Memorial Weekend

Ta da! Here is the annual Memorial Day photo taken next to Grandpa Pilgrims' grave. Every year for as long as I can remember members of the Pilgrim family have been meeting up at Grandpa's grave to decorate it with flowers and take this pic. Then we all head to a park for a picnic. Sometimes the weather cooperates, sometimes it doesn't, but rain or shine, we meet up and then have a picnic. This year I decided to do a little something extra in order for my kids to learn a little bit about the people who are buried beneath these headstones we visit, so I made little info sheets with photos and a brief synopsis of the person's life... I tried to find info that my boys would find interesting. For example, how Grandpa Pilgrim came to become an ambulance driver in WWII, or how Jeff only had his haircut once a year when he was a boy and it was when his family would visit Grandpa Bergstrom, because he was a barber at the University of Utah. I think the boys enjoyed hearing the stories.

But their favorite part, of course, was playing with all their cousins that they rarely get a chance to see. There are so many boys! They are all in heaven when they get together! Climbing trees, playing ball, swinging from the jungle gym, ingesting glutenous amounts of licorice... it's just a great time for all!

Over the weekend we joined a group of Pilgrim's up at Grandpa Pilgrim's cabin. This too is another annual tradition, but usually Jeff & I stay home, while my mom takes up the boys. But this year we decided to join them for a day or two. The weather was BEAUTIFUL and there was no drama to speak of (as is usually the case when large amounts of strong personalities get together).

We rode 4-wheelers, did crafts, cooked s'mores over the fire pit, played games and ate way too much food! A typical cabin venture...

I'm just so thankful that my Grandpa Pilgrim had the foresight to build a cabin where we can all get together to spend time as a family. We all live so spread out and such separate lives, but when we come together at the cabin, we all feel at home. Just the way it should be!

Will's Preschool Graduation

Last night my sweet Will became an official preschool graduate! Hip hip hooray!! He was so excited! Especially because now he gets to go to Kindergarten!

His preschool teacher asked him to recite a closing poem at the graduation ceremony and he did such an awesome job! He memorized his lines very quickly and although he said he was nervous, he did a fantastic job and spoke clearly so that everyone could understand him. (Watch the little video at the end of this post... it's kind of dark, but you can still hear his sweet little voice.)

Both sets of grandparents came for the big event and it made it all the more special for Will to have his grandparents there to celebrate his accomplishment.

Afterward we all went to Will's favorite place, "Frogurt", for some do-it-yourself frozen yogurt goodness! It was a great night! Congratulations Will! We are so proud of you and know you'll do AWESOME in Kindergarten!!

Renaissance Festival

We took the boys to the Renaissance Festival in Farr West on Saturday and got to travel back in time to a Medieval Village filled with knights, gypsies, kings and queens and more! It was so much fun! The boys got to decorate their own swords, shields and tunics to wear around the festival and they each put their own bit of personality into their creations.

Rachel and her family joined us and the kids all pretended to sword fight and battle each other as we wandered around the village.

Drew & Will got up on the stage to dance with a band of gypsies who attempted to teach them how to shimmy and shake their hips in order to earn coins for their dowry. It was pretty funny to watch!

Then we got to watch real knights in a jousting battle. One represented Ireland and one represented Wales... we rooted for the one from Wales, since that's where our families hail. It was really cool to watch them taunt each other before the battle and egg each other on, hoping for cheers from the crowd. We don't know who ended up winning, but at least no one actually died in the joust:~)

Finally, the boys got to ride a real, live camel!! It was so cool! They said it was really wobbly and felt a lot like riding a horse. What an opportunity though! It's something you'd see on Amazing Race, but not here in good ol' Utah!

I kept telling Jeff that if I'd had the opportunity to learn about the Renaissance like this when I was studying it in 6th grade, I might have gotten a better grade! Hopefully these memories will stick with the boys so they'll understand the Renaissance better when it's their turn to study it in school!

An Evening of the Arts

Drew was invited to perform a piano solo for his elementary school's "Evening of the Arts". He was to play whatever he wanted for 10 minutes in the entryway of the school for people to listen to as they came to see the student's artwork and watch the dancers. It was quite a privilege and he was so excited to have been able to participate. He's been working on learning the Star Wars theme since January so deciding what to play was an easy decision. His piano teacher also put together a few other songs for him to play as well in order to fill the entire 10 minutes.

As you can see, he did AWESOME! And although he said he was nervous (he told our neighbor that he couldn't believe he was playing in front of "like a thousand people!") he pulled it off like a champ! And he even added his own little flare at the end as he threw up his arms in the "rock on" sign. He's only been taking lessons since August and we are all so proud of how well he is doing! Great job Drew!!

My days as a Mother

In honor of Mother's Day, I decided to blog a little about what my days are like at this point in my life as the Mother of two beautiful boys. Everyone tells you how quickly these days will pass and that you should relish and appreciate each and every moment. So this is my attempt to describe a typical day in my life, in hopes that I will always remember.

AM - Wake up, eat breakfast, feed boys (beg Will to eat something besides tomatoes), brush Drew's hair, make sure he packed his backpack, hugs, kisses & send him out the door by 8:30 a.m.

Workout time! - Run, bike, yoga, weights, you name it... this is my time to work on me and I cherish it!

Get started on my "To Do" list - Volunteer in Drew's class, play with Will, plan, organize, taxi, clean, entertain, mother, work (on Wednesday's), problem solve... you name it. This is my "get as many things done as you can" time.

