Happy Anniversary to Us!

Nine years today.

I love this guy!

Track & Field

I like running. I would like my children to like running too. So I signed Finley up for the Track and Field program through the Millcreek Rec Center. Finley wasn't too optimistic about it, but his friend signed up as well, so he was hoping for the best. He was up bright and early and in a good mood, until he got there and realized he had to run the whole time. Then he got grumpy. I will blame it on the heat, because even at 8:30 in the morning, it was freakin' hot.

His group did long distances today. On Wed he gets to do the short distances/sprints. Here is his finishing his last run of the morning. I wanted to cheer him on, but none of the other moms were doing it, and since I didn't want to embarrass him I just kept my mouth shut. He's a cutie. 

Finley is the 2nd runner.

Needless to say he hated it. All of it. And he made it very clear to me. Oh well. He has 6 more weeks ( it's three times a week, plus 4 meets) that he will have to endure. 

Here's Berlin enduring the heat of the morning from the sideline. She was a trooper too.

Music to my ears

Finley starts piano lessons this next week and we are SUPER excited. I took lessons for a couple years when I was younger, but quit. Looking back I wish I had continued - oh the fickleness of youth. And since Ryan never played we obviously didn't have a piano of our own. So the past couple months I have been scouring KSL classifieds for a beginner piano that would fit our needs and budget. Stressful and intimidating is how I would describe the process. I like the older Spinets/consoles like this ...

while Ryan prefers the upright grands. Guess who won out? 

Here's our new piano all polished up and ready to go. It's hard to show it in the pictures cause the lighting is so bad in our living room, but it has this pretty reddish glow to it. Eventually we are going to paint it a fun color but for now, it suits us just fine.

Oh, and the sound is really good too - which I guess is just kinda important :)

The price was great and it looks lovely in our home. And the kids love it. They were fighting over who gets to play it ... and that's fighting I can handle.

Finley's 1st Grade Program

Today was Finley's 1st Grade Program. It was pretty fun to see him up there singing to all the songs. Even Ryan commented that this was the most singing Finley's ever done at one time (unlike Berlin, he's not a huge fan of singing). Finley is funny when it comes to programs. He kinda likes the lime-light and is not phased by all the crazy parents in the audience. Finley smiles and waves and makes sure he puts himself in just the right spot for the camera. He had a speaking part and did a great job saying it from memory, without any help.

Here is is all ready to go...front and center!

This is his speaking part....

And this is an AWESOME clip of them dancing to the Madagascar "Move It" song (it was part of their be healthy & active segment). Of course, it was the best part of the whole program and my memory card decides it's full halfway thru. Oh well. At least I got part of it to show the world that he has some pretty sweet moves. This makes me giggle each time I watch it.

Finley is such a great kid. We sure do love him and can't wait to enjoy our summer break before 2nd grade starts in the Fall. Woo Hoo!

Berlin's Preschool Graduation

Berlin graduated from preschool last week. It was a very exciting event and she can hardly wait to start Kindergarten in the Fall. So crazy to think she will be in school five days a week in just a few months. Yikes!


Her preschool teachers this year were amazing and she has loved every single minute in their class. Despite complaining about going to dance and tumbling some mornings, she NEVER complained about school. I hope that she continues to love school as she gets older.


These are pics from her graduation ceremony/program. She was very serious about the singing and her speaking part. She wouldn't smile for the life of her until it was all over.

Watching the photo video montage her teachers put together of all their
pre-school classes.

Berlin and Sam. This cute little guy has a crush on Berlin and though Berlin won't admit it, I think she has a little crush on him too. When some of the girls were talking about playing a joke on the boys, I heard Berlin pipe up, "But not Sam, he's so nice."

The graduate with Mom and Dad.

Here's a video of her saying her big speaking part ...

Singing the Columbus song...

Saying what she wants to be when she grows up ... (a Vet)

And finally, this one sums the year up ...