Mica Graduated!

Well folks...she did it. She really did it. The baby of the family has graduated from high school. The final CHS cougar is laid to rest. What a great night it was.

There were no tears of joy or sadness. I totally expected some tears or a great display of emotion from my parents - this is their baby after all! But, alas, there were none. Mom was excited, happy and busy throwing a party for Mica immediately after the ceremony. And Dad was Dad - taking pictures and tired from a long day of work as usual.

Mica got to sing in a musical number during the ceremony. She did great! We could hear her beautiful "oooh"s all the way up the stadium bleachers. It was the best song of the evening I might add.

The best part of the night was when the announcer called out her name..."MICAH DURAN" he said. Micah? Who is Micah? Her name is MICA (mee-kuh). Deurh! Oh well. We know who she is and that's all that matters, right?

Tonight was also another special occasion - it was Marcos and Melody's 2nd wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary guys! Two years ago when they got married Mica had to spend her birthday doing wedding stuff for these guys. And now, two years later, she's taking her revenge and making them spend their special day at her graduation. It's funny how things work out isn't it?

It was a nice night spending time with family, making memories and reliving memories for those of us that graduated in the same stadium years ago...
Congrats Mica! You're a high school grad! Can anyone sing the CHS fight song?

Book Club with the Ladies

Book Club was at our house this last week. I love to host the ladies.* They all come happy and ready for a nice evening out. The food was delicious (complete with baklava for dessert to go with our Middle Eastern theme), the conversation wholesome yet entertaining, and we all left feeling renewed and ready to appreciate life a little more.

*Special thanks to my most awesome super-amazing husband that helped with the set-up, clean-up and kid care without complaint. What a great guy... thanks babe, you rock.

Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families by Andrew Carroll was our title this month. I have to admit that I did not get through the entire book - not even the first section. It wasn't for lack of interest - I just never made time to sit down and read this month - sad excuse, I know. The whole book is narratives of those that have served in the military and some of their family members' experiences. The few stories I read were very real and gave a great perspective for what our U.S. troops must endure in service for our country. It is not pro or anti-war as both sides are represented but not pushed upon the reader. And I'm told that it contains some graphic scenes and hard language - obviously, this is what to expect with war. I do recommend this book to adults.



All the book club ladies that read this book gave it a thumbs up. They all agreed that it gave them a greater appreciation for our troops and for those loved ones they hold dear.

Dad Turns 60!

Watching your father turn 60 is an interesting experience. Maybe because it makes you realize that you are getting older also.

Maybe its because you view your father through the years as being one of those constants, always there for you and with you.

Maybe its because you realize that life has seasons that we each must pass throughout the whole experience.
Or maybe its because you just never picture yourself or your parents growing older. In any event, Dad is hitting one of those milestones in life, the big 6-0.


Watching my parents go through their 40's and 50's makes me realize how much fun the future holds for Jennifer and I.

It also makes me realize that the way I viewed aging as a younger man is not true, because while he is turning 60, he very much seems the same to me as he did when I was growing up, steady shoulders that are always ready to have a good time.


In any event, we celebrated my Dad's 60th b-day this weekend by inviting a big group of his friends and family over for a surprise party.

My nephew Zach took my Dad to see Iron Man under the guise of celebrating a recent award he won at school. I don't know how my Dad didn't find out about the party with all 13 grandkids knowing about it and apparently not saying anything, but Dad was totally surprised. It was great to see a lot of familiar faces that I have not seen for a number of years, a little blast to the past.

It was great to watch him and my Mom spend time with friends and family that they have built such good relationships with over the years. It was also great to have all the Ward Family in town. 15 grandkids presently between the five children and Kelly and Julio are just weeks away from their first...


That means that craziness is the norm when we all get together. But, that's OK, we wouldn't have it any other way.

A belated thank you...

Mother's Day was almost a month ago, I know, but I keep scrolling through our May pictures and always stop on the ones from that day. It was a good day - a great day. Jeremy always pampers like no other and wins the prize for the best breakfasts of all time. It is never served on a plate. It comes on a PLATTER beacause there's not enough room for everything he fixes.

