Swing Set

We got a new swing set for the kids and they couldn't be happier.  We picked it up Thursday night, one big box of lots of pieces.  Friday morning as soon as Lucy got on the bus we got to work putting it all together.  We first had to take it piece by piece to the backyard.  It was to heavy to carry down just the 2 of us.  It was pretty overwhelming to just look at all the different pieces of wood, screws, bolts and the thickness of the instruction manual. We just started to work piece by piece.

We slowly assembled all the different parts, each piece seemed to take so much time.

Hours later we had almost all the pieces put together.  We only stopped for a short time to eat lunch.  We hurried and ate so we could just keep working.  We also realized that even though it was a nice day in the 60's we were getting pretty sunburned.  We couldn't complain because it was such a perfect day to be outside working. Garrett had fun playing in the big box it came in and just trying to help us. He kept himself busy all day playing on his own.

Once we had all the pieces put together we moved it over to the back of the yard where we wanted it.  It was finally nice to see it coming together and realizing we were almost done.

When we were almost done we took a dinner break and went to Wendy's for dinner.  It was nice to sit down and take a break.  When we got home we finished the final touches and let the kids start playing.  We were proud of our work, it only took us 10 hours to finish the swing set.  We literally worked all day on it. We really wanted to finish it in one day, we didn't want to drag it out over 2 days.  We were also having family over the next day and wanted it finished for them to all play on. When we were done with the swing set we worked together mowing the lawn and trimming.  Our neighbors behind us are really nice and came over as we were finishing and told us they had been watching us all day build that.  They were discussing through the day what they thought it was we were building, she was happy she guessed right. They are so nice and even let JJ borrow a drill bit he didn't have.

The kids are in heaven with their own playground in the backyard.  Lucy has mastered the monkey bars and Garrett loves to swing.  JJ and I had a nice day working together all day.  I am not sure how much help I was.  I did read ahead each step and gather all the materials for the next step and helped with holding things but he really did the majority of the work.  He was so sweet and told me the best part was just how much fun it was to spend the whole day along side me working together.  It really was a nice day!

Last Day of School

Friday was Lucy's last day of school.  Kindergarten and this past year sure flew by.  She has grown and learned so much.  We are so happy with our decision we made a few years ago about having her start school when she did.  I think that extra time has really helped her and she has done so great in school as a result. We really enjoyed her teacher and all that she did for her this year.  She has made lots of great friends who live close by and many in our neighborhood.  We are looking forward to seeing them at the pool and having play dates.  Garrett and I are excited to have Lucy home with us for a couple months so we can play together.  I am sure the time for school to start will come so quick so we will try to soak it all up.

 Heading to the bus with Dad.  So thankful the bus stopped right outside our door.  So many times we would be saying our morning family prayer with one person looking out the window watching for the bus.  We would quietly say bus so they could quickly end the prayer and JJ could run Lucy out and get her on the bus.

We are looking forward also to not having such a hectic morning.  Lately I feel like each morning we are scrambling to get Lucy ready and out the door.  Throwing things in her lunch bag for lunch and quickly fixing hair.  It will be nice for everyone to possibly sleep in and not have to rush around each morning.

The Watts Visit

I was so excited a few weeks back when my friend Ashley called to see if they could stop by and see us on their way back to CO after graduation.  Or course we told them they could come see us and we were so glad they did.  They stopped by our house after dinner Sunday evening to visit.  It was so fun to see them and meet their newest little one, Charlotte.  It was great to be able to hang out with some fellow optometry students and catch up on everything since we have seen them. Their kids are darling and Jett and Jaxon have grown so much.  Kaitlyn had headed home with her grandparents to get back to school, Lucy was a little disappointed but had fun playing with the boys.

 JJ and Josh had fun discussing eyes and optometry practices.  JJ is excited for Josh's new adventure and can't wait to learn from him and follow in his footstep down the road.

I had fun showing Ashley around the house and catching up with how life has been for both of us since we have seen them last summer.  It was so nice to be able to talk with her!

