Yesterday was Matthew's last day of preschool with Mrs. Laurie, so it was time to show off everything he's learned over the year. We love Mrs. Laurie and think she's the best preschool teacher ever! Matthew had a very fun year.
Doin' the Bean Bag Dance.
Love those rhythm sticks! The kids handled them exactly right, helped pass them around and put them away and no one got bopped!
Mrs. Laurie handing Matthew his certificate.
My proud little preschooler!
We finally got to run this race as a family! Mark & I have wanted to do this for a long time. We've always had other commitments on this particular weekend, but somehow things worked out this year and we all had this weekend free. We ran in memory of Jordan and Cole. Ryan and Jared were on their own, Mark ran alongside Jacob (who ran the whole thing, BTW) and I pushed Matthew in the stroller. The course is actually one of the tougher 5k routes around, in my opinion (and that's not just because I was pushing a stroller!) because it has lots of hills, varied terrain -- asphalt, cobblestone, cement, gravel -- and lots of people squished together on the narrow trail. They've changed the course a bit over the years and it now includes a VERY steep (40 foot rise over 75 yards) hill on a gravel trail just 100 yards from the finish line. After pushing the stroller over all the cobblestone and then coming to that hill, I thought I might not make it. The hill was tough. I walked and pushed hard. There was no way I was stopping because I knew I'd never get started again. And then I made it to the top and ran to the finish! Woohoo! I think the organizers of the race like that hill because it teaches a life lesson. I would not be surprised if this route with the hill is used again in future races. We've all faced some tough hills (trials) in our lives, but we've made it! Even though this course is a "harder" one, it is one of the best races out there because there are lots of families (allowing strollers), everyone is there supporting a charitable cause, and 99% come to remember and honor their special angel babies. And if you're into goodie bags and finish line treats, this race can't be beat! There was one family there that had everyone from newborns to great-grandparents running the course (they all had on matching yellow t-shirts) -- you can't ask for more family support than that! The goodies included reuseable shopping bags, water bottles, t-shirts, chapstick, lotion, hand sanitizer, coupons, and notepads. The finish line treats included ice cream, popsicles, bagels, fruit, water, vitamin water, chips and who knows what else! This is the only time I can think of when I thought it was definitely OK to have ice cream for breakfast!
I asked some guy to take our picture and he totally left Matthew out of it! Sheesh -- he was wearing a number and everything, even if he was sitting in the stroller. Oh well.
Me, Matthew, and Jacob showing off our shirts!
The America's Cup sailboat that competed a few years back when it was held in San Diego. It looked like it would be a very fun sailboat - very fast and smooth.
This was my "harbor cruise" boat.
A view of the naval base from the harbor cruise. There seems to be more helicopters around than ships.
In the center of the picture is the top of a submarine. There were 3 in the harbor that day. They are ginormous. The big black tubular looking things in the front of the picture are security barriers, added due to 9 -11.
The sea lions. They are bribed with food to come and lay on these docks out in the harbor.
Mark had a business trip to San Diego last week for a couple of days and I got to join him. He spent all of his daytime in meetings, but we were able to spend the evenings together. On Wednesday night we headed over to Petco Park for a Padres baseball game.
Here's the "padre", or Friar Frank:
There was a cold wind blowing that evening and we were freezing:
We stayed for 7 innings and headed back to the hotel to warm up. A night picture of the park.
The next day was warmer and there wasn't any wind. Yay! The temps still didn't get above 70 degrees, though. I spent time relaxing, reading, watching tv, and exploring the harbor. Along the harbor is this huge statue of a sailor kissing a nurse.
In the afternoon I took a harbor cruise and got to see the naval base, a bunch of sea lions, submarines, and one of the world cup sailboats out for a sail. I have pictures of all of those, but forgot to insert them. So, oh well. Maybe another post. The second evening we got to go to the the USS Midway. An aircraft carrier turned museum. The evening was a part of Mark's conference, so we got to explore and eat dinner on the ship. It was AMAZING! The ship was built and ready to go into WWII about 2 months before the war ended. Therefore, it never saw any action in WWII, but has been in every conflict since through Desert Storm. The ship was turned into a museum in 2004.
It is so huge! And yet so small when you consider the runway.
There are lots of aircraft on display out on the runway.
A look up at the flags. They represent a code or message, but we didn't get time to figure that out.
Touring around inside meant climbing up through these narrow ladders and steps.
I'm steering the boat!
Mark is the captain.
Another look at the runway.
He might be the captain, but I'm the boss -- it even says so on my chair.
They had a couple flight simulators up and running, so Mark took a turn. (I'm a chicken) He and his flight partner got to try out the controls while waiting for their turn inside the simulator.
Getting comfy inside.
Ready for takeoff!
UP...
and over.
Mark said it was a really fun ride. Maybe I shouldn't have been a chicken.
A coupla soccer pictures just for fun. Jacob had a very fun time playing soccer this year. He learned to be more aggressive and go after the ball and did a great job of protecting the goal when he played goalie.
I found that Ryan had made this "note to self" and left it on the counter one day when he had a basketball game. I love it.
Jared had his birthday a couple days after Matthew. His brothers know what he likes to drink and eat. Ryan put together the Gatorade 1,2,3, and Jacob & Matthew gave the Starbursts.
He's definitely a teenager -- asking for clothes and money. And a new bike (but that's not here yet -- waiting patiently for it to come).
Money in the form of minutes for his phone.
The pure green stuff -- some to save, some to spend.
Jared's cake: a snickers bar.
Jared is a great kid and we LOVE having him in our family! The years are flying by. This birthday advanced him from the deacon's quorum into the teacher's quorum. We celebrated his birthday again a few days later when he was ordained and were lucky to have G&G Vawdrey, Colleen, and Alan & Heidi's family join us for dinner (lasagna -- one of Jared's favorites) and ice cream sandwiches (his all time favorite dessert!) Happy Birthday!
Its been birthday season around here. Matthew was so excited for his big day! He requested hot dogs, strawberries, and cheetos for dinner. Definitely an easy wish to grant!
The kid LOVES presents! But really, who doesn't? He LOVES Star Wars and talked me into buying Star Wars wrapping paper for his birthday gifts a month ago. I'm a pushover.
Star Wars legos! Wahoo!
And money!! That's a $2 bill. G&G Brady are famous for giving those.
Star Wars pajamas! Wahoo!
Showing them off -- a perfect fit.
On the Sunday after his birthday, Matthew made sure to announce to all his friends and primary teachers that he'd had a birthday and was now a year older! He is growing up so fast! He's a fun little kid to be around and we LOVE having him in our family! Happy Birthday, big guy!
