So we forgot to write about one of the more anticipated milestones for Lily and Griff. Nursery! They started in March since that is when Lily turned 18 months. Luckily they let Griff go too.

This is their first little hand-out that they brought home. Don't worry they tried to eat most of the popcorn. It is so nice to actually go to Sunday school again. They have done really well. They don't even notice when I leave. I am 80% glad and 20% sad. But really I'm glad they don't put up a fuss about it. The only draw back is that we have 1:00 church and Griff isn't tired enough to take a nap before church, and it's too late to give him one after church, so he's quite ornery by the end of the night. Oh well.

It has been quite a while since I've been able to update the blog. School has taken up most of my free time so far this year, but I've finally got a little break. Speaking of school, I'll be taking a international trip with the school to China in the fall this year. I'm really looking forward to it, though it is still about 6 months away. We're visiting Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Those aren't my only travel plans for the year, though. In September I will be heading to Louisville, Kentucky with my dad. We are going to see the Ryder Cup tournament. This is by far my favorite golf event. We are heading out for the final day of play. Here's to the Americans getting the trophy back!







Zinger is the perfect captain for the Americans. This quote from CNN.com says it all: "What he's (Montgomery) done is amazing. Monty's become famous for it in the United States and he's never even won a major. Americans don't particularly like him but there's nothing wrong in being the villain. He's brought a lot of it on himself, of course. He probably won't ever win a major now, but I still want him in the European team because I want to show him what the taste of defeat is like."

Zinger trashes Faldo in the article, which I'm thrilled about. There is just nothing like the Ryder Cup.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/golf/04/06/golf.ryderrow/

In other news, the kids are doing very well. They talk quite a bit. Lily is really starting to learn a lot of words. Griff is a little behind her, but he did learn to say 'awesome' before she did. We didn't even try to teach him that. He just started saying it one day when he was watching this little helicopter toy that Grandpa Harker has. It is very cute.

They are crazy about climbing these days. They are relentless. They will climb couches, chairs, sub-woofers, ottomans, fire place mantels, and anything else that they can swing their little legs up to. It is crazy. They haven't taken any serious spills yet. We've got our fingers crossed.

Melissa is busy running the show at our place. She does it all. She's even started babysitting a few times a week for a couple of hours at a time. One of the women in our ward drops her 9 month old boy off so that she can get some things done that she needs to. Lily and Griff seem to like it. Even with all that Melissa keeps things running smoothly. She also got a new calling the ward as the Achievement Days leader to go along with her Enrichment Committee calling.

Since I posted about John Stockton and Deron Williams last time I thought I would throw in a couple of classic Karl Malone videos. It seems appropriate since the Jazz are about to bounce the Rockets from the playoffs... again. Melissa really likes the second video.

Our little sweetheart.

Griff cleans up pretty well.

Easter Sunday.

Griffy and Uncle Bill sharing a special Easter moment.

There are two reasons behind Lily's overwhelming happiness in this picture. The first is her hat. She loves it and she puts it on just about every morning. The other is Good Things Utah. She loves that show, particularly the theme song.

Griff is doing his best, but can't seem to find any eggs.

"Um, I found a basket, but it's empty. Can someone go get me one that actually has some candy in it."

Ol' baskethead's comin'.

The kids are really good helpers. Melissa was working on some laundry and the kids really wanted to do their part.

Grandma Harker with the kids.

Lookin' like a million bucks.

A purple little lady.

The post-nap hangover is always tough on Griff. Here he is waiting for us to bail him out of the crib.

Lily looking lovely on a Sunday afternoon.

Every once in a while we get a picture of her without red eye and it's possible to see how blue her eyes really are.

The Jazz are number 1!

Little silly-faced Griff.

Griff sat in Lily's chair. He suffered the consequences.

Griff tries to run away and hide and always ends up running himself into a corner.

Maddie and Thatch Merrick: rock stars in training.

I think they look pretty old in this picture.

Lily and her little baby doll. She's quite a little doll herself.

Just a couple of baseball fans chewing on a couple of baseballs.

Lily and Griff went on a tour of the Sweets candy factory. As you can see, it was a dream come true for them.

Extreme close-up! Whooooooaaaaa!

Griff kisses stuffed animals like crazy. He is a teddy-bear Casanova.

Lily and Griffin sittin' in a tree...

I like this picture because Griff is so happy.

" Welcome to our room. This is our lovely fan." Lily and Griff are very hospitable. They invited us in for a little St. Paddy's get-together.