Happy Birthday Little Man

Raymond turned 4 on April 19th. We celebrated with a party on the 18th at Bywater Park, and overall it was a great success. I had been watching the weather every 5 minutes because it had snowed during the week prior to the party. Luckily, the sun cooperated, and it was a lovely day, if a little brisk an windy.

The theme of the party was SPIDERMAN, which Ray chose about 1 minute after last year's party. So in addition Spiderman cake and decorations, we played Spiderman themed games, surrounding the fact that the Green Goblin stole the gift bags.

The BBQ was tasty (thanks Sko), and the cake turned out really well. I made the cake, buttercream frosting and marshmallow fondant from scratch, which was a huge accomplishment for me.

Ray was spoiled rotten, of course. We got him a Millennium Falcon (circa 1995 from Ebay) and 6 pounds of legos (Scott stayed up until 3am making an amazing ship and robot), as well as BATMAN and IRONMAN costumes. No Spiderman you say? He already has one.

He was also given an abundance of overwhelming gifts from friends and family. (He loves the Tinker Toys, Mom. So do I, because he made a back massager that really works!!)

Thanks everyone for coming, being so generous, and celebrating the life of our wonderful little boy!



ps - Thanks to Candace for taking pictures, Kelly for bringing a knife, and all the Powers for helping watch the boys so I could "do stuff."

RMR Crit Update

Scott has another two finishes under his belt. A second place, and another first! You can read all about it at: http://www.utahcritseries.com/

Sko's Wild Rides - Utah Criterium Series

After Scott's "success" at Lotoja last year (finished under 11 hours without a team to work with and not knowing what to expect - especially as it was his first year riding after ACL surgery), he has been riding his trainer consistently throughout winter to prepare for this year.

On March 7th, the boys and I met up with Scott at Rocky Mountain Raceway for the first race of the Utah Criterium Series. This is Scott's first year as a "licensed" rider, so he races with the "C flite," (B is better, A is all that). Despite the balmy weather (Thomas was dressed in a sweater, coat, and his snowsuit), it was an very exciting for us (joined by Gary and Kelly, who rode over with Scott).

As the race began I enjoyed listening to Gary, Kelly and Lance observing the race and talking tactics. We had a great view, as they were in the inner track, and the boys shouted "Go Daddy!" every time they went by. The half hour went by quickly and before we knew it, they were in the last lap, and Scott went for it. He stayed ahead and won! It was awesome.

The second week he placed 5th, although the 2 flat tires he had didn't help.

Apparently, fifth was not enough for him, and he won the next two weeks as well.

Of course, we are excessively proud of him, but I know he owes his wins to his teammates from Spin Cycle. If it weren't for Lance, it would not have been possible, and I know he also worked a lot with Alex, Dan, Scott K. and probably a lot of others I just don't know. Whatever else this season brings, we're happy for these successes and are having a great time participating and cheering for the hero of our family! "Go Daddy! Go Daddy!"

Raymond's Big Debut

Lest I forget this event 25 years from now, I must put it here. Last Sunday Raymond had his first opportunity to sing in Church with a group of primary children and their parents. We had all practiced the Sunday before, and that morning, and both times Ray sat on my lap and I whispered the words to him, and I could hear him doing a wonderful job. He can sing on key perfectly and has a great little voice....when he tries. A few times, when the director (go Hyo!) would ask for the children to be loud, he would simply shout, but only once or twice did he do this, and only for a second.

When it was time to sing in church, Ray his little "Sunbeam" friends were situated directing in front of the microphone. The music began and the director told them to, "Sing Loud!." Now, you never know when Raymond will decide to follow direction. He did this time, He began to SHOUT the children's part as loud as his little lungs would allow, right into the microphone. The second verse was supposed to be just the parents, but he kept right on shouting. About two thirds of the way through the song, I was up with the parents, crying with laughter. I couldn't pull it together, but Candace took the initiative to try and move him away from the microphone and encourage him to be quiet. To which he said, also right into the microphone....,"But she told me to be loud!." So we left him alone to SHOUT the rest of the song. I was a little concerned that he was just goofing off, but Scott could see his face and said Ray was really getting into it, and even had his eyes closed.

It may not have been the most reverent of musical numbers, but at least everyone in the congregation was smiling.

Good job, Raymond. Just next time shout on pitch for Mommy, okay?

Swimming and Playdough and Visits, Oh My!

Well, January and February have flown by, full of fun and adventures. As mentioned previously, we had a great visit in Santa Rosa (aside from the post-Superbowl food poisoning incident). A highlight of the trip was the Schultz museum, which had just opened an exhibit commemorating Snoopy and Charlie Brown's role in the Space Program. This was especially great for Raymond who for the past few months has been saying he is going to be an astonaut when he grows up. We also enjoyed the road trip to Oregon to visit Grandma Marge and Grandpa Tony. (This included Grammie, Grandpa Tim, Uncle Jeff, Alyssa, Ray & Thomas in one van.) My mother was gracious enough to put the boys to bed each night so I could stay and play cards with my Grandparents.

The slideshow I'm adding has pictures from all of January and February, including Ray at swimming class (he is loving it and improving greatly), a visit to Park City with Auntie Lynnie, trip highlights from Santa Rosa/Oregon, a visit to Grandpa Gary's house in St. George, and other miscelleneous fun.

Two Awesome Weeks

We had the great fortune to visit Santa Rosa for a few weeks, and I have tons of great pictures and stories, but since I don't have time to write about it all right now, just watch this video.

Dance Party

Over the MLK weekend we went to St. George and stayed at Grandpa Gary & Roberta's (thanks!) Raymond, Thomas and I enjoyed the 60 degree weather, and Scott enjoyed riding the bike he just finished putting together. One evening we were all watching "Ghost Town," and Ray was watching "Legend" in an adjoining room. Toward the end of the movie Scott got my attention and motioned towards Ray's room. The music coming from it did not sound like "Legend." Upon peeking into the room, we discovered Ray had somehow turned off the movie, and turned on the music. He was all by himself dancing his pants off to "Do you think you're better off alone," and it was hilarious. He was jumping up and down from the bed, shaking his hips and waving his arms, just for the fun of it.

That same weekend he also managed to put the original "Batman" movie into the DVD player. This is significant because he told me he had done it, and I didn't believe him because our "Batman" DVD is one of many in our case that has nothing one the face, just text around the center. I thought the DVD must have had the batman logo, but it didn't.

And finally, in case you were wondering, it is official, I am somebody. We went up to Park City during the film festival to visit my aunt who was in town. As we were walking up Main Street, I saw a man staring at me. As we got closer I noticed he was still staring so I smiled. He said, "What's your name?" and as I instinctively started to answer he said, "Because I recognize you." I then realized what was happening and I laughed and said, "I'm not anybody," to which he replied, "Oh, you're somebody." We walked on while my aunt Lynnie (I love you!) said, "She's somebody to me!" That made my day.