Logan's Preschool Graduation

It's hard to believe, but our little Logan graduated from preschool today!  Logan had such a wonderful experience this year attending Celebration Lutheran preschool where Lia went four years ago.  He was blessed to be assigned to Miss Vera, the same teacher as Lia.  She is honestly one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life and Logan loved being in her class AND I loved getting to see her again three times a week.  Logan really blossomed this year.  He did a wonderful job participating in class and following directions.  He also did a great job working hard on every worksheet and craft they were assigned.  Miss Vera always ranted and raved about what a wonderful student and artist he is and she even told me more than once that "He is such a love" when I picked him up after class.  I thought that was the cutest compliment from a teacher!
My mom drove down from Issaquah today to join Ella and me for Logan's graduation.  Ron had an all-day conference in SeaTac that prevented him from being able to come which was a bummer.  As a result, I was so grateful to have my mom join us and support Logan on his big day.  Logan looked so adorable in his outfit with his big, blue cast!  He was definitely the only child in the entire room graduating with a cast on and it definitely set him apart from everyone else.
Logan did a good job walking into the chapel with the rest of his classmates while "Pomp and Circumstance" was playing.  They then sang a few songs with the help of the pastor before walking up one at a time to get their "diplomas" from the teacher.  Afterward, we took some pictures and ate some delicious refreshments.  It was a wonderful way to spend the morning celebrating Logan.  He really has grown up so much this past school year after struggling with his "terrible twos" for several years.  Logan has really matured and has really learned how to control his emotions when he gets upset.  In addition, he has become a lot more agreeable and is barely thrown off by transitions from activity to activity.  Logan also LOVES coloring and looking through books and can easily spend one to two hours at a time sitting down and quietly working.  For all of these reasons, I feel like he is finally ready for Kindergarten to begin in the fall.  Good job, Logan!  We are so proud of you!

Logan walking into the chapel with the rest of his class.

Logan standing on the back row getting ready to sing the first song.

Logan singing away.

Logan getting his diploma from Miss Vera.

Walking towards us with a big smile on his face.

Ella and Logan standing under the balloon arch for a picture after the ceremony was over.

Logan and our beloved Miss Vera posing for a picture at the end of the morning.  Oh, how we are going to miss seeing her next school year!

Another Installment of Loganisms

I have been collecting a list of funny words and comments that Logan has said or still is saying for over a year now.  I probably should have separated this post into one for 2016 and one for 2017 since several of these things were said last year, but for simplicity's sake I am going to just combine them into one long, funny post!
One of Logan's funniest personality traits that keeps us laughing all the time is that he makes up words all the time.  Sometimes he just will use one made-up word and others times he will use several in a row.  Our favorites to date (that have actually been around for many, many months) are "minky" and "pooty nook."  We have added these words to our family vocabulary and use them on a regular basis--especially pooty nook.  Besides made up words, here are a list of words and phrases that have kept us laughing over the past year of so....
1.  "Floggy" for foggy
2.  "Nail clip" for finger nail
3.  "Helmet" for hood on a jacket or sweatshirt
4.  "Mosquitoes" for Skittles candy
5.  "Flippers" for slippers
6.  "Pinky eye" for pink eye
7.  "Village" for town
8.  "Park" for our playground in the backyard
9.  "Comfy warmy" for Logan's favorite, blue blanket
10.  "Blobber" for a fishing bobber
11.  "Honeyhive" for beehive
12.  "Tomorning" for tomorrow morning
13.  "Ecking" for the gagging sound that he makes while eating foods he doesn't like
14.  "It's Coldee" for "It's cold"
15.  "I want to play up" for "I want to dress up"
16.  "Will you clean it?" for "Will you dry it?"
17.  "Is it mines?" for "Is it mine?"
18.  "Don't sting yourself" for "Don't burn yourself"
19.  "It's not a real hurt." (when he hurt himself, but not too badly)
20.  "Look how I stop.  I just scrabble my feet on the ground." (after showing us how he stops the swing from going back and forth)
21.  "How come grandma and grandpa don't have any kids?" (after leaving the grandparent's house one time)
22.  "I wish Heavenly Father put a button to roll up and down the window in every car." (after complaining that the back windows in our minivan do not open)
23.  "You're too hard.  You've got a lot of bones in you." (after telling me to get out of his bed when cuddling with him one night)
24.  "When I was burping, hot smoke came out of my nose." (after drinking soda)
25.  "I can't hear you.  I have a bubble in my ear." (while taking a shower in the locker room after swimming lessons)
26.  "It looks like I have a purse." (his initial observation about his sling after breaking his arm)
27.  "The juice is turning my icebergs black!" (describing what happened to the color of the ice cubes in his cup of root beer)

Mother-Son and Daddy-Daughter Dances!

