LU Alumni Picnic

One of Lindenwood's newest alums decided to take her family to the annual alumni picnic this past Saturday. It was a great day with good weather, food, and a lot of fun topped off with ice cream and cupcakes. This picnic, I have to admit, is much better than the employee picnic but then again its the alums that donate right?

There was a bounce house and a slide for the kids. Brindi started in the bounce house and then moved to the slide. She had a hard time climbing up the stairs and held everyone up. The first time everyone was patient but her second time up the stairs the other little ones had enough and the next thing I knew our little girl was getting run over. After the slide down though she seemed to have forgotten and wanted to go again...yeah that didn't happen.

There were tons of games for the kids including skeet ball, face painting, balloons, basketball shots, miniature golf, and many more. It was our own little carnival.

Brindi and Brooks favorite thing was the train. If it was up to Brindi, it would have been the only thing she did all day.

I thought the ferris wheel was probably the coolest. I was pretty worried she would freak out but I think she quite liked it. I was happy I was able to con another little girl into riding with Brindi so I did not have try and cram myself into the cage.

There was also a cake walk that Celeste was doing while I waited in line for the balloons and face painting. She didn't win but Brindi sure thought it looked cool walking around chairs to music so she left me in line and decided to try it...and what do you know she won! 30 star war cupcakes. I have to say my primary class has never been as good as they were today. Celeste said the same thing about her class!

Jefferson City

Not Nice

A couple of months ago a lady in the ward asked us if we wanted her living scripture videos because all of her children are grown and she was trying to unclutter her house. So we lucked out a was given all the Book of Mormon videos and the Joseph Smith video. We thought they would be great for Brindi for Sundays. Our church is in the afternoon and one Sunday she asked to watch a video. We told her it had to be a church video. So I picked out my favorite one when I was growing up, Ammon and the Lamanites. It did not take long for Brindi to come back up stairs saying she did not like the movie. When asked why she said, "They are not nice!" So we tried another movie and again the same response. We have come to realize that not one of the Book of Mormon stories, in the eyes of a 3 year old, is a nice movie! Brindi is quite the innocent child and is not a chip off the old block as I remember watching Ammon chop off arms and loving it! Brindi does like the Joseph Smith movie but refers to it as the one "where the doctor cuts off the boys leg, ya know, ya know that one."

Renaissance Fair

This past weekend we were able to get some tickets to the renaissance fair in Wentzeville. It was way too hot but the tickets were free so we could not pass it up. It was a pretty cool sight to see as you stroll through the woods as everyone is dressed in 14-16th century dress. Merchants selling swords, leather designs, crowns, face painting, and much more. Our camera battery died shortly after we arrived but we were able to get pictures of a jousting tournament and a musical group along with the royal and peasant bears. If the collage is too small please click on the picture for more details. We saw several pretty neat shows including magic, belly dancing, songs, acrobats, sword fights, and the crowing of the king and queen children (Brindi was too young to participate). Besides the dreadful heat, it was a great way to spend an afternoon. As the kids get a little older I think they will really enjoy it.

Strawberries

Our morning ritual....checking the strawberry patch.

Brindi's B-Day

Brindi turned three on Friday. For the past 2 months we have been trying to convince her that she would no longer be two but would be turning three. We are still not sure it has sunk in but what did sink in was her understanding that birthdays equals presents. For the past month everything she has seen that she wanted she would say "I want it for my birthday" or "I need this for my birthday." It was pretty cute but a long list. With Brindi's first couple birthdays we realized she did not care for cake so we opted for the flower cupcakes this year. Celeste did an awesome job!

She was so excited for her birthday presents that we let her open them before I went to work on Friday morning. She was spoiled so thank you to everyone on her behalf. She got books, clothes, a vacuum, a tee-ball set, and a movie for our trip west this summer.

Later in the afternoon we headed to Chucke Cheese with a couple of Brindi's friends. We had pizza, sang happy birthday, enjoyed the cupcakes and then we were off to the games.

