It was cold and grey this morning out on the blacktop of the elementary school, but I felt warm inside. I was there to see both my kids receive the Perseverance Award. Leo won for Perseverance last year and he earned it again. Serafina also kept her chin up and tried her best all year even when it wasn't easy. I was ridiculously proud of both kids and very happy their dad and Nana made it to the ceremony.
First up, Serafina. We were standing near Leo's class when her name was announced and his classmates cheered for her.
She asked every month if she was going to get an award and I always kind of shrugged and told her "I don't know" but to keep trying her best. Well it finally paid off and she was very proud of herself.
First grade winners.
Then Leo was announced with the third graders.
The principal asked to have a picture with him because she knows school isn't always easy for him, but he works hard every day.
Tom's friend Bob turned 50 this weekend and his wife hosted a surprise party. The invitation said "semi-formal" so we got gussied up and headed to the party. Well, it wasn't exactly a surprise since Bob was standing in his backyard when we arrived. It was also about 90 degrees in the backyard. His wife had arranged for a photographer to take group pictures so we did some posing in different combinations. It was a bit strange and very sweaty.
We had someone snap this picture of us before we melted.
The cake was at risk of melting too so it was brought out and cut before dinner. It was pretty impressive to look at and it tasted great too. The party was heavy on the Warriors decor and theme, and another guest commented to me that that should have been the dress code since we would have all been more comfortable in some Warriors gear.
The kids stayed the night with Nana so we could attend the party, and Tom asked if she was willing to keep the kids today so we could drive to Sacramento and check out a car. Tom has been looking for a particular pre-owned BMW with a particular package in a particular color. He was pretty sure it was the right car for him, but we had to go out there and make sure. It takes about two hours to get there so we got up and out the door early. After a test drive and some careful consideration, Tom decided to go for it.
He drove this Acura for 11 years. It served him well but it was time for a change.
Quite the upgrade!
He was pretty happy about it and the drive home was fun.
The whole ordeal took eight hours with traveling and signing papers at the dealership. It wouldn't have been possible with the kids so we were really appreciative that Nana hung with them all day.
She had a game scheduled for this coming Saturday, but half the team will be at a swim meet so we rescheduled for tonight. Since Serafina has hip hop dance class on Tuesday afternoon, she had to go directly to the game from the dance studio so she wore her uniform to dance.
Here's the team and Coach Joel. From left to right: Emma, Madyson, Riley, Kaya, Allison, Serfina and Elise.
Here are some pictures from Mike and Lynz's professional wedding photographer. I think Tom looks especially handsome in these pictures. And of course, the kids look cute.
This might be my favorite picture of Leo ever. His smile is so great.
I had a very lovely Mother's Day with some extra special gifts. I like this sheet from Serafina. I love that she says I like to wear "comfy clothes". She knows me so well.
I also got this lovely artwork from Leo.
And on the back was this original poem.
Nana came over for a little bit and then we went out for a late lunch with our friends, The Smiths. Here's Lizzy and I enjoying our Mother's Day mimosas.
Leo's new thing is listening to music with the earbuds. His current favorites are Prince and Michael Jackson. It's not the best table manners to do it at the restaurant, but look how happy it makes him.
Mamas and their kids (not pictured: baby Halle. She was asleep in the stroller.)
Today all first grade classes went to Happy Hollow on a field trip. We haven't visited Happy Hollow in a long while but it's a place we'll never forget since it was the site of Leo's third birthday and Serafina's leg break. Serafina told anyone who would listen about how she broke her leg there and how she hoped she didn't break her leg there again today.
Here she is waiting for the bus with her friend Jane. Jane is a little peanut and Serafina is huge. They make an odd pair.
My group consisted of Jane, Serafina, Kevin and Brian. Kevin and Brian are twins who dress alike every day and have very unfortunate haircuts. They were well behaved and I liked that. They also brought big metal thermoses and metal spoons for lunch and since I had to carry all their lunches in my backpack, I didn't really like that. I'm all about reducing waste, but it's a field trip; use a ziplock bag!
On the bus and ready to go.
Not much has changed at Happy Hollow.
There was a new ride that went around in circles. I didn't want to get it on it but tiny Jane wasn't tall enough to ride alone. My friend Mary offered to ride with Jane, but that threw the numbers off and Serafina was going to be stuck riding alone. I hopped on with her because I'm a good mom and field trip chaperone extraordinaire. She would have preferred riding with one of her friends, but she got over it fast. It took me a while to get over feeling dizzy but I survived.
We quickly learned that most of Happy Hollow's rides aren't meant for tall girls. She wasn't too happy about this.
So we hustled over to the roller coaster that we knew she could ride. They waited in a long line but had so much fun on the coaster, the kids decided the wait was worth it.
Here's Mary's group and my group having lunch. We stuck together the whole day and it worked out well.
