Relay for Life

This last weekend, Matt had the opportunity to participate in the Relay for Life cancer walk. He and his teammates took turns walking around a track from 7 pm until 7am the next morning to support cancer research (all after a long day at work). The boys and I went and hung out with Matt for awhile - until the boys' bedtime. We even walked a few laps with him, and Darren walked the whole time. It was quite a ways for short little legs, and he was such a trooper. We were so proud of him! Joseph had the best seat in the house - he fell asleep in the stroller! Anyway, Matt dedicated his walk to his aunt Sally, who passed away a few years ago from cancer. For the opening ceremony, they had cancer survivors walk the first lap, and the caregivers the second lap. It was quite the sight. Many of the cancer survivors could barely walk, so it was quite amazing to see them work so hard to make it around that track. What a great event for Matt to participate in! Here's a few pictures from the evening.

The cancer survivors walking their lap

Father and son, hand in hand. I love this!
We paused briefly for a family photo. The lights in the stands spell "HOPE." It's kinda hard to see in this picture.

Teddybear Picnic

Do you always remember to think about what your actions (0r lack thereof) could lead to? Well, early this morning a box of cereal was left out on the counter by mistake. No big deal.

Then, the boys and I got up. Upon leaving his room, with Bear under one arm and Chunky Monkey under the other, Darren raced to the kitchen searching for a banana (unfortunately, they were all gone). Then, he spotted it..... the box of cereal. Left out by Daddy - within perfect reach for our tall toddler. Darren excitedly exclaimed: "OH!!! Monkeys. Bear. Eat. Cereal." Then he sat both of his beloved animals at the table, and gave them each a handful of Cheerios to enjoy! As if that wasn't enough, he then put a handful of cereal on Joseph's high chair and climbed in! All 3 of them enjoyed their little "picnic" together!


When Matt got home from work today, I told him the story and showed him the picture. He's now resolved to leave remnants of his breakfast out every day! Hmm. We'll see about that!

Children are Special

I love the influence that children can have on a household. For the last 3 nights in a row, Darren has ASKED to have Family Home Evening! Our family home evenings (FHE) typically happens once a week, on Monday evenings, and consist of a song, prayer, and a short little lesson from our church's nursery lesson manual, or we pick a picture that that has to do with the scriptures, and talk about it on a toddler level. Then, we usually sing another song and say another prayer as a family. Then it's time for a treat. This week, Darren hasn't even asked for the treat afterward, which is initially why I was thinking he's wanted FHE so much! Shame on me for not recognizing the purity of my small child right away! Then, last night as we were finishing our FHE lesson, out of the blue, he asked his Daddy for a Priesthood blessing. This is the second time he's asked for a blessing in about 2 weeks! I am so thankful that I have a husband who lives righteously and honors his priesthood. Then, as part of Darren's bedtime routine, we read scriptures and pray with him, and he still asked for it after we had finished FHE (for the 3rd night in a row). I am thankful for children who crave things of the spirit. Darren is already setting such a great example, and I am very proud of him. His example and purity brings such a good feeling into our home and I love it!

Graduation and Grandma

Last week Matt graduated from the main part of his training! Hooray! We were lucky, and his Mom was able to come visit for the occasion. It was soooo great having her here. The boys loved it, too! Matt had a permanent grin on his face the whole time she was here - it had been 2 1/2 years since he had last seen her. We didn't really go do anything really exciting (aside from Matt's graduation celebrations), since her visit was short. We mainly just enjoyed visiting with her and trying to absorb some of her wisdom. She read stories to the boys, let Darren play with her cell phone (a big deal for Darren!), played outside, volunteered to watch the boys for awhile so I could have a Mommy break, and just soaked up being around her 2 grandsons! Darren loved all the extra attention, and we should have gotten the camera out more than we did. So, here's a picture of Darren relaxing/unwinding in the hammock with Grandma just before bed.
Matt's graduation ceremony was short and sweet (it helps that there were only 12 graduates), but we got to learn and see more of what Matt does and will be doing. He had to take courses in electronic principles, computer science, math, physics, and a few other things that I know I'm leaving out. They had several scientific "toys" out on display for us to look at, and Matt had a great time explaining/demonstrating them for his mom and I. One of the impressive things on display was a floating globe - seriously! It was not attached to anything - just literally floating in mid air! I don't know how to explain most of the other things he showed us, since you really have to see it to believe it (or have a strong science background), and I don't have pictures. Sorry, you'll just have to take my word for it! It was cool! Those in Matt's new career field are known to be the brainiacs of the Air Force! This career requires the HIGHEST scores on the miliary ASVAB test (a knowledge/skills test used for job placement). And, Matt's class is particularly special, because his is the first in a very long time where no one failed a test, and they have great morale. Matt's average test score was over 95%! Pretty impressive with some of the stuff they had to learn!

