First Swim of the Season

Yesterday was Memorial Day and also Jaina's last official free day before she was to be set apart as a missionary and we decided to spend it at the Lindon Pool. We had a lot a good sized group there. Jaina, Jill, Mike, Georgia, Marie, Ty and Jon were there with Danny, our kids and myself. A year has passed by and Addie is still a little cautious when it comes to playing in the pools. I called about three weeks ago to get her started on some private swimming lessons and was put on a waiting list. We're currently waiting to hear back from a swimming instructor. Eventually she relaxed in the water and had a fun time with her uncles and aunts. At one point she had Danny take her out of the water because she needed to go potty. We were both surprised that she insisted on being taken to the bathroom instead of just peeing in her swim diaper. Needless to say we were pretty proud of her.  It was Hudson's first time swimming and he didn't really show much emotion. He didn't seem to love it but he also didn't seem to hate it which was Addie's first reaction to the pool when she was his age. It was a fun morning. We would have spent a little more time there but eventually left to meet the newest member of the Rueckert family, baby Paisley. My sister Pollyanna gave birth on the 27th and her baby looks so much like Aria. I absolutely love the newborn stage, the only thing that would make that phase perfect would be if it included more sleep throughout the night.

He's a thumbsucker.

Baby Paisley Janet

These were later that night. Look at his sweet face!

Blurry but so cute!

Lantern Fest

Donna bought tickets for the entire family to attend this year's Lantern Fest which was held in Tooele as a birthday gift to Jaina and last big family hoorah before she leaves on her mission next week. Despite a lot of complaining from mainly the men in the family I think everyone ended the night glad that they went. We made sure to thank Donna for the experience and the night we had. Addie especially loved it. They had face painting, slides, Disney princesses, a mechanical bull and plenty of food. They also had long lines but that's something that doesn't really bother me. I've known for a long time now that Addie has a real fear of heights and on Saturday her aunts found out about that little fact. Jaina took Addie up the inflatable slide which had super steep steps and Addie froze in fear. I'm really proud of her for going through with it though and going down the slide even if she did hang on for dear life to her aunt. I admire that little girl of mine so much. I'm starting to see some of myself in Addie as she's getting older. We both have desires to step out of our comfort zones and I can't help but feel proud every time she succeeds in doing it. I should take more lessons from her because I tend to let fear get in my way more times than not. :) She didn't like the slide, but she did it. She likes talking about it but given the choice she wouldn't do it again and that's okay because she at least gave it a chance. She absolutely loved all of the princesses she saw. She walked right up to Moana and gave her a hug, She liked Princess Belle and Rapunzel. She didn't know who Sleeping Beauty was but thought she was pretty. I'm getting really excited to see how she'll like going to Disneyland later this year. Something else she was really excited about was the face painting station with her cousins Jacob, Brooklyn, Jayden and Georgia. Unfortunately for her though I'm her mom and I am not a fan of face paint. I did allow her to get something on her hand. She chose a pink heart and she's still talking today about how much she loved that heart and it's already been three days since she's had it. When it came time to do the lanterns we decided it would be best to watch from the entrance way instead of in the field by the fire pits where we had camped most of the evening. It was the best idea because of the view we got. It was also the safest idea because what you can't see in the pictures is that the same amount of lanterns that were being released into the air were also falling down back to the ground. It also worked out for us because we were able to head straight to our car without having to wait in lines to get out. We were able to get home before midnight and the kids went straight to bed with ease. Overall even though we headed into the night with a bit of hesitation it turned out to be spectacular. Thanks Donna.

Danny is a Grad!!

Today has been an amazing day! Danny has officially graduated from Utah Valley University and I couldn't be more proud of him than I already am. He has worked so hard in his studies! I can't even count how many Saturday mornings he'd be at the library trying to cram extra studying hours into his week. That was on top of him already being at school all week long and studying all throughout his evening work shifts. This next year will be better as far as time that I get to spend with him with no worries lingering over our heads from the thought of an upcoming exam or presentation scheduled. For the first time in our married lives I won't have to share him with textbooks and flashcards. Well, this isn't entirely true because he will be spending the next several months still studying for the GRE but hey I'm still excited to have him home more compared to what it has been. I'll take what I can get time wise. :)

We woke up early today to be at his graduation ceremony which started at 8am. Addie was pretty groggy for a little bit because she's exactly like me (the opposite of a morning person) and Hudson woke up with huge smiles on his face (he's a morning person like his daddy). Donna and Jaina met us here at our place while I finished getting the kids ready and then we went together to the UVU Event Center and found us some seats on the second row right next to the stage. Dave sadly had to miss the ceremony today because of work and wanted to be here for Danny. The kids did well during the presentation of the diplomas. There was an instant though where Addie's beloved binky fell through the seats which I worried might be an issue for her if we weren't able to retrieve it. I told Addie that today might just have to be a graduation from the broken pacifier but to her luck Grandma was able to find it after the ceremony and saved the day.

We took some pictures outside before going out for lunch at the Olive Garden. This restaurant has turned into our go to place for special events. Danny and I both went there when we returned from our missions, celebrated our engagement there and we've spent each one of our anniversaries eating there so it only seemed fitting to continue on our little tradition. 

To make this day even more perfect, if possible, is that tonight is the last night that I'll have to wait up past 10:00pm every night waiting for Danny's shift to end. Hallelujah! Starting next week Danny will be home every day by 5pm. I'm so excited for this new change!

Here are some more pictures of a few surprises I had planned for Danny's graduation.

I had ordered donuts to spell UVU Grad and they were ready right after Danny's last presentation.

That G looks more like a C to me :)

Surprise picture for Danny.

He left a drool mark on this sash.

My last surprise to Danny was what I dressed the kids in. I had them customed ordered by a friend from my childhood home ward and I loved the way they turned out.

Danny we are so proud of you!!