Dallin's Done!

...well, almost. Dallin has finished all of his classes and tests for school and will officially graduate on Saturday (the 1st). He still has some review lectures this week and then will study on his own to take his national board certification exam (probably at the beginning of Sept.). Then he will be loosed on the world! Unfortunately we still don't know exactly where in the world that will be. We are very excited, but are also nervous about all of the unknowns. Hopefully we can find a great job in a place we love and live happily ever after. Either way, I am proud of Dallin and all that he has accomplished. Waaaahoooooo!

Doing the Wave

Dallin started a game with the kids where they sit on the front steps and wave to all the cars that pass and see how many will wave back. Believe it or not, not too many people wave back. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt since our steps are about 5 feet above street level and there is a good hill in the road just past our house. However, the kids get very excited when someone does wave or honk. Especially Talmage. I have to constantly keep checking for him when I send them out in the backyard to play. He'll run down the side of the house and usually gets in one wave and a "Hiii" before I can catch him. The thought of him being out there by himself sets off all of my motherly insticts and makes my hair stand on end, muscles tighten up, and a few other feelings that only come to a mother when her child's life is in any way threatened. Yeah, I'm not so thrilled that they have been taught to play on top of a big stone wall next to a busy street but as long as they are supervised I guess I will survive.

Lets Go Fly A Kite

Dallin got these kites a while back, so for one FHE we attempted to go fly them at the park. Although we didn't really get them up too well (the wind kept dying just as we would get it going), the kids still enjoyed it. Kaia ran her little heart out several times (my camera wasn't fast enough to catch her), would get tuckered out and catch her breath for 30 seconds, then be ready to try it again. Talmage wouldn't let go of his kite's tail so Dallin had to just hold up the kite and let Talmage trot along behind him. After a few minutes of that, the kids were both ready to go play on the jungle gym. Simple pleasures.

Sunday Walk

Although the weather can't seem to make up its mind (it's constantly changing), we were able to take advantage of a wonderful spring Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks ago to take a walk. Beautiful! If I didn't have to live through such a long winter to get to this fleeting beauty I wouldn't mind living in PA longer.

(The dress Kaia is wearing is a dress that I got in Germany from my Oma (grandma). I have a few more of my dresses that Kaia is now big enough to wear, so I'll keep pointing them out.)

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has finally sprung here in Scranton, PA. Well, actually, it snowed at the beginning of April, then the next week was as hot as it ever gets in the summer (high 80's) and now it seems to have stabilized to the cool (50's), cloudy, sprinkly spring. It really threw my bulbs and the blossoms for a loop so my favorite part didn't last for very long, but I am truly grateful to see green aplenty. I planted a lot of bulbs (daffodils and tulips) in the fall hoping for a blast of color when they bloomed, but because of the weather and different areas of shade in my yard they are just blooming one at a time. Bummer! Although Mr. Groundhog had to wait a lot longer than 6 weeks, I think he is happy to be out of his den (however, even though he is cute, I wish he would go back in because he keeps eating my lettuce!) (This picture had to be taken from in the house because he is very skittish.)The kid's have loved being able to play outside.

Talmage Turns Two

I can't believe I'm actually posting about something the same week it happened (Dallin is studying for his test so I get a little time to myself). Talmage turned two on Friday (the 1st). Even though he is almost as old as Kaia was when we moved to PA, Talmage is still my baby boy. I still love to cuddle him to sleep at nap time (and catch 5 minutes myself) and I find myself carrying him way more than I should. Not that I care when my kids hit certain milestones, but it is interesting to note the differences between Kaia and Talmage at the same ages. Kaia is my quick-learning, independent, leader. Talmage is happy to follow and is quickly showing me what a boy he is (today was the first time I had to scrub "artwork" off the walls). We have had more than one person tell us that Talmage always seems to have a little mischievious sparkle in his eye and grin on his face. This ought to be an interesting year.

Since our Stake Conference was scheduled on Friday night, we prolonged Talmage's B-day and celebrated by going to Chuck E. Cheese's on Saturday and having cake and presents on Sunday. While we were out on Saturday I got some helium balloons and hid them in the trunk. Talmage was very excited to see them on Sunday morning. Finally, we were able to enjoy some truck cake despite the gravitational challenges (the bumpers and lights didn't want to stay put). Also note the "flat" right rear tire- Talmage had already found and helped himself to his unassembled cake. Silly boy. (Kaia took the picture above- not bad!)

We love our happy, sweet Talmage!

Easter

Easter is absolutely my favorite holiday- the colors, fresh flowers, bunnies, pretty dresses, chocolate, new life, hope, breath of fresh air, warmth, ......... and Peeps- what's not to like? We didn't do a lot for Easter, but after church we did have an egg hunt and the kids had a good time. Growing up, my mom would always hide our baskets at the same time as the eggs and we had to find our own basket before we were able to pick up ANY eggs. I think it was her way of leveling the playing field for the big kids vs. the little kids, but I like the tradition and have stuck with it.

This year I also included a large, empty plastic egg in the baskets to help us remember the empty tomb. Since it was the first egg they were able to get their hands on (and it was the biggest) Kaia immediately opened it up, but was a little disappointed to find it empty. This was exactly what I wanted and I took the opportunity to ask her, "Why do you think the egg is empty?" Since I hadn't talked to her about it I didn't expect her to know, but she answered something like, "It's empty like the tomb." Wow. It's nice to know that she has such a great sunbeam teacher (thanks Christina!) AND that she is starting to listen. (Kaia is wearing a dress that my mom made for me.)

After that, the eggs were a free for all and they have been enjoying one a day since then.