Although our stake has been hosting a Daddy-Daughter dance for several years now, they have never hosted a Mother-Son Dance until this year.  I was tickled to hear about this change since Logan is now old enough to participate in such things.  I had also totally spaced on that fact that Ella was now old enough to accompany Lia and Ron for the first time ever.  Thankfully, Lia made the connection a few weeks ago and also pointed out that they should wear matching dresses (which is what a lot of sisters do when they go to this dance).  Luckily, Costco still had a decent selection of Easter dresses left over which allowed me to find a size 3 and a size 10 in the same dress for a very reasonable price.
 So, Logan and I headed out Friday night for our date and Ron and the girls headed out last night on their date.  I took Logan to Chic-fil-A for dinner and Ron took the girls to Sonic for theirs.  We all had a grand time dining in our cars before heading over to the church for refreshments, dancing, and pictures.  Logan was a super cute date.  He was so pleasant and agreeable and I could tell that he really appreciated the one-on-one time he got with me that night.  After eating our chocolate milk and cookies, he even agreed to dance a few songs with me on the dance floor (with his cast and all) before declaring that he was ready to go home.  I really had such a fun time with him.  In addition, the girls were absolutely adorable in their matching dresses.  They got the biggest kick out of walking down our stairs several times before leaving so that they could see their "trains" trailing behind them.  They loved eating in the car with papa and had a great time dancing together on the dance floor.  If only I could have seen the  two of them in action!

My cute boy all dressed up in his casual, Sunday clothes with his bright, blue cast.

A cute Logan flashes me a smile while eating his dinner from the front seat.  It was so cute to have him come up to the front and sit next to me.

Eating our cookies from the side of the dance floor.

Our picture that we had taken on our way out at the end of the evening.

Lia and Ella walking down the stairs with their trains trailing behind them.  Lia even borrowed my fancy purse that I bought years ago whie on our Caribbean cruise to use for the evening.

Little sister and big sisters.  Don't they look so darling?!

Papa with his girls.

Another pose of three of my favorite people.

Ron's and the girls' dance picture.

Lia's Spring Piano Recital

The kids and I attended Lia's piano recital at our church  this morning.  Unfortunately, Ron had to attend a mandatory class for his professional certification course he has been required to complete this school year and was unable to attend.  So, Logan, Ella, and I cheered Lia on from our pew in the back of the chapel.  For some unknown reason, Logan and Ella turned into crazy, wiggly, wild kids in the chapel and made waiting for Lia's turn at the piano rather difficult and exhausting.  Once Lia was done with her performance, I dragged them out into the foyer where they ran wild in the halls until the recital was over.  Luckily, no one was out there to see their embarrassing behavior.  I have no idea why they acted this way as we go to church every Sunday and sit in this room, but I digress.  This post was supposed to be about Lia and not her siblings.  

Lia has worked really hard this year to improve her piano skills.  With the exception of some drama at home while trying to learn some new, difficult pieces, Lia really has progressed from September to June.  It is so nice to hear the beautiful music in our house whenever she sits down to play the piano which often times is done in addition to her designated practice time each day.  I thought Lia did a great job playing her two chosen songs of "The Can-Can" and "Nick Nack Paddy Wack" although she made a few mistakes on her first song and wasn't very happy afterward.  Regardless, I am very proud of all of her hard work this year and the courage it takes to get up in front of a large crowd and perform.  Well done, Lia!

Lia, Logan, and Ella standing in front of the program table before heading into the chapel before the recital started.

Lia announcing her first song to the audience.

Lia playing one of her piano pieces.

Afterward, we met everyone in the foyer for refreshments.  Here is Lia with four of her good friends who also take piano from Sister Berbert.  From left to right:  Alyssa, Bella, Mollie, Lia, and Isabel.  All of her friends are from church except for Mollie who we have known since PreK at Celebration Preschool.

Mother's Day

Yesterday was a bit of a whirlwind Mother's Day on the heels of coming back from Canada after a late night out at the concert with a bad cold and finding my boy with a broken arm, but I managed to survive.  The day started off with Ron and Lia fixing a delicious breakfast of French toast, sausage, and eggs.  I then opened up my gifts before Lia and I got ready to head off to church.  Since Logan was still just in a partial cast with a sling, it really wasn't wise to send him off to primary with a bunch of clueless children who could bump into his arm...so we decided to play it safe and let him stay home and take a nap since he really looked and acted quite tired from the traumatic events of the day before.  Lia and I only made it through Sacrament Meeting (so that I could see her sing with the other primary children) as I still was not feeling well from my cold and was totally exhausted.  We came home and I actually took a one and a half hour nap which was pure heaven before hosting my family for the evening.  Luckily, this is the one time of the year when we host that I am not in charge, so I made it through the rest of the evening without much effort.  Ron did a great job manning the kitchen and we were grateful for all of the other dishes that came through the door.  We enjoyed a salmon dinner with all of the grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins followed by grandma opening her gifts and eating dessert.  Although it was totally cold outside, Uncle Eric, Uncle Chris, and all of the kids ended up in the backyard for some outdoor play before everyone headed home some time after 8 p.m.  It was a nice way to spend the day, but boy am I tired today...

