Colorado Vacation 2012

We just returned yesterday from our annual summer vacation. It was very hectic this year as Jered didn't get permission to come with us until 2 days before we left!! Abby had arranged to fly into San Diego to help me and the kids drive out to Colorado. Since Jered had just about zero notice that he was going to be able to go, Abby went ahead and flew out and we all drove together. It was a fun change to have her with us, and I'm so thankful to have such a sweet sister who is willing to help us out. We spent a few days in Leadville, CO with the Royces, and then a couple days in Fort Collins, CO with Grandpa and Grandma Hanschen and Uncle Nate in their new house. God arranged it so we were able to see both families, although at one point it seemed impossible to travel at all due to Jered's work situation. We had a wonderful time, and have many new good memories.

New Kiddie Pool

Pictures of Will and Emma playing in their new kiddie pool today. Finally warm enough to play in the water! Although I still get cold like a good Texan, and the 75 degree "heat" is not warm enough for me to get in the pool yet! After taking the pictures, I cleaned up the water table you can see in the background of a couple pictures, and put it in the middle of the pool (Jered's idea). They loved that!

Will's Pre-K Graduation and End of Year Performance

Today was Will's graduation from pre-K and his last school performance. Jered was off today, so he was able to go with us. Will was so proud of himself, and very happy that we were both there to watch him. They sang a few chapel songs as a school (all the Tues/Thurs morning classes), then Will's class sang 2 songs by themselves. After all the pre-K classes finished singing, they all sang "Oh, We're Ready" together. No, I didn't cry, but I wanted to when they sang "we are ready, we are ready, ready to leave preschool." Then they went back to their classrooms and got their "diplomas." The teachers even made little graduation caps out of construction paper. We took Will home early after that and went to McDonald's (his choice) to celebrate. We also got him a new plastic kiddie pool for the backyard. What a fun day. A little bittersweet, but the bitter is such a small portion of the whole, which is so sweet! We are very proud of the little man Will is becoming. He's a great kid. Funny, smart, caring, loving, and such a cutie. We are blessed to have him!

Mother's Day 2012

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies we know and love, friends and family! Thank you to my own mom for being such a good example of a mother and wife. To celebrate this year, we went to Cheesecake Factory for lunch on Saturday, to avoid the crowds. It was a beautiful day, and we really enjoyed our lunch. This morning, Jered and Will got up and made us pancakes before church. Jered gave me some pretty silk flowers in scented oil, and a very sweet letter. The kids had signed some cute cards, and the one from Will was very funny. It said something like "here's a card just like me....it doesn't do what it's supposed to!" It opened up backwards and upside down, lol. We went to church, then when we got home Jered did the dishes (woo hoo!), and is planning to make lunch and supper for us. Also this week, the kids made me presents at school/daycare. They are so precious. What a fun Mother's Day!

9th Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday, Jered and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. Jered got off work a couple hours early, then we took the kids out to dinner at Anthony's Fish Grotto in La Mesa. Afterward, we went to Cold Stone and had ice cream. When they went to bed, we watched Tron, which I had picked up at the exchange that afternoon. We had to get new cell phones last week because our old ones were dying, so we counted that as our anniversary gift, and had a very low key celebration. Tuesday afternoon, Jered brought home some gorgeous roses, which we have enjoyed looking at and smelling the last couple of days. All in all it was a great anniversary, and a fun way to celebrate almost a decade of marriage.