Graduation Day!

Dylan graduated from First Grade and Kate finished Sweet Peas (preschool class). Here are some pictures of the fun event and their darling little friends!

This is Kate and her favorite friends, Ashby (above) and Kade (below). For the first several months of school sweet Kate (only 3 years old) thought that Kade actually was "Chad" from High School Musical. She and Ashby have had many conversations about who is going to get to marry Kade. We've assured the girls that there is plenty of time for working that out . . . in about 20 years!

Dylan and Trevan hit it off right away when Trevan joined his class at Kids Village. They are both very sweet, gentle and thoughtful boys! It has been great to get to know Trevan and his family!

Kids Making a Difference!

Kate and Dylan attend the most incredible school! Although the cost of gas has made the commute a bit of an issue, we have absolutely loved the education that they are getting there. Dylan is the best reader and has above grade level math skills too. Kate is still in preschool but she is getting all the basics down and making darling friends.
A few months ago I started thinking about how I could contribute to the school and I met with the owner and director of the school. Kathy and Ann are awesome women who were thrilled to support a new program at the school. The on-going program provides the children with service opportunities on their level. The goal is to help the children realize that although they are small they can make a BIG difference in the lives of other children who are less fortunate than they are. The first project was collecting books and making book bags for orphan in Zambia. The organization Mothers Without Borders (http://www.motherswithoutborders.org/) has done amazing work in Africa helping orphaned children with medical, nutritional and educational needs. We exceeded our goal of collecting 500 books, gathering over 800 by the time school ended! Kids brought in their own books to donate or earned money at home to buy a book through Scholastic books. Families donated fabric and parents came into the school and set up sewing stations so that the children could be a part of sewing the book bags. After they were done, each child was given the opportunity of decorating a bag with their handprints. I took a picture of Kate and her painted hands.We had a fun assembly for the children celebrating their act of service. A friend donated cookies for all the nearly 400 children, and a petting zoo nearby donated a free admission for each child. It was a great experience.

O Remember, Remember...

We wanted to make this Memorial Day significant and meaningful for the children so we took them to the Cemetery to visit the gravesite of Ben's paternal grandparents. While there we visited President Gordon B. Hinckley's gravesite. When the Prophet of the church past away in January we felt such peace knowing of the joyous reunion he was surely having with Marjorie, his beloved wife. It was a rainy day that was suiting for a day of remembrance of those who have left their loved ones for a better place.

Live Life. Live it wElle.

Our friends, Kirsten and Scott held the second annual 5K & Kids Fun Run on Saturday, May 24, 2008. It was a wonderful event held in loving memory of their youngest daughter, Elle, who passed away in a tragic accident on August 30, 2006. More than 800 participants joined together to raise money for the Live wElle Scholarship Fund.
Ben and Scott worked together a few years back but since Ben moved to to a different part of the company, we didn't see as much of the them. But it has been one of the greatest blessing in our lives to have been welcomed into their family and to have been able to help plan the race with Kirsten, Scott, Marla (Kirsten's amazing sister-in-law and the many other volunteers. I am sorry I didn't get to know Elle while she was here but it is apparent that her sweet spirit lives on in every aspect of the Live wElle Foundation. Ben and I have been so touched by the motto of the foundation, "Live Life. Live it wElle." Although Elle is no longer here, her spirit can be with us and her life is a reminder to all to live our lives WELL, doing good and blessing others. That is just one of the things that her short live accomplished.
*You can read more or donate to the Live wElle Foundation at http://www.livewelle.org/.
Kate and Dylan both participated in the Kids Fun Runs. Kate actually won 2nd place in her age group and was so proud of herself! Dylan did a great job running the longer course for the older boys!

Our busiest day of the year!

What an eventful day. We kicked off the festivities with my second (ever) triathlon. It was "just" a Sprint, but still challenging and very fun and rewarding.

Then we celebrated Dylan's 7th birthday that afternoon at Nana Sandy and Papa Roger's swimming pool. It was the first really hot day of summer (about 90 degrees!).

Ben and I went out for Ben's birthday that evening (since he and Dylan share their birthday) and I surprised him with a getaway for the night a great hotel nearby. It was a busy but very exciting day full of joy and celebration!!!