May 31, 2015: Celebrating Vernon's 45th birthday

May 31st: We celebrated my little brother's 45th birthday a day early at Golden Corral on Central. Seems the only time we manage to get the Pitcher's, Babbitt's, and Hobbs' together is on Vernon's birthday and when other family members visit from out of town. Vernon enjoyed watching the little ones run around and loved having a birthday celebration. 

Our sister, Jacqueline Babbitt, bought a cupcake cake and lit the candles

Vernon got this cool Superman t-shirt from Jacquie
Blowing out candles never gets old

The Dunlap's joined us for the occasion

Jess made Vernon a card and gave him some cash to spend
Here, he's checking out the i-Pad that we gave him

Sam and Kiley also joined us for the food and fun 

Jacquie liked the i-Pad too!

Our little Kiley is 3 months pregnant with baby #2!

May 23-25, 2015: Memorial Day weekend

May 23rd: Mike wanted to see if his 11-year scouts could handle Cabezon Peak for one of their adventures, so he and I decided to climb the peak again. We did it last year on Memorial Day for the first time and never made it to the very top. This time, we summited the peak!

The steepness, elevation, and loose rocks everywhere made the climb difficult

And these obstacles caused charlie horses in my thigh and calf muscles! 

Some of the drop-offs were darn right dangerous and scary

Bright cactus flowers growing in rock cracks

The views were still beautiful on this cloudy day
It rained and hailed on us on the way up! 

Making it to the TOP of Cabezon Peak was thrilling,
but I told Mike this wasn't something to take 11-year olds on

May 24th: Our friends, Jennifer and Mike Park, came over for dinner along with our ward's full-time missionaries. The Park's brought over some yummy appetizers from Trader Joe's, including a fancy cheese and crispy bread, chocolate mints, and red grapes. Our dinner consisted of baby carrots, sautéed vegetables (peppers, onions, and mushrooms), and steaks. We're breaking the Park's into playing card games with us!

Elders Howe and Gulbransen--a great pair of missionaries

May 25th: On Memorial Day, Mike and I spent the whole day picking, washing, pitting, and canning cherries before the birds eat them all! Instead of freezing the cherries like we did last year, we made cherry preserves for the first time. It was rather easy, but some of the batches turned out really thick and un-spreadable! I gave several little jars away and hope they're better than the ones I opened...

Did I mention, I LOVE this man?!

Mike went out and bought more pint sized canning jars and pectin for me

Fresh cherries chopped in the food processor and cooked in an iron pot 

April-May 2015: The birth of Hannah Grace Dunlap!

Mike went to lunch with a work group at Sandia friends and celebrated Brandon Eam's 40th birthday at the old Route 66 Diner in April. Brandon and Natalie Eams are friends from our previous ward (Cherry Hills), and Brandon is a good friend of Mike's and Rob Sorensen. They also ride bikes together to and from work. The Eams are an awesome couple who are raising wonderful children.

In February this year, I tested positive for H-pylori, a bacteria that lives in the lining of the stomach and can cause acid reflux (heartburn), abdominal pain, and stomach ulcers. Back in August of 2013, I had my gall bladder removed needlessly. My abdominal pain returned and actually got worse over time.

I was treated for the H-pylori infection with 3 types of medication (for two weeks) in March, and in April I had an endoscopy. I was happy to learn that the H-pylori was gone and that I was finally on the mend after years of pain and discomfort.

Me at Southwest Gastroenterology on April 22nd being prepped for an endoscopy

Sweet little Joey asleep on the sofa at our house on April 27th
while I babysat him during Kiley's UNM classes that day

I discovered that Joey LOVES Grandma's fried rice. He ate 3 servings!
He's also learning how to use a fork and a spoon 

That evening, our good friends, Jennifer and Mike Park, joined us
for dinner. They are a couple that Mike and I home teach each month.

We had tri-tip steak, roasted veggies, rolls, a green salad, and fresh berries

On May 15th, Jessica and Sebastian welcomed their third child and first daughter (two weeks before her due date) to their family! Mike and I had Hudson and Beau with us from the night before, when Jessica was admitted to the hospital. We took them see their new baby sister just hours after she arrived. Jessica was beaming, and the boys were so sweet and loving with their baby sister. It took six days for Jessica to choose a name for her baby: Hannah Grace Dunlap. She weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and was 19 inches long. It's so fun to have another granddaughter in our family now!

Jessica is happy and relieved to have her daughter here!

What a sweet little face

Look how tiny she is!

Beau in his new Thomas the Train p.j.'s and fishing hat (from Costco)
It's hard to believe he's not the baby of the family anymore

I LOVE these priceless photos and the smile on Beau's face--It was love at first sight!

Beau and Hudson holding their baby sister. Hudson's also wearing 
a fishing hat (see the sharks on the rim?) and his super hero p.j.'s

Goodnight sweet baby

Saturday, May 16th: The boys had fun playing in the tub the following morning

After the boys' baths and breakfast, I took them to the temple grounds to play
near the fountain. It was colder out than we'd anticipated, so we left soon after.
Beau kept making super hero or ninja moves, and some were pretty funny!

Beau loved vacuuming my garage floor even though the hose was heavy and hard to push
He wouldn't let me turn the wet-vac off or put it away, and he threw a fit when I finally did!

Monday, May 18th: Eating pancakes and sausage for breakfast

Cousin Joey was dropped off while his mommy attended classes at UNM

More ninja moves from Beau!

Hannah Grace's first time at Grandma and Grandpa's house 

Hannah in her own home

She looks completely different with her eyes wide open and her lips pursed!

Beau LOVES his baby sister and gives her kisses

Hannah really looks like her daddy--especially her chin, lips, and eyes