Swimming Lessons

Parker started swimming lessons a few days ago.  In the past six months or so, Paul and I have brought up the idea of swimming lessons with Parker several times, but we were always met with extreme resistance.  He likes swimming, but is very careful to not get his face wet.  Before Kate was born taking a bath was a chore, but now that they play while they bathe he enjoys it.  I didn't want to force swim lesson; it just seemed like a battle I wasn't quite up for.  Eventually I would have forced it (I think every kid must take swim lessons for safety reasons), but I was hoping that he'd come around by himself.  Anyway, a couple Saturdays ago Paul went surfing and Parker wanted to go.  We told him that he could go surfing once he took swimming lessons and learned how to swim.  That did the trick.  I signed him up as soon as I could before he changed his mind.

I have to admit that on that first day I was a little emotional.  He's growing up and doing things that he didn't think he could do and it just makes this mama so proud.  Good thing it was bright outside and no one saw me getting misty behind my sunglasses.  About halfway through the lesson they threw rings out into the pool and the teacher took each child individually to "dive" for the ring.  She put the ring on her foot and lifted up her foot so they didn't have to go very deep.  When it was Parker's turn I whipped out my phone to capture whether or not he'd actually put his face under the water.  He did it!  Go Parker!

My Sister the Esquire

Erin graduated from law school!  This is such a huge accomplishment and I'm so proud of her.  Not only did she make it through the three grueling years, she excelled.  She was on the dean's list several semesters and was recognize at her gradation for the extensive hours of pro bono service she gave.

Parker, Kate and I flew into Boise the Tuesday before the graduation and then drove to Moscow with my Dad on Friday.  With all our potty breaks, what we thought would be a 5 1/2 hour drive, turned into 7 hours.  We had considered driving up early Saturday morning (the day of the graduation), but I'm glad we didn't!  Paul flew into Moscow on Saturday.  We picked him up from the airport and if we had blinked at the wrong moment, we may have missed it!



Before the ceremony started, we decided to run a few laps to get the wiggles out.

I guess we need to go over the rules of racing again with Kate.

Here are the graduates walking in... Duhhhhhhhhh da da dahhh duhhhhhhhhhhh  duhhhhhhhhhhh...

The purple cord signifies her pro bono service.  (You have to do 80+ hours to get a cord and Erin did over 120!)

Getting hooded:

The ceremony was short and sweet.  Afterward there was a reception with hors d'oeuvres and cookies.  Here's Erin with an "I" cookie (for University of Idaho).


After that we had dinner and took lots of pictures with our lady of the hour.  I think we had a group of about 16 and it was so nice to get to chat with family and friends that we hadn't seen in a while.

Four generations!

I love this picture of Erin and her boyfriend, Joe.  Carl started humming the wedding march and we were all cracking up.

Congratulations, Doctor Erin!

Last Day of Preschool

Today was Parker's last day of preschool until it starts up again in the fall.  I think I've mentioned it before, but Parker LOVES preschool.  The days that he doesn't have preschool he asks how many days until preschool day.  While we were in Idaho this past week Parker told me on several occasions how he missed his preschool friends and asked if I thought that they missed him too.

Here are his preschool friends and his teacher, Miss Lydia.  Three of these kids will start kindergarten next year, which I'm sure Parker is devastated about.  The two littles are not in preschool, but I know they wish they were!

So Cal Anniversary #7

It's hard to believe that we have lived in southern California for seven years.  I probably would not have marked this anniversary in my mind at all except that we moved to Los Angeles on Cinco de Mayo.  As we pulled up to our new apartment the air smelled of Catholicism and cervezas.  After hitting traffic a few miles outside of LA, we arrived much later than planned- I think it was 7:00 or so on a Monday night and no help awaited us to unpack our truck.  We had asked for help from the trusty EQ, but apparently we didn't coordinate things very well, and we were left to unpack the truck by ourselves.  This was the pre-baby-FJs era, so we didn't have that much stuff, but I recall having back problems for several months afterward.  Sometimes I think I'm strong, but this senorita is just not cut out for moving couches, refrigerators or hundred pound tables.

