Instagram May

Wow!  May was a BUSY month for us!  I can't even believe we are a week into June.  Summer is already going by too quickly! 5 new posts today to cover most of the month of May...

1.  A Police Man visited preschool today...
2.  Sydney's darling Mother's Day Gift
3.  Mother's Day Cards
4.  Last day of school!
5.  BYU Baseball game and Cosmo!  Go Cougars!
6.  Happy Birthday Kelli!
7.  His first Slurpee.. Banana, Yum! Free Slurpee Day
8.  Loving her first Slurpee... She chose grape and kept calling it a "slippery"
9.  Sydney's drawing from church... Daddy baptizing her.  I can't get enough of her drawings!
10.  Watermelon!
11.  It's Summer!
12.  First day at Bunga Bay!

50

Last week we celebrated my mom's 50th birthday!  We put together a fun little family surprise party for her.  It was so fun to decorate and have her come home to a surprise.  We did all black and white decorations, and some funny signs- just simple and fun.  And we planned a BBQ with her favorite "summer food."  I think we did a good job of surprising her with the party and with presents.  It was a perfect night, just hanging out together as a family.  It is kind of weird to think that my mom is now 50, because I really think of her still in her 30's.  Funny how our brains don't seem to remember that we are all aging :)  Happy Birthday Mom!  You are the greatest mom in the world, thanks for all you do!

Memorial Day

One of my favorite things about Memorial Day is going to the cemetery to visit the graves of our loved ones.  It is always such a nice opportunity to remember them and to tell stories to those who don't remember them.  We were able to meet up with some cousins at my Grandpa McEwan and Uncle Tim's graves.  It was fun to spend some time together while we were there.

After visiting the McEwan graves, the kids and I drove over to Papa's grave.  It was the first time we'd been there since his funeral, so it was a little bit more emotional.  We miss him dearly and the pain can still be so raw sometimes.  The kids drew him some pictures and carried the flowers themselves.  

The headstone looks so beautiful.  I love having the temple on there to remind us that families are forever.

Sydney's card was so sweet, I just had to take a picture...

On the corner of Papa's headstone, there is a sign language "I Love You."  He taught Sydney how to sign I Love You, so she was practicing it while we were there.  Then we taught Cooper to sign it as well.  That sign will always be something special that reminds us of him.

We are so grateful for the special day to remember those we love.  I feel so honored to be able to pass down such a great legacy to my children, and am glad that I can tell them about these great men.

Kennecott Copper Mine

A couple of weeks ago a bunch of moms from the neighborhood took their kids to the Kennecott Copper Mine.  We decided to tag along and had a great time!  I remember going there on field trips as a kid, and thinking it was so huge.  I think my favorite part always was the humongous tire.  The kids had fun walking around the visitors center with their friends.  It was pretty crowded with field trips, and a bunch of Asian tourists.  The Asian tourists kept coming up to me and asking if they could take pictures with the kids, then they would crouch down next to them and have their friend take a picture.  It was so funny.  I think they liked seeing all our blonde haired, blue eyed kids more than the copper mine.  Cooper loved seeing all the big trucks, and Sydney liked looking through the microscopes at rocks.  They each picked out a rock to buy and take home.  After we visited the mine, we had lunch at Copperton Park, because that seems to be tradition.  It was fun for me to tell Sydney and Cooper how I used to go there when I was a little kid.

Preschool Graduation

Wow, it's hard for me to believe that Sydney and I not only survived a full year of school, but we really did have a great year, and now it is over.  I am so glad that I made the decision to teach school this year.  It was a good experience for me, and it was nice to be able to save some money for a 2nd car!  It was so fun to watch my students learn and progress... seriously the best thing about being a teacher.  We had our graduation almost a month ago, and it went well.  I loved watching the kids perform their songs and say their parts.  It's always fun to show off what we've been doing.  It was a little sad to have to say goodbye to them after it was over, knowing that most of them I'll probably never see again, but I know they'll all do great in Kindergarten... after all, they had great preschool teachers :)

Sydney did such a good job with her performances.  She knew everything she was supposed to do, and had her part memorized.  It has been so fun to watch her progress this year.  At the beginning of the year she wasn't able to write her name, cut paper, or read... and now she is doing all three of those things (and more) proficiently.  I loved being her teacher and watching her learn, grow, and interact with her peers. She really has learned so much this year, and I'm so proud of her.

Months of the Year... Sydney was July

B-I-N-G-O

The Wiggle Song... the 4 neighborhood kids on the right... Sydney-Ella-Trevin-Daxton
Sydney loves that all the girls dresses are twirling in this picture :)

Sydney reciting her part in "The Night Before Kindergarten." She said it perfectly!

I am presenting Sydney with her diploma, and telling my "favorite" thing about her...
I got a little emotional, which I wasn't expecting!

Finished with her first year of preschool!  And sitting by her good friend Ella, she's going to miss having Ella in her class next year.  Good thing we live close and see each other often!

With Grandma, Tim, and Allie... such great supporters!  And thank you Allie for taking all the pictures :)

With Alex... thanks for coming!

Sydney with her teachers...

We are so looking forward to summer, and I'm afraid it will go by much too quickly!  Next year, I am taking over the preschool and am doing it all on my own.  I'm so grateful to Lindsey for showing me the ropes this year, otherwise I think I'd be going crazy right now!  It was a great year that I'll always remember!

