"We Can Be A Light"

As I reflect on Memorial Day today, I think of the many men and women who give meaning to the phrase "land of the free, home of the brave!" I thank those who made and are still making that possible...especially my Dad and both my Grandpas. I'll never be able to understand all that goes into fighting for our country, but I'm so appreciative! Growing up it was hard not having our Dad around all the time, but knowing the reason why he was gone, makes it all worth it. I am so proud of him.
On Friday, Rhett had his end of year program..."We Can Be A Light." It was a whole program about our wonderful country and honoring those in the service..the perfect kick-off to the holiday weekend. A lot of kids had speaking parts, a few were in groups that sang, and the rest dressed up in patriotic colors and costumes...The Statue of Liberty, Pioneers, Boy Scouts, and Uncle Sam. I know the 2nd grade kids and teachers put a lot of work into the program and it showed. I was so glad Mom and Dad were able to take an hour out of work to come and watch. And I have to admit I almost cried a couple of times!

Getting ready for the program to start


Rhett's speaking part


In this video, the kids are singing one of my most favorite patriotic songs. While the kids were singing, they had a slide show of all those who are serving or have served in the military. It's a little long, but it was my favorite part of the program. The pic of Rhett and Dad is about the 1:50 mark (though it's prob too bright to make out the pic)

A Helping Hand...Or Two

I completely forgot to publish this post. The second week out of the hospital, Mandee and Craig and their girls moved from Maine. On their way to Washington, they were able to detour to Utah for about a week. We had the divine pleasure to have them stay with us.
We thoroughly enjoyed being able to spend some time with them. My favorite times had to be me and Mandee's nursing/pumping "parties." When you have to be stationary in a fixed spot for so long, it was sooo nice to have her to talk to and pass by the time.
It also seemed as soon as the girls knew I couldn't move from my pumping spot, they immediately needed me for something. I am so grateful to Mandee for helping take care of them, especially when Kodes would be screaming at the top of her lungs to be burped or changed or even just held.
The girls also had so much fun playing...well mostly Jaycee and Ry. I think because Jaycee and Kenna are so close in age, they had a lot of territory wars. But even through those, all 3 of them had fun running around, playing with friends outside, playing with toys, taking baths, watching movies, attempted sleepovers, playing in the car, and their favorite was hanging out on our deck...in and out, in and out all day! And since it doesn't have stairs, it was the perfect place to let them hang out...and get slivers!

Of course the week flew by way too quick. I felt as soon as they came, they were off again. On their last morning, we were able to help them pack up and let the kiddos play for a little bit. It was sad to see them go, but we are far more excited about their new start, new job location, new house (complete with fenced yard for Izzy), new neighborhood, new friends, and a new vacay spot for us to visit...hopefully soon! Thanks again for helping out so much in our time of need. Love ya guys!

Graduation

I can hardly believe how fast the school year flew. Today we went to Ry's preschool graduation which was at our stake center. Michelle did an awesome job of setting up the decor. And the kids just loved being up on stage.
J was able to go to work late so he could be there. He did the camcorder while I took pics with the camera. They started out with their welcome song, pledge of allegiance, and zoo phonics review.
Then each student came to the mic to say what they wanted to be when they grew up. Of course, when they were practicing during school, all the girls said they wanted to be princesses. So Michelle politely said, "Yes, all you girls are princesses, but even princesses have to have a job!" Last year, Ry said she wanted to be the Sun. This year she said, "I want to be a basketball player!" I was so proud of her originality...she was the only one who said that. Most every other student said police man and fire fighter. Guess our town will be very protected! Then our camcorder ran out of tape! Luckily, J was able to take video with his phone.


The kids then all sang their songs. It was pretty cute and funny at the same time because she had all the kids from both morning and afternoon preschools together. So the songs were not sung together and we could hardly make out the words, but man we loved how hard they tried. Ry knew all the words to the songs...A Tiny Bumblebee, Inside My Little Red Box, Popcorn Popping, and A Baby Hippo.



After they sang their songs, it was time for all the future kindergartners to receive their diplomas. Ry was so cute with her diploma and graduation cap on.

But I know they loved throwing their caps in the air more!

Then all the students received preschool certificates for passing preschool. We made sure to get a pic with Miss Michelle.

She gave all the kids a pic of themselves holding the class monkey, a binder filled with all their homework and classwork from the year, a rainbow pic each student drew, and a sand pail filled with goodies which also included a cute DVD with pics from their field trips and class time. I was so impressed with all the hard work Michelle put into graduation. She really went all out and it was a great success. We are sure proud of our little graduate!

Happy Birth-day!

WELCOME LITTLE ANGEL!!!



NAME: Kodee Reyn Merrill
DATE: April 29, 2012
TIME: 637 am
WEIGHT: 6 lbs. 3 oz.
LENGTH: 19 inches
PLACE: Davis Hospital and Medical Center


**For the complete birth story, click on our baby blog**