STUDIO 60

I was surfing through the channels tonight and found a new episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip on NBC.

First of all, YAY!!! I LOVE this show and I thought it had been cancelled. So, Thursday nights, right? Which leads me to my second point: Where has the marketing been for this show? Had I not been randomly surfing, I would have missed it. Seriously, NBC. I swear, it's all about catering to the lowest common denominator... Age of Love??? Give me a break!

Our little Grad

Today my oldest child graduated from Kindergarten! I can't believe how much he has grown this year, not just academically, but verbally, socially, and creatively as well. We're so proud of him!

Here is our little man on the first day of school, just nine short months ago:


And here he is this morning, complete with a little gift for his world-class teacher, Mrs. Anderson:


I picked Tom up from school and took a couple of pictures of his friends and him. Here are Ari, Austin, Ethan, Curtis and Tom-- such cute little buds!


After school, we met Chris and Gordon at McDonald's for a celebratory lunch. And now we're off to summer vacation...

Memorial Day Weekend-- Part II

Chris had to work on Saturday, so I spent the day working in the yard. I actually removed all of those hideous white rocks from the rose bed in the front, fertilized the plants, and pulled a bunch of weeds from the grass with my trusty Weed Hound. I would not claim to have a green thumb by any means, but I did find a certain "communing with the earth" kind of joy in working in the yard. See below to see a picture of the first rose of the season, fresh from my back yard.

Since the weekend was only half over, we decided to head down to Salt Lake on Sunday. We went with Gary and Marilyn to Marilyn's parents' graveside, then to Sugarhouse Park. The kids loved playing in the park, particularly Gordon, who likes to chase the ducks.

On Monday, Chris woke up bright and early to drive up Millcreek Canyon and secure a picnic site. The rest of us joined him a little later and enjoyed a fantastic breakfast prepared by Marilyn and Chris. We love the breakfast in the Canyon tradition!

The boys loved playing in the canyon. Both of them love to find rocks to throw in the water. It's a boy thing!


After breakfast, we got ready and went to Liberty Park. We were a little bit bummed that the water wasn't working in the "Seven Canyons Fountain", but we quickly got over the disappointment when Gramm and Gramp treated us to some tasty treats. There's nothing like a little junk food to brighten your day!


The boys and Gramm and Gramp rode some of the rides at Liberty Park. Gordon loved the Farris Wheel and the little cars, and Thomas loved every ride! (Blogger is being a bit stingy on my picture uploading tonight, so I'll have to post those pictures later). Tom and Gord sure love their grandparents!

We had a very busy, but very fun weekend. We're grateful to our families on both sides for hosting us! ♥

Memorial Day Weekend-- Part I

We started the long weekend with a trip up to Idaho Falls (yes, kids, for the third weekend in a row-- apparently we want to support the high gas prices or something...) to celebrate a couple of fun occasions.

The first celebration was for sweet little Brynn Freed's first birthday! We love our little Brynnie and we had a great time at her party at the park. Todd and Ann-Michelle put a great party together-- including cool little animal plates and silverware for the kids. They had a blast!

It was especially fun to see Nonny and Bob for the first time since their return from Central America. Our visit was too short this time, but fortunately, they'll be back in the area at the end of June. We have some fun summer plans!

Here is our sweet little birthday girl-- we love you, Brynnie!!


Party, party, party...


After the party, we went back to my parents' house to put the boys to bed, then my dad joined Chris and me to see Spiderman 3. It was a fun show, and very fun to get out and see a movie in the theater, but not the best movie I've ever seen. And I think Toby McGuire is kind of weird. I did like Topher Grace and Thomas Hayden Church. Anyway.

On Saturday morning, we celebrated the graduation of my sister, Caitlan, at a tasty brunch at Smitty's. Caitlan graduated from Skyline High School in Idaho Falls and will be attending BYU at the end of June. It will be fun to have another DeArton girl in Utah!

As usual, the kids all flocked to Aunt Kristie and had a giggle-fest at their end of the table. Kristie is such a cute auntie; my kids are so lucky to have such doting aunts!


