He's Finished!!!!

 He's finished! He did it! I did it! We did it!! After years of being in school or studying, it's finally over! 

On Saturday, June 21st, Eric finished the BYU EMBA program. It was an exciting and emotional day. He was excited, I was emotional.

(I took this picture of him last Wednesday-his last night of homework!)

 To finish off their 2 year program, BYU put together an overnight retreat for students and spouses in Midway at the Zermott Resort. We had dinner on Friday night with Lloyd Newell coming to speak to us. His talk was so good and so uplifting. He talked to us about the importance of continuing to learn and how our spiritual education is more important than our secular education. We had a lovely dinner and a fun time spending the evening with some of Eric's Professors and classmates. 

 The next day was kind of like a mini Education Week. Three of Eric's professors spoke to us about life after the MBA program and how to reconnect with the things that matter the most in our lives. The first lecture was on "Family Finances" (now that we have student loans to pay), the next was on "Building a Resilient Marriage", and the final lecture was on "The Importance of Family Time". Each lecture was amazing and Eric and I were able to make some new family goals from some of the things we were reminded of. It was nice to end the program on such a high note and to have the professors remind us that, just because you have a great education, don't forget what is really important in your life. It was awesome!

 All the students had one final assignment to submit before we could leave Saturday evening. Here is Eric turning in his very last assignment!  This is when I started getting emotional. They had the screens up at the front of the room, and as each assignment was turned in and the students names were being checked off, everyone was walking around high fiving and hugging each other. It was cool to see the support each member of the EMBA class offered each other and the excitement that they all shared in finishing this journey. 

 Before we left, some of the professors and program directors gave a few last words of advice and counsel and thanked these 60+ students for an amazing 2 years. Hearing how this program changed not only the students lives, but the professors lives, was really wonderful. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father blessed our family with this opportunity. It wasn't always easy and there were many weekends when I was not grateful for this. But, it blessed Eric's life so much, not only academically, but he is a better man for the people he met and the lessons he learned from his professors and classmates. I am grateful that in a small way, I was able to serve Eric and support him through this time in our life. Words cannot express how proud I am of him!! 

Here is the graduating BYU EMBA Class of 2014!!

The Dinosaur Park

Saturday we surprised the kids with a family outing and they didn't know where we were going until we got there. Tessa is obsessed with Dinosaurs, so we took them up to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden. We have never been there before and it did not disappoint! They were so surprised and excited once we finally arrived. 

 Tess was like a kid in a candy store. She just ran from one fossil to the next.

 They had some pretty cool robotic dinosaurs to look at. Tessa thought they were cool until Daddy tried to feed her to them. 

 Gwen was not so sure...

 There was even a room full of jewels. Tessa was in heaven. Dinosaurs and jewels! She found a diamond that was 44 thousand karats!

 Gwen finally got brave enough to touch a dinosaur bone. 

 Daddy will be paying for her therapy someday.

 We even got to spend some time watching a Paleontologist work on some fossils. 

 Outside the museum is a park full of dinosaurs. We could have spent hours out there. We had so much fun seeing all the dinosaurs, exploring hidden paths and trying to scare the pants off each other. 

 Tessa wanted to try and look just like this dinosaur-whatever it's name it. She could tell you. 

 Adam pretending to run away from the dinosaur while playing football. 

 The last thing we saw were these dinosaur heads and Tessa really wanted to touch their teeth. 

It was a fun afternoon and Eric and I loved watching how excited all 3 kids got over finding new dinosaurs. It was kind of weird to be back in Ogden and to see our old stomping ground. We showed Adam his first house and saw the new temple and had a lot of fun reminiscing about our early days of marriage in freaking Ogden. Sometimes, we wish we could get those quiet and slower days back.

Summer of Fun-Week 2

Another week of summer has flown by. Here's a quick re-cap of last weeks events. 

Monday we played "Cheese Head". The kids put shower caps on and I sprayed them with shaving cream. Then they had to try and fill each others heads with Cheetos. Tessa only lasted a few minutes before she gave up. She decided it was more fun to have Adam hold still and fill his cap with Cheetos. 

 Gwen did a good job of sneaking Cheetos out of the bag. 

 We had another week of swimming lessons. Gwen was not as easy this week as she was last week. She loves to make friends where ever we go. 

 Tuesday morning we had piano lessons and then we headed to the Library for Story Time. This weeks theme had something to do with Mad Scientists. 

 After the Library and a quick lunch, we headed to the movies to see the Legends of Oz. It was nice to be somewhere quiet for a while and thankfully, Gwen sat through the entire movie!

 Having a big tub of popcorn all to herself helped with the sitting still. 

We spent many more afternoons in the water. I love watching them just have fun!

Gwen is not a fan of the sprinklers, however. She just chills out in her car and eats popsicles. 

 Adam and Tessa have been working hard at earning the Brag Tags. They spent one afternoon making a skyscraper out of cardboard boxes for the Artistic Brag Tag. Each floor had a different theme. 

 We made musical instruments out of straws for their Music Brag Tag. 

 Wednesday, Mommy kind of needed a mental health day and kind of threw all of our planned activities out the window so I could chill out and "relax". But, by the afternoon I needed to do something useful and so I decided to teach Tessa how to make rolls. She did an amazing job!! She was so proud of herself. 

 We watched a lovely sunset on Tuesday night. 

Wednesday morning-the reason why I needed a mental health day. I have no bed. 

 Early morning reading sessions in Adam's bed. 

Thursday we had swimming lessons and Adam had Science Club and Mommy got to sneak away for a hair cut and then spent the evening with Aunt Dee who sewed curtains for the boys room. That meant a fun night with Daddy for the kids.

 Adam gave a talk in church on Sunday. He worked on it throughout the week and wrote almost the entire thing by himself. 

I'm a mean Mommy and still make the kids do some school work even though it's summer. They each have reading and writing time everyday. 

Friday was our last day of swimming lessons and a play day for the kids. They got to spend their morning going down the water slide and jumping off the diving board. I was afraid neither kid would jump off the diving board, but they both did and they loved it!!

Gwen, on the other hand, was not having much fun watching everyone else having fun. We got a good 30 minute fit out of her. That was a blast...

 They both passed their class and get to move on next year!

 Friday afternoon we spend driving around town collecting their Brag Tags. 

 We needed a little Sonic summer pick-me-up. Mommy got a few tastes of her drink before Gwen stole it. 

Saturday we surprised the kids with a trip to the Dinosaur Park up in Ogden. More about that in another post. 

 Sunday was Father's Day and we had a low key day with our favorite Daddy. We went to church, Adam gave a great talk, Mommy made a yummy dinner and the boys cheered on the Spurs as they watched the final game in the play-offs. 

We are so thankful for Eric and the wonderful father he is. These are some lucky kids to have such a great Daddy!