Mid May

More activities in May: Lia and Kent practiced the violin together (which I loved), Josh and I made bread together (which I also loved), the kids settled on our bed for a movie night while Nate and I were gone (there are other places in the house to watch movies, but that is their choice more often than not), Nate and I went as Marty McFly and Jennifer to an 80's party, Megan got the "future teacher" award at school for teaching others and having a love of learning, Lia had her last orchestra recital of the year (that was western themed), Megan and her friends had a lemonade stand, and Josh and his new friend Warren had all kinds of fun together!

May

May was full of school and family events. Laura used birthday money to buy this puzzle. She loves puzzles! We went to my dad's house for dinner with the Farmers (my dad put on a really great dinner--it was good and fun and really nice to be invited). We helped grandma Nelson get organized by taking some of her "treasures" home with us. Megan stayed busy reading, climbing trees with her friend June, playing at school with her friend Stella, and having several school performances (there's more to come...). Laura also had the Hope of American concert at the beginning of May. She loved it and so did we (minus the traffic and craziness of the whole event). And, the kids went shopping for my Mother's Day gift. They got me roses and I couldn't have been more excited!

Laura's Birthday

We celebrated Laura's 11th birthday at the beginning of May. We started with a family party on Friday, a party with her friends on Saturday, and then her real birthday the next Tuesday. She wanted a glow in the dark party with her friends. I had never met some of her friends from school and it was fun to get to know them and see Laura as the life of the party that she is. On the night of her real birthday, we went and saw a movie and then sang happy birthday one more time. Laura loves to party! She is so happy and friendly and draws people to her with her fun personality. I love how thoughtful she is and the way she always thinks of others, especially her brother and sisters. When we went to a bookstore to use a gift card she got for her birthday, she wanted to use some of the money to buy something for Josh. That's pretty typical for Laura. She a beautiful piano player and a great soccer player. She's also doing well in school. She's made some good friends this year and has been a great help to her teacher and to the school on the service club. I love her smile and her notes and the way she holds our family together. We love you Laura!

April

In April, we got to watch my neighbor Jen's cute little baby Luke. Josh loves him and was so cute with him! I also got to go on a field trip with Josh to the Curiosity Museum. Then, we had Josh's first Pinewood Derby (and his first time helping with flag ceremony). He was so excited about it! I loved watching him jump up and cheer when his car finished. And lastly, Megan, Josh and Laura got ready for Laura's birthday with play dough cakes and we celebrated my dad's birthday/retirement.

Anniversary Trip--Part 3

On our last day there we re-visited some of the places we went on our honeymoon (some of which we rode by on our bikes) and then drove up to Big Sur. We ended the day in Carmel where we had dinner and walked on the beach. It was a perfect trip, if there is such a thing. I loved being with Nate. I've loved the last 15 years we've had together. This spring also marked 20 years since we first met. I am so grateful for all we've shared and look forward to what lies ahead of us in the future.