reservation, and informed everyone about the where and the when. The why was a given :) Here we all are:

 

(minus Gena because she had to work)

When we were going through the camera last night looking at the pictures, Mark goes "I'm the tallest one in the family!" That is a very sad fact. We are a bunch of really short folks! All had a really great time, and I can account for Mark and I especially. 

Afterwards, I went back to the Compound where I spent the rest of the day visiting with everyone. My brother John Michael brought Mom home a uber yummy Reeses peanut butter cup ice cream cake.

Mom's Loot: 

flowers, cards, candy, candle, cd, cake... and can you guess what Mander and Jerm got her? 

Us Butler's are crazy fun people and we get into the most wonderful debates where we are all talking at the same time and can miraculously understand and retain what everyone is saying. I do not know how we do this... it must be some sort of genetic chromosome. All I know is that everyone was getting into it and eventually I had to put down my book, exclaiming "It's impossible to read here!" and couldn't resist sinking my teeth into the entertaining points that were being made. It's quite possible that a few fist bumps were shared between Mama, Uncle Mike, and myself. It was decided that my brother David would be the new Raintree Gate Keeper. He seemed quite thrilled and said he's even set his sites really low and asks for only minimum wage verses the $10 and hour that Uncle Mike had calculated. Also, watch out for Family Reunion 2013 when all 22 of us Most Important People gather in celebration of 50 years of marriage between the two most amazing people and the "founders of our family". In between all the friendly debate and enthusiastic conversation, I got out my famous Canon and took a few more snappies to commemorate this year's Dia de la Madre...

...the two most amazing people I was just talking about. So happy.

 

Ese, Nana, Mama, and Uncle Mike

 Nana & I... I made her The Nana, that makes me the secret favorite ;)

Mama & I... and I made her The Mama before anyone else did, so yeah...

Ellie & I. The oldest & the youngest. :)

After some yummy steaks, and an entire day's worth of laughter (I swear I really needed that), I made my farewells and retired home to my handsome man who had been over at his mom's helping her with some yard work, such a good son he is :) Earlier in the day Mark had given our mom's roses from the Pro-Life committee at church that had been handed out to all of the moms after each Mass. When I got home he presented me with a white rose, which he brought home as a surprise for me from Mass as well, for Mother's Day because I am the future mother of his children. AWWWWW! It's silly, I know, but you can not deny that it is also immensely romantic and sweet :)

We enjoyed the cool evening out on our patio until twilight. Once those mosquitoes arrived it was time to head in where we finished conversation on the sofa (always cute, because that's how we used to always end our date nights way back when... talking about everything and anything on that sofa in the family room) and then read another chapter of our book before lights out. 

Hopefully, everyone else enjoyed Mother's Day as much as we did :)

Mom's are just the best.