So the day begins with a gut-busting delicious breakfast in bed and presents from the whole family. Trevor and Logan made sweet gifts in their classes at school and take such pride in their cards they spent hours coloring. Those are always my favorite. Jeremy gave me a flowers, a corsage, heartfelt card, gift certificate to the spa, 2 new pairs of shoes, 2 tops and $ for a new headboard. Was it Christmas or Mother's Day? I can never really tell... Thank you, thank you, thank you family - I felt so loved.

We got to spend the day with my 2 favorite mothers. Mother-in-law Karen.

And my mom, Elizabeth.

There are not enough words to express how I feel about these awesome women. I am so blessed to have you both. Thank you for being you. Love you mamas.

E-L-I-Z-A-B-E-T-H

She did this all on her own. There was no help involved - I promise. We were sitting in church, she was coloring this picture quietly, then a few minutes later she says, "Look mommy, I wrote my name!" And by golly - she did! (It's kind of hard to see, but her name is faintly written across the top of the page.) This is the first time she's ever written her whole name all by herself. There are a lot of letters in that name too. At first I was skeptical that she'd actually done it on her own, but after I looked at it for awhile I realized that it was for real. My favorite is the lowercase letter "i". Here's a small picture of it...

I don't know if you can see, but she took some time making a beautiful dot on top.

I just love those proud moments as a parent. The small ones are always the best.

Look who's here!

Cousin Tyler is here this weekend! Jackson and Tyler were so cute this morning hanging out in their pjs and drinking from their sippy cups.

Tyler and our Jackson are so much alike - they are only a couple months apart and of course display the same characteristics for their age. They both babble what sounds like words, they scream when a toy is taken from them, they LOVE to push around the trucks outside, and they both refuse to look at the camera at the same time. These are the best pictures I could get! Love to you cute boys.

Logan's Indiana Jones Party

She's a Joy School Grad!

Lizzie had a small graduation celebration last Friday for completing a whole year of Joy School! She and her 3 classmates looked so cute in their caps. They really were so cute it was hard not to pinch their cheeks off. The whole time we were there I kept replaying in my mind the quote from Mr. Incredible... it's the scene where he's arguing with his wife about attending a 5th grade promotion ceremony... he says, "Why do they have to keep inventing ways to celebrate their mediocrity?" That's kind of what it felt like - celebrating their mediocrity. Did they really accomplish something great? The answer is no, not really. But it is still fun to get them dressed up and celebrate the END of something. So I say, "Yay for Lizzie! You go girl! You finished a year of Joy School and get to do it all over again next year!"

The Day of Logan

Happy Birthday Logie Man!

Logan woke early this morning to a pile of presents and a yummy breakfast of toaster scramblers. He tore through his gifts, taking only a moment to look at each one then tossing it aside to rip open the next one. Daddy bought him a super cool hydrating backpack with a built in water pouch. Logan thought it was cool, but Daddy was was even more stoked! Now he has a backpacking partner for sure. Logan put down 4 toaster scramblers (these are like breakfast pop tarts, but made with bacon, egg and cheese for our non-sweet eater) and a plateful hashbrowns.

The celebrations will continue today with a cupcakes and cheez-its for his class, a movie (Indiana Jones baby!) after school, dinner at Burger King (for the Indiana Jones toys, of course), then one more party this weekend.

It's hard to believe that our Logan is 7 years old today. Man that sounds old! He's such a good boy - always trying hard to please and tease. Have a great day Logie Man.

Cajun Chicken with Citrus Salsa

Ok guys, you are going to love this recipe. I got this recipe from my friend, Heather, over a year ago and finally had the guts to try it. It's so hard to try something new sometimes! I've made it 3 times in the last month. We're having it again for dinner tonight! I think the salsa the best part and totally makes the dish.

Here's the recipe:

Cajun Chicken with Citrus Salsa

3 Tbs Cajun seasoning
¾ tsp onion powder
1/8 black pepper
1/8 red pepper flakes (The cajun seasoning I have is spicy enough for my family so I usually don't add the red pepper flakes.)
4 chicken breasts

11 ounce can chopped mandarin oranges
8 ounce can crushed pineapple
2 tbs lime juice
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 tbs chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper

For chicken:

Combine Cajun seasoning, onion powder, black pepper and red pepper in a shallow dish. Rub seasoning over chicken breasts. Grill or cook in a nonstick skillet.

For Salsa:
In a bowl, combine mandarin oranges, pineapple, lime juice, jalepenos, cilantro and Salt and Pepper. Serve salsa with chicken and rice.