 We had a nice visit with them before they headed over to their Aunt and Uncles house for the night.  Her aunt and uncle are in my parents ward, small world.  It was great to be able to spend some time with them.  We really miss so many of our friends we made while we were down there and it is so fun to be able to keep in contact with them.  As they were leaving JJ and I both commented on what a great family they are and how much fun they are.  It made us miss them all and all the fun times we had with them.  We are so glad they came to see us and we plan on seeing them as we drive out to UT to visit JJs family.  

Busy Saturday

 Saturday was a crazy busy day and I don't think I sat down for very long all day.  We got up and started right away with the house chores and preparing for Garrett's birthday.  I hurried and got the cupcakes in the oven and just started tackling everything on my list.  We then hurried to the gym so I could make one of my favorite classes.  I know I should have probably skipped and just kept moving with my to do list but I knew I had to just take that break.  We then hurried home, quick shower for me and got moving again.  We made a quick lunch and ate it in the car as we went to Lucy's ball game.  When we got there I sent her running over to the field as I searched for a parking spot.  When I got Garrett out the car I noticed Lucy had forgotten her glove at home.  As we approached her on the field she came running over and was crying.  She had realized she forgot her glove.  I felt so sorry for her, we were in such a rush and I didn't remind her.  Luckily we were able to borrow a glove from someone and it was all okay. She played awesome during the game and we were so proud of her.  JJ was able to join us not long after the game started.  I took video of her up at bat so he could see her.  She played first base and I think it is so funny to see how serious she is, she is always in ready position. 

JJ got there and was able to help out as the 3rd base coach. He loves it and I know he wished he could help out more.

 After the game we all went home and finished up all the things for the party.  We finished just in time.  Party was great and then we got busy with clean up.  JJ and I had tickets for the youth symphony that night.  We hurried and fed the kids some dinner and then realized we were going to just have to grab a burger on our way.  Our babysitter came about 6, her Mom dropped her off--so wonderful. We hurried out the door stopped by sonic and headed downtown.  Traffic was horrible.  I think Jerry Seinfeld was at the Fox a block away from the symphony and there was also a ball game that night.  Anyways, horrible traffic and it took forever to find a parking spot.  We finally walked into the symphony about 7:20, 20 minutes late.  They wouldn't let us in, once it starts they close the door until intermission.  We could watch it on a TV screen up in the lounge until then.  We didn't know that and I was so frustrated.  I was really looking forward to finally sitting down and relaxing.  I was not going to watch it on a TV screen.  I didn't want to wait 40 minutes until intermission to get in.  So we left.  I had on a new pair of sandals and they broke while walking to the symphony.  Yeah we probably should have just stuck around but I was in a bad mood and had a million things to do and just at that point wanted to leave.  We tried to think of things to go do since we were already downtown but nothing came to mind.  I didn't want to do a ton of walking in my shoes because I wanted to return them and didn't want them to look any more worn out. We had already eaten and we were to late to catch a movie.  So we drove all the way back home and took the babysitter home.  Paying her full price for the whole evening, even though she was only there for 2 hours. We took her home and I returned my sandals. JJ and I both still had to prepare lessons for Sunday so it probably worked out anyways.  Just frustrating to have plans and then have them not work out.  Especially since we barely go out and I was really looking forward to it.

Here we are before realizing we weren't going to the symphony.

A Party For Garrett

Saturday afternoon we had a birthday party for Garrett.  With his birthday at a busy time of year with school ending and memorial day we had it the week before.  He really wanted a superhero party, he loves superheros so we tried to base the games around that.  JJ was a big help getting all the stuff ready for the party and helping with the different activities.  We had the kids do a little obstacle course in the backyard.  They had to do things like climb through the tunnel, shoot a basket, loop a ball on the ladder game, kick the ball through the cones and then toss a ball through some hanging hoops. The kids all really enjoyed it and did it several times. 

They then had to carry a plastic Easter egg from one bucket of water to the other.  The eggs were green like Superman's cryptonite.  Anything with water is always a hit. 

 They did a scavenger hunt around the house.  There were big puzzle pieces around the house that they had to look for.  After gathering all the big pieces they had to put the puzzle together.   It was fun to see them so excited running from room to room and looking for the next puzzle piece.

