Lily Is a Preschool Grad!!

Goodbye Preschool!! Lily graduated this week and couldn't have been happier to drive away from preschool and never look back. She is SOOOO ready for kindergarten. However she is quite bitter that now that we live in UT the kindergarten class is only 1/2 day, not a full day like Mia had in TX. But we are already counting the days for summer to be over and school to start. Mia on the other hand is heading into her last week of school and can't wait for summer vacation and no more homework, projects, spelling tests, etc!!! I am looking forward to having both girls at the same school. :)

Lily and Mrs. Ashley (her academic teacher)

Lily and Mrs. Amy (one of her dance instructors)

So, Lily had 5 preschool teachers this year so I wasn't sure what to give them - I came up with this idea at the last minute. Thank goodness for Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and their delicious caramel/chocolate apples!!

Happenings

I finally got to downloading some pictures tonight, and thought I would post just few to show what has been going on around here as we wind school down and get ready for summer. Lily has been busy with her dance lately - she was invited to be part of a dance dvd that will be coming out sometime soon. It is the same company that created "Signing Times." This show will be about weather and she is a cloud. It was a long, tiring day of filming, but Lily was a total trooper. She loved it from the moment they walked in the door, put on costumes and got to have their hair and make-up done. She smiled and danced like a beautiful cloud for hours. I was fascinated with the whole production process - the green screen, tons of video cameras and the work that goes into getting these little girls to cooperate and perform over and over. We are excited to see the finished product when it is done.

Lily's class also went to the zoo. It was Piper's first time to the Hogle Zoo, and she thought it was great. She is a complete animal lover so she was memorized at each stop by the animals. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed the visit so much. And it made me realize that there are a few things about Utah I do like better than Texas: going to the zoo in May in Texas was miserable - you are covered in sweat, the animals aren't out and moving and the kids are complaining. It's good to have moments like these to remind me to be happy about the little things here. But I have to admit, my heart is still in Texas on most days. And we have had a few moments with Mia lately, too. She has had tears over the fact that she misses her friends, the swim team, her school and our pool in Texas. That is when I have to put on my happy face and help her see all the good things we have here in Utah (even though my heart is breaking and I feel exactly like she does).

We even made it to a Bees baseball game one night. We aren't much of a baseball family, but we love to eat at games!! After the hot dogs, fries, chicken strips, cotton candy and hot chocolate (it turned out to be cold that night) were done we did watch some of the actual game before heading home. :)

My husband has found a new hobby these days - training for triathlons (sprints). He did a few in Texas before we left, and last weekend he did one here in Bountiful. The girls and I were there at the transition point cheering him on!! After watching the whole event very intensely, Mia is now convinced she wants to try one, so she and Jason are going to train this summer and she is going to try to the novice race in the fall. Jason now has the added pressure of not letting his 8 yr old daughter beat his time in the next race. If you haven't met our Mia, she is quite a competitor!!

Up next - Lily is finally done with preschool and graduates tomorrow. And Mia is wrapping up 2nd grade, and ready for 3rd!!

10 Years - and still in love!!

Jason and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary over the weekend! We decided to go back to where it all started...we did a session at the Salt Lake temple (where we were married) and then we spent the night at the Hotel Monaco (where we had our reception). It was such a great time to spend together. We had a romantic dinner out on Friday, a beautiful run up Memory Grove canyon on Saturday morning, ate a delicious late breakfast and then we spent the afternoon shopping at the new City Center mall. We love those rare chances we get to not have kids and just enjoy doing the things we used to do before Mia, Lily and Piper joined us. It has been a wonderful and exciting 10 years of marriage to my best friend - and I am looking forward to many more.

The tulips were in bloom all over temple square.