buddy

Bryanna had one of her favorite friends over to play today!! They had a grand ol' time playing out back in the sprinklers and the wet trampoline!

Summer+ friends+ water= a good time!!

new skill

My little Bryanna is more than ready to start writing her ABC's and putting letters into words. We've been working on recognition and matching letters. Just a few days ago, she was drawing and asked how to spell my name. She already knows her own name, so I thought it was so cute that she wanted to spell mine!!

Her name!

cute Maddox boy...talking like a champ! (and a dirty face!!)

the 'writer'!!

How legible is that? I haven't worked with her at all in writing, I thought it was pretty amazing!

Mark's "WORK" Trip

Wednesday morning Jim (Stacy's dad) and I took off for San Diego for a "work" trip. We went to a marketing seminar for the pool deck product that we use. It lasted from 1 to 4, and we learned a lot. After the seminar, Westcoat (The product manufacturer), took us out to The Fish Market, which was a very nice seafood restaraunt in the harbor in San Diego. I had crab legs, my favorite. After dinner, we both had a sweet tooth and went to Yogurtland for some dessert. The one in San Diego had lots more toppings than the one in Town Square. I had Cookies & Cream, Peanut Butter, and Cheesecake Yogurt with Reese's, Kit-Kats, Cookies Dough, and Oreo's on top. YUMMY!!!

On Thursday we went to a product demo for Westcoat. It was their Epoxy Flooring demo. They have this product called "Liquid Dazzle", which is the main reason we went. It looks AMAZING, especially for Coffee Shops, Ice Cream Parlors, and Specialty Shops. Here is a sample of what it looks like.

After the demo, we went and tried to tour the U.S.S Midway, an aircraft carrier used in WWII, but it was closed for a "special event". So, we decided to go to the movies and we saw "Star Trek". Even though I couldn't stand to watch it on T.V. when I was a kid, it was a REALLY good movie. I will probably see it again with Stacy. After the movie, it was off to Yogurtland for another concoction. I had the same as the night before, but I added a few gummy bears on the side.

Friday was my favorite day. We woke up and drove to Torrey Pines Golf Course. For those of you who don't know, this is why Torrey Pines is Famous:


Westcoat took us golfing (at $200 per person!!!) here. It was probably the worst round of golf I have played since I was 10, but there were a few good shots, and the views were fantastic!

If you can't see my ball, it was a 160 yard par 3 with a 300 foot drop, and I hit it within 6 feet of the hole. You can see the tiny ball to the right of the flag.


Overall, I had a great "work" trip.

spring

I love spring, for many reasons. There are many occasions that Mark and I celebrate together, our anniversary for one. And then my birthday is 10 days later. We have found that we need to save up for those seeing as how close together they are. But one thing we don't need any money to celebrate is springtime. Mother nature is at its best, and most beautiful, {according to me} in the Springtime. There are numerous primary songs about all the spring, but I especially love this one:

Because It's Spring

Why is the sky so blue and clear? Why is the robin's song so dear?

Why is the sun so warm and bright, Filling the earth with glorious light?

Why are the fields so green today? Why do the clouds all float away?

Why does my heart with gladness sing? Only because it's spring!

Last summer we put in our backyard, so I missed out on our spring flowers with the move. This year it has taken my breath away. We didn't pull alot of the small flowers we planted in the fall during the cold winter months, and I'm so glad we didn't. Our backyard is in FULL bloom now!

{before}

{now}

Spring, in all it's glory!

my little flower girl!

I must enjoy it while it lasts, for in Vegas, spring time is only a short month before the heat moves in for 3 long months.

Day of Prayer

What a disappointment. I haven't expected much to begin with of our new President of the United States. So you'd think it wouldn't be such a big deal. But for some reason it is. Prayer is huge with me personally and we do it a few times a day together as a family. Obama has his reasons for changing Day of Prayer, but I find the changes disappointing.

"Obama's position has disappointed Christian conservatives, who want the president to do more to mark the day, and an atheist group that wants him to end the tradition.

"Congress established the day in 1952 and in 1988 set the first Thursday in May as the day for presidents to issue proclamations asking Americans to pray.

"White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday that Obama would issue such a proclamation Thursday but not hold any public events with religious leaders as President George W. Bush did.

"Gibbs said Obama prays privately and his plan for the day was in line with those of past presidents. Still, Obama drew a rebuke from the National Day of Prayer Task Force, a private group that promotes prayer events around the country.

"We are disappointed in the lack of participation by the Obama Administration," said task force chairwoman Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. "At this time in our country's history, we would hope our President would recognize more fully the importance of prayer."

"The task force estimates 2 million Americans attended more than 40,000 events marking the day last year.

Click here to read more on this article.

Surely I'm not the only American who feels let down already?

Prom

My little sister, Jamie, and I had a BiRtHdAy weekend, along with Jamie going to Prom! She's a beauty, and I am so happy to share my B-day with her! We had an awesome dinner on Sunday to celebrate with family and good eats....shrimp tacos and ceviche! Then we had quite the spread of birthday cakes....an ice cream cake, two Nothing Bundt cakes, and a delicious home-made German Chocolate cake. (yes, you counted right, that was four cakes we had to eat from!)

Beauty Queen, finishing up her make-up

Camille was her hair dresser and Make-up Artist...very talented! It turned out beautiful!

Getting the last of wardrobe necessities, SHOES!

Entering the waiting mob of papparazzi, trying to snap a picture of this Barbie Doll.

There were five cameras going, constantly snapping shots, trying to capture this moment in time!

And Jordan finally gets here...the man of the hour (so to speak). I was very impressed with Jordan, earning his own money to go on this extravaganza. Isn't that the way it should be anyway? Way to go, Jordan!

So happy together!

I had many more shots to choose from, I could have posted about 10 more pictures! They were too gorgeous, and such a cute couple, it was hard to keep my finger from stopping!!

They had a total blast for Prom, going to eat at the Tournament of Kings, going to the dance and then coming back to the strip with friends to grab some dessert a the Paris Hotel, see the conservatory at Bellagio, and just having a good time!

Happy Birthday Stacy!!!

Happy ____ ( Fill in the Blank) Birthday! Thanks for being such a great wife and mother! We love you!

Love,

Mark, Bryanna, Maddox, andPutter