Summer!!!

Summer vacation is finally here and we are so thankful! I think Mommy is more ready than the kids are. 

Thursday, Adam's class had a little program for the parents to come and see. They sang a few songs and recited 10 poems that they had memorized together as a class. They got to watch a video their teacher put together for them and they loved watching that. 

 Friday was only a half day of school and the girls and I got our house ready for summer while Adam was finishing up his last day. Our jars are filled and ready to go with fun things to do this summer. 

 We have our poster of things we really want to do this summer hung and ready to get checked off. I put "Have a Baby" on it and Adam thought that was cute. I figured we'd be sure to at least get one thing checked off by adding that. 

 We emptied our summer bookshelf from last year and have empty shelves to fill this summer. 

 We picked the Bug-A-Boo up from his last day of 2nd Grade. I can't believe he will be in 3rd Grade next year. We have many new adventures coming our way next school year. This will be our last year at Riverview Elementary. Although I know our decision to move on is right for my kids, I am grateful that they both had positive experiences here at Riverview. 

 Yay for summer!!! We are so excited to spend our days together. 

We kicked off the first afternoon of summer by visiting the library and getting signed up for the summer reading program. Adam and Tessa also got their first brag badges of the summer. After the library we headed home and had an afternoon of popsicle eating and got Adam and Daddy packed for their first camp out of the summer. We are off to a good start and it's going to be a fun summer!

Tessa's Kindergarten Graduation

Last Friday, Tessa graduation from Kindergarten. She is so excited to be moving on to First Grade next year. The Kindergarten classes put on a little graduation programs for their parents to come and see. Tessa was sad that her Daddy missed it, but was surprised to see Ma, Dee and Eddie there with Mommy. She looked super cute as a little graduate. 

 Despite what you may think, Tessa hates to perform, so this was a challenge for her. They sang several songs and each had a little speaking part. Tessa told me that morning that there were 3 songs that she didn't like and she thought the actions to them were dumb. Ma and I got the giggles during one of the song that she didn't like called, "I like being me". After singing each line, Tessa would mutter an opposing comment under her breath. For example, "I like being me" and Tessa would mutter, "No I don't". I have no idea whey she didn't like this song, but it sure made us laugh watching her being annoyed through the whole thing. 

 She did great memorizing and delivering her part. It's only been a week and we both already forgot her line!

 Getting her certificate from Mrs. Hales and Mrs. Muirbrook

 Dee and Eddie brought her a "candy necklace" as she calls it. It was full of her favorite candy, swedish fish!

 Tessa and Ma

 I'm so proud of our big girl! She has grown up so fast!

First Grade...here she comes!!

Trials and Blessings

Last week was a challenging one. The first week without Eric was tough, but last week was really tough. I don't know if it was just the mental and emotional exhaustion catching up with me, the fact that I watched our savings account getting tossed out the window, everything breaking, having a crazy 2 year old who was missing her Daddy horribly, or all of the above. I'm tired just thinking about it all again. Thankfully, we survived our last week without Eric and he is home safe and sound with us again. 

Here's a quick recap of last week.

 Tuesday morning I went to pick Tessa up from school and noticed this on my garage floor as I pulled out. I knew that anything leaking wasn't good. Thankfully, Jodi picked us up at the repair shop and I was able to get it  fixed quickly. Not cheaply, but quickly. I had so many friends and neighbors offering rides and help if I needed it all day long. Knowing I had so many people who had my back was very helpful and helped me to get through the day without a car. Then on Thursday, the kids and I woke up to a basically dead refrigerator. Again, not on my list of things to do or take care of. I had to laugh so I didn't burst into tears. I felt overwhelmed. Thankfully we got a guy out to look at it and after he tried to fix it (we still ended up needing a new one) I was left with a very dirty and dusty kitchen. My friend Kristin took my girls so I could clean without them "helping". Again, I had so many wonderful people offer help. I don't think I would have made it through that day without all of them. I had a sweet friend bring us dinner, another friend brought me treats and many others checking on us all week long to make sure we were ok. I have never had that kind of caring and kindness shown to my family before and I hope to be able to be that person for someone else someday.
After spending 2 hours on Thursday afternoon cleaning my kitchen from top to bottom, I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to take it easy as I was having lots of contractions. My sweet parents and brother, Andrew came down on Saturday to mow our lawns and watch the kids to I could do grocery shopping without having to wrestle with Gwen. It was a much needed break and I truly appreciated it!!