At our end of the table (there were 15 of us), Gordon and Hadley had fun cuddling with Nonny and Bob.


It was so fun to spend time with my family. They're such a fun group!

First Bloom

And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
~Percy Bysshe Shelley, "The Sensitive Plant"

Good Grief!

Ugh... I have been meaning to blog for a few days now and I've just been swamped! Being a working mom has been difficult for me lately and, without whining about it, I'll just say that I'm very tired. Fortunately, Chris and I are off to Paradise (ie: Hawaii!) with Gary and Marilyn in less than three weeks and the vacation really could not have come at a better time! I need a break!!

In the meantime, I am (barely) managing to keep myself afloat with my every day life. I received a sweet e-mail from a dear friend who had been away from her family for a few days on a vacation with a friend. She talked about how she enjoyed being away and getting reconnected with herself, and how overwhelmed with love for her family she felt on her return. She described seeing her children again and how she "couldn't stop squeezing their bodies, and cheeks and lips". I read the e-mail at work and couldn't help tear up a bit when I thought about my own little guys and their loveable little selves. I felt grateful for the reminder.

Last week, Gordon turned two, and now he is busy showing us exactly what that means. In the past week, Gord has:
1. Thrown a full blown temper tantrum (with kicking and screaming included) at my office
2. Told Chris "No Kidding" when Chris said it was time for a nap
3. Decided that the best way to swing on his new swingset is on his belly with his arms outstretched like Superman (it also helps if Mom pushes, but running between swings will suffice)
4. Volunteered to say bedtime prayers every night
and 5. Given me a hug and said "Love you, Mommy" (Sounds like "Luboo, Mommy")




And finally, a little shot of said two-year-old's backside. I am a very big fan of clothing, but between getting Gordon out of the tub and putting Tom in, Gordon escaped and tried to hide from me. He "hid" for long enough for me to grab the camera and take this funny picture before giggling and trying to hide somewhere else. I love that he thinks that since he can't see me, I can't see him. I eventually caught up with him and he is now fully jammied and sound asleep upstairs.

As for me, I'm off to do the same!

Mother's Day Weekend in Idaho Falls

We spent Mother's Day weekend up in Idaho Falls with my family. Caitlan had her Commencement Dance on Saturday night and I was the designated photographer. Her dress was so lovely and she just looked like a princess, so I didn't really have a hard job!

The kids managed to get amazingly dirty (think Pig Pen dirty) playing in the "pit" in my parents' backyard. Eventually this will be some sort of water structure, though I think the kids actually enjoy it more as a huge hole that they can roam in and out of. They really had so much fun, I'm considering digging a pit in my backyard.

Or not. Maybe this is more of a Grandpa's house kind of thing...


On Mother's Day, we enjoyed talking to my brother, Jake, who is serving an LDS Mission in Vladivostok, Russia. My brother-in-law, Todd Freed, served in the Ukraine and speaks Russian, so we all got to enjoy hearing a Russian conversation on speakerphone. Jake has been out almost 18 months now-- wow, how the time flies! He's doing really well there and is loving every minute of it.


It took us about an hour to get Jake on the phone-- apparently he had given us a wrong country code or something-- but Chris and Todd saved the day and figured it out. My mom said that this was the best Mother's Day gift she could have received!

New Layout

After much admiration of other digital scrapper blogs (Kristine Crosby, Mindy Perschon, Andrea Burns, and Jennifer Woodbury being some of the ones I regularly stalk), I have decided to join the digi-scrapping community. Yay! My blog header is my first attempt and I had great fun learning a bit of Adobe Photoshop and producing something kind of cute. I used elements from a free kit I downloaded from ScrapArtist.com.

I also decided to re-name my blog something a little more fun, and after all, my name does rhyme with "Piece"... and "Peace", but that's another story. Enjoy!

My Baby Gordon is 2!!!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Tuesday, May 15th is my sweet little Gordon's second birthday! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. I remember the first moment I saw him, making funny little whiny noises as the nurses handed him to me after a very speedy birth, and wondering how it was possible that I could be so crazy in love with this tiny little thing! Tonight as I put together this little montage, I was awed at how much he has grown up.