 Everyone gave such nice gifts and Garrett loved them all! A couple people asked me what he wanted for his birthday and so I ask him.  He responded with telling me that his friends could give him whatever they wanted to.  Such a sweetheart!

 After gifts we have cupcakes and ice cream.  He picked out funfetti came, vanilla ice cream and moose tracks ice cream.

It was such a fun party and Garrett loved it.  It was nice and simple but great for a 4 years old.  His friends all seemed to have a fun time and we were happy that they were able to make it.  Garrett really looked forward to celebrating his birthday with a party with his friends.  He was so sweet thanking them all for coming and handing out the bags to the kids. 

Ticket To Ride

Friday night we went over to the Bemis's house to play a "ticket to ride" tournament with some other couples.  It was a fun night out together and with friends.  Each couple was suppose to bring a side dish/dessert representing a hub on the game board.  We picked Nashville and made a cheese and sausage platter.  We loved getting those as appetizers when we lived in Memphis and thought it would be a fun thing to bring.  It was a big hit, very delicious. We had 3 tables set up, each with their own game board.  4 people at each table and we rotated after each game, by drawing numbers.  We played 3 games and then added them all up.  It has been a while since we have played the game and it is such a fun game.  JJ and I clearly weren't very good at it.  JJ actually came in last, he had a really bad first game!  He got a sad train and a candy baby bottle as his prize. 

 Becca creamed most of us and came in first.  Here is the winner and looser. 

It was fun to get out and socialize together.  It was such a fun and creative activity and we enjoyed going together.  We even had a nice walk over and back since they only live a street over then us.  The kids stayed at home with a babysitter and had a blast.  They looked forward to it all day.

Kindergarten Celebration

Friday Lucy's school had a Kindergarten Celebration.  It wasn't a graduation, more of a celebration.  They put on a really cute little program where they sang songs that they had learned through out the school year.  They also had a slide show with all the kids.  They had a picture of each kid that told what they wanted to be when they grow up. It was a nice program and I am glad we were able to go see her.

 It was really hard to get a good picture of her.  We were at the back of the gym on the bleachers and the girl in front of her kept moving right in front of her.  I sent JJ up to the front to get this shot of her.  She looked so cute in her matching pink shirt.  It has all the kids names from her class on the back, in the children's handwriting.

My Mom came up to attend the celebration with us.  Lucy was so happy to have Grandma come and see her! It was really special for her and I am glad she was able to come.  It is nice to live close to family so they can come to these special programs.

 This is Lucy and her friend Lilly.  They live in our neighborhood and also go to church with us.  It has been so fun for Lucy to have a friend in her class that lives so close and she gets to see 6 days out of the week. We are sad they will be moving to Kansas City this summer for a job.  Lucy will really miss her.

It worked out great that JJ was off so he could come with us.  Here is our family after the program.

It is hard to think that she is all done with Kindergarten, she is ready for a nice summer off and then 1st grade in the fall.

My Buddy

I love spending my days with my little buddy.  We have a lot of fun together going about our activities. Lucy is nearing the end of school for the year and I know it will be different having them both home during the summer.  In a way I feel like my time with Garrett is nearing as well.  During the summer we wont have as much time to spend with just the 2 of us.  In the fall he will be going to preschool in the afternoons a couple days a week.  Time just goes by so fast and he is growing up so quickly. He has officially done away with his afternoon naps.  This has been a struggle for me.  I love to spend time with him but I also love just a few minutes by myself in the afternoon.  Just some quiet time or time to work on a project.   As sad as I am to see our special time together come close to an end I am happy for him to be able to play more with Lucy.  They are such buddies and play so well with each other.  I am looking forward to doing some fun things with him this week and also looking forward to a fun summer with both the kids.

Rhododendron Bush

We have 2 Rhododendron bushes in our backyard.  We just moved them from the front yard, where they were doing horrible.  They were getting way to much sun and just looked like they were going to die.  Ever since moving them to the back just a week ago they are doing so well.  This week they have started to bloom and they are beautiful.  They have the prettiest purple flowers and I am so glad we kept them.  I had no idea they would be this pretty.  I hope they do really well now in their new home and we have many years of enjoying them.