Family

We were lucky to have many loved ones come to town for Memorial weekend visits. Wes' Aunt, Uncle and Cousin from Colorado came to Lewiston for a wonderful stay from the end of the week through today. His cousin from Texas brought her children to Cali for a visit, and she drove up with her mom, sister, and two nieces for a great visit today. In between all the family get-togethers, we had an awesome playdate with our friends from Sacramento this morning. It was such a busy weekend, and we had a blast catching up with everyone. Now we are looking forward to a kick-back movie night with Dad (who has been working with the crew to complete some pressing jobs while we've been hanging out!) Ah- just writing about the busy-ness is making me want to crawl into bed! Here are a couple of family pictures.


Wes' Mom's side of the family


The Great-Grandchildren on Wes' Dad's side of the family

Wes is 30!

The kids and I had an awesome day planning all sorts of fun surprises for Dad- starting with an early breakfast before Dad left at 7, and ending with a dinner that included many of Dad's favorite foods. Oh- and a HUGE chocolate chip cookie we made from his Grandma Joys famous cookie recipe, his all-time favorite :) Happy 3-0, Wes, we love you so much!

The Circus and the Weekend

Friday's Circus performance was so much fun! The whole class had adorable little acts planned, from animals rolling through flaming hoops to strong-man competitions, and even a trick/stunt tricycle rider! Many of the kids came up with their own ideas for costumes and acts, and many talked to the teachers for ideas. Apparently Kylee's best friends really wanted to be ribbon dancers, and her teachers were proud to see Kylee say she had her own idea, a cheerleader FOR the ribbon dancers. They said it was a very independent decision for our shy little Kylee! She made up a cute cheer and practiced it for 2 whole nights. When it came time for their act on circus day, Kylee stood in front of a HUGE gathering of parents, grandparents, and friends- and learned about a little something called stage frieght :) She stood there frozen, and I could tell she just wanted to bury herself behind those pom-poms! I totally felt for her, as I have never been comfortable in front of large groups of people. I cheered for the girls and after her act I gave her a huge hug, and we talked about stage frieght. She seemed happy to know there is a name for this condition that overcame her! Here are a few pictures from the Circus:










The last photo from the weekend is of my kids with my Mother's Day fire pit!We were able to have our first campfire with s'mores in the backyard. It sure does feel like summer is upon us!

Kindergarten Roundup

The end of Kylee's 1st year of school is approaching... and the past two weeks have been very exciting for her. The BIG school bus came and took all the Kindergarten bound kids up to the elementary school and they spent the day shadowing this year's Kinders. They even ate lunch in the BIG cafeteria and got a sense of what it will be like next year. This past Tuesday (since Mom was down with the flu) Daddy took charge and brought Kylee to Kindergarten roundup, where she signed up, got her vaccines, met the two K teachers, and they got to know her one-on-one. I had her last parent-teacher conference at school today- where her current teacher let me know that although she is a November baby (she'll be one of the young ones in class- 4 years old in August when they start...) she's very bright and should have no trouble academically. Socially- she's shy, and so was I, so that'll be something we'll have to work on no matter when she starts school. She gave Kylee all sorts of goodies and learning materials to work with all summer, and her big-kid back pack. Tomorrow is her class' circus performance and the next three weeks will be filled with fun until Graduation night on June 4th!

MIA

It has been a busy 2 weeks, and it's been hard to slow down and blog about it. There are HUNDREDS off pictures to show for it... some of the quick highlights were a special visit from Auntie Sunita, followed by a trip to LA for a good friend's surprise Wedding, we spent Mother's Day on the Beach with my brother, Dave, and then hit Disneyland. We have been battling an evil Flu bug, as well- yesterday was my turn to get sick, and I couldn't even come close to the computer because it was too far away from the bathroom. I'm feeling better now, and am trying to catch up on all the laundry that has piled up from all the sickness and the traveling. Here are some of the pictures from our awesome trip to Los Angeles!

Paint Your Town Purple!

Hey Everybody- be sure to wear your purple today! Today is The American Cancer Society's annual Relay for Life "Paint Your Town Purple" Day. It's a day to honor cancer survivors, and bring about cancer prevention awareness. Our town is asking business' to decorate it's windows in Purple, and we are Kicking Off our Relay for Life season tonight at our town's bandstand! So, do what you can to support those who are fighting this fight, and look into what you can do to be a part of Relay for Life in your town. Here are some shots of us this morning in our purple, and getting ready to walk to school with our Relay balloons.