Playgroup Egg Hunt

Can't help but be a little nostalgic as I think of what egg hunting looked like last year:

Our ward has a great playgroup. We had a lot of fun at the egg hunt this year. Our old neighbors from Windsor Village (where we used to live in Waltham) joined us. It was fun to see Patrick and Tessa one last time before they move!

The kids got to ride (and run) around the parking lot while the eggs were being hidden.

Friends

My boys and another good friend Bean

We upgraded from Mom's purse to a paper bag this time...

I think Will found a little toy boat in this egg. He loved it.

The moments we live for!

I'm pretty sure my kids had lots of candy instead of lunch.

2011 Boston Marathon in Moments

The wheelchair racers are the first to whiz by.

For me the most touching moment was when a wheelchair racer that was struggling came by (I didn't get a picture.) She was back with the runners and was literally INCHING up the hill. She had already completed almost 20 miles but the going was really rough. You could see the sweat dripping off her nose and the tense arm and back muscles permanently flexed underneath her clothing. I was moved to tears. For every inch she went she probably had 60 people screaming encouragement at her. It was emotional. I hope she finished.

Arguably the cutest moment: Will and Annelise share a chair.

The silliest moment: supporting our friends who were running with "illegal" chalk drawings and messages.

Janelle and Melanie trace Lacey--she was supposed to be a person running.

So excited to see three of our fellow ward members run by!

The most tragic moment: completely missing said ward members as they ran by. :(

The most exciting moment: cheering for a man wearing a BYU shirt. Someone in our very large group of friends saw him early and we all SCREAMED and cheered as he went by. It was loud and crazy and fun. There was no doubt about where much of our crowd had been to undergrad! He had a huge smile on his face and I think he was video taping us with his iPhone as he ran. Who is coordinated enough to do that?! Hopefully that scream from 20 or 30 (including kids) unknown fans gave him the extra juice to finish strong. It was awesome.

The elite women run by the winner pounded out an average of a 5:42 mile.

The elite men run by the winner did averaged a 4:69 minute mile.

Arguably the second cutest moment: David spent a lot of time with his K9 friend Cody. Forget that Cody has a little family member Lilly who is also his friend.

The waves and waves of runners come by. This year we weren't sitting close enough to watch them throw their cups down from the water station but even without the cup tossing it was fun and inspiring to watch.

Another successful year spectating at the Boston Marathon!

This picture describes David. No explanation needed.

Egg Hunt: Take One

I'm a little embarrassed at how much we did for Easter that wasn't related to celebrating the resurrection of our Savior. I thought about it and realized as long as I'm teaching my kids what it is all about there is no harm in an egg-hunt (or three!)

Our first egg hunt was a fun community affair that was sponsored by the Watertown Family Network and held at a local nursing home. The boys had a great time.

Will shows his egg-citement.

David and William race to deposit eggs in their basket (my purse since I forgot to bring one!)

Character band-aids on your forehead are in style.

David sits with the Easter Bunny...

This is how William felt about the Easter Bunny.

Afterward we enjoyed a few snacks and drinks in the little bistro. Inside the eggs we found stickers and both David and Will had a paper for a prize that they could choose. It was fun to spend the lovely morning with my boys!

Conference Brunch

Last year we had a gathering before General Conference. We enjoyed it so much we decided to do it again. We worried about the weather a little after the snow on Friday but things turned out. It was kind of fun to throw a party with our neighbors too--we had twice the chairs, tables, and help setting up. Heather also made some impressive cinnamon rolls that really made the food spread amazing.

Clarks

Calderon and Curtis Families

Rose family and more Clarks

Sara, Christy, and the Hull Family

Mary and Lacey with Dan in the background

It was a fun morning. Everyone brought something to share. There was quite a bit of tasty food when all was said and done. The kids enjoyed the ride on toys and running around the backyard. A few played inside when they got too cold. I love having parties especially when there isn't too much cooking involved!

General Conference Weekend

Don't let this cute carpet picnic fool you...

I'm pretty sure they were only on their best behavior for about 10 mintues. David managed to list a few of the prophets off the chart I spent hours making.

I did have moments of peace and feeling uplifted in between the noise from two little boys.

Goldman Gala

...this event is also called "dental school prom" by many. I didn't even know it existed the first year--Brad's probably appropriate retort was "I didn't tell you because I knew you wouldn't have wanted all that pressure to find a dress two months after having William." The second year we just didn't feel like shelling out the money. This year we decided we'd better try it out so we could at least say we went to one!

We were able to ride to the fancy hotel with our friends the Clarks. Of course the men reverted to dental talk in the car but us women quickly changed the subject since we didn't want to spend a special night out talking about root canals and school (sorry guys!)

They really knew how to put on a nice evening, but I suppose they better have done a good job for the ticket price! There was the social hour with impressive looking and tasting h'odurves. Next it was one of the most beautiful and tasty dinners I've been to in a long time.

Brad and I at dinner.

A flower arrangement at dinner.

Charles and his fiance Nicole.

The lovely Lindsay, it was really nice to talk with her over our meal.

Mark and Nancy.

Brad has been very fortunate to have some wonderful friends. Dental school is a lot like high school in the sense that you spend inordinate amounts of time with your classmates. Might has well enjoy it.

After we finished our dinner it was onto the dancing...

Dean Hutter dancing with his wife. This guy is the nicest. I've always been so impressed each time I meet him at a social function or at the dental clinic. He remembers me and our kids. Brad says he literally runs around the dental school with a sort of boyish excitement. He is very in touch with the students and apparently not afraid to dance either.

Us and the Clarks

Jeff and Cheryl Clark again--we'll miss them dearly.

Cheryl has been the sort of person I can (and have) called at all hours of the day or night. Jeff has been a great resource and friend to Brad too.

Some other friends--it looks like Lindsay and John are heading onto the dance floor and that maybe Tamsen and Melissa are trying to convince Melinda to go as well. Melinda's husband Derek was a dancing maniac but she was a little more reserved.

Brad and I danced a bit and it was fun but I had the odd sort of feeling that I was 17 and at a church dance. This feeling was strong and I wasn't the only one there who admitted to it. Maybe we need to get out more?

A nice little tooth sculpture.

I really did enjoy the chance to get out with Brad alone and meet some of his friends. Sometimes it can be a bit awkward tagging along as the wife in a world you aren't completely familiar with. It helped that I'd met many of the people before and there were lots of other students who brought their special someone. I noticed a 4th year girl who brought her husband. He did something admirable but simple for a living and I really related to him and could tell he felt a little uncomfortable too. I guess we all can't be dental students! :)