Damon's Birthday Party

DAMON IS 3 !!!   I can't believe it!   We had his birthday party on Wednesday at a really fun park / trail to a creek.  It was so much fun.  So many of his friends were there, and it was a blast!  It was a hot day - but not too hot, and the creek was perfect for the kids to play in and stay cool.  Besides the pizza delivery being 45 minutes late, I think everything went pretty smoothly.  

My favorite picture from the party, they are all so cute! 


Small miracle....Damon eating pizza!  and liking it!  First time ever. It might seem weird that I am proud that my son is finally eating greasy fattening pizza....but for some reason, I just am! 

                 Some of my cute friends with their little ones
                             Damon and his BFF Taylor. 

FAMILY - love it!

So I am finally doing a post from my recent trip to Utah.  Damon and I went out to surprise my mom for her 60th Birthday  (birthday pictures to come) ....and we definitely pulled it off!  My parents were totally shocked to see us.  It was priceless!  I will separate some of the pictures into a few posts...but these are a few favorites of my family.  

               Damon and his youngest cousin, Brayden - the loser - just kidding!  I love the "L".  We were cracking up.  

It was funny to me that two sisters, who live over 2000 miles away from each other would buy the exact same shirt for their kids, and have them wear them on the exact same day without even knowing it.  good taste T!  

                  All 4

All 4 Grandkids - This was only their second time being all together.  Sorry Cooper isn't looking at the camera....but this was one of the best ones...

                    Damon and his sweet cousin, Daria, on a little bike ride!  (yes, I took his bike to Utah - totally worth it!)
                           My brother and mom playing Guitar Hero.  Love it! 
                     Yes, my dad is completely asleep while we are all playing this game.  

        Damon helping clean up after my little sister mowed the lawn.  

shout out

Just a shout out to one of my best friends Jackie - Thanks for making me run 6 miles this morning...like I told you it's been - well, a while - since  I have ran that far.  It felt great!  

Yes!

So a good friend of mine made a funny comment to me a few weeks ago, that if you don't put something on your blog, it's like it never happened....I thought that seemed so true.   So I of course, couldn't help but announce that Damon is officially potty trained.   I wish I could say that it all had to do with my great parenting...but it had nothing to do with that...haha.....He just woke up one day (May 1, to be exact - I'll always remember because its also my anniversary), went and pulled some underwear out of his drawer, and said "I want to wear these".    So he did, and has been ever sense.    I'm sure I won't be this lucky with any future children....

            I really didn't realize when I took this picture that you could actually see the stream...but oh well, either way its just a funny picture.    He no longer feels the need to totally undress before going potty...thank goodness. 

Isn't Life Great?

I just thought this was a really cute picture of Damon and his good buddy, Michael.   I love how much fun they have together.  This picture says it all.  

Father's Day

Just a little tribute to my sweet Mike.   These are some of my favorite pictures of Mike and Damon.  

Of course, I think that Damon is one lucky kid to have Mike for a dad.   Mike is one of the most adventurous people I've ever known, and Damon is definitely already following in his dad's footsteps.  At the grocery store the other day a guy said that Damon looked exactly like me...Damon looked at the guy and said "NO!  I look like my Dad!"  I had to just laugh.  I love how much Damon is starting to look and act like his Dad.  They play, fight, golf, run, laugh, eat, talk, and especially love to fall asleep on the couch together.  

I always knew Mike would make a great dad someday, and I feel so lucky to have a little boy with him.  Love you honey! 

Tribute to My Girlfriends

I have been so blessed with some of the best friends a girl could ask for.  Not only back in Utah...but I have made life-long friendships out here in DC.  This is a picture from the Girls Night Out that we had in May.  We ate WAY TOO MUCH  junk, played games, and the most important part...talked and talked and talked...and laughed hysterically.  I am so grateful for the friends out here who have made us feel like part of their families.  I honestly don't know what I would do without all of you!   I have cried, complained, confided in, and cried some more to many of them and I cherish their friendships more than I can say.  Love you girls!  

Jackie, Moana, Tiana, Annette, Elaine, Me, Jenny, Rachelle, Kaelene, and Becky!  

Rachelle and Kaelene are moving (or have moved in the last week) and I want you to know that you will be greatly missed!  

Memorial Day

The Sunday before Memorial Day we decided to go down and walk around The Mall.  It was amazing to be reminded of those that have gone before us and fought for our country.   We've walked around the monuments many times before, but it was amazing to walk around the World War Memorials and see all the people there in honor of soldiers and their families.  Once again, I wish I was a good writer and could convey how I felt when we were there....but to sum it up...it was just a great experience and really put things in perspective - 

                                       World War II Memorial
                         The view of the George Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial
     The Vietnam Memorial.  It was amazing to see the pictures, flowers, etc..lined up around all the monuments
                            Damon had a great bike ride - he rode all over the place
                       Feeding the squirrels

Like father like son....

A lot of catch up

So we are back in town from a 2 week trip to visit family in Utah.  Damon and I surprised my parents with this visit, so I couldn't exactly post about going out of town, because it would obviously have ruined the surprise.  So...now I get to play catch up.  I have a few things from before our trip to post about also, so here we go. 

A few weeks ago my really good friend Shannon, had her boyfriend and his son in town from Belgium.   I took them out to Great Falls, MD (thanks for Chris and Kelli for lending me their car) - it would have been a perfect day to be there, except that there were major storms a few days before, and the trail out to the Falls was closed because the water was too high.  We were super disappointed, but made the best out of what we had. Here are a few pics.