Saturday evening finally rolled around and we were able to go pick Eric up at the airport. I had 2 different flights that he could have been on, so we prayed for the best and thankfully he was on the one that we planned on. The kids decorated the house with welcome home signs and we headed up to the airport around 8pm to get him. 

 His flight landed a little after 9pm and we were so, so happy to see him! The girls went running to him as soon as they saw him, and sweet little Adam burst into tears and was too embarrassed to give his Dad a hug when he was crying. I didn't get any pictures cause I was trying to comfort Adam. But it was a happy reunion! Gwennie was sure happy to see her Daddy!!

 We got home late and everyone crashed. Sunday morning Daddy busted out all of the goodies he bought for the kids during his trip. Tessa was so happy that he got her a necklace with the Eiffel Tower and some sweet new shades. 

Hopefully once school is out, I can get Eric to blog about some of his trip. For now, we are just glad to have him home and to know that the end of this road is almost in sight. One more month and he is done!!!

What We've Been Up To...

Life for us while Daddy has been gone has been pretty normal. The kids are still in school, so we still have afternoons of homework, piano practicing, baths, scripture reading and bedtime routines. We have missed Eric terribly, and are anxious for this week to go by quickly so we can have him home with us again. 

 On Mother's Day, we went up to Ma and Pa's house for dinner and got to Skype with Elder Uncle Ben. He is doing great in Chile and we had fun talking to him. 

 We have thankfully had beautiful weather lately and we have tried to take advantage of it. I can't chase Gwen down the street anymore, so we spend most of our time in our backyard soaking up some sun. 

(Don't mind the beached whale in this picture)

 The kids went through one box of fudge bars in one afternoon. How can you say no to that face? While Gwen ate her chocolate, Adam and Tessa colored pictures of places their Daddy would be visiting. I didn't get a picture of their art work. I may have to make them do it again. They did a really good job!

 There has been lots of extra blanket chomping with Daddy not around. Her favorite blanket has now started to unravel.

 While the kids play outside, I have tried to catch up on some journaling in their scrapbooks. 

Yay for technology!!! We have been able to Skype with Eric almost everyday that he has been gone. 

 Afternoon reading and snack time outside. A perfect afternoon with my little ones. 

 Gwen was invited to her first play date. My wonderful friend, Kristin invited Gwen over to play with her little girl so I could run some errands in peace. She texted me this picture and said, "I am in love with your daughter!"

My Bestie, Jodi threw me a baby shower on Saturday and it was lovely! A huge thanks to all who came and helped with it. It made me feel extra special!

 Can't wait for this little guy to get here!

 I never thought when I took a job working with Alzheimer patients, that I would get a husband and an amazing best friend out of it! So thankful for Jodi being part of my life for the last 14 years!

 We busted out the sprinklers! Gwen was not impressed that she was getting wet.

 A very sweet friend from my ward showed up on Monday afternoon with dinner and treats for us. She said, "I figured you could use a break." And this is after she left treats on our porch Sunday afternoon. Talk about a pick me up!

 This handsome little man is counting down the days until his big birthday. He's told me several times this week that he is thankful he wasn't born on time cause then his Dad would have missed his birthday. He gets to be the spotlight kid in his class this week and we had fun working on his All About Me poster over the weekend. 

Only a few more days and then Eric will be busy with work and school again, but at least we will get to see him in person a few nights a week!