Papa giving Logan some comfort while they wait for me to open my gifts.

The kiddos looking on while I read my card.

Showing off the picture frame that Lia made for me at Activity Days.

The group eating dinner in the evening.  Here is the "big kids" table that Lia now finds herself sitting at from time to time.

Grandpa and Ron sat with the little kids at the other kitchen table.

Ella requested a close-up shot and I was happy to oblige since she is the cutest toddler around.

Garrett and the adults eating in the dining room.

Grandma reading one of her cards with Brynn, Trenton, and Ella looking on.

I had to include this picture due to the hilarious pose that Ella was striking next to Grandma.  Such a funny girl.

The grandparents were the first to leave and they pulled out while a bunch of the cousins were playing with a tennis ball in our street.  They formed a spontaneous, human barrier in the road that blocked my grandparents from leaving.  It was such a funny scene and got quite a rise out of my dad!

The Big Break

Well, it finally happened.  After nine years of parenting, we finally made our first trip to the Emergency Room with our first child with a broken bone...and it all happened while I was out of the country attending the U2 concert the night before in Vancouver.  As ironic as it may seem that I cannot even leave the kids alone with Ron for one night without a crazy emergency happening, I know that it could have just as easily happened while I was home with the kids...but it sure makes for a good story, especially since my friend, Kristina, learned that her 3-year old daughter got scalped the day before after her husband let her play with an electric screw driver.  Her hair got wound up in the screw driver and, before he knew it, a massive chunk of hair got ripped out of the top of her head.  Oh dear.  It now makes for a good story for the both of us, but I digress...

It all happened Saturday morning while Ron was attempting to put together his new power washer in the garage while the three kids played in the front yard.  Since Lia has recently discovered the art of tree climbing, Logan has followed suit and the two of them were climbing the small, Japanese Maple tree in the front yard.  While Logan was climbing out of the tree, a branch snapped, causing him to fall backwards out of the tree.  He put his hand out to catch his fall and, bam, broke his arm in the process.  He immediately burst into tears and all three of the kids came running into the garage with Lia yelling that she thought Logan broke his arm.  After some inspection on Ron's part and some icing, Logan announced that he thought he could go to his soccer class and off they went.  Ron first dropped Lia off at her friend, Bella's, house before driving downtown to do some quick, Mother's Day shopping with the younger two before soccer started.  While they were there, Logan told Ron that he didn't think he could go to soccer because his arm was hurting so much.  So, they decided to skip it and went to the Farmer's Market instead in search of some more gift possibilities.  After they got back home, Ron discovered that Logan's elbow was totally swollen and felt very hard and then everything got serious from that point on!  Ron raced off to the emergency room with Logan and Ella while leaving frantic voice mails on my cell phone that I still had not turned on after driving back into the United States from Canada.  

After a leisurely morning on my part touring a friend's bakery outside of Bellingham and taking a scenic drive back to I-5 via Chuckanut Bay (where Kristina used to vacation every summer as child), I turned on my phone somewhere outside Mt. Vernon and found Ron's frantic voice mail message.  I immediately called my parents to find out what had happened since I knew that Ron would not get cell phone service inside the hospital.  After getting an abridged version of the story from my mom, I desperately began calling Ron's phone over and over and over again.  After a very long thirty minutes, he finally called me back and told me that they were in the emergency room waiting the verdict from the x-rays that had already been taken.  Kristina and I immediately changed plans at this point and she arranged for a family friend to meet us off of the freeway north of Lynnwood to drive her on to Sultan to her cousin's house which was where I was originally going to taker her.  This allowed me to just continue driving home and I made it back to Puyallup by 2:30.  I drove straight to the hospital and by chance ran into Ron in the parking lot as he had come back outside to call me.  He took me straight to their little room where I burst into tears the second I saw Logan laying on the exam table.  He just looked so small and helpless laying there with his limp arm.  I was able to smother him with some tears and kisses and words of encouragement before whisking a very tired and hungry Ella home for a late lunch and nap.  One and a half hours later, they returned home with Logan wearing a partial cast in a sling.  He indeed had a break...in fact several breaks on his elbow, one big break on one side and many little breaks on the other side.  Since his arm was so swollen, he needed to wear the partial cast for two days until the swelling went down.  At that point, Ron was told that we needed to take him into an orthopedic clinic in Tacoma to get his real cast. 