Brindi's favorite thing to do was drive or ride in the cars even though several of them she was a little scared as you can tell by her facial expressions in the pictures. She also loved riding the horse and playing air hockey.

Masters

Celeste officially graduated this month with her graduate degree in Nonprofit Administration. She is now a Master of the Arts. She didn't walk but I made her dress up in the appropriate garb so that we could at least take some pictures to remember this milestone. I think this has been a good program for her, which program is very service oriented. The majority of her courses required working with various nonprofit organizations in the area including the Girl Scouts, the Red Cross, O'Fallon Tourism, Gifted Wedding, and several others.

Celeste really focused her research on the health and wellness opportunities nonprofit organizations can provide to society. She has worked really hard the past couple years and it paid off with her 4.0 gpa. I am so glad I have such a smart and hard working wife. I really am lucky. Congratulations Celeste! I love you.

What an amazing example she is and will be for her girls. They are also lucky to call her their mom!

Spring Time Fun

We have been excited and enjoying the spring time. Not only is it baseball season but its also a time for gardening, yard sales and hopefully some camping. The girls love to play in Brindi's sleeping bag and its probably getting that time that we give them a taste of the real thing in Missouri. Watch out ticks!

Celeste found some accessories and a couple extra potatoes for Brindi. She loves her Potato head probably because of toy story. But she has been playing non stop with them now that she has a little family of potatoes and even calls them daddy, mommy and brindi. She even lets us play with her and design ourselves.

Brooke has even got in on the fun with her cool glasses.

Here are the girls hanging out in the yard.

Our little garden plot.

Brindi doing her share of the work planting seeds. She did dump out a couple packets of seeds so who knows what and where things may grow this year.

The girls putting on the finishing touches on our garden. We are getting excited for our strawberries, squash, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and most of all the little tomatoes.

Cardinal Baseball

The boys of summer are back. Unfortunately, the weather has not been coorperating until this week. So we decided to take advantage and packed up the kids and headed to Busch Stadium for a day at the ball field. It was an afternoon game so the sun was bright and we all got a little burned but it was fun to see our first baseball game of the season. We also lucked out and got free STL hats at the game. Hopefully we will have many more days this summer at the ball field.

1/4 Century Old

Joe posted pictures, but I need to write about my birthday. Joe has always been a spoiler and very thoughtful. Rachel my running partner is going to be moving in September, so Joe got me an ipod shuffle so I wouldn't be lonely running. I've never had music or books to listen to while running, so I'm quite excited about it. If the shuffle wasn't enough he had a card with plane ticket info for Brooke, Brin, and I to fly into ABQ in June! I have to admit I was emotional all day. I miss the west SO bad(aka...my family/Joe's family), but have realized that our little family needs to stick together, so I wasn't planning on flying out early or staying longer like we have in the past without Joe. I was starting to wrap my mind around just being there for 3 weeks(I know it's sad that I don't think that is enough time). So it was a sweet surprise when I read the card!!! I was emotional because I know what went into making it possible for us to go. Maybe someday I'll be as unselfish as Joe. I had a great day...thanks every one for the gifts, cards, and emails, they really meant a lot. I wish you were all here to share the cake (actually maybe not). My visiting teacher made it...another thoughtful gift. It was chocolate cheese cake with caramel and nuts, with a cookie crust, covered with a layer of chocolate...lets just say it was AMAZING!!!I have never tasted something this good.

Stats are in...

We headed over to the doctor's office yesterday for Brindi's 3 year and Brooke's 4 month appointments. Brindi had so much fun she wants to go back to play in the waiting room that has a tree house, Brooke on the other hand had shots and is still crabby so I don't think she wants to go back anytime soon. I don't have stats from Brindi at four months, so I guess I'll have to compare notes when Brooke hits 6months instead.

Brindi's Stats...

