Lauryn's 1st Grade Picnic

I can't believe that the school year is over already and we have a soon-to-be 2nd grader!

I love that we live next to the park. Lauryn's school has their picnics there and it's so convenient.

The kids made tie-dye shirts to wear for the picnic.

Sydney's Pre-School Graduation

It's weird that they call it graduation. Sydney just ate a lot of snacks and played with bubbles.

Publishing Party

Lauryn wrote a book called, "All About Dogs" and dedicated it to Auntie Lil's dog, Yuki. Well, she spelled Yuki's name "Yucky".

Bath time

All I said was, "Sydney, go upstairs and take a bath." This is what we found a few minutes later when we went upstairs.

The Billy Goats Gruff

Lauryn took an afterschool drama enrichment class this spring. The kids put on a play at the end of the session and they could choose to be a goat or a troll. Can you ever imagine Lauryn choosing to be a troll? Lauryn was one of the little baby goats.

Sydney's Birthday Party

It was so hot that day that the ice cream cake almost melted. But Sydney had a great time!

See more pictures from that day here.

Blast Off with Rocket!

I couldn't resist getting this for Sydney for her birthday. She loves the Little Einsteins.

Usually when she opens gifts, she's not very interested. But she was so happy with this that it was totally worth it!

Erin & Katye's Birthdays

We celebrated with Erin and Katye for their birthdays and the Princess not only made balloon animals, but she also did magic tricks and face painting.

Debs and Daniel's Wedding

My friend Christina's sister, Deborah, got married to a great guy, Daniel, in May. She was the one who showed us all the great shopping places in Shanghai when we visited last April. Now she's back in the states and a married woman!
The wedding was beautiful and fun. There was a candy buffet courtesy of Sweet Factory!
So there's a story behind these shoes. When I was getting married, I searched everywhere for the right shoes and finally found 2 pairs of these Stuart Weitzmans at the Off-Sak's at the Great Mall for $28 each. I think I was a 7.5 at that time and they only had a 7 or an 8, so I got both. I ended up wearing the 8. And they were great. Comfortable and classic. I never got around to returning the 7s. When Christina got married, she was looking for the perfect wedding shoes and couldn't find any. I remembered that I had these and they were perfect. She wore them, and since then, they've been worn in 2 other weddings and now this one. I guess the 7s are a more popular size than my 8s. But they still look good!

Goodbye Maytag - Hello LG!

Alas, our Maytag Neptune washer took it's last breath a couple of months ago. It was only 8 years old, but I guess that's past the age of being repair-worthy. I have a love/hate thing with having to buy new appliances. I love finding a great new appliance that makes life easier and does what it's supposed to do. But I hate researching and finding that nothing is perfect (remember my search for the perfect stroller?).

After a couple of weeks, we decided on the set from LG. We went for 3 weeks without a washer and thank goodness Lil and Anson graciously let us use their washer. I think they were shocked that I had at least 1 load every day. I think they do laundry once a week.

So with the new W/D set, we also decided to paint the laundry room. My first try at the color turned out to be too pastel. John said it looked like we had painted it with toothpaste. The final color is a darker shade of blue-green.

We tried stacking them, but it blocked the light. So we ended up putting them side-by-side again. But doing that, the detergent drawer couldn't open. So John's genius idea was to cut the door jamb, which saved the day.
The final part to complete the room will be when the shelving at The Container Store goes on sale in September.