Our Two Graduates

Yeah! It's official we're done. We survived Law School and lived to tell the tale. I'm so proud of Alan and this huge accomplishment. We are so grateful for his hard work and determination. It wasn't easy to balance school with a family but he did it and he did it well. Way to go Stanford grad. Thanks to our parents for all their love and support. It was a wonderful weekend. Now on to our next great adventure, Las Vegas.

I know, a little scary. But I had to put it on. Yes, This is Al's boyfriend. I have to admit at first I was a little jealous but after three years I've finally come to terms with it. Evidence that Law School can do strange things to you.

Now on to our second grad. Noah finished up Kindergarten last week. We are so proud of Noah. Noah loved everything about Kindergarten. He had an amazing teacher, he made many new friends, and he especially loved learning. We will definitely miss Escondido Elementary.

Here is a little clip from his spring sing. Yes the first half of the song is in spanish. Three of the kindergarten classes are spanish immersion. Notice the little girl with the braids next to Noah. He confesses that he has a little crush on her.

Here is a little clip of Al's graduation. It's hard to see but when he walks across the stage Sadie waves at everyone. It was a hit.

Easter . . . a little late

We had a great Easter and spring break. The Easter bunny found our house a week early and brought some great treats and summer toys. Which mom almost ruined, the story to be continued below. And we were also able to fly home to Utah and spend time with family. We were so excited to be there for sweet baby Ella's blessing. Which I am very upset I didn't get one picture of her looking so precious in her blessing dress. We were able to attend Grandma and Grandpa Mouritsen's Easter Egg hunt which was a hit. And to finish it off we celebrated Gabe, Grandpa Kenny's and aunt Hayley's birthdays. We had so much fun and returned home exhausted.

Everyone dressed in their new Easter outfits. We couldn't keep them still long enough to get a good picture. But I have to say Sadie's skirt was pretty sweet.

Enjoying the Easter Bunny's goods. Yeah CANDY!!

We were so excited to see our cousins from Wisconsin.

Sadie holding baby Ella. As you can see Sadie just adores her. Ella doesn't quit feel the same.

The Birthday kids!

Okay. I was debating whether to share this story to our followers. For those who haven't yet realized that I've totally lost my mind you now will. So that sneaky little Easter bunny (me) likes to hide the kids surprises around the house and gives them clues to find them. So the night before I decided the oven would be a great hiding spot. Nice and roomy. Well, the next morning I was making some sticky buns and decided I should start pre heating the oven while the kids were finding their clues so it would be ready when they were done. So I turn the oven on, no big deal. Well, a few minutes later I start smelling an odd smell, it was almost like plastic melting. Still nothing clicked. But then Noah was reading his last clue and finally everything clicked. Yes, I was melting Noah's Easter surprises. I ran to the oven hoping that the tennis racket, crocs, and other items would not be totally ruined. Lucky enough only the sand shovel was destroyed. I think the Easter Bunny learned a very important lesson. Never have the end surprise be hidden in the oven.

This has nothing to do with Easter but I thought it was a lot of fun. For teacher appreciation week I made this poster for Noah's teacher Mrs. Wilde. Since her name is Mrs. Wilde I thought it would be fun to base it on the famous book "The Wild Things." (Let me just add as her proud husband that the poster was a HUGE hit! All the parents were amazed and Mrs. Wilde couldn't stop talking about it. It was another reminder of what a talented teacher Meghan is and was and how much she sacrificed for our family.)

Here Noah is as a Wild Thing

Sadie Can Read!!

We hate to be "those" parents, who are always trumpeting their child's every accomplishment, but this was just too amazing to pass up. I mean, how often do you see an eighteen-month old who can read? And not only read, but who expresses emotion, surprise, and even has a nice cadence. Anyway, enjoy!!

Change of Season

We have had a fun couple of weeks with Easter and our big Utah trip. Don't worry, there will be more pictures coming. But I had to laugh that last week in Utah we woke up to this........

And then we came home to this.....

You can't beat the weather in Cali. But we sure do pay for it.

Gabe's 4th Birthday!

Our Gabber Babber is now 4. We had a big courtyard football party bash. We had a ball toss, bubble table, art table, egg hunt, and of course a courtyard favorite--the pinata. The minute anyone gave him a present he would run inside and open it. If it happened to be clothes he would change immediately into it. How grateful we are to have Gabe in our family. He brings to our home energy, passion, humor, and joy. He has a very tender heart and is a good brother. He even let Noah and Sadie open some of his presents. He loves playing football, swinging high in the swings then jumping out, and his new thing is climbing trees. Right now he does not like grills (girls) except of course mom, Sadie, and grandmas.

One of my Favorite pictures. Gabe and Sadie watching a show together.

Gabe exhausted after his party.

Gabe showing off his cool new bike.

Yum. Costco Cake!

Blowing Bubbles at the "Buffalo Bills Bubble Table"

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Gabe really likes to dance. Take that boy to a Baja Fresh and he can't help but move to the Mexican music. Sorry the quality is so bad. Our camera was dying.

San Fran Zoo

We asked the kids what they wanted to do over spring break and they all shouted go to the ZOO! It was actually amazing the boys both agreed. We have never been to the San Fran Zoo and it was beautiful. Our zoo trips back home usually consists of 100 plus degree in weather and a lot of sleepy animals and cranky kids. So sorry fam, I think the Mouritsen's will pass on this years summer zoo trip. Those who have been understand. So it was a pleasant change to feel the cool air of the ocean while enjoying the animals.

You will notice in every picture Sadie has her pacifer. She is an animal and loved the zoo but wouldn't let go of the dang paci.


The Mouritsen kids fastforward 5 years. Can you say CREEPY!

The kids trying to measure up to the gorilla.

The African exhibit was my favorite.

Now I saved the best for last. Let me just warn you. The footage you are about to watch is a little disturbing. You've been warned. This was Alan's favorite part of the zoo. Notice the laughter. He wouldn't stop. People were beginning to stare. And I sure wondered if their children were safe with this guy around.

The 6 Tag's

Whitney I bet you wondered if I would ever respond to your tag. I actually thought maybe I should wait six weeks before blogging it to add another 6 to the equation. This is actually my first attempt at responding to a tag so here goes.

Here is the sixth picture in my 6th file. It's our little Sadie Bea ready for a swim. She is seven months old and I thought she looked adorable in her suit. But to be honest I think she looks pretty cute in anything. Thanks Whitney for the tag. It was fun looking back. I hate to admit it but I don't think six people even check out our little blog. So dad, Hayley if you want to give this tag a try go for it. Or any blog hoppers out there I'm tagging you.