Jeremy's phD graduation

A highlight of my spring was getting to surprise Jeremy by flying in for his phD graduation in Wheaton! It was such a treat to see his face of shock when I walked in with Mom and Dad.

We spent a sweet afternooon in their apartment, playing with Kai and Caleb. Poor Jeremy was sick and miserable, so had to spend much of the time in bed.

Look at those charming smiles! Irresistible little nephews.

Graduation morning! Jeremy was still feeling pretty weak, but thankfully was able to feel well enough to enjoy his ceremony.

So much hard work! So proud of him, and Christy supporting him.

An honor to celebrate with them.

Dr. Jeremy D. Otten

Family!

My flight home was early, but I did enjoy reading a great book set in an airport actually in an airport.

Desert Flowers

Our sweet girl picked up a cactus that accidently ran over on our camping trip, put it in a bowl, and lovingly cared for it. To her great delight, it bloomed!

P.S. She named the cactus "Pinky Gladys Gutzman" after reading a Junie B. Jones book, and thinking it was hilarious that Junie B thought "Pinky Gladys Gutzman" was the most beautiful name in the world. 

Paddle boarding

We took a wonderful break and headed up to Cochiti Reservoir for some paddle-boarding and swimming. The kids had a great time swimming and Jamie and I took turns paddle-boarding. The kids took a couple turns as well, but it was a bit windy to let them go to far out. 

Eli and Eva had fun playing with some other kids in the swim area. 

Beautiful New Mexico! Jamie was amazing with how she could paddle board around the lake. She found her activity. 

Peter (L) and Joseph (R) going out to meet Jamie as she returned. 

Warming up after swimming in the freezing lake. 

I think we need to get Joseph a larger shirt. 

Elijah and Eva's First Piano Recital

Elijah and Eva had a their first piano recital. Elijah played a portion of the Imperial March from Star Wars and Eva played Old McDonald. They practiced their pieces for several weeks prior to review and were so excited for the rehearsal. Ms. Hannah their piano teacher did such a good preparing them for it and Jamie had them practice three times a day. In addition to our kids Hannah also is the teacher of our good friends kids as well as her two younger brothers. Every played a song! 

Eva led off for all the kids. We were so proud of how brave she was and she did such a great job. 

Happy 8th Birthday Elijah!

 Our big 8 year old boy designed the perfect day for his birthday. After waking, he played some Legos, watched a show with his siblings, then we headed to Rebel Donuts, our favorite donut shop for breakfast treats. Elijah particularly loves their maple bars with a full slice of bacon on the top, but he also spotted the Rolo chocolate-caramel donut, too. We brought the donuts home to eat with hot, grilled bacon, which Elijah considered to be a perfect breakfast.

After breakfast, Elijah opened his presents. He was thrilled to get a pogo stick (thank you, Oma and Poppi!) and tried it out immediately. This will be a perfect thing for our energetic boy to bounce off a little energy on our back patio! He joked that he was having a very hoppy birthday!

Elijah got a Lego robotics kit from his cousins, and can't wait to work on it with his Daddy.

Elijah also got a special Lego Gold Mine set he has been dreaming of for quite some time (Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, and Nana!) He spent the rest of the day on our patio table, happily putting together his Legos, pausing for pogo stick breaks and chicken pot pies for lunch, again his design.

For dinner, our boy requested Dions ("The best pizza in the world!" he declares) pizza and watching the first Star Wars movie (Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.) His birthday cake was the biggest, darkest, most chocolatey cake we could ever imagine, and it was just what Elijah wanted. The boy knows what he likes!

Happy 8th birthday to our amazing Elijah!

Eva showing the special teacup and saucer that Oma sent her for Skype tea parties!

Hoppy Birthday, Elijah!

Chocolate!

(Sis likes chocolate, too!)

Happy Mother's Day 2017: 5 km run!

We celebrated Mother's Day this year with a 5 km race with our good friends. Katie and I ran the 5km while David and Jason stayed with the kids. Then the kids ran a 1km race! We hadn't registered Peter and Joseph, but when they saw all the other kids lining up, they wanted to be in on the action. Joseph got spooked, especially by the starting horn, but Peter ran the entire 1km with me laughing and having a blast! Elijah took off at a dead sprint so fell off towards the end. Eva ran at a good pace the entire way and came in 6th! Joseph joined us for the last half and they all got ribbons. :)
We had such a nice time, and celebrated further with a barbeque with our friends at our place. The kids made me pictures, David got me flowers and a canvas print of one of my favorite pictures of the kids.

So thankful for my family.