Spring Fun and Sam's Preschool Graduation

Sam and I spent tons of time outside this Spring enjoying the warm sunshine and fabulous Colorado weather. Don and I were both running nearly every day preparing for the Bolder Boulder and I was training for a half marathon I signed up for with my running partner and good friend, Kelli.

We made volcanoes one afternoon with a bunch of family housing friends at the Young Artists and Scientists Group. Then, a month later, we exploded our volcano. 

After I painstakingly built the volcano, Sam added the finishing touches (just smashed a bunch of newspaper strips on the outside). He spent the rest of the activity filling a bowl with rocks and digging in the dirt. That is Sam's idea of a good time.

Riding on his beloved dump truck. He loves to fill the back of the truck full of random stuff he finds around the house and a bunch of little toys. We made a spot in the toy box for junk toys that he uses as "dirt". This kid is obsessed with diggers and tractors!

Every year, my boss, Clancy, takes all the Resident Managers out to a fancy restaurant for an appreciation dinner. This year, we went to Salt. We ordered drinks, every appetizer on the menu, and every dessert, too. Everyone (but me) had a delicious meal. I ended up with the most enormous slab of fatty pork (I'd ordered a pork chop - the special). The waiter had said it came with potatoes and vegetable puree so I was expecting a normal meal. 

When the waiter came out with the food, he handed me a plate with a huge slab of meat (90% of which was fat) a few dots of puree. I asked the waiter where the rest of the meal was and said the puree was everything else he'd told me about. So, I asked him to bring me some more puree. He brought me a plate with three more tiny dots of puree. I wish I'd taken a picture of it because it was so ridiculous. 

Everyone else shared their food with me and it became a big joke. My advice: if you go to Salt, skip the pork chop.

My three girlfriends, Staci, Laurie-Anne, and Candee, and I went to the Denver temple together. It was so refreshing to have some girl time and have some peaceful moments to sit in the temple and think and renew myself spiritually. I am so grateful for all the fun times I've had with these ladies and their cute kids.  Staci and Candee moved away and Sam and I are both really missing them. He keeps telling people that we're moving to Utah because Adam moved there. 

The other day when I was asking him if he wanted to play on a soccer team he said, "Yes, with Josh! And Adam and Elsie will come back and play with me!" Once I told him that Adam and Elsie weren't coming back, he wasn't nearly as excited. 

He made up two imaginary friends (froggy and turtle) since Adam and Elsie moved. I know that is totally age appropriate and lots of kids have imaginary friends but I feel badly because I think it is in response to him missing his friends. It was just so easy to hang out with our friends in Smiley Court and now that they are gone, I just need to make more of an effort to get together with our friends that live outside the Smiley vicinity. 

I also got to go on a temple trip with the youth from church. Our semi-annual temple trips are some of my very favorite times with the girls. We always go to CiCi's pizza buffet afterwards and the kids eat so much disgusting pizza. It is entertaining every time.

Sam finished up his preschool class and we had preschool graduation at the dinosaur park. I am so glad that Candee convinced me to do this co-op preschool. Sam learned and developed so much and he absolutely loved being with his three best friends each week. 

Here are some pictures from the last class I taught. We had a blast with homemade playdough. 

It's an ice cream cone!

President Obama drove right by our house with his motorcade on the way to speak at CU. It was the first time the president had been to Boulder since sometime in the 50s and I was surprised at how excited I got. The police cleared the street and we sat and waited for over an hour to see the motorcade drive by. 

We knew where the motorcade was because this helicopter was following it. A policeman came by about 5 minutes before the motorcade and checked all the trash cans along the street. Also, a secret service agent sat on the corner carefully watching all the people and cars. He tried to look like a normal bystander but you just don't see a big, muscular man with a earpiece standing in a serious army stance on the corner glaring at everything and everyone very often.

Sam found this sprinkler flag and waved it at everyone that came by.

And here is the motorcade! There were 6-7 big black SUVs that flew by (probably going about 50 mph) so it wasn't clear where the president was (for obvious reasons) but it was still fun to see the motorcade drive by. I don't know what he spoke about and didn't care at all about waiting in line for 6 hours to get a ticket. It was just fun that he drove right by our apartment!

April 25th was Sam's preschool graduation. Candee made cute little graduation certificates and wrapped up some little gifts. It was Adam's birthday so Staci brought cupcakes and we all brought picnic lunches and had a great time playing at the park.

Jacob and Rick were happy little guys and enjoyed laying on the blanket together.

Adam was pretty pumped about his birthday cupcakes. Man, I love this kid. 

My favorite picture of Sam and his buddy Josh. Sam sits with his head propped on his hand at meals a lot and Don and I think it is so cute.

Graduation certificates!

And present time.

Nothing like a chocolate mustache!

The girls! I love you all and I miss you, Candee and Stace!

Sam, Elsie, Josh, Evan, William, and Adam.

The majority of the young student couples and young couples in general moved away this spring/summer. We have been so blessed in Boulder to have made so many wonderful, lifelong friends. I really miss my friends but I'm trying to stay positive. Now we'll just have lots of great people to visit all over the place!