New Zealand here we come...

So the count down is on- quick trip to New Zealand soon! We are trying so hard not to get too excited... it's not working!

I'm already dreaming of chocolate, seafood and pastries.

Here is Hot Water Beach, where we will spend one week doing nothing but relaxing on the beach.

And here are the hot pools that you dig in the sand- hot water springs under heat the water.

The view from our beach cottage.

and Matt just bought rugby tickets for a match down there.

Should be great!

Disneyland!

Between Matt's business trips we took a much needed trip to Disneyland. Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

Deacon has love at first sight! Our little Toys Story boy finds Woody.

A true pirate at heart.

The speed demons, on the slowest bumper car ride of all time!

All worn out... what a cute thing!

Another great trip to Disneyland!!!

Life at home with the kiddos...

So, I decided that this video is a very good look at what life feels like without daddy. Upside down!

We spent the time a lot of time running back and forth to Deacon's school, McKinnon's preschool, and doctors appointments as we approached Deacon's 3rd birthday. Deacon graduated

from Early Intervention in May and moved up into the Special Needs Preschool run by the school district. Let me tell you- putting your 3 year old on the bus the first time... a bit nerve racking. Here are some pictures of Deacon's last day in his E.I. class:

Here he is at music time- his favorites? 5 Little Monkeys Swing in a Tree, and Baby Fish.

And here is Deacon and his favorite teacher: Mickel

We decided to celebrate Deacon's 3rd birthday a few days early so that daddy would be there, so we went to the place that we thought Deacon would enjoy the most (in Utah, at least)- Chuck E Cheese. All the games, and lights, and music- plus fries! Needless to say, he had a good time, despite the pained look on his face:

McKinnon has had a busy few months too. Not only have his reading skills grown in leaps and bounds, he has also discovered drawing and writing is not so bad. He is getting so excited about going to Kindergarten, and graduated from pre-school at the end of May (although now he is missing it so badly he keeps telling us he doesn't want to graduate any more!) True to form, McKinnon was a character during pre-school graduation- what a goon!

And Lily? She has been growing, and growing, and growing. Not long before I had her I was telling someone that I don't have really chubby babies. I should have added a ... "yet" in there. One of my neighbors swears Lily puts on another pound every time she sees her. What can I say? I must be feeding her straight cream! She is as cute as a button! And what a smile!

Matt and I can hardly believe that we are going to celebrate 8 years of marriage next week. Where did the time go? I guess it is true- time flies when you're having fun!

It's been a while...

It seems lately that we have had everybody telling us how long it has been since we updated our blog. We know... we're sorry. It has been a busy 4 months. Matt spent these months running back and forth to Baltimore for work every two weeks for 2 weeks at a time, so as you can imagine life got a little out of sorts. But now his big project is done, so we will post and try to catch up.

First, Baltimore:

Matt had very little time to sight-see, but when he did he totally enjoyed himself. Here he is at Fort McHenry. Most of the time they had to fit a quick trip in a few hours on the weekend, and so he and a

group of the guys he worked with tired to get some of the places they really wanted to see visited. Matt really enjoyed seeing Fort McHenry- full of history and lots of things to learn. He also enjoyed that his cousin's husband, Vince, was along on this trip.

Of course, being so close to DC Matt tried to get into the city when he could and spend time with my brother, Jay, and his family as well as my sister, Crystal. He was lucky enough to get to see the Japanese Cherry Blossoms in bloom- it was crowded, but amazing.

And then of course he had to see the DC sites

As for me and the kids?

You'll have to check out my next post to see what we've been up to !