BYU Management Dinner with Lots of Fun People!

I couldn't think of a title for this blog, which is why it's so random! Anyway, last night was really cool for lots of reasons. Because Dave graduated from BYU's Business school, he is part of the DC chapter, which hosted a really nice dinner last night at the Marriott Hotel in the DC area. Not only was it fun to get dressed up and go out to a nice dinner (thanks, Mom for watching the kids!), but it was fun to have dinner surrounded by such notable people. I mean, here we were eating dinner at a Marriott WITH the Marriotts! Both Marriott brothers and their wives were seated just 3 tables away from us. And next to them was Elder Eyering.

Here's the back of President Eyering's head. We brought our little camera so it would easily fit in a purse/pocket, but ever since we got our bigger, nicer camera, we almost never use the little one anymore, so the battery was dead and this is the only picture I got before it died! BUMMER! But I was able to speak with President Eyering. My mom was in his singles ward at Stanford when he was Bishop. I told him that and he asked my mom's name. I responded with her name and he said "I remember Lynette Cardall. She was such a lovely young woman." Then, just as were leaving, I see Gary Crittenden, the father of my college roommate! It was so fun to see him and catch up in person.

I'm still trying to get over the fact that we had a dead camera so the evening remains virtually photo-less. Regardless, we had a great time!

Thanks, Mom!

Thanks for the new dress, "Hammy!"

Tanner is all smiles with Grammy Net!

Although my parents have 5 grandchildren, Lacey and Tanner are the only 2 that don't live by them in Naperville, so it is always a special treat when either of them come to visit. This past week, my mom flew in simply because she wanted to see her grandkids. We have loved having her here and she has been so helpful! We tried to teach Lacey to say "Grammy", but she couldn't quite get the "Gr" and has been happily shouting "Hammy!" all week. It's so funny.

Another sidenote of the week is that I got Lasik..... again. I got it a year and a half ago, but it didn't work all the way. My eyes improved, but I still needed glasses and contacts. By the time they said they'd do it again, I found out I was pregnant with Tanner and they won't do Lasik if you are pregnant or nursing, so I've been out of luck until now. My mom, thankfully was here to watch the kids all day on Thursday while I had the surgery and recovered by sleeping all afternoon - a glorious 3 hour nap! And now I can SEE!!

Happy Easter!

My mother-in-law made this adorable outfit for my niece several years ago, so while I know Tanner looks a bit like a girl bunny, I couldn't resist putting him in this outfit on Easter!

Here he is in his more manly Easter clothes. He obviously didn't participate in the Easter egg hunt, but he loved playing with all the plastic eggs afterwards!

This was originally supposed to be a bunny cake, requiring two circle cakes. I went to three different stores last night to get all the things I needed and then, upon returning at 9pm, Dave announced the cake had fallen apart while removing it from the pan and the bunny cake was a no-go. There was no way I was going to have all my efforts go in vain, so we improvised with the cake we had left and made a sad-looking egg instead. Oh well; it tasted great!

Lacey refused to pose for a picture in her Easter dress, so I took an action shot.

This was the only pose I got, but it's only of her face and not her dress. Then again, I do love that little face :) Happy Easter everyone! I hope you were all able to take some time out today and reflect on the Atonement and enjoyed a meaninful holiday.

The Greatest Show on Earth

Friday night, we took Lacey to the Circus. Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey were in town and we thought it would be a fun activity to do with Lacey. What made it even more fun is that Dave's sister accompanied us with her family, which included their 3 kids, ages 7, 9 and 11.

Lacey's favorite part was seeing the animals - especially the elephants, tigers and horses. I hate to put a downer here, but I kind of found myself feeling bad for them. I mean, I guess they're well fed and cared for, but it just all of a sudden seemed like a weird venue for big, gorgeous, wild animals. Okay, now I'm getting way to philosophical. Anyway, Lacey loved the animals!

Here she is getting ready to go. Her cousin Reagan gave her this hat when they were here last week, so this picture is for their benefit; see, we're already putting the hat to good use :)

The Ross Family Comes to Town!

My sister Lindsay, her husband Kevin and their two kids, Parker (10) and Reagan (8) decided to come visit us for their Spring Break - yeah!!! We have been having so much fun with them. The first day of their visit, we went to a beautiful park outside Annapolis, packed a picnic and spent the afternoon playing at the park. Afterwards, we drove downtown Annapolis and walked all around the Naval Acadamy. The following morning, Dave had to go to work (boo!) but the rest of us drove to DC and spent the day at the National Zoo, home of the famous Giant Pandas. Here Lacey and I are at the entrance. Tanner was with me too, but he was asleep in his stroller.

Reagan and Lacey looking at the Panda.

Lacey in solidarity with the animals.

Isn't this the cutest thing ever?? This little baby girl gorilla was born just 2 months ago. We had so much fun watching this mama walk all around with her little baby. Lacey kept yelling "Lilla! Lilla!" She's obsessed with "Amls" (the Baby Einstein video with all the animals."

The above all document the wonderful part of this day. Upon leaving the zoo, the day wasn't quite as fabulous. I gave my GPS system to my sister so they could get around. I had mapquested my way home from the zoo. However, mapquest had me turning on to a street that I couldn't find for the life of me and I got TOTALLY lost with my two screaming kids in the back seat. I'll spare you all the details, but sufficeth to say, what should have taken my 45 minutes, took me nearly 3 hours to get home. I'm never parting with my beloved GPS again!