A Park to Remember

I just found out last month that the Fairmont Park playground has been totally redone. I don't know when they did it. For all I know it's been a while, but it's new to me. I took Oliver there to see what all the fuss was about. It really is neat.


My only complaint is that some of the equipment seems a little dangerous. But then again, kids can turn even the most non-threatening thing into a danger zone.


They have a fun assortment of spinning, gliding, futuristic-looking gizmos, unlike any other playground I've seen.

I keep meaning to take Cora and Jane there to check it out. Whenever we have the time, the weather isn't nice enough.



This slide is really tall. Notice how the top of the stairs is unfenced, allowing for careless, wiggly kids to easily free-fall from a height of 20 or so feet. I kept close to Ollie as he climbed up, but after the first two rides down with him on my lap, he insisted on going down solo. He is light enough that it didn't shoot him out at the end.


He was having a grand old time.


Is there anything more adorable than a two-year-old taking it easy with his hands in his pockets? He does this every so often, and I love it!


That yellowish bowl thingy spins around.



I like the color scheme of this park. A nice change from the typical primary colors.


Sorry, Ollie. Time to go home for a nap!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was just dandy this year. My kids really seem to like me, and even a little extra for the holiday. They are fun, creative, smart, happy, cute kids who are good at what they do. I love them so much and I'm very blessed and glad that they are mine and I am theirs.

Church was nice. Cora and Jane went up (without a fight!) during sacrament meeting to sing with the Primary kids. They sang two of my favorite M-Day songs, Mother, I Love You and Mother Dear. Cora was watching the music leader for most of it and Jane was singing straight to me. :) Oliver was having a rough time wanting to stay put. Ryan or I took him out 4 or 5 times because he kept crying. Recently he has discovered that when he says "poop" over and over he'll get taken out of the chapel. The first time he said it I thought he might need to go potty, but he didn't. Every time since then I'm sure he just does it to get out of the meeting. Little rascal. Whenever he says it I have to try not to show him that I'm amused, because I am, but I'm sure the others in attendance didn't come to church to listen to a toddler filling the quietude with talk of fecal matter.

The Relief Society presidency arranged to have all the women come into the meeting for the lesson and a yummy brunch (chicken salad on a croissant, fresh strawberries and pineapple, and a cookie bar thing) during the last hour. The men took over Primary so the moms could have an hour off. It was lovely.

Jane couldn't wait until Mother's Day to give me the present she made at school. She wanted me to open it right after school on Friday, so I did. It was her first attempt at a painting on canvas. She was so excited to give it to me.



Cora made this little box out of clay at school. I love the colors and the design. It turned out so cute.




We went to Ann Morrison Park after church to be with Ryan's family for a couple hours. It was so nice outside. I even got a bit of a sunburn on my pasty arms. Oliver was functioning on no nap, so he just half-consciously chilled out, mostly grazing on cookies and watching people.

This is him watching some people tossing horseshoes.


He was quite interested in this guitar Ryan's niece brought along. He kept strumming on it and enjoying the sounds of it. I sure hope his fascination with music continues. I can just imagine him playing the guitar and breaking girls' hearts later on down the road.



Cora and Mommy by the river


Mommy and Janey



Ollie is just plain cute. Check out that winning smile!



Oliver was trying to get away and I was trying not to fall down (I had platform shoes on). This is a pretty good depiction of our everyday life. Except we're not always posing this way...


Ollie crying



Here's pretty much the most accurate representation of all of us...



Walking away from the river. I like this because Oliver isn't kicking and screaming, and Cora and Jane are in the distance doing their own thing.


After the park we went over to see my side of the family at my sister's house. I was pretty tuckered out by then, but it was a nice time.

We ate "walking tacos" for dinner and my sister-in-law made these very crafty dessert "sushi". They're made of rolled out Rice Krispie treats filled with different types of chopped candy and wrapped in green fruit roll-ups or marshmallow fondant. They were cute and yummy, and the first sushi I've ever tried. ;) I haven't dared try any real sushi, but Ryan keeps threatening to take me out one of these days to try some. We'll see...

It was a good day. I feel so blessed to have so many people to love!

Surprise Party!

I threw a surprise party for Ryan to celebrate his long-awaited, much anticipated graduation. It was just an added bonus that the first weekend of no more school for him fell on his birthday. I planned the graduation/b-day party for that day, Saturday, May 1st.

Ryan does not like being fussed over and made the center of attention. He hoped his mom wouldn't try and put a big party together, but he never said anything about not wanting me to do such a thing. He did say he didn't want a party, but I just couldn't not have one for him. I couldn't let the weekend go by without something out of the ordinary. I didn't want it to be like any old lame Saturday. So I did what I could to arrange a memorable shindig. I invited all his family, all my family and a few friends. I thought about inviting more of my friends, but I decided to stick with the people who were directly associated with Ryan, since it was a party for him, not me.

