Clippy Would Be Mad!

We have our annual beach trip coming up in exactly one week, and so Natalie is starting to stress out about getting ready. And who could blame her with all that has to get packed up with a little one in tow. As most of you know, Natalie is very organized. Anyway, while we were having breakfast, Natalie started making a list to get organized. When I read #4 on the list, I just started cracking up. Needless to say, Natalie was not amused. I was just afraid that she would get trapped in one of those dreaded circular reference loops in Excel . . . help! I had to covertly take a couple pictures of the list and upload to our blog because this is just priceless, vintage Natalie!

If I go missing . . . you will know what happened . . .

School's Out for Summer!

This past week Finley wrapped up his last week of preschool for the school year. On Monday his school had a 'program' and picnic on the lawn for the families to enjoy.

The presentation was really just the older kids singing a bunch of songs.

Finley is in the youngest class, so they just sat there and looked cute.

I was afraid that when Finley spotted us in the crowd he would get upset and run to us, but he stayed in his seat. Eventually he got more comfortable being 'on stage' and bopped his head to the music. It was so cute. (He is sitting beside one of his little girlfriends Sydney).

Then we enjoyed having a picnic lunch on the lawn.

Here is Finley's teacher from this past year Ms. Austin.

We are going to miss her next year! She was so great!

After the picnic Finley enjoyed running his dad ragged on the front lawn of the school. He has really come a long way since we first started school back in January. He really enjoys being at school with his friends. He will miss them this summer!

Here is their class photo.

This totally cracks me up.

Not one kid is smiling.

And here is his first school picture.

I thought it turned out pretty darn cute!

What a little man!

This is a picture from his first week of school back in January and was on the bulletin board in his classroom. Finley has grown up so much in the past few months. He is talking in sentences now, expressing his thoughts and feelings, and he always wants to show you things. He is a very happy boy and gets so excited to spend time with his friends and family. He is a sweet boy and I love him to pieces!

Now we get to enjoy the rest of our summer together, carefree, and hanging out by the pool, right? Well...kind of. One week till the beach! Yeah!

Pickin' Time

Yesterday the rain held off long enough for us to enjoy our annual tradition of strawberry pickin'. It was a cool overcast morning, but it was perfect weather for us! Last year we discovered an awesome farm in High Point called Ingram Farm.

The great part about this place is that they have so much to do there in addition to pickin' strawberries.

Finley and David really enjoyed getting up close and personal with some goats.

Finley even tried to feed one himself. He didn't quite get the hang of it, so he was one and done when it came to feeding them.

Then we walked on over to the fields to pick. They have several different fields that are huge! Pickin' those strawberries could easily be a full time job. At first Finley had a lot fun finding the strawberries and putting them in the bucket.

He wasn't tempted to eat them until David showed him that he could.

Naughty dada!

After about five minutes of pickin' Finley lost interest.

Good thing there were some horses nearby!

They were so beautiful and playful.

Finley even got to pet one!

And he was so tickled when they made their typical 'horse' noises.

We were not alone in our pickin' efforts!

Our friend Carrie came to help us out (really we were just using her as free labor and then made her share her freezer jam recipe with us!). Finley loves Carries!

I think we picked way more strawberries than we needed!

Next year I will try to limit myself to one bucket full.

But how can you resist when the pickin' is so good?

There were so many good ripe strawberries were we done in no time.

Because our field was a bit of a hike away this year, we got to take the tractor ride back!

Finley loved it.

We couldn't leave the farm without enjoying some of their strawberry ice cream.

Who says you can't have ice cream at 10 in the morning?

It was the perfect snack!

With the billions of strawberries we picked we were able to make 9 jars of freezer jam!

I am pretty sure it will last us until next season. And of course we have been enjoying strawberry meals every chance we get. Plain strawberries, strawberry short cake with whip cream, chocolate chip waffles with strawberries on top, strawberry salad, strawberries with sugar, the list goes on and on!

Thanks Carrie for coming with us and teaching us your secret family recipe!

What more could I ask for?

As part of my mother's day gift I wanted some new family photos and also pictures of Finley now that he is two. I am so lucky to live in a ward with talented photographers! Toni Walker took the pictures seen below and I am just thrilled with how they turned out.

This child is the light in my life!

I am so happy to be a mother and have such a loving and supportive family.

Finley truly is the greatest blessing to us. He is such a happy, smart, and funny little boy.

Sometimes I can't believe how lucky and blessed I am. What did I do to deserve this angel?

I am so grateful to be a mom.

Happy Mother's Day!