Receiving his certificate!

All the grads lined up to shake hands with those present.

The happy graduate and his proud wife!

Mother and son!

Matt is now in a more specialized training course scheduled to be done on July 1st. It's more specific to the job he will be doing at Patrick AFB in Florida! Yes, that's where we're going - it's official, and he has his orders! With his job, every base does something a little different, so he will be coming back here for 6-7 weeks for specific training with every PCS move. I'm proud of Matt and all the hard work he's done so far!

Toddler Comments

This morning while playing, I spun Darren around in circles REALLY fast. When I got dizzy, I stopped and set him down. While clearly trying to regain his balance he exclaimed:

"OH NO!! THE HOUSE FALL DOWN!!"

I thought it was hilarious!

Kissing needles

Though I know women who think mustaches, goatees, etc. are sexy, I am most certainly NOT one of them! I don't even think it looks flattering on most men - in particular, those with blonde hair. And, I always imagined kissing a man with facial hair to feel something like getting poked with a thousand needles all at once. Certainly not my idea of romantic.

Sooooo, about a month ago, Matt came home from work one day and announced that he was going to grow a mustache. I tried to hide my shock as I searched for an explanation. All the guys in his class decided that they were all going to have a mustache growing contest, and call it mustache May. The goal was to go from April 12, to May 12 (their graduation date - which is tomorrow!) No real reward or prize was determined, but it began. Inside, I was just cringing at the thought of pokey kisses, as I was trying really hard to be encouraging and supportive. Not to mention that I was just having a hard time trying to picture Matt with a mustache. The fact that he's blonde really wasn't helping the imagery.

The hours turned into days, and the days turned into a week, and a week turned into two...... Slowly but surely that dreaded mustache was growing. And, I was slowly starting to adapt to the strange new feeling of Matt's kisses. Just as I was getting to the point where I could LEARN to like his mustache, Matt came home and announced that he was the ONLY guy left with the mustache. All of the other married guys in his class (whose wives' are also here) lasted only about a week, because their wives made them shave (I get cool points for enduring). Gradually the single guys all shaved too, and it was still April! Matt is the ONLY person who made it until May! And, I learned that if I kissed him slightly below the lips, the pokeyness wasn't quite as bad, and was actually starting to get used to it! Still wasn't loving it, but getting used to it. Matt did finally shave it off last week (hallelujah!), because he couldn't stand it with P.T. (running in 90 degree temps, with close to 100% humidity- not fun!). That first kiss after he shaved was HEAVEN!! Just him - no pokey hairs trying to take over! Here's a picture of the mustache the day before he shaved it off. I hold to my opinion that generally speaking, blonde men just don't look quite as handsome with facial hair.

My clean shaven hubby! VERY handsome!!

The First of Many....

Tonight, our family experienced a "first!" We went on a family bike ride! Yep, over the last few weeks, Matt and I have been getting the family all equipped and ready to ride (happy tax return)! Neither Matt nor I have owned bikes since we were teenagers, so it's been awile. I was doing some math today, and came to the conclusion that it's been close to 20 years since I've ridden a bike, and have NEVER owned a new bike! You've heard that common cliche about how once you know how to ride a bike, you never forget? Well, it's true! I loved every minute of being on my bike! It felt SO great to be outside moving faster than my feet can carry me, and feeling the wind in my face! Matt's been loving his bike too - he's even ridden it to work a few times. Go Matt! Darren thinks it's super cool to be in a stroller that's attached to a bike! AND, his new Lightning McQueen helmet is the only "hat" he will keep on his head (he takes after me, and doesn't like things on his head). Joseph wasn't too sure about it, but once we got going, he did great!

The spontaneous destination of our bike ride was a park that's a little ways away. Of course when we got there, Darren wanted out to go play, so Matt went with him, and Joseph and I guarded the bikes. I let Joseph crawl around in the grass, and while doing so, 2 very cute little Mexican girls with Texas accents came over to talk to us. They were full of questions, and I don't think they had ever been around a baby before. Here are some of my favorite questions I was asked: "Is that a baby?" "Can I pet him?" "Does he bite?" The 2 girls pretty much stayed by my side the whole rest of the time we were at the park, asking questions about babies or our bikes the whole time. They were little sponges just soaking up information. They were adorable! Anyway, I got sidetracked.

We got home just in time for bed, and before either Matt or I were feeling tired from the ride. It was a practically perfect evening! We are anxiously awaiting many, many more bike rides together as a family!

Getting ready to go!
The boys are ready!

Matt's ready! (Notice the mustache? I'll blog about that later!)

I'm ready!

Our little line up of bikes!