My favorite things about my Gord:

1. He is such an outgoing and sociable kid. No matter where we are, he makes a point to say "Hi" to everyone he sees.
2. While he has never been a cuddly child, Gordon's affection is very deliberate. His hugs are so precious because you know he's not just leaning on you, but actually, consciously hugging you. That makes them all the more special to me!
3. Gordon has an amazing curiousity and energy. It's so fun to watch him run around and explore, knowing that he is just taking it all in.

I love my little boy so much and I am so glad he is a part of my life! Happy Birthday, Gordon!!

Beat-Boxin' Tom

Happy Friday, everyone. Here's a special treat: rare footage of a very outgoing Tom showing off his mad beat-boxing skills. What a fun kid!

Funny!

Confession: I am a total blog-stalker. One of my favorite things to do is to click on the links on other people's blogs and just see where they take me. Yesterday, my blog-stalking efforts were greatly rewarded.

I started with Kristine to Mindy to Lisa (all great blogs, by the way) to

Threadbared.com

where I spent nearly an hour laughing hysterically. I really love the Internet! :)

"Freed" At Last!!

Hee hee... I know, I know, Todd is rolling his eyes at the title of this post. But I couldn't help it! :)

Check out The Freed Blog for some new updates from my sister's fam, including some incredibly adorable videos of my nieces.

A few of my favorite things

The past few days have been filled with my favorite things...


I'll admit it right now: I love purses. I especially love purses that are unique and detailed, which perfectly describes my fabulous new Brighton purse! My equally fabulous in-laws were so kind to give me my birthday present on Saturday when I went to Salt Lake for a day of shopping. Who cares if my birthday isn't until June? This purse is too cute to wait! THANK YOU, GARY & MARILYN!!!


On Sunday, I took my new purse and my cute son, Thomas, to visit Kevin and Becky in the hospital with their tiny new son, Wesley Gregg Ward. Maybe I shouldn't refer to a baby as a "thing", but in reference to my favorites, new babies (that belong to other people :)) are at the top of my list. Sweet little Wes is just an adorable little snuggle bug!


We loved visiting the Wards and especially meeting this little sugar pot. Is he not the sweetest thing ever?! (I took a bunch of pictures, only to realize later that my camera's lens had a huge smudge on it-- everything was blurry! But at least I got a couple of good ones.)

Becky is such a cute mom and I know she'll love having two little boys. WELCOME WESLEY, and CONGRATS KEVIN & BECKY!!

And, of course, I have to include one of my most favorite little things in the world: my baby! I love this little face!!

Aw, poor rich baby...

The NBA is not my favorite sports organization, nor do I have any real affinity for the Golden State Warriors. What I do truly enjoy, however, is seeing Mark Cuban's face after his Dallas Mavericks lost in the biggest upset in NBA history. Boo hoo! Hee hee hee...

GO JAZZ!!

Update on Tom

I know that this is such a sad-looking picture, but Thomas was really not as upset as he looks! We just had to keep him awake from midnight on (this picture was taken at about 8:00 AM) and he was dog tired. Sweet little bub.


So, here's what we know: Tom's EEG and bloodwork came back normal. This means that his fainting episode was not caused by low blood sugar, anemia, or epileptic seizures. This is good news! Chris and I are still feeling a bit uneasy about the whole thing, however. The doctor's office called tonight and agreed that we still need to check a few different areas and this includes an ECG that I need to schedule tomorrow. Luckily, both the EEG and ECG are non-invasive procedures, so our needle-hating kiddo has nothing to worry about.

Additionally, Tom's fantastic kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Anderson, is going to keep an eye on Tom and keep a count of how many "spacing out" episodes he has during a given time during school. Chris and I will also document any time he has migraine symptoms and anything else that seems abnormal. We're hoping that being more diligent about identifying the frequency of his symptoms will either lead us to a diagnosis, or show us that they don't really exhibit as much as we think.

At this point, I feel like we're making the best possible steps. Thomas, meanwhile, went back to school today and is just as sweet and bouncy as ever!