Pictures!!!

My sister posted some pictures on her blog, so I STOLE them!!! We made E let us take his picture before he left for graduation. It was a good thing, too, since we were in the nosebleeds at the ceremony. E-man is so fun! Also, he was awarded the Maverick Award from his school. It is given to one boy and one girl from every grade for each sport, and he won it for Track and Field! This picture is actually a poster that they made and gave to him. He also placed 10th in State! Did I tell you how awesome my little brother is? Last but not least is all of us sisters with our baby brother. He was such a cute little boy, and now he's all grown up!
Graduating with honors!!!

Where's E-man? There he is!!!

My brother ROCKS!

Allie, me, E, Cami, Meridee

My Baby is Growing Up!!!

12 years ago (it was a Sunday), Mike and I spent my birthday in the hospital watching the NBA finals, visiting with his parents, and waiting for the birth of our first child. Aubree is such a blessing to us as parents, and to our whole extended family. She constantly amazes me with her generous spirit, and her ability to overcome the challenges of diabetes. I know the Lord has a great plan for her, and I am so awed that I have been given the privilege of teaching her and watching her grow. I love you, Aubs! Happy Birthday!!!

The "lazy" day

Friday was all about getting ready for E-man's graduation party. We made lots of cookies, and got the house clean, and decorated it all cool in graduation banners. It looked awesome. Of course, we didn't think many people would come, but we didn't think we had enough food, so of course we had WAY too much! Everything was yummy, though. Before the party could start, we had to have a pre-party. Arlene's family came over for a barbecue, so I finally got to meet everyone. My mom's sister Margaret and her husband Darwin were able to come for the weekend, too. It was fun getting to know everyone and their children, then we did a quick change into public party mode. It was awesome to see so many people come to support E. (Plus he got lots of fun presents - a graduation bonus.) About halfway through the party, Uncle John and Aunt Claudia showed up with Grandpa Lines!!! Apparently everyone knew they were coming except those of us there. I didn't think I would get to see Grandpa again before we left this summer, so it was a fabulous surprise! All in all, it wasn't quite the lazy day I led you to believe in the title - we were all exhausted at the end with much more to come, but it was a VERY GOOD DAY!!!

No...

there are no pictures from my visit. Have you ever packed for 4 days with 2 events included - in a carry-on suitcase? Since we're pretty sure Mike's small camera got thrown away (not 100%, but best guess since it's nowhere else in the apartment), I didn't have room for my big camera. The 12x optical zoom would have come in VERY handy at graduation. I'll just have to wait until one of my siblings post some, then I can steal them for my own.

The Fun Begins!

Thursday was a fun day! It started out going to pick up my rental car, and getting to stop and meet Arlene at work! It was nice to finally get to meet her - she is AWESOME!!! I have to say, my dad has great taste. Arlene and my dad just light up when they talk about the other. It is SO cute! I am so happy that they found each other! After that, I got to go shopping with my sisters. Have you ever shopped with your sisters? It is great, because you know you'll get an honest opinion, and nobody gets offended by the comments. Because if your sister can't tell you that you look fat in an outfit, who can? We found some great stuff ON CLEARANCE. I love it when the tag is marked down to a good price, then you get to the register and it's only a tenth of what you thought you would pay! We tried to find another one after that discovery, but alas, there was only one. Score for me! After buying some stuff for the wedding, we headed back to the house for lunch, then took my "little" brother to get his senior portrait taken for the wall. With E being the youngest, but my mom wanting to get the pictures hung in a good pattern, she went ahead and hung an empty frame which E then filled with a paper that said "Coming Soon". That soon is finally here! His pictures are awesome! I can hardly wait for mine! Later that evening we all went to Taco Bell Arena to watch the graduation ceremony. We didn't get very good seats, but it was okay. There were only 2 speeches! Elias was right in the middle of all the names read. My dad cried a little. His last child is graduated, and looking forward to putting in papers for his mission in July. I remember when E was born - he was such a cute baby - and now he's all grown up into a responsible young adult. What a great example he is to me and my children! After graduation we went over to Arlene's (and now my dad's) house so we could see where we'll be staying when we visit. It was also fun to get to know Terry and Ryan! Another long day, but the fun was really only getting started!

The journey begins...

with a missed flight. Seriously. I looked at the email sent to me by Alaska, and honed in on 10:42 am as the departure time out of DCA. I even checked in online and printed my boarding pass the night before. I woke up and got ready, finished packing, and took the Metro in. When I arrived, I checked the board to find my gate number. Huh - there's only one flight to Seattle, and it's not Alaska. Maybe my boarding pass has some other information on it. Yes it does - and boarding started at 7:30, for an 8:00 departure! CRAP!!! That's right - 10:42 am was the time the flight landed in Seattle. I have to tell you that the people at the counter were very nice and didn't laugh at me while I was standing there, PLUS they immediately found a new flight for me to still get to Boise that day. Needless to say, 5 hours after I was supposed to get there, I finally did. I'm bummed because I missed the BBQ to meet all the new family members. However, when I finally got to Boise, Meridee, Allie and E were there to meet me with a sign and ribbon (which I ran through). Allie took a video of it, so hopefully I can post it later. I love being with my family! We stayed up way too long talking, especially with my 2 hour time change. The start was a little crazy, and it got crazier from there...