Birthday Videos

Here are videos of Ava's birthday....

Ava turns 3!!!

Ava is now 3 years old  She had another birthday in Panguitch. It seems all summer activities have happened during her birthday.  Last year it was Grandpa Hulet's 60th surprise party.  (His birthday is the day before Ava's). This year the family reunion was the day after her birthday.  We debated going up to Utah and at the last minute we decided to go.  We were going to throw her a birthday party here, but when I asked who she wanted to invite, she said Ty, (Ian's friend she love, I often find her talking on her fake phone to Ty.) and Sister Parker (her nursery leader).  I asked her about all the other kids in her Nursery class and she was insistent that all she wanted was Ty and Sister Parker. So I didn't feel bad heading to Utah and having a family party instead.  Unfortunately it was with just my family.  We missed having Dustin's family there.  I didn't take that many photos, so I had to steal some from my Mom.

 

Ava with cousin Haylee.  Haylee was just as excited about opening presents as Ava was.

Annesa did Ava's nails. They were pink glitter. I don't think anything could have made her happier. She wants me to paint her nails nearly everyday.

 Ava dressed up in the skirt she got from Papa and Grandma Sandy, wearing her clip on earrings from Grandma Net and Grandpa Rupert, and new lip gloss.  She is SO girly!

 Ava requested a pink super girl cake that tasted like vanilla.  She wants to play super heroes with Ian and his friends, but she has to be wearing her pink super girl cape.
Don't pay attention too closely to the cake, it traveled 9 hours in the car, so it melted a little and to top it off we almost hit a deer. We had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the deer, and the cake went flying.  I suppose it could have smashed all over the car, I was glad it was still in one piece.

 Ava in her new swimsuit she got from the Great Grandparents.

 My Mom set up the slip n slide out back and the kids had a blast!

 Danika, Jeffry, Ian, Ava, and Jonathon.

 Check out how bronze Ian is compared to the rest of the kids.

At 3 Ava is still obsessed with pink.  She loves lip gloss, and play makeup.  She asks me often if she can comb my hair. So in essence she is a girly girl.  However, she loves to play cars and super heroes with Ian as long as she has the girl cars and her pink cape. So I guess it is a good balance.  This summer she has enjoyed swimming at the pool, playing in the sprinklers and helping me pull weeds.  She is excited about having a baby sister, and tells me she has a baby in her belly too.  She wants to name the baby The Little Mermaid, Ariel, and Rapunzel.  Her favorite food is pizza. When she grows up she wants to be a princess.  Her favorite movie is Barbie and the Nutcracker. Ava loves coloring and looking at books. Ava is sort of a recluse, she doesn't play with many other kids. Only Ian and Ty.  At nursery she doesn't play with the other kids, she just watches them and is extremely observant.  She is going to preschool this fall, hopefully she will come out of her shell.  Every morning when she wakes up she comes into my room and say, "Mom, I want sumping (something) to eat!" She is also working on saying her "L's" correctly.  We love having Ava in our family and hope she had a great birthday!

Dustin's Graduation

June 15, 2012

Dustin graduated from Norwich University, with a Master's Degree in Structural Engineering.  We had the privilege of going to the ceremony in Northfield, VT. (Sorry the pictures are a little out of order). I am so proud of him and his hard work and dedication. My mom came out and watched the kids while I flew out.  It was so nice to vacation without kids.  Thanks mom! Dustin had to do a residency out there for 1 week, then I headed out the following Wednesday.  I missed him like crazy. 

Thursday I spent the day in Boston all by myself, it was a blast. I rode the subway everywhere, did some shopping and checked out the beach.  That evening Dustin's parents and grandparents flew in and we drove to Vermont. The next morning was Dustin's graduation.

                                                 This is where the graduation took place.

 Dustin's Grandma Stirling and I on the campus grounds.  It was so beautiful there.  So many trees!

                                                                      Sandy and I

                         Dustin with his Grandparents and Parents shortly after the ceremony.

 I didn't get to see or talk to him before the graduation, so I was extremely happy to give him a huge hug and kiss after the ceremony.

                                                             Dustin with his diploma.

 These two photos are jumping ahead a little bit.  We went to a random maple farm. It was pretty impressive to see how they tapped the trees to get the maple out. 

                                                  This is back on the Norwich campus.

                                                      Tom getting little sugar from Fawn.

 Back to the maple farm... We were able to sample all kinds of syrup, cheese, jellies, jams, and various other things I can't think of right now.

                          We took a harbor cruise in Boston.  Sandy waiting for us to take off...

 The USS Constitution is the United States' oldest battleship.  Nicknamed "Old Iron Sides" because it never incurred any damage.  The cannon balls would bounce right off the side.

                                   This is the Joseph Smith birthplace in Sharon Vermont. 

 Here is the Boston Temple, we were able to do a session here the day we had to go home.  It is a very beautiful and unique temple.

 We took a trolley tour all around Boston, it was one of those hop on hop off tours.  We learned some very interesting things about our country and the Revolution.  It gives me greater respect for our founding fathers.

                                                        Grandpa Stirling at the Temple.

                                   This is Boston from the top of the Bunker Hill Monument.

 We were so exhausted hiking all of those stairs.  All of our legs were shaky by the time we got back to the bottom.

           The monument behind Gary and Sandy.  We hiked all the way to the top of that thing!

Gary putting out the vibe.

It was an amazing trip. I highly recommend a trip to Boston and the rest of New England if you have never been there.  We had some amazing food, and great company. Thanks to Gary, Sandy, Tom, and Fawn for making the trip with us and supporting Dustin.

 

Dustin receiving his diploma. (Sorry I am really bad at taking videos).

This video is us at the top of Bunker Hill Monument you can see how tired we all were.

The reveal

Today we went to the doctor and....

It's a.........

(Hopefully you figured it out from the color of balloon)

Ian's soccer team

Ian just completed his first season in soccer.  He loved it, and we had a blast watching him.

 

 Here is his team.  We didn't want to pay $30 for a team photo so I just snapped one with my camera. From left to right.  Assistant Coach: Evan Gartz, Akshay, Ty, Ian, Team Mom: Dustin, Lily, and Praveen.  Nathan and Head Coach Richard Sandberg were out of town.

 This was Ian's second to last game, (my camera battery died right after this photo). I think this was the game where Ian got kicked out for being too agressive.  The coach of the other team grabbed him and took him to the side and sat him down and said "I told you to stop hitting, you're out!" Needless to say he was crying.  What 4 year old gets kicked out of a soccer game? It was a bit over the top. He is great at soccer and extremely competitive. We look forward to next season.

Kite Festival

May 19 White Rock hosted the annual Kite Festival at Overlook Park.  We had a great time.  The kids made their own kites, and decorated them.  Then they were give a T-shirt.  The whole event was FREE! I guess that is a benefit of living in a small town. We also took a picnic lunch and ate it before flying their kites.

 Ava had to color hers pink, of course.

 Here is Ian's finished kite. He made me draw the superman symbol on it, I hope this what it looks like.

 Some of the kites flying at the park.

 Dustin did a great job of throwing the kites up in the air for the kids.

 Ava and Ian in their new kite shirts. (Apparently the shirts are a different color every year).