We finished unpacking and were left with the dilemma of what to do with the truck.  Somehow we had neglected to print off the address and driving directions for where we were to return the truck.  We found a phone book at a 7 Eleven and hoped that by looking at the addresses it would jog our memory as to which one we were supposed to return the truck to.  Then, since this was before smart phones and our GPS,  we would call that location and ask them for directions.  Well, our memories were not jogged and I think I had the bright idea to take it to the airport (for which we had seen several signs on the freeway) because surely there would be a Budget rental office there and if nothing else, they could look in their system and at least point us in the right direction of where to go next.  We went to the airport, but for whatever reason we couldn't get through the gates, or something... the details are a little hazy.  By this time it was past midnight and we decided to try again in the light of day.

We drove back to our apartment... our apartment that only had street parking (if you just had a minor anxiety attack over the term "street parking," you're probably one of our LA friends) and after driving in circles looking for a spot, we ended up parking the truck in a grocery store parking lot that had signs every fifth spot or so that designated the lot as for CUSTOMERS ONLY! and we were assured that our CAR WILL BE TOWED!  We set our alarm clock for 5:00 am and went to retrieve the truck before (we hoped) it got impounded.  (Side note: I consider myself to be a good driver.  I have never received a moving violation, but by the time we moved from Los Angeles, the amount we had paid in parking tickets was over $1000.)

The heavens took pity on us and our truck was still there in the morning.  I can't remember exactly what happened, but Paul was able to get in touch with Budget and we drove to the proper location, though not directly.  I do know that we drove in a lot of circles and I silently cursed Paul every time he took a wrong turn.  (I was following him in our car and was still a novice with the stick shift.)  If I had been able to lift that truck over my head, I would have thrown it from the street into the Budget parking lot and ran from it as fast as I could.

I guess you could say we had a bit of a rocky start to our California journey, but it has only gotten better since then.  With some sadness (bless you, Idaho)  I have to admit that I have lived in California longer than any other place, and by almost double!  This Cinco de Mayo we commemorated the Battle of Puebla and our So Cal anniversary with tacos, churros and a toast to many more happy years in the Golden State.

Paul's 31st Birthday!

Paul usually has a lengthy and rather expensive birthday present wish list.  I thought I was in the clear until a few days before his birthday when he decided he wanted a motorcycle.  I couldn't tell if he was serious or not, but the more time he spent on Craigslist the more worried I got.  Apparently I'm a dream killer because I had to put the kibosh on that idea.  This man needs all of his fingers in order to put our kids through college and one corner turned too sharply could leave them flipping burgers for life.

Paul has a lot of demands put on his time and I really feel that he balances them all with grace.  But the masculine form of grace.

He recently rekindled his love for the ocean after one of his patients gave him two custom made surfboards.  For several nights Paul would put the surfboards on the living room floor and he and Parker would practice paddling out and popping up.

Paul is doing really well at work.  I think it's fair to say that it is consistently stressful, but I think it's also satisfying for him to improve his technique, learn new procedures and turn a profit.  All while navigating an office full of estrogen and big (but awesome) personalities.  Two weeks ago he placed his first implant and just a few days ago he placed his second.  After he graduated from dental school he considered doing a GPR (General Practice Residency) in order to learn how to place implants.  When he decided to start working right away it was with the understanding that the dentists he worked with would help him learn how it's done.  Nearly three years and three offices later, it's nice to have this desire come to fruition.

Paul has had the same haircut for as long as I've known him (except for that one time he grew it out after BYU and looked like a girl... let's not talk about it) and as far as I can tell since his hair was long enough for a razor sharp part.  Well, the last time I cut his hair he requested something different.  It's very similar to his old 'do, but longer on the top.  He said that short hair makes him look too young and that when it's longer his treatment acceptance rate is much higher.

Paul was recently called to be the Young Men's president.  I believe he's currently in the bargaining stage of grieving (kidding... kind of?).  But really, I think that it was initially quite overwhelming and still is, but getting less so.  On my end of things it mostly just means more nights and weekends alone with the kiddos.  If they were old enough to be into House Hunters and Chinese takeout, this might actually be cool.

