River Cats Game!

On Friday we went to a Sacramento River Cats game to celebrate this guy:

 

 I can't believe he will officially be one in a week...crazy!  Sienna loved hanging out with her cousins and sharing their cotton candy.

 We even got to see some of California's past governors.  Nick and Sienna took a picture with Arnold for Papa since he used to be on his protection detail.

 We had a great time as a family...

 

 watching the game...

 

 

 spending time with family...

 and just hanging out!

 Sienna's favorite part surprisingly was the fireworks.  She thought that they were a little loud at first and then she sat with Nick and really got into them.  If you see her you have to ask her what sound fireworks make...it's our favorite thing right now.

We will definitely have to go to another game this season.  Until then I'll be dreaming of Merlino's freezes and fireworks...

Graduation

On Monday and Tuesday of last week Nick was able to take and pass his final exams making him an official Registered Respiratory Therapist! Then on Friday Nick had his official graduation ceremony.  I was so proud of him as he walked up on stage multiple times to accept all of his awards and honors.  Let me tell you, he earned every single one of them too.  I'm amazed at the dedication and determination I have seen from him since the start of his program.   He even received an unexpected award for Clinical Excellence for his desire to learn and professionalism in the clinical setting!  Here are some pictures from that awesome day:

Accepting one of his honors

Family Picture

She tells daddy all the time how happy and proud she is!

Nick and his friend Ashley

 She has been such a great source of motivation and support throughout school!

Our families

 

Nick and his mom

 

Nick and Dennis

Dennis' girlfriend Katie also came but in the picture of us all together I had my eyes closed!  We are so grateful for such wonderful, supportive friends.

 

Generations

Nick, Sienna and GG

Nick's friend Chad also came but wasn't able to stay the whole time.  I was so glad that he made the effort to show his support even if he had to leave early.  We are so grateful to everyone who made this special day possible.  

The job hunt is now officially on!

School: Check!

April 5th was Nick's last day of classes!  He has worked so hard and we are so proud of him and everything that he has accomplished so far.  His actual graduation ceremony is happening on Friday so I figured I better get caught up before the big event.  I am so grateful for all of the hard work and sacrifices that have been made these last 18 months.  I'm also grateful for the great friends that he was able to make in his program who helped to motivate him and listen to his concerns when I just didn't get it.  His last day included a mock interview with actual hiring people from local hospitals hence the fancy suit in some of the pictures.

After school some of the group decided to go to Dave and Busters to celebrate...

 

Nick did so well in his program that he not only is graduating, but graduating with honors! He received cords for making Deans List, Alpha Beta Kappa and Lambda Beta...smarty pants.

On April 16th he not only took, but passed his first of three exams!  Nick is officially a Certified Respiratory Therapist (Entry Level)!

 

He has a big week ahead of him.  Tomorrow and Tuesday he is scheduled for his final two exams which will make him an official Registered Respiratory Therapist (Advanced Level).   Then, Friday is graduation!  We are so grateful for all of the support that we have received and are both nervous and excited for what lies ahead for us.

Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter Weekend!  We started it off with an Easter Egg Hunt with some friends out in Rancho Cordova.  We miss our friends out there and were excited to visit with some of them.  Sienna was excited to see her friend Jocelyn, and of course candy.

After the egg hunt Daddy went home to rest because he hasn't been feeling well and Sienna and I head to Aunt Katie's house for a slumber party and dyeing eggs.  Sienna LOVES spending time with her cousins and it was fun having people to color eggs with us.  The big kids were very serious about their coloring and Mason even set a timer to make sure that he would get the optimal orange hue!

The next morning we woke up and checked out what the Easter bunny had left us!  Sienna's favorite thing was her new My Little Pony.  We have now added Pinkie Pie to our growing collection.

That afternoon we all headed off to church and then  came home to another small egg hunt and a delicious dinner.  I tried my hand at making a cute dessert...not my best work, but not awful either...

Family picture before church

My two favorite people!

It was such a fun weekend filled with the perfect things:  Family, friends, fun and the Spirit.  We are so grateful to know the true meaning behind Easter and to be able to feel of the Savior's love and see how much we have been blessed. 

Soccer on Sunday

Today we decided to go for a walk and play a little soccer after dinner.  

She isn't a very hard kicker, but what she lacks in strength she makes up for in determination.  

Sienna is happy anytime she gets to play outside, but was even happier that Daddy was able to play too.  We love warm weather and Daddy time!  Sienna thinks the only way it could have been more awesome is if there were bubbles or swimming.

Five Years

Nick and I celebrated five years of marriage yesterday!  We both agreed that we never could have imagined when we go married that we would be where we are today.  Since we live with Nick's grandma right now we decided that we would go to a hotel for the night and drop the little off at Aunt Katie's for a slumber party.  It was our first time leaving Sienna overnight and we all did fine.  She had a blast with her cousins and was such a good girl for Aunt Katie.

The view from our hotel room:

 

 The hotel was awesome and right on the river!  

For breakfast we headed to a little hole in the wall called Jim-Dennys.  It was so delicious!  They were featured on the Food Network show Man vs Food due to their hubcap sized pancake...crazy.  Nick ordered biscuits and gravy and I ordered a short stack of their mini pancakes....they were not so mini.  Seriously, they were bigger than the dinner plate they were serve on but so good.

 It was a fun little staycation and I'm glad that Sienna was able to spend time with her best friend Jill!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Bowling and Facing Facts....

We went bowling with some friends on Monday night.  Nick had purchased a groupon a while back and we finally got around to using it.  I was excited to take some pictures to document our good time until I remembered that my sweet baby is in that awful stage of being the worst picture taker EVER!  Seriously, the girl can't look at the camera to save her life or smile like a normal person...when does this stage end again?!

Anyway, here are some of my attempts...

Daddy helping.

 Family Picture.

Sienna and Ashley

Ashley, Brandon and Vance

This picture kills me....

We had a really great time until the teenagers showed up...Sienna and Vance loved it though and that was really the point anyway.