Sunday, June 5, 2011

Celebrating the GRADUATE!!!!

We could not be PROUDER Of our husband and daddy, who graduated with a bloomin' Doctorate of Pharmacy this past Saturday....Wahoo!!

The road to this moment has been oh so very LONG and unbelievably CHALLENGING. I can safely say that Ryan as well as myself have been tried and tested to the very MAX throughout Pharmacy school- the stress of even getting into a very competitive graduate school, worrying about money constantly, having two kids, dealing with relentless drama while manageing Crestline, MANY ups and way-downs emotionally and physically... However, it was oh so worth it as I was able to watch Ryan walk across that stage and be hooded with a Pharm D!!

Here is Ryan, being one of only three people chosen to be hooded by this amazingly accomplished and distinguished man, Dr. Woolley. Ryan worked closely with Dr. Woolley while at BYU and was specially recommenced to be accepted into the Pharm D program by Dr. Woolley himself. Dr. Woolley sits on the Board of Trustees at USN, among his many endeavors, so this was a special honor!!
After the ceremony, which the kids barely made it through with their sanity somewhat in tact, Jane presented Daddy with a special candy lei that we made for him. He loved it!!
The kids and I were SO PROUD!! How lucky are we to have such an amazing daddy and husband!!
Here's Ryan with his family. His sister from Logan and her family drove down for the very early ceremony. It was very sweet.
Ryan and Dr. Woolley, posing for one last picture, after a long history together!
This was most of Ryan's really close friends and study group. They spent many, many late nights studying for the notoriously grueling tests USN has to offer. They may just have seen more of my husband these past three years than I have :)
Ryan was sweet and gave me his USN sash. This was very special to me, because each graduate is supposed to give this to someone who was very helpful and influential in getting them through school and to the point of graduation!! I was honored that I was this person for Ryan!! He did most of the hard work but maybe I did my share, too :)
After graduation, we went to lunch with Ryan's family! It was very nice to spend time with them in celebration of Ryan's accomplishments!

Later on Saturday evening, we went to a HUGE graduation party put on my one of Ryan's friends from school! This party was really amazing! Here are Ryan and the kids entering the party zone.
There was a DARLING train that Jane absolutely LOVED. It took the kids on rides all around the neighborhood! Jane rode it like five times in a row until we made her get off to give some of the other kids a turn :)
Ryan even got a turn on the train with Beckham...haha!!
Each table had two or three jars of candy...that was pretty much all Beckham ate for dinner. There were little bags for everyone to go around and make their own bag of candy to take home- so cute!Here is Ryan with his buddy, Heath, who also graduated and for whom the party was for. They had a good ol' fashioned boxing match which lasted about 30 seconds before they were both too tired to continue:)
There was a Humongous bouncy house which was Beckham's favorite...
...although, Jane had a BLAST, too!
Ryan even had a little fun in there as well!

This party was an absolute dream world for the kids. There was so much to do and they had so much fun!! Beckham loved this little air plane!
Dinner was absolutely delicious as well. The best part, though, was being able to sit with all of Ryan's friends from school and their wives and listen to their funny stories from school, talk about future plans and just get to know these people who were such a huge part of Ryan's life for three years!
Ryan tried his hand at Sumo Wrestling...and was pretty good!
He wasted the other guy...that's my man!!
The party was fabulous and we had such a blast, however it was a little bitter sweet for Ryan to have to say good bye to his school friends. We are all going our separate ways now and ready to have new adventures.

The Thursday before graduation. Ryan and I were able to attend the school banquet which was held at La Caille!! Of course I forgot to put the battery in my camera for this...darn!! The grounds at La Caille were beautiful and dinner was delicious!! They had some funny awards and Ryan received the award for best name with his new job in the Air Force..."Captain Dick." He walked to the stage amongst grand cheers to receive his award which was this hat!!
Ryan's parent took Ryan and I to dinner on Friday night to Mageleby's to celebrate Ryan's graduation! It was a wonderful dinner and so much fun to spend some time with Ryan's parents without the kids where we could really talk and relax!

Today (Sunday) I threw a mini graduation party for Ryan at my mom's house! We had a delicious dinner!
And a delicious ice cream cake in honor of the graduate!!
The icing was VERY blue and turned everyone's mouth blue! The cake was otherwise well received, though :) Jane is clearly VERY HAPPY...
It was a beautiful evening, and the kids had a great time playing in the back yard!
I feel so incredibly grateful to have such a hard working, dedicated, tenacious and responsible husband who takes such good care of his family!! I am a lucky lady, for sure! We love ya Ry and are so very proud of you. You really amaze me! I am looking forward to the many adventures coming our way!
I just had to include a picture of this amazing delivery of cookies for Ryan from our bosses up in Salt Lake!! It was so cute and the cookies are amazing!!! We really work for great people and this was a fun surprise...we have all been enjoying the cookies a little too much :)

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Memorial Day Weekend!!