Currently his favorite meal is carne asada fries (imagine french fries and tacos having a baby).  It's about as healthy and delicious as it sounds.  And still, his favorite dessert is brownies.

As Parker gets older it's fun to watch him and Paul spend time together.  They like to play baseball and soccer, do pretend surfing and go for bike rides.  They also like to wrestle each other and play this hilarious game where Paul throws pillows and Parker tries (and fails) to dodge them.

Kate has Paul wrapped around her tiny little finger and she is definitely a daddy's girl.  She often cries when he leaves for work.  Last Sunday we drove separately to church and when Kate figured out what was going on, you'd have thought someone just told her the world ran out of chocolate.

He is consistently the best husband ever and I ask myself all the time how I got lucky enough to have married someone who balances and complements me so well.  Just like Parker and Kate, my eyes light up when I hear the garage door open when he gets home.  He's just the best!

Happy birthday, Paul!  31 never looked so good!

Parker's 4th Birthday

Per our norm, we had an extended celebration for Parker's birthday.  His birthday was on a Tuesday and the weekend prior Grammy and Reed were vacationing in San Diego.  We met up with them on Saturday at the zoo and they came over for dinner and birthday cake on Sunday.

Parker usually has preschool on Tuesdays, but on that particular Tuesday it was canceled, so for Parker's actual birthday we went to Sea World.  It was nice to go during the week when it's not so crowded.  Paul brought home Chick Fil-A for dinner, which Parker claims is his favorite meal, although he generally skips the food and goes straight for the juice box and toy.  

The following day (Wednesday) was our weekly park day with friends from the ward.  I brought cookies and told Parker it was his birthday party.

Several days later Parker got a special surprise for his fourth birthday: a trip to the doctor's office!  It had been about two years since his last doctor appointment, but he's gone to every one of Kate's so there wasn't much for him to be surprised by.  I told him beforehand that he'd have to get shots and he did surprisingly well. Also, I bribed him that if he didn't throw a fit we'd go get an ice cream cone at McDonalds.

Currently he is 3 feet 5 inches tall (70th percentile) and almost 39 pounds (75th percentile) and is equal parts adorable and aggravating.  He loves having dance parties, which we have almost on a daily basis as soon as Paul gets home from work.  He is a very good brother to Kate and holds her hand when we're out and about and keeps her safe and walking in the right direction.  He loves being with friends and having friends come to our house and play, although sharing is still difficult and the play date sometimes ends in tears.  He LOVES chocolate (didn't get that from me!) and we've had to resort to hiding (not just putting it up high or out of reach- he is a determined soul and quite resourceful)  all forms of it after we caught him eating chocolate chips by the half-bagful for breakfast on several occasions.  He has an amazing imagination and I love listening to him playing make believe with his toys.  His favorite show is Odd Squad on PBS.  It's a show about math and there must be a lot that is completely over his head, but he still loves it.  He gives the best hugs and kisses and we love him so much. 

Valentine's Day

I love when Paul and I get to spend time together with just the two of us.  Unfortunately it doesn't happen too often, but I love that Valentine's Day is an excuse to do just that.  We decided to go out in the morning and we left the kiddos with an awesome babysitter.  Parker loves her and she always tidies up our house while we're away.  We went to breakfast at a place downtown called Babycakes.  Their primary business is desserts, which in my estimation had to mean that their breakfasts were right up my alley.  Paul ordered standard breakfast fare: an omelet served with potatoes and peppers, toast and fruit.  I ordered the Chunky Monkey.  It's french toast (made out of banana bread) topped with caramelized bananas and whip cream.  Ohhhhhh my goodness.  Thank goodness we had the foresight to wear our elastic waistband pants.  

After breakfast we rented a Go Car.  It's a two seated scooter that's street legal, but only goes 30mph.  Going up hills we were wishing that we could turn on some hazard lights- I think we topped out at about 14mph.  You can drive anywhere you like, but you also have the option of following the GPS instructions through a guided tour of downtown San Diego, which is what we opted to do.   We learned lots of interesting things about different areas downtown and along the bay.