April 7th & 8th

The day before my birthday was a free childcare day for our moms group at church, so a group of my friends all got together for coffee at the mall. We always look forward to "free day" because many of us don't get regular breaks from our kids to run errands or hang out with friends. I was honored that they chose to spend their kid-free two hours with me that day. (: It was so nice to sit & chat & relax!

Becca, Me, Hillary, Kelly, Beth, Lindsey, Sydney & baby Jumi

By the time my actual birthday came around I felt like I had already done a lot of celebrating! (: But, I still had a big day ahead. In the morning Griffin and I got to help in Ronan's classroom with egg decorating. Ronan was very excited to have us there and made sure to tell his teacher and all his friends that it was my birthday. (:

Miss Julie is teaching the kids how to tell the difference between a raw egg and a hard boiled one. I'm not sure how the dinosaurs were related to that. (:
Griffin wanted to right in the center of the egg dying action.


When Griffin and I left the classroom we had about an hour before we needed to pick up Ronan, so we met my friend Kelly and her son Eli at Perk n Play (cute little coffee shop with toys for kids to play with). Later that evening Josh's mom watched the boys so we could go out to dinner with our friends Jill & Eric. We went to Sushiya because of their amazing birthday deal ($20 off of your bill on your B-day!)...and I enjoyed every bit of it!

Josh is good at encouraging me to eat new things, and I'm so glad that I was brave enough to try sushi with him a few years ago. It has definitely become one of our favorite types of food!

I always love the presentation!

After dinner we drove around and decided to go to some stores to look at home decor and idea books since we didn't have the kiddos with us. We went to Pottery Barn, Borders, Pier One, and Bed Bath & Beyond--and actually got to take our time shopping around and discussing our plans & ideas. We forget how nice it is to have that time for just the two of us!

A few pictures with my boys before they went to bed.

Family Party

We celebrated my Birthday a few days early with my family on Sunday, April 5th...everyone gathered at my parent's house after church for lunch. My mom and Josh collaborated and made all of the fixin's for Yumm bowls (like at Cafe Yumm for the non-Oregonians). It's a favorite for most of my family. (:

Enjoying my Yumm bowl

For dessert Josh made a butterscotch cheesecake! It was SO delicious! I love cheesecake, so Josh learned how to make it a few years ago and has made it each year for my Birthday ever since. (:

We had gorgeous weather that day! It felt great to sit outside in the warm sun, surrounded by my family. I got some new spring clothes and gift certificates...I felt very loved & spoiled. My boys were being extra cuddly and sweet, which is always nice. (:

Me with my my sisters

Skating Party

April 3, 2009~ We were invited to a Skate World birthday party for Meaghan (one of Ronan & Sadie's friends) and boy did it bring back memories from childhood! The elementary school that Becca and I went to always had end-of-the-year skate parties, so we thought we were pretty good skaters back then. (: We got a kick out of seeing our kids watching out for each other & figuring out how to skate. Ronan had been skating once before when he was only two, so this was his first time to really try to skate on his own. I loved watching him with his cousins as they hugged the wall around the skate rink. I think he only made it around two times, but he was so proud of himself and felt like he was really skating. (: One cool think about Skate World is they allow strollers on the rink, so Becca and I were able to take Cohen and Griffin for rides too.

Sadie with the birthday girl.

All laced up and ready to go! Tyler got to try roller blades!

Slowly but surely making it around together. (:

Griffin enjoying the ride. (:

Before we left Sadie and Tyler each took turns strolling Griffin around.

Discovery Village

Katrina had an extra week off for Spring Break so we made plans to do something fun together with our boys since Ronan is only in school 2 days a week. She needed to turn in a portfolio for work at Willamette University in Salem, so we thought it would be a good excuse to take the kids to the AC Gilbert Discovery Village while we were there. It is a fun little interactive museum with lots of activities for kids of all ages. We packed lunches and ate in the picnic area which also has a gigantic play structure. It was a great place for our busy boys to exert some energy! Katrina and I were wiped out by the end, too! (:

Ronan crawling through a giant mouth. Fun stuff! (:
Finley checking out the triceratop chair.
Ronan in a dinosaur nest (:

The dinosaur room was a big hit with all three boys.

Outline of Katrina's 8 month-pregnant belly in the shadow room. (:

Magnet Wall

Lunch Time

Quick picture with my boys before leaving. Everyone napped on the way home (except me-the driver). It was such a fun day!

Happy 60th, Retirement, and Graduation!!!

On Sunday, March 29th, there was a big party for Josh's dad to celebrate some exciting events that have happened recently in his life. A few years ago he decided to make a career change and he went to school to become a hospital chaplain. After graduating he was offered a position at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene, which allowed him to retire from his job of 29 years! Everything has come together in an amazing way and we are so proud of him for his hard work & dedication in achieving this goal! He also turned 60 years old in March, which added to the list of reasons to party! (: Grammie and Grandpa Lermo reserved the community room at their apartment complex, which worked out great because the room was filled with family and friends for the party. It was a very happy occasion!

Our boys were most excited about the cakes!! (:

Amy put together this display board with fun pictures of Dad through the years.

There was a picture taken just like this on Mom & Dad's wedding day almost 39 years ago!. (:

Four generations of Ruddick men.

Ethan and Ronan playing together.

This walker was given to Dad as a gag-gift from his friend, Brian. (: The kids had fun playing with it.