Polar Bears

The Friday before school got out, Avery was going on a field trip and Aidan was having pajama day at school.  I thought Lucy and I could have a little fun for ourselves, so I put her in the stroller and ran uphill to the zoo where the new polar bear exhibit was opening that day.  I thought we could get there right at 9 when it opened, beat the crowds, and run home to get Aidan off of the bus at 10:55.  Once we got up there, we found out that the exhibit didn't open until 10 when they would be holding a ribbon cutting ceremony.  Lucy was adamant that she was going to see the polar bear "today", so we visited all the other animals before waiting in the hot sun for another 40 minutes for the ceremony to start.  When the ceremony started (5 minutes late of course), a bunch of speakers, including the mayor, talked for forever.  By the time we finally got into the exhibit, it was 10:25.  We spent 20 minutes quickly seeing everything - it was pretty awesome and that is coming from someone who doesn't like the zoo.  I looked at my clock at it was 10:45.  We were at the bottom of the zoo, so I buckled Lucy in the stroller and started running.  I don't think I have ever run that fast, but we arrived home just minutes after Aidan got off the bus -- he was still walking down the sidewalk to our house.  Not the in and out visit we had planned, but everything worked out...

Lucy Jane Turns 3

Our sweet little baby girl turned 3 on May 21.  Since Mikey wasn't going to get home until after 8 that day, we decided to celebrate the big day the Saturday before.

 Lucy started her day with our traditional birthday doughnuts. While Mikey went to work for the morning, we headed to Aidan's soccer game and then did a little birthday shopping.

 She got to open all of her presents when Mikey got home.

 Then we headed to the Gateway so Lucy could experience Build a Bear.

 She knew immediately which one she wanted.

 Although she was thrilled, the other two kids weren't very happy that they didn't get to build a bear too.

We all shared caramel apples before coming home to enjoy a birthday cupcake (finishing off our day of sugar/fun/partying).

Happy Birthday sweet Lucy!  I can't believe how much life one tiny person can add to a family.  We love you Janers!

Mother's Day

Avery (and Mikey) made me the most adorable pancakes for Mother's Day.  They even tasted good :)

Magic Show in the Talent Show

Instead of a Kindergarten graduation, Aidan's class had a talent show.  Aidan did a few magic tricks - he was adorable and very entertaining. He loved his cute teacher Ms. Mary and we were so sad to see this school year come to an end (although we LOVE summer!)

Art Night at Beacon Heights

Our kids are lucky to go to a school with a fabulous art program.  All the students have art and music every week.  They have one semester of dance (and a monthly science lab, although not part of the art program).  Art night, in addition to a few grants, raises money every year to fund these programs.  We got to see Aidan's class dance and both Avery's and Aidan's grades put on a music program.  The whole school was transformed into an art gallery, raffles and silent auctions were held, and there was a giant bake sale.  We didn't win a basket this year, but had a great time as a family.

Artman Aidan

 Aidan made a paper roller coaster for his Batman toys.  Although creative, this posed a few problems at dinnertime. 

 A few days later, my ironing board became a turtle boat. 

A few days later, my house became a BYU shrine.  The best part was Water the Sea Turtle dressing up for the occasion. 

Piggytails

Bunny Ears and Easter

 Aidan loves holiday decor and costumes.  He wore his ears everywhere for about two weeks. 

Dying of the eggs

Easter morning

April 1

We were out of town for April Fool's.  When we got home, I was reminded that we missed our traditional April Fool's dinner and the kids wanted a rain check.