Preschool Graduation...

Last night was Maddie's preschool graduation. It was a bitter-sweet event... It's great that it's summer but we are sure going to miss our friends from school.

We started our night with a wonderful rendition of the 6 pigs and the big bad wolves...

 Then we were serenaded by 32, three and four year olds, singing everything from The Months of the Year song to Hermie the Worm (a personal favorite). 

 Then the awards were given.

Maddie with her teacher Mrs. Trish.

 After the awards it was time for the Balloon release.

(I loved this picture of Maddie and Cailen... Cailen definitely got a short string on his balloon)

 Apparently being a graduate is pretty exciting don't you think? ... or maybe it's the Mom's trying to make us pose for pictures that is exciting stuff ?

This one's for you mom...

My mom didn't get to run up to the cemetery with us today so we had to take some pictures for her. Hope this makes you feel a little more like you were with us today. We sure missed you!

Lookie, Lookie...

The slanted yard issue has been resolved...

Yay! It's not completely done yet but it looks amazing!

What a huge difference those rocks made.

If you can't tell, I'm a little excited.

I don't know about you...

...But I don't think I could ever do this.

Let alone sleep like this.

Aubrey, your flexibility never ceases to amaze me.

The neighborhood pond...

We decided to take a trip over to the neighborhood pond for a little picnic before it gets too hot, too buggy and too crowded. The weather was perfect, the bugs were minimal, and really we were the only ones there. Made for a great evening out for the fam.

 Brooklyn was not in a picture taking mood... these two pictures are about the only ones I got of her.

Best Buddies Friendship Walk...

Today our family had a wonderful opportunity to participate in a fun event. Our friend Alisa works for the Nonprofit organization called Best Buddies which is a program designed to give individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities an opportunity to build friendships with others. I love the description of their program found on the Best Buddies Friendship Walk Fundraiser page... 

"What if you woke up one day and felt sad and alone? You had no one to eat lunch with and no one to share your life with? There are 7.5 million Americans with intellectual disabilities, and 200 million worldwide, who are the most neglected and undervalued population in the world. Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities often grow up experiencing a life of rejection and isolation. Through Best Buddies, thousands of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have successfully moved from segregation and desolation to a new acceptance in their family and community. Best Buddies has created a new spirit of public service for thousands of volunteers that will last a lifetime."

Obviously this subject is something that is of major concern to me so we were more than willing to participate. It turned out to be a wonderful event.

The walk was held at This is the Place Heritage Park.

 After the main event (the big walk) there were a bunch of carnival type games, dancing and free food. The girls loved getting to play all the fun games...

(I loved watching Karl dance with his daughter. So precious!)

...And they especially loved the fun prizes they won.

 (I however, may or may not be plotting a way to make these lovely recorders disappear...)

We are so glad we went. In fact, I think we might plan to go again next year. We were kind of slackers this year and didn't do any fundraising... Maybe next time we will do better. :)

Thanks Cody and Alisa for inviting us to participate. 

A new little sweetie joins the family...

My brother Andrew and his wife Irene had a beautiful baby girl on Monday.

Although I did get to meet her the other day, the girls had to wait for today to meet sweet little "Livia" as Brooklyn likes to call her.

...Introducing...

Olivia Anne

Born May 14, 2012

Welcome to the family sweet girl!

Getting closer...

It's been a while since I've done a house update. So a house update is what you get. Things are moving along at such a swift pace right now. Our move in date is just around the corner. Yay!

Since my last post, the house has been sheet rocked, textured and painted. The closet shelves, window casings and floor boards have all been installed...

The vinyl floors have also been installed in preparation for the cabinets to be installed...

 The scaffolding is all in place and the stucco process has begun...

 And the rock is all ready to be installed...

Speaking of rock... Remember the issue of our 30 inch drop off at our sidewalk? After many hours of research and brainstorming, we have finally found the most cost efficient solution to our problem (or at least the most cost efficient and pretty solution to our problem). We have had a few landscape companies come give us a bid on how expensive it would be to have a rock wall installed along the sidewalk. After the first bid was given, we had decided our only solution was to buy the rocks and install them ourselves. We found a great place to purchase the rocks but after realizing that each rock weighed about 300 pounds, we decided doing it ourselves really was not a solution. After chatting with a few friends we decided to give another landscape company a shot. And I am so glad we did. Not only did he come highly recommended, his bid came in $2000 below our first bid!!! Needless to say I hired him on the spot. :) I can't wait to see how it turns out!