Lunchtime - Fix a meal for myself and Will (I stress the importance of including a complex carbohydrate, protein and fruit or veggie at every meal... my boys know how to "build a plate" even if they do prefer donuts).

1:00 - Will goes to preschool or watches Sesame Street/Computer time for me... I read my email, facebook, catch up on other's blogs or update mine, etc. After computer time, it's time for errands, dr. appts, groomers, play dates, grocery shopping, scrap booking, cleaning (not necessarily in that order)...

3:30/4:00 - Pick up Will from school/Drew gets home from school...Hug, how was your day, let the nagging begin...

PM - Help with homework, remind Drew to practice piano, encourage boys to clean up their school bags & papers, read through backpack papers, make a healthy dinner, clean kitchen, beg boys to eat their dinner in a timely manner so they can go outside and play.

At random times throughout the day I may be found doing any and all of the following: planning/coordinating play dates, kissing boo-boo's & putting on Sponge Bob Band aids, solving sibling disputes, consoling a crying boy, setting time limits for playtime, eating time, computer time, practice time (you name it), ensuring healthy eating a lots of activity time, planning family nights, reading, researching, organizing, attending school meetings, planning & preparing WW lessons, attempting yard work, cleaning house, walking Max, feeding Max, playing with Max, remembering we have a dog that needs love..., reading my People or Family Fun magazines, coordinating kids activities (swimming, scouts, gymnastics, piano, soccer, golf, etc.), filling out book orders, finding show & tell items, signing permission slips, yelling/nagging, stopping myself from yelling and trying to find a better way to get my point across, etc.

8:30 - Bath/shower time. Brush teeth (and inspect), remind boys to put dirty clothes in laundry room, read books, snuggle: 15 minutes with each boy (My absolute favorite part of the day!! I don't know how long they'll still want to snuggle, but I'll keep it up for as long as I can!)

Breathe - Relax a little, evaluate tomorrow's agenda, get any work done I haven't been able to, go to bed (lay there thinking of all the stuff I have to do tomorrow), eventually fall to sleep. Wake up and do it all again!

And that's my typical day! I'd be lying if I said that I loved every single moment of my day, but who can honestly say that they do? I do try to focus on the positives in my day and the positives in my children's behavior. I try to teach them and be an example for them and mostly, just love the heck out of them and let them know how much I cherish them. I sometimes fall short, but for Mother's Day they gave me a card with a sticker on it that deemed me "The Amazing Incredible Super Mom", so I guess they think I'm doing OK at this whole Mom thing.

My Mother's Day was full of hugs and cards of appreciation and love. So I'll take the encouragement and keep on keepin on and do my best to relish these typical days that I am so blessed to be living!

Mom's Surprise Tea Party...

My wonderful mother has never (in my lifetime) had a birthday party so I decided that for her 60th Birthday, she deserved something BIG! So my siblings and I got together and pitched in to throw the most awesome birthday/tea party EVER!

We held it at the Beehive Tea Room in downtown Salt Lake City and were lucky enough to reserve the entire tea room for our party. Mom and my aunts walked in the Race for the Cure that morning (something my mom and I have been doing together since 1998 and she was so disappointed to hear I couldn't join them this year), and they brought her to the tea room for the surprise.
I set up a table with her photo and a photo book I made of her life for people to write personal messages to Mom as they entered. Then each table was set with a photo of Mom and there was a TV set up playing a DVD I put together of her life so far. The place looked great and she was so elated when she arrived and saw that all this was in celebration of her! There was hardly a dry eye in the place!

Family members (Aimee & my niece Emily even flew in from Oklahoma) and friends (some she hadn't seen in 30 years) came to celebrate the inspiring life of my Mom. We ate scones, brownies and fresh strawberries and everyone had tea or Italian sodas. Then Aimee treated us all to a toast to Mom and if folks weren't crying before it, they were definitely crying after! Her toast was amazing and full of thanks to Mom for being such a wonderful mother and friend. It was such a special moment!

Then Melissa brought a beautiful cake and we pretended to have Mom blow out the candles as we all sang "Happy Birthday!" to her. She was so happy and surprised and she told me that she felt like "queen for the day". Which in my mind is truly what she deserves! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful mother.

She has been my rock, my sounding board, my support, my deep-thinking companion for my entire life. There isn't a special moment she hasn't been there for, and for every sad moment, she's been there to dust me off and get me back on my feet again. And as a Grand-Mother, she is continuing her legacy by loving and encouraging and caring for her grand-kids. (My boys go through withdrawls when they don't see her for a week!). I feel like I'm a strong woman and I know it's because of the strong woman who raised me to think, feel and love! I love you Mom! Happy Birthday!

And thank you to everyone who helped me put this together by offering advice, ideas, photos, money or just plain encouragement! It was worth every bit of time and money that we put in to it!

My "I can do it" moment...

Just a quick story about our bike ride on Monday:

Jeff (with Will on back) and I were about 3 miles into what we'd hoped would turn out to be a 30 mile training ride when suddenly his back tire completely blew out! It was scary! The first thing I thought was that Will's foot was hurt or something... Anyway, we had to think quick so I decided to ride my bike back home really quick so I could bring back Jeff's truck and we could decide what to do from there. Well, the quickest way home was up a STEEP hill, but I was determined and I just kept pedaling my way up that dang hill, using the techniques I've been learning in my cycling class. I couldn't believe how quickly I made it to the top of the hill and home to get the bike to rescue my men... As I was riding I had this overwhelming feeling of awesomeness about my abilities as a human being. It was so cool! I just kep thinking "I can totally do this!" and I did! What a great feeling to be healthy and alive and full of brains in my head!