Though there were a few snags...we had a WONDERFUL Memorial Day weekend!! On Memorial Day, the kids, Ryan and I drove to Heber to see Thomas the Train!! The kids like to watch that show occassionally, and Beckham just really LOVES "choo choos", as he calls them. So, we thought that would be a fun outing!!

While excitedly running after Thomas, as he chugged away, Beckham tripped and literally caught himself with his face...ouch!! His poor little lip instantly swelled up to three times its usual size, his mouth was bleeding, his nose was bleeding, and he was just VERY upset...naturally! It was awful. But, he is a trooper and still tried to enjoy the day :) He's such a tough little dude!
Here are Ryan and the kids watching Thomas get ready to chug away... it was very cute!



It was a little chilly, winter coats and hats in May. CRAZY!! But it was so fun to see Jane and Beckham get so excited to see Thomas!
Here is a picture of the snow covered mountains as we drove down the canyon...snow in June...almost...what is going on with the weather lately?
This is poor little Beckham trying to smile with his ginormous fat lip...oh it was so sad. I love this little guy to bits!!
The Friday before, Ryan's sister, Angie, and her to two boys came over!! It was so delightful to have them over. We had a lot of fun. I loved this picture of everyone gathered together on the couch watching "Up"
I had to include this picture of Jane. She had requested a princess sandwich on Saturday for lunch...and this is what I came up with. She is truly obsessed with princesses...and I love it!!
We had a huge moving sale on Saturday which started at the crack of dawn... but was VERY successful. And we were able to go over to the Dick's house for a rainy BBQ on Memorial Day. We even got a free car wash because Ryan is in the military!! It was a great weekend...even though it was exhausting, too!!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Life is movin' along...

The time has been passing fast, yet slow at the same time to when the fam and I will move to Delaware. I am so excited for new adventures and a new house in Delaware, that I can barely contain myself. However, I am realizing more and more how sad it will be to not be able to call my sis and hang out any time I want to, or have weekly visits from my mom, visit my grandpma, play at my mom's house, look at the beautiful Utah mountains, etc etc. This is a bitter, sweet time. However, I am excited and grateful for our future.

In the mean time, we have been movin' right along with life, keeping VERY busy. Crestline has become crazy busy with the coming of summer. We are slowly but surely preparing for our big move, and my kids are getting bigger, funner and mostly busier. We have been doing alot to stay busy and entertained. A new hobby of Beckham's is to tear the tips off of markers with his mouth- this is an awful, messy habit and for some crazy reason, he loves doing it. When I was busy with someone in the office, this marker demolishing episode ensued...
...the worst to date...it will be nice to not have to work anymore...I won't lie...I am tired of these little surprises I find when I come out of the office :) I love this little guy, though. He keeps me on my toes!

Jane had her last day of school today. Jane was almost as sad as I was. I loved Kids Village so very much and we are sad the school year is over. There will be lots of art projects coming to keep Jane busy. Just the other day we made a "Sprout-a-roma"...princess themed of coarse. We sent a picture of it into Sprout with high hopes of it coming to life on TV!!






My beloved volleyball ended, rather untriumphantly, this month and I am so sad I want to cry. I played three leagues in a row with this team...(Rachel isn't in this pic though she needs to be-she was there for most of it, too!) and there won't be anymore volleyball in Utah for me. We had a great team and I will miss paying with these awesome ladies. Hopefully, I can round up a good team in Delaware, too.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

A Little Graduate!!

Jane had her school graduation program today and, as usual with Kids' Village, it was completely darling!!!! All the kids walked out in a red (the school color) cap and gown...so cute!! I think Jane looked especially darling!
The program began with a few songs from the kids...with actions!!
Jane really got into it at some points :)
enough said...
After a cute little slide show of Jane's class, Jane's cute teacher announced each graduate's name and they walked forward to be given a diploma. I was soooo proud of our little Jane-when her name was announced she very patiently and carefully walked across the floor to get her diploma- she was a real pro. Hopefully, she will be doing this several more times in her life :)
Once all the kids got their diplomas, they all lined up on a red carpet as their principal congratulated the graduating "Sweet Pea" class of 2011. They even took off their hats and threw them in the air...I was dying, it was so cute!!
Here is Jane's teacher! She was such a fabulous teacher and Jane absolutely LOVED her!! Thanks Miss Erin for all your hard work!!
One of the fam after the program!! Daddy, Beckham and I were so proud of Jane. She had a GREAT school year and learned and grew sooo much!!
Of course, Beckham had to take a few moments and play inside the adorable tree house in the middle of the school...his favorite place ever!!
Though I am very excited to move, I am devastated that we have to leave this wonderful school. It has been so beneficial to Jane and she loved every minute of it. Thanks Kid's Village, we love love you so much!!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Spring Time Family Pics

I must be computer illiterate because I cannot figure out how to get these bigger...but they are darn cute anyway (I'll keep working on it :)) A HUGE thanks to Christina who took these for us. She did an AMAZING job, especially considering our kids did NOT cooperate for even 1 second of this photo shoot :)