After lunch we visited some of the zoo animals. It mostly bums me out because the enclosures are so small, but we did see the turtle that Serafina liked many years ago. We had time to ride the carousal before we met with the rest of the groups to head to the bus. It was a fun but exhausting field trip.
Serafina got to play her second soccer game of the season. She's missed a lot of games this season, but she won't have to miss any more. She kept her head in the game and didn't slow down the whole game. I was proud of her.
Here's she is as goalie.
And working those long legs.
Leo had fun on the sidelines hanging with Halle.
Then I got the fussy baby to fall asleep because I'm the baby whisperer as long as it isn't my baby.
Wow, wow, wow! Buckle up for lots of pictures. We traveled to Denver on Saturday to celebrate Uncle Mike's wedding to Lynz. We spent lots of time with family, had an awesome Sunday outing, and, of course, attended the beautiful wedding.
We arrived to snowy weather when we landed. It was cold, miserable and beautiful all at the same time. I'm pretty over snow at this point, but Saturday was the only day it snowed. After settling into the hotel, we headed to Grandma Carrie's house for special dinner with family and members of the wedding party. Leo and Vinnie hit it off right away.
Here's the last time Vinnie and Leo hung out.
Here's Anthony (Tom's cousin and Vinnie's dad), Maggie and Tom.
Here's Lynz and Carrie. Lynz's family joined us for dinner too. They are from Arkansas and reminded me of my family in Arkansas. They seemed thoroughly unimpressed by my ties to Arkansas though.
The next day we had brunch at Carrie's and then we headed to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. It was a "free admission" day at the museum and it was bananas crowded. So. Very. Crowded. I was in charge of these three monkeys and all my field trip chaperone experience came in handy.
This amazing full-body puppet was happening out front.
We saw so many cool things, but really only scratched the surface.
Including a Vikings exhibit.
And dinosaurs.
Next time we are in Denver, this museum is definitely on our "to-do" list. After the museum, we drove to Boulder and had a delicious meal with lots of Mirriones. We were too focused on food and talking to take any pictures though.
Snoozing kids on the drive to Boulder.
Monday was the big day. Monday is definitely an atypical day for a wedding, but it was also better weather than Saturday so it worked out nicely.
Look at my little loves all dressed up. Everyone was so charmed by them. Tom had gone to the venue earlier than us to hang with Mike and the other groomsmen. When we arrived closer to the ceremony time, the wedding coordinator told Serafina she was one of the flower girls and Leo was going to be the ring bearer. This was a pleasant surprise.
While we waited for the ceremony, we took pictures. Here's me with Tom's cousins Nicole and Matthew.
And then we added Barbara.
Cousin Kathy, Maggie, Nicole and Serafina.
On the way to the ceremony spot was this display acknowledging Joe and Ruth. Sunday (April 30th) was the ninth anniversary of Joe's death.
Tom was the first groomsman down the aisle. He escorted Lynz's childhood friend Megan, and he looked very tall and handsome.
Here's all the guys lined up - Mike, Juan (the best man), Steve, Tom and Lynz's nephews Jaxon and Jaron, and Lynz's dog Ripple.
Here's Leo doing an awesome job as ring bearer.
Serafina shared flower girl duties with Lynz's niece Jenna.
Here's her dad bringing her to the alter.
The ceremony was lovely. Here they are after being officially announced as Mr. and Mrs. Mirrione.
After the ceremony, there was time for more pictures. Here's Serafina, Maggie Lamitie (Carrie's mom), Carrie and Leo.
Carrie was nice enough to take a picture of us but didn't take into account Tom's height.
Another one. Almost got all of Tom this time.
The bride and groom and the wedding party took some pictures in a scenic spot by the stream. The kids and I were invited down for a family shot and I snapped this quick picture.
Thankfully, Leo didn't discover the blue raspberry ring pops on the kids table until after the official pictures.
After a nice dinner, it was time for some speeches and toasts. Here's Mike, Juan and Tom chatting, perhaps warning Mike.
Tom gave a great, heartfelt toast. I was really proud of him.
Serafina took this picture of the bride and groom with their cake.
Awww...brothers.
Serafina took this for us. It was towards the end of the night when I was getting cold and I was very done with my shoes.
I don't know how many chocolate covered strawberries these kids ate and I don't want to know.
Me and my boy.
Carrie, Serafina and Maggie all got to take home some flowers.
Me and my girl. I tried to talk Serafina out of taking the flowers since I knew we couldn't bring them all the way home, but she insisted. Oh well, she enjoyed them on the ride to the airport today.
Saying goodbye to Lynz and the puppy.
And one last picture with Vinnie.
Today there was lots of debate on who would get the window seat. Fortunately, we were on a smaller plane so both kids got window seats.
It was a great, but tiring trip. I have some photo booth pictures I will share soon and if any of the family shares more pictures, I'll post those too.
