Graduations!

*This post is a few months old but our computer hasn't wanted to publish. Enjoy a little late!*

The only school Trevor knows is preschool, so whenever he prays he asks for "me and Dad to do good at preschool." Now we officially have two "preschool" graduates. Trevor still has one more year before starting kindergarten, but here he is with his first teacher, Sister Willard. At graduation she described him as a "born leader" and I know she was very patient with his arguments more than once.

For myself, I'm really grateful for the chance I had to teach this year. It was one of those things that worked out perfectly for our family situation: Trevor got a little something to keep him busy, I was able to enjoy teaching again (and not pay for preschool!) and Haley could stay with me and nap. I would like to try teaching from my own house someday, but it will have to be another situation with good timing. For now I'm glad to have a break.

And finally.....Birch's graduation! Here are the families we were close to during medical school. It's been hard saying good-bye the last few weeks to some of them as they move to other places for residency. Having other families going through the same situation meant more to me than I expected.

The hooding! Birch's parents and I went onstage to hood him together.

Our little family after it's all over. I actually love Trevor's face in this picture. :)

Birch with his parents. Education is really important to them and I could tell how proud they were of him.

And here's everyone who drove here to support us, thank you!

Alaskan Cruise

Birch and I took a trip without the kids to celebration his graduation, a cruise to Alaska! It was the perfect vacation for us: lots of outdoorsy, fun stuff to do. We even got our friends Aaron and Kellianne to come with us. They were the best people to do this trip with!

Aaron and Birch trying out some fly fishing. The guys were happy in the water, the girls were happy talking on the shore, and the kids were happy with grandparents!

Getting ready to kayak around Mendenhall Glacier.

Ziplining in Skagway: I've never done this before and I'm a big wimp but I loved it! One of our favorite things on the trip.

Can you see the train on the left? On the side of the mountain? We took that gorgeous ride up and had a nap on the way down.

The weather was perfect and clear until the day we were in Glacier Bay. Still some amazing pictures!

All dressed up and fancy for formal nights on the boat.

Back and Forth

Birch has been working in Flagstaff the last six weeks. It was his last rotation of med school and this Friday is the big graduation!!!

I stayed in Tucson with the kids during the week and Birch and I took turns driving back and forth on the weekends. I didn't think it would be too bad being alone since Trevor and Haley are a little older, almost 2 and 4. But it was rough. I am so glad to be back home with our family together.

Dad and Haley enjoying some time together.

Giving mom a few minutes alone: painting the house with water kept them busy!

In Flagstaff we played outside with the kids as much as we could. Here's a little hike we took by Birch's parents' house.

Conference weekend was amazing with four adults and two kids. I was able to listen and learn and understand answers to questions I had.

My sister Becca went to prom one weekend we were in Flag so Haley got to play dress-up. She was so sad when she couldn't go with her to the dance.

Trevor had his 4th birthday and all he wanted was brownies--easy!

These are his huge Superman muscles. :)

Your Least Favorite Topic: Housework

I'm not sure how many comments I'll get on this one, but I've been thinking about it, so we'll see. How do you keep your house clean? I've been in a few houses that always seem to be in order, even when I come over unannounced. Do these people clean all night after their kids are in bed? Does their husband love to help and do chores?

I've gone through different routines with our house. For a while I had a chore for every day: Mondays were laundry, Tuesdays were bathrooms, etc. But if one day got busy I usually didn't make up for it the next, so the chore waited for the next week. Ew. Then I switched and tried to do a big clean once a week, usually on Saturday. But I got burned out on that pretty fast.

Now I clean something every day but there's no schedule. I just look around and see what needs to be done and how much time I have that day. Today was a busy Tuesday so I just vacuumed. Yesterday I did laundry and swept/mopped the floor. What works for you?

And the other part: how do you teach your kids to work? For a while Trevor's job was to wipe off the kitchen table. Now I give him options as long as he does something every day. I probably should have some kind of chart to help me be more consistent but it hasn't happened yet. How do your kids (and husband) help at home?