28.8 lbs

35 inches tall

48.8 in. head

Brooke's Stats....

13.9 lbs

23.25 inches tall

40 in. head

Easter

Our pretty little ladies in their Easter dresses.

Brindi lucked out this year with left-over gift cards, garage sales, and returned gifts. What I mean to say is she was spoiled. We have also begun to build up our dvd collection in preparation for our trip west this summer, which means we will use them as gifts to ourselves for the next couple months :)

We had a couple of Brindi's friends over after church for a nice Easter dinner and then the kids had a little Easter egg hunt in our front yard. Above is the little gang and I think they were quite happy with all the eggs they found:)

In my Leisure and Society course, we discuss Holidays, Holy Days, and Celebrations and I always pose the question to my class whether of not society has forgotten why we celebrate holidays and if holidays are losing their meaning. While my class and I may agree that society as a whole may be losing sight of the true meaning of holidays from time to time, I look at my own social circles and see that the true meaning of holidays are ever present. I am so thankful for my social circle, comprised of members of the church as well as other Christians in the area, and their devotion to the true meaning of holidays like Easter. Even though we may do many activities with bunnies, eggs, and gifts (all having interesting stories how they came about), I know why we celebrate Easter and I love my Savior for what he has done for my family and me.

Coloring Eggs

Comfortable?

Cold Egg Hunt

This past Saturday we headed over to Weldon Springs for a free Easter Egg hunt (We went to another one that cost $5 per child...yeah we left). It was a freezing day with strong winds but we ventured out. I actually think Celeste picked up more eggs than Brindi because Brindi was frozen stiff as you can tell by some of her expressions in the pictures. This is also the reason Brindi got a golden egg which had a number for a special prize. The special prizes were all worth $25 a piece. It was a pretty cool hunt which we will attend next year for sure. When we got home Brindi lined up all her candy and then matched them all up in pairs of two. Kind of a funny girl:)

San Diego Conference

This past week I was able to attend the American Alliance for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) annual conference that just happened to be held in San Diego this year. The same location where I served my mission, coincidence that I attended this years conference...maybe maybe not. The conference was really good and a great educational opportunity for me and a chance to see several of my old colleagues and friends from the University of Idaho. In the evenings, I was also able to drive around and visit individuals and places that meant a lot to me during my time on the mish.

I was really looking forward to hearing what Drew Brees would have to say but was sadly disappointed. It was still pretty cool to see him though. He currently serves as the co-chair for the President's Council on Physical Fitness, Sport, and Nutrition and was speaking as part of the National Association on Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) which is a branch of AAHPERD.

I went by and finally visited the updated and new Mormon Battalion. This site was actually in one of my districts when I served. The building I remember was completely destroyed and replaced with a new state of the art visitor center. When the church does something, they sure do it right. All the records were digitalized and could be e-mailed to you as well as pictures of patrons becoming honorary members of the Battalion. Portraits and windows of people actually talked and told the story of the Battalions journey to the west as you go from room to room. It was really impressive. It is the best interpretive site I have ever seen.

Above is the profile of Levi Hancock which is one of Celeste's ancestors. This information now can be easily e-mailed to people from the site. It was pretty cool reading all the history and discovering that Levi Hancock was the only general authority that joined the Battalion.

I also visited the temple one evening. I almost forgot how beautiful this temple really is. It is absolutely breathtaking on the outside and only gets better on the inside as you enter the Celestial room. A very unique temple with a two story Celestial room and which also boasts of the seal of Melchizedek throughout the grounds and the temple walls and windows. It is by far one of my favorites!

Besides the educational sessions the highlight of the trip was being able to spend an evening with one of my favorite investigators and now members of the church, Don Millsberg. I was lucky enough to see Don get baptized and was there the first time he attended the temple. It was so great being able to catch-up with him and his life as well as talk about my life. He is quite the individual and strong member of the church. I have been really blessed to know him.