Alaina's Preschool Graduation

May 24th our little Lainy graduated from the ECEAP preschool program at the University of Washington. Her teachers told her that she could tell everyone that she graduated from UW a week before her Daddy. She thought that was pretty cool!

We were sad to see this year of preschool come to and end. Lainy's teachers have been fabulous. Simply amazing, involved, compassionate teachers. And they have loved her. She has learned so much - not only reading and math skills, but important social skills too. We have felt incredibly blessed to be part of ECEAP.

Last day of school at the park

 

Graduation day dawned sunny and beautiful. While Lainy was practicing for the program, Leah and I went and got her balloons, flowers, and some cupcakes. We wanted her to feel extra special. Brad picked her up from school, then Leah and I met them with our surprises. I wish I had a picture of Leah running to Lainy with balloons and flowers flying in the wind. And Lainy's face when she saw them. So sweet. I think our plan worked - she felt pretty great.

The graduation program was cute. The graduates walked out in full graduation regalia: gowns and caps. It was awesome! The only glitch in the program was that someone forgot to turn the lights on in the auditorium until half way through the program. Hence our crappy pictures and videos. Grrr. Oh well. Here's our best shot:

To kick of the program, one of Lainy's teachers played the guitar and the kids sang "We are Gonna Be Friends" by the White Stripes (covered by Jack Johnson). I thought it was darling.

Fall is here, hear the yell
Back to school, ring the bell
Brand new shoes, walking blues
Climb the fence, books and pens
I can tell that we are gonna be friends.
I can tell that we are gonna be friends.

Don't you think that is the cutest song to sing at graduation? Here is Lainy singing her heart out on the last verse:

Love her.

Next they sang and danced to an alphabet song (where a staff member got WAY too into the dancing...) then it was time to present the graduates. Lainy told us her job was to walk up the steps, shake Principal Chris's hand, get her diploma, and wave to Mom and Dad. She did great!

(The video that was supposed to go here will not load, so imagine Lainy doing what was described above with a charming smile and darling wave.)

Wiggly little Leah paused on my lap long enough to shout "Good job Lainy!" and clap enthusiastically as Lainy took the stand. We are super proud parents.

With Teacher Fanny

With Teacher Gabby (her favorite)

With Teacher Jaclyn

Alaina and Anya - our friend and neighbor

We love you Lainy! Congratulations!

Orcas Island

At the end of May my parents and my siblings (Jeff and Cassi) flew up and took us to the San Juan Islands. Though we spent a lot of time waiting for ferry boats, it was worth it. The Islands are breathtaking.

We stayed in a little cottage on Orcas Island. Our weekend was serene and quiet and beautiful.

Memories:
Eating extraordinary seafood
Visiting the farmers market with the colorful locals
Going whale watching (and seeing minke whales!)
Sacrament meeting in our cottage
Driving to the top of Mount Constitution in a thick fog
Finding a ton of sea stars on the beach
A lot of rain
Waiting for the ferry...again...for a long time

Pictures:

Seeing the San Juan Islands was on our Seattle Bucket List. It is a strange, ethereal, gorgeous part of the world. Thanks for helping us experience it, Mom and Dad!

The Little Smith's Visit

I am catching up on blogging. This post documents a visit from family in May. Stay tuned for more!

My older brother and his family made the long drive from Idaho to come see us (Scott, Kristen, Kayt, Ella, and new baby Hazel). We had a blast with them. The little girls played and played, and Brad and I loved staying up late and talking with Scott and Kris. They are awesome. We pretty much love that we're related.


We loved meeting Hazel for the first time. Leah especially!

Our many adventures included a trip to Carkeek Park,

Pike Place Market,

Eating HUGE oysters from the market (Brad gagged big time),

 The gum wall,

The view from Columbia Tower,

Riding the ducks,

 Golden Gardens Beach,

and the Seattle Aquarium (the giant octopus was totally cool).

 Sad faces the morning they left:

Scott, Kristen, Kayt, Ella and Hazel, we love you! Thanks for making the trek up!

Windermere Cup 2012

I am catching up on blogging. Stay tuned for more posts from May and June 2012.

The Windermere Cup is the first Saturday in May. It's the day Seattle celebrates its status as one of the country's biggest rowing hubs and features the University of Washington crew (one of the most revered rowing teams in the world). We went to the cup last year and decided we needed to see it one more time.

It was a beautiful day. We rode our bikes over to the Montlake Cut and got there just in time to see UW completely dominate the competition. Go Huskies!

There were hundreds of people lining the banks of the cut and a lot of yachts lining the course on the water. It's something you just don't see anywhere else (and it's a good excuse to cuddle cute little girls).

Super fun!

On Moving

We are alive.

Since you last saw us Brad graduated from medical school, we moved from Seattle to Spokane (in the pouring rain), we drove 8 hours to see family in Idaho, we flew to California and spent three days in Disneyland, we drove 8 hours back to Spokane, and Brad started residency.

Whew! It's been a whirlwind of a month.

I am very nearly convinced that we should sell everything we own before doing it all over again in a year. Seriously.

Here is an update on the girls:
Lainy is my sweet, adaptable Lainy and all registered for kindergarten at the school up the street.
Leah is...whiny.

But we are settling in and excited to discover what Spokane has to offer. I'm sure it's going to be good!

More on graduation and Disneyland later, I've got boxes to unpack!