So today Ron was able to take the day off work and be the one to drive Logan into Tacoma to get his real cast.  They had to take two more series of x-rays to make sure that he didn't need surgery and to make sure that his wrist wasn't broken.  Luckily, the doctor discovered that it was a 'no' to both of these possibilities.  Although the x-rays were very painful for Logan because he had to move his arm into several positions, he was very brave through the entire process.  He picked his favorite color of blue for his cast and was home before dinner time with a box of popsicles and a skeleton key chain in hand.  Overall, I have been very impressed with my little boy.  He has been such a trooper through this entire ordeal, barely complaining at all.  He has only woken up in the middle of the night wining a couple of times, but I think that the real cast will protect the break better than the partial cast and it will help everything to not be as painful.  I hope and pray that Logan will have a speedy recovery and that we will get this darn cast off before the swimming season is in full swing this summer!  We are so proud of our Logie boy and how brave he has been through it all!

Logan patiently waiting in his exam room in the Emergency Room on Saturday.

Logan looking not-so-happy after being fitted with his partial cast and splint.

A slightly happier boy after getting a purple popsicle from the nurse.

Another not-so-happy Logan with his brand new, blue cast after it got put on today!

Some x-rays of the bones in Logan's elbow.

U2 in Vancouver

Every once and awhile, the weight of adulthood is lifted off of my shoulders and I have the chance to just be young and free again.  Although I absolutely love being a wife and mother, it is a rare treat to have an opportunity to just be a kid again and this weekend was one of those times.  My all-time favorite band, U2, announced in January the dates and cities of their 30-year anniversary tour of their beloved Joshua Tree album.  When I learned that they were coming to Seattle on a Sunday, I immediately began figuring out a way how I could see them two days earlier in Vancouver.  After some thought, I decided to call up Kristina, my dearest friend from high school who now lives in Denver, and ask her if she wanted to fly out and go to the concert with me.  Much to my pleasant surprise, she announced that she was 'in' with very little hesitation.  I was thrilled to say the least!  So, a few days later, I bought our tickets on the morning of the first day of the presale and booked our hotel in Vancouver a few days later.  Before I knew it, we were planning a girls trip to Canada to spend an evening in May rocking the night away to our favorite songs that date back to our high school days.
After four months of waiting, the weekend finally arrived.  Besides waking up with a bad cold on Thursday morning, I was all ready to go by Friday.  I had arranged for my mom to come down and watch the kids during the day until Ron got home from work that evening.  Logan and I first had to attend a Mother's Day tea at his preschool at 9 o'clock, but we were back home a little after 10 a.m.  I quickly dropped him off, packed my bags in the car, and hit the road a few minutes later.  I met Kristina in Bellevue and we had an uneventful ride to Vancouver with only a five-minute wait at the border and arrived to our hotel by 2:30.  After a restful afternoon, we headed out for a fabulous dinner at a wonderful, Japanese fusion restaurant before walking over to BC Place Stadium where the concert was to be held.  After waiting in the craziest line (or lack of one), we managed to get inside the doors right at 7:30 when the opening band, Mumford and Sons, was playing their first song.  Apparently, this was pretty fortunate as thousands of people missed Mumford and Sons' entire performance due to the lack of organization in letting people into the stadium with a new ticketless entry system.  After waiting a little over an hour after the opening band finished, U2 finally came out at 9:25 and performed for almost two hours.  When Larry Mullen Jr. first casually walked out onto the front stage and began playing the drum portion to the beginning of "Sunday, Bloody Sunday," I just lost it!  I jumped to my feet, started screaming, and the rest of the evening was history!  Kristina and I had the best time dancing the night away while singing along with Bono to some of their greatest songs.  It was so much fun to be young again--especially with one of my favorite people from my childhood at my side.  Thanks, U2, for the fabulous evening in Canada...it's one I will always remember.

Kristina and I eating dinner before the show began.

We made it!  The sign right inside the entrance of the venue.

Two giggling friends ready to find our seats and start the party!

Waiting for U2 to come out after Mumford and Sons had finished performing.

And, there they are!  Bono and the boys singing their first few songs from the small, front stage.

This massive, video screen that lit up as the band moved from the front stage to their full set up on the main stage.  We had no idea that this entire back "wall" was a screen, so it was quite the impressive surprise when it lit up in red.

The awesome silhouette of the entire band before they began playing the entire Joshua Tree album.

The crowd erupted when this video started playing when U2 began singing "Where the Streets Have No Name."

The band performing with images of Joshua trees in the background.

A close-up of Bono.

They projected live images like this one of Bono for a majority of the concert while they performed their music.

A close-up of Bono on the video screen.

A close-up of The Edge on the screen.

The Joshua tree outlined in blue at the end of the concert.  It sure was an impressive sigh to behold.