Congrats, Lacey!

Lacey is my first child and she just finished her first year of school. So, it was a momentous day! When I started looking into preschool programs, I did a ton of research, created a grid on my computer listing every preschool program in the area. Anyway, I finally settled on Creative Beginnings. It was definitely the right choice! Lacey has just thrived there and it has been such a wonderful experience for her and our family. She was in the M/W/F afternoon program (12:30-3:00). Her school had a great Fall Festival, a fun Halloween Parade, an incredible Christmas concert, an Easter Egg Hunt, etc. And today, the last day of school, Lacey performed with the other students at a Spring Concert. For a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds, I was expecting 3-4 songs. Nope. They got up there and put on a whole program with 15 songs! Actions, instruments, you name it. She had Science once a week and Music once a week. And she had fun every day she went. I hope the next 14 years of school go as smoothly as this one :)

Lacey's beloved Mrs. M.

Oprah

June 17, 1998. This is me and Oprah on my 22nd Birthday. And you know what? What a way to celebrate! I know my sisters will ridicule me for saying this, but I am really going to miss Oprah and the Oprah Winfrey show. Do I watch her every day? Are you kidding? I have 3 kids - I don't watch anything every day unless it happens to be on Disney or Nick Jr. Do I agree with every thing she says and does? No. But I like her. I think she's a good person who has done a lot of very positive things for a lot of people. So, even though I won't be spending my next birthday with you in a couple weeks, Oprah (unless Dave has a really cool surprise planned!), I'm sure glad I got to spend this one with you!

Viva, Las Vegas!

Mancation: Round 4. So, back in 2007, my Cousin Seth came out to live with us for a month while he completed a rotation for his Residency (in Radiology) in DC. He and Dave really hit it off as they both share a love for tennis and basically lead dual lives. They are both married to Kerry's (although his wife spells it Cari). We just had our 3rd and it's girl, boy, girl. They are pregnant with their third and it's girl, boy, girl. Same age, BYU grads, etc. You get the picture. Anyway, Seth came out here the following year and he and Dave drove up to NYC to see the US Open and then flew out to Vegas for a few days because we had a frequent flier. And thus, the Mancation was born. (Don't worry, the following year I got smart and said I needed a Womancation, so each year, we each go away for a long weekend with our friends. It's fabulous!) So, for the picture above: Chillin' at the Cosmopolitan Pool.

Dave and Seth hiking Red Rock

Red Rock

Hoover Dam

Another shot of Hoover Dam, one of the most spectacular sights in the USA, in my opinion!

So, Dave didn't take nearly as many pictures as I would have, but here's the breakdown: They decided to stay in a different hotel every night just for the fun of it. Night #1: Venetian. Night #2: Cosmopolitan. Night #3: Trump. Night #4: The Wynn. And the days consisted of playing tennis, hanging out at the pool, hiking at Red Rock and going out to great restaurants every night. Dave had a great time. Not nearly as much fun as I had at home potty training Tanner and breaking up about a dozen or so fights a day (Seriously, why do we not own two of ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING????), but fun nevertheless :)

Another Year Older....

Here's the Birthday Boy on his 33rd Birthday (Monday). He took a half day off work and I planned an outing to DC. We took the Metro to the Air and Space Museum, which neither of us had been to in over 10 years.

I did a report in High School on Charles Lindbergh and I have loved him ever since. We've even been to his burial sight in Maui, Hawaii. Here is his famous Spirit of Saint Louis Airplane.

I surprised Dave by taking him to Maggiano's in the Chevy Chase area of DC. He loves this restaurant and the one in DC is the closest Maggiano's to us, so we don't get there very often. And I had arranged ahead of time to have his college roommate, JD and his wife, Megan, meet us there. Dave was thrilled to see them and we had a really nice dinner. Happy B-day, Hubby!

Thomas and Mom

We've had a busy weekend! On Saturday, we took the kids to see Thomas the Train.

Here we are about to board...

And we're off! Lacey and Tanner (wearing his Thomas shirt) were THRILLED to actually get on Thomas and go for a 25 minute train ride.

And it also happened to be Ms. Riley's 6-month birthday. I can't believe we're already half-way through her first year. She is perfectly immobile (I'll take that for as long as I can!) and as sweet as can be.

After a fun-tilled Thomas on Saturday, we enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day. The weather was perfect. Dave made cinnamon rolls (from scratch!) for breakfast and then we went for a walk to enjoy the sunshine. We went to church in the afternoon and I loved watching Lacey sing with the Primary kids. I'm so blessed to have a wonderful Mom (who will be visiting next month - can't wait!). And I'm so blessed to be a Mom. Love these three little people a hundred million!

That evening, we had the whole Strom family over for dessert. Here is the Matriarch of the family with all three of her kids. Happy Mother's Day!

And today (Monday) is Dave's Birthday, so a birthday post will be soon to follow.... Like I said, busy weekend!

Butterflies and Horses

I decided to take the kids to Kids Club this morning. It's held locally once a month and it's an indoor event with face-painting, story-time, a clown making balloons, etc. And today is a rainy, overcast day outside, so, Kids Club it is! Lacey decided to be a butterfly and Tanner decided to be.... a horse. A horse? I have no idea where he came up with that. The other boys were tigers or other wild animals. But he was insistent. So, here's my horse (white mane and all) and my butterfly.

And here's T-man with his balloon sword. He informed me that horses live in Africa. So, when it was time to take his nap (which was an hour ago, but he has been running around in his room and is currently banging on the door -- apparently horses don't take naps!), he told me that he didn't want to take a nap. When I asked him why, he responded, "Because I want to go to Africa." okey dokey. He also informed me that he is now eating grass. Awesome.