For two weeks I struggled with trying to keep from wrecking the surprise. Cora and Jane overheard me talking about it with Ryan's mom, so I had to remind and warn them repeatedly to not say anything to Dad about any party!

The day of the secret fiesta came, and our plan according to him was to go over and hang out at his parents' house in the evening and take it from there. I had told him that his mom wanted to watch the kids so he and I could go out somewhere.

I had told everyone to be there at 6:00 sharp. I planned on getting there with Ryan and the kids by a few minutes after 6 and it would all go perfectly according to my design. Well, we got there 15 minutes later than expected. That doesn't seem like that long to wait, but it apparently is to a crowd of people standing in close quarters in the back of a garage while anticipating our arrival. My fault. Ryan had been finishing something up at home at the same time we were supposed to have been on our way over. I had to remain calm or he'd think something was up. I had told Ryan's sister to text me when they were ready. I got that text just as we were loading up into the car to come over. It's a 15-to-20-minute drive, and I was driving, so I couldn't text back to tell them what the deal was. I didn't know that all the attendees would be quite so punctual!
Once we got there, Ryan's aunt, uncle, and a few cousins were surprised to see us pulling into the driveway. They didn't know what to do, so they just acted nonchalant. Ryan told me later that he thought his mom just told them to stop by on their way to a stake conference meeting. They were all in church dress and just stopping in to make an appearance at the party. But I had invited them, not his mom. Ryan started chatting with them and was still doing so as we slowly entered the backyard, where the tired-of-waiting guests were. The actual moment of surprise was anticlimactic, since a couple of kids ran out prematurely and yelled "Surprise!" when Ryan was still not all the way in the yard. The rest of the group never really said it. At least not in unison. But when he registered what was going on, he was internally surprised, if not visibly...

We had quite a large group gathered at the start; his parents, four of his siblings' families, my parents, my grandma and two of my sisters' families, plus various cousins and his aunt and uncle and a few friends. I was so glad so many people could make it! And Ryan didn't get mad at me for throwing him a party. :)


It was windy and chilly, so Shirley had her outdoor fireplace and a portable fire pit going for people to warm up next to. My jacket still smells like fire. Maybe I should wash it.

I ordered the balloons and had Alondra pick them up, and she and Shirley decorated the yard. It looked more festive than the pictures portray.

Uncle Jim, Aunt DeeDee, the back of Jenicee, Jade in sunglasses, and Bethany in the hoodie.

We had burgers and hot dogs and a tasty assortment of salads and sides.

I would have taken better pictures, but a bunch of people had to leave in a hurry, and I was darting around trying to make sure everyone was getting food before they took off.

After everyone ate dinner, we moved inside to sing "Happy Birthday" to Ryan. I ordered 6 dozen donuts from Pastry Perfection for dessert, which my mom so kindly agreed to pick up on my behalf. Ryan loves donuts, but we don't get them very often at all because they can kill people. :)


I should have gotten a pic of the beauteous sprinkle donuts. I was just too much of a busybody that night to get any decent photos.


I think by the time the donuts were revealed, Ryan had completely forgiven me for throwing a party for him.



Blowing out the candles I'd put on one of the donut dozens. The girls were already trying to grab the sprinkle-covered ones. That explains my demeanor in this pic. :) Get your mitts off the donuts!


Mmmm.... so many donuts.




Ryan opened several cards and a little chicken shooter. The "gun" catapults mini plastic chickens with the goal of hitting the bull's-eye, what else?


He got money, an Olive Garden gift card, and movie passes.


Ryan's sister, Alondra, (to the right of Ryan) told me her husband (who is working in Louisiana) said to make sure Ryan knew the money enclosed in their card was for me. $100, yippee!!!

Ryan's brother, Chad, and his wife, Stacey, and two of their kids, Myles and Danielle


Ryan's niece, Shealyn, with her baby. His sister, Bethany, on the right


The best part of the evening was the arrival of some of Ryan's old pals he grew up with. I'd contacted one of them on Facebook to invite them, and he promised they'd come after another party they had to be at. It worked out perfectly that way. They came after dinner, which gave Ryan time to visit with everyone else before they arrived. He hadn't seen them in years, so he was pleased as punch to see them. He kept thanking me for bringing them together.

Overall, the night was a success! And now I can think about something other than party planning!

Con"grad"ulations to Ryan!

