May Day!

Happy May Day! Although around here it felt more like Christmas! It was snowing most of the day (after 80 degrees yesterday) so it left a nice covering on the grass and slush in the road. But most of it is gone already!
I don't have any pics to post, but thought I'd blog about our crazy Colorado weather.
I also had an interesting professional day. I took the afternoon off to go to a "Multiple Pathways to Graduation" (dropout prevention)seminar downtown. After enjoying a lunch at Olive Garden with Jon, I was dropped off at the Light Rail station to take the train (cheaper than driving given the cost of gas and parking!). I was pleasantly surprised upon arriving at the seminar to see the opening speech being given by Colorado's Governor Bill Ritter. I'm not a Democrat but voted for him anyway since he is a champion for public education and pro-life! After several engaging and though-provoking speeches by various professionals in the community, the session closed with a speech by Denver's Mayor Hickenlooper. So I heard two politicians in one afