Hunter's Big Day!!!

Today was a very special day for Hunter. He earned the President's Education Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence (that's a mouthful). Only a handful of kids in his class earned this special honor. In order to win this award, Hunter maintained above a 3.5 GPA in both 4th and 5th grades. In addition, he ranked in the top 15% nationally with his ISAT test scores. Who knew he was such a genius??? Well, we did of course (or at least that's what he tells us!) We are so proud of his achievements and hard work. He even thanked us for making him do his homework (nevermind that his teacher told him to tell us that.) :) Way to go, Hunter!

Proud Dad!

Proud Pamela!

Hunter gets a hug from his teacher, Mrs. Massman.

Hunter with his Principal.

The award - signed by the President himself!

Day at the Zoo...

Happy Memorial Day! We celebrated Memorial Day (along with just about everybody else in Boise) by going to the zoo. This was Kyla's first time at the zoo. It was a nice day...not too hot, but not too cold. Kyla enjoyed the prairie dogs the best. The boys love to see the monkeys and snakes - they are definitely boys! Now it's time to gear up for the final week of school.

It's a boy!

Last weekend was my little sister, Kim's, baby shower. It was also my birthday, so I had to make sure she knew that I wasn't happy about her making me get up early on my birthday. :) The shower turned out great though, so I it was worth it. My older sister, Monica, and little sister, Debbie were also able to come up for the special event. Kim got lots of great stuff for little Oliver. I'm sure he has no idea how lucky he is. Kim and Jack will be great parents.

My beautiful sisters...

A "piggy" gift bag...Kim loves her pigs! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! I had a very nice Mother's Day - we went to Ontario to visit my family on Saturday evening. We had a bar-be-que and the boys got to ride the 4-wheeler...lot's of fun. On Mother's Day, Craig and the boys brought me breakfast in bed....from McDonald's (which is fine with me), and then Craig, Kyla and I went to have brunch with Craig's parents and brother and sister-in-law (Dean and Karen). It was a really nice day, so when I got home I had some time to plant the flowers that I got! Now that I'm a mom, I really appreciate my own mom and feel so lucky to have her as a role-model and friend. She's the best!



Kyla has reached the age where it is hit or miss with pictures. Unfortunately, this was a miss, but it's the only picture I have with her on Mother's Day. I guess I can't say much since being photogenic has never been my strength either. I love her just the same though. :)



My sister, Kim (and also mom-to-be) with Kyla. At least we got a bit of a smile from Kyla....the trick is letting her have her ba-ba. :)

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems...

Don't you wish everyday could be a vacation! Craig and I just returned from visiting my sister and brother-in-law, Deb and Chad, in Fort Lauderdale. We also took a 4-day cruise to the Western Caribbean where we stopped at Key West and Cozumel. Talk about relaxing...

We had a day before our cruise and a couple days after to spend with Deb and Chad in Florida. So of course we had to go to the beach a couple times...we also ate at a really cool burger place called Le Tub right off the beach. Everything had an obvious "bathroom" theme...fun place! On our last day in Florida we drove to the Everglades where we rode bikes on a 15-mile path to observe all the wildlife....specifically the alligators. I never thought I would stand that close to an alligator! There were also lots of baby alligators, so it must have been "hatching" season. The best part was getting to spend time with my sister, who I don't get to see enough.

The cruise was a blast! If you like to be pampered, I recommend taking a cruise. I'm already missing room service at midnight and having someone make my bed twice a day...and of course the creative towel animals on the bed. :)

Key West was beautiful. I went parasailing while Craig went fishing. Craig caught about 15 fish...though not any Baracuda as he hoped. But he had fun anyway, and at least caught something. I really enjoyed parasailing...very relaxing to float above the water. I was expecting more of an adrenaline rush like skydiving - but it was still fun. While out on the boat we looked up at the sun and saw an incredible rainbow around it. The picture doesn't really do it justice - it was pretty amazing. I didn't expect to find so many chickens everywhere I looked - still don't know why they make their home in the streets of Key West??? I finished the day with some sightseeing, shopping, and of course...a piece of key lime pie. I would love to go back someday.

Our final stop was Cozumel, Mexico. I had been to Cozumel before, but Craig hadn't. He was amazed at the crystal clear water. We took an excursion to Dolphinaris where we got to swim with dolphins. I swam with dolphins once before in Jamaica, but this was better by far. We got to swim around with the dolphins for several hours. I was in heaven....I think I must have been a dolphin in a past life! Craig was laughing at me because I seemed like a kid in a candy shop...or "dolphin hog" as he called me. :) We even got to ride on a dolphin's belly as it swam around...not everyday you get to do that. It ranks up there as one of the most memorable experiences of my life thus far. After swimming with dolphins we ate dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville where I had some of the best calamari I've ever had. We missed the kids, but it was so nice to have some "alone time." Time to start planning the next vacation! :)