We didn't do anything out-of-the-ordinary...but that doesn't mean we did nothing extraordinary

We didn't do anything out-of-the-ordinary...but that doesn't mean we did nothing extraordinary.

This spring, we:

Celebrated life at 38 years old...

Explored the world...

We watched the Olympics Opening Ceremony and found ALL the represented countries on our map.

Appreciated fine workmanship...

The BYU Museum of Art hosted two wonderful exhibits simultaneously. One was E.C. Escher (famed "Impossible Constructions" artist) and the other was Tiffany stained glass. Nate's a big fan of the illusions and I've always been a big fan of these lamps.

The kids and Rob were studying this display of different glass and I was elsewhere. Nate asked Rob to choose two favorites. A couple of minutes later I came over and Nate asked the same of me. 

Guess what? Out of all these samples, I happened to choose the same two favorites that Rob chose. Match made in heaven, we are!

Were awestruck by nature's resilience (and OUR OWN!)...

Worked hard and went for it...

Visited the House of the Lord as an eternal family...

Played a prank on mom (who HATES PeeWee!)...

Expanded newly discovered brain cells...

Played at the Happiest Place on Earth in Utah...

Nate doesn't look quite as happy here as he did on Cannibal.

Snuggled our peeps...

Created joy through craft...

Can you see Nate in his tank (with working gun)?

Every so often we clean out the fridge/freezer and pantry and let the kids "cook" 

with all the throw-away ingredients. They get such a KICK out of this tradition! It started when Nate was a wee lad of 2 and I caught him "cooking" in the kitchen with food he found.

  

Now he's making stuff like this!

And we basically just keep growing up way too fast!

These are extraordinary days that will be cherished forever.

Our Ballroom Babe

Madeleine joined the school’s ballroom team this year. She loved every minute of it! With her mix of choreography memorization skills and theatric pizzazz, she wowed Rob and I every time she got on the dance floor.

She went to practice twice a week before school and practiced in our family room every afternoon. She loved going to competitions and really enjoyed being part of a team.

Her team did really well and went to state (which is where Rob and I had our first encounter with a real dance mom…Scary and yet so hard to look away!).

We are so impressed with her instructors and are grateful that they work so hard to give these kids an amazing experience.

Madeleine had quite the birthday this year. She decided months earlier that she wanted to use her present and party budget (and saved her own money) and stay overnight in a hotel with her cousin. We had a lot of fun! Since the hotel was mostly paid for with points, she was able to choose some fun activities to do including going to Classic Fun Center, a movie, and Build-a-Bear.

When we arrived back at home, she found her sister had made a surprise for her…rice krispie treat hedgehogs!

Although her celebration had already been a blast, Rob and I decided to throw her a surprise party anyway…at SWIG! It was a swinging success!

While we are on the subject of Madeleine, I have a funny story:

Madeleine and I had a dentist appointment this week. She has a cavity and I have one from a couple of years ago that needs to be redone. She really wasn’t looking forward to it. The day came and I was still congested and getting over a cold. I decided to reschedule and when I called they asked if I wanted to reschedule Madeleine’s as well. “Why yes, let’s do that,” I said.

Madeleine came home from school and immediately started crying because she was so nervous. I broke the good news to her and said we were going to sneak away to go shopping together instead. Well now that cheered her right up, of course! So off we went to the Outlets.

She requested mini pretzels and we sat down on a bench in the lovely sun eating them together. I remarked, “This is nice!” She responded,

“Yep! I would be sitting in a chair with a weird man hovering over me,

but instead I’m sitting on a bench…eating pretzels…

like a BOSS!”

I laughed pretty hard and told her I love how funny she is. She says “I know. It’s one of my great qualities.”

Sure is!