Gardening

We had such a fun time growing our own tomatoes last year, that we really wanted to expand our garden this year... the only problem was the fact that we don't really have a yard this year... we have a tiny little "patch."  I have to applaud ourselves for being pretty creative and resourceful.  This year we planted more in less space, and I'm loving it!  We have a bunch of herbs, strawberries, and 4 tomato plants.  We decided to build a trellis to hang some planters for the herbs and strawberries, and we built a garden box for the tomatoes.  We also learned from our mistake last year, and bought a huge tomato cage instead of a tiny one. The kids were so excited to help plant it all, and have loved watering their plants.  We are excited to see the progress and "fruits" of our labors!

I feel like it makes our "patch" a little more homey and backyardish, and am totally in love with it!

Papa Andrich

Last week we took a little impromptu trip to Oregon.  Matt's Papa Andrich passed away, so we headed up there for his funeral and to spend some time with the Andrich clan.  We don't get to see them very often (it's been a couple years), so it was really nice to be able to have the whole family together.  Matt's parents were so generous and bought us flights up there.  We are so grateful to them for that!  It was our first time flying with two kids :) We were on the same flight as Chirs, Lisa, their kids, and Alex.  I'm sure it was a sight to see us walking through the airport with all our babies, luggage, car seats, and strollers.  We managed to fit all our stuff into carry-ons, but were able to check the car seats, so that was good.  When our flights were booked, somehow they would only let us book all middle seats, so yes, Sydney and Cooper were both supposed to sit by themselves, in the middle of two strangers.  Luckily, we got it all worked out, and I was able to sit with the two kids.

Flying with these two was a breeze.  They absolutely loved it.  When you ask them about the airplane, Cooper always says, "it was bumpy!"  And Sydney likes to tell that "we got to eat, have drinks, and color."  The only hard moment, was our turbulent landing, when Sydney's ears kept popping.  She wasn't a fan of that!  (funny how I was always worried about her ears as a baby, and never had a problem, but this time I didn't even think of it).  As soon as we got on the plane, Sydney found SkyMall and started checking it out... I love how she crossed her leg, and you can see her foot sticking out at the bottom...

My mom put together some little travel kits for the kids.  They loved having all the special treats!

They really loved coloring in their personalized notebooks... Aren't they so cute?  We drew so many pictures, and Sydney loved writing in it.  Get her a notebook of plain paper and crayons and she's the happiest girl on the planet.

The flight went by so quickly, and it was so fun.  The kids always keep talking about the "hairplane" (Cooper's language).  It was quite the experience for them :)

When we got off the plane, we loaded up 4 cars, and all headed up to Astoria.  It was a couple hour drive, and the kids slept the whole thing, so it was nice and enjoyable.  I'm always amazed at how thick and green the trees are there.  We were able to stay on the Leahy family farm, near Astoria.  There was no cell service or internet there.  So, it was 100% family time, which was great.  Sydney and Cooper had such a great time playing with all the adults, and with Mason.  And of course, Sydney loved taking her turn holding Landon.  They loved having so many people around, and definitely got lots of juice and candy, which they loved.

One of the days we were there, we headed over to Seaside.  I remember going there with Matt when we were engaged, so it brought back some fun memories.  A lot of the shops were closed, because it wasn't a weekend, but it was still fun.  We shopped in several different candy shops, and a toy shop.  The kids, and older girls :) rode on the carousel, and we ate some lunch at Pig-n-Pancake.  

The next day, was the funeral.  It was such a nice service.  Matt's mom spoke, and told a lot about Papa's life.  It was fun for me to learn more about him.  His funeral was held in the church that he was married in, which was really neat.  It was fun to imagine him getting married there.  We weren't able to spend a lot of time with him, but I do remember visiting him a few times.  One of those times, was when Sydney was a baby.  He held her, and did "Captain Jinks" with her.  I was able to find those pictures and am so glad we have them.  The one thing I have always known about him, is that he loved to do "Captain Jinks" with his kids and grandkids... so cute.

All the grandkids and great-grandkids

The whole Andrich clan

Matt and I were so glad that we were able to be at Papa's funeral with our children.  We are so thankful for the opportunity we had to spend time with family that we don't see often.  It was so special that we were all able to be there and spend time together!

After the funeral, we drove down to Salem, where Matt's parents live.  We spent a couple days there, before we flew home. We went to church together on Sunday, and that night a bunch of Missy and Kenin's friends came over for ice cream.  We were able to see the Moore's at that time.  It is always good to see them and their cute family.  Cooper loved playing with Grace, and Sydney had been waiting to see Lucy the whole trip.

Wrestling with Uncle Chris

Brothers 11 months apart, and cousins 11 months apart

Sydney playing with Zoe and Lucy

Cooper and Grace

We also went through a bunch of old boxes, and ended up watching the old swim team video (Chris and my senior year)... and our wedding video.  Both of them brought back a lot of fun memories.  Mason was pretty tired at that point and just sat on Matt... not something he does often, so I had to snap a picture.

Before we left we took some pictures of everyone together, since we aren't ALL together often...

The kids also loved the flight home.  This time the flight attendant gave them "wings" to wear and they loved that... (and yes, they are on upside down)

And I had to take this picture of Cooper walking through the "hairport."  He was walking SO SLOW and leisurely, just sipping on his juice box, with his goldfish in the other hand, and his backpack... too stinkin' cute...

Such a great trip.  Thank you Kenin and Missy for spoiling us with all that you did!  We are so glad we could be there!