Monday was a special day. The day we've all been waiting for. One that seemed as though it would never arrive. Ryan graduated from Idaho State University's College of Pharmacy. It was a momentous occasion. One I am still trying to fully grasp. I won't let anybody pinch me because this is a dream I do not want to wake up from!
Ryan has been in school since I met him. That's ten consecutive years of college. He changed his mind about prospective professions a few times before settling on the idea of becoming a pharmacist. In the mean time he earned a Bachelor's degree at Boise State in Biochemistry. It was so exciting when he was accepted into the pharmacy program four years ago. There were over 500 applicants competing for one of 60 seats available that year. We had to move to Pocatello for two years, and then we had the option of finishing the remaining two years back in Boise, which we obviously took. That was the first time I'd ever lived away from Boise, so I was a bit scared, but also ready for something new. A week after we moved to Pocatello (technically Chubbuck), I was called as our ward's Relief Society President. The Bishop said he felt that I was the right one shortly after our family came into church our first Sunday there. I still don't know if that call was more inspiration or desperation on his part. I think he was kind of shocked when I said yes. :) Anyway, my point is I am really glad our life's path included a stay in Chubbuck, because I made some wonderful friends there and I wouldn't trade that time for anything.
Fast forward to earlier this week: GRADUATION NIGHT, 2010!

The ceremony was held at the Boise Center on the Grove. Ryan had to be there at 5:30, and rather than sending him off ahead of us, the kids and I went along with him even though it would mean an hour of waiting around downtown. Originally I thought that sounded fun, but for some reason I wore the most uncomfy shoes possible, and a skirt that kept riding up my legs as I walked, so I mostly just stayed in one spot while the kids goofed around by the fountain.

I love Ollie's squinty eyes and his hands resting on his back.


Cora takin' it easy.

I didn't want to go inside and find seats too early with the kids, but that turned out to be a bad idea. I waited until my parents arrived at shortly after 6:00 (half an hour before showtime) , then we went in to discover there were no seats to be had! I felt like such a numbskull. There were a few hundred more people than the set-up crew had anticipated. Pretty soon they started setting up more chairs, but they never did get enough for everyone. Luckily, we got seats, although we were separated from Ryan's parents and sister. :( Could I get any dumber? I guess maybe I should go to college so I can quit ruining things all the time! We were there an hour early, for Pete's sake! We could have gotten front row seats if I'd been wearing my thinking cap!



The ceremony didn't bother starting until 6:40. A few minutes later the band began playing "Pomp and Circumstance" (why the heck is it called that?) for the procession of the graduates, and I started getting a little emotional thinking of how far we'd come. Ryan looked so happy when he walked past. What a blessed moment. Somehow I was able to keep my composure. Didn't want to scare the kids. :)

Oliver was trying to be so good. He only tried to weasel his way out of the row a few times. He was getting a bit restless, but it could have been a lot worse. And he at least kept mostly calm until after Ryan crossed the stage to get his diploma case.


They told everyone to stay in their seats (and not have a chance of getting a decent photo of one's graduate) so I obediently sat in my chair and tried my darndest to capture the moment of interest, when his name was called and the pharmacy hood thingy was placed ceremoniously over his robe. That's him leaning over to make his neck accessible.

And him in the center of the photo walking off stage. Wish I could have seen the look on his face.


After the program had wrapped, we methodically made our exit into the lobby amid the slow-moving throngs of people. It took a few minutes to locate Ryan through the masses, but his height aided our search. Ryan's parents, Bob and Shirley; his younger sister, Bethany; his brother, Chad; and his wife, Stacey were already gathered around him. I kind of doubt I got all that punctuation right. Sometimes I think punctuation will be the death of me; it makes me fret so...

I have no idea what was going on in this shot! I don't recall singing at that point in time. I wasn't even in the manner of goofing around. So why in the world does it look like I'm mustering a my best impression of Mariah Carey in song (minus the abundant cleavage)? Why is my finger even pointing? This might be a good story line for an episode of Unsolved Mysteries,
if it were still in production. I miss that show.

Oliver checking out Dad's whacked out hat.


A few days before the big day, Ryan's mom sent me (with money) shopping to get something worth wearing to the event. She is one of the most thoughtful, generous women in the world! She's always trying to do nice things for people. Also, she probably noticed how boring my wardrobe selections are. So, I got a shiny blue blouse (finally I can be like Chloe on Smallville!) and the skirt shown. I didn't try walking around in it at the store, so I was a little annoyed that night when it bunched and rode as I strode. :/



Ryan and his Dad.


We moved outside for some better pictures.


Ryan's Mom told us to pose like this, so we humored her. Considering all she's done for us... :)
I need to learn how to stand properly when wearing a skirt.


Ollie's almost half Ryan's size!



Awww... He did such a good job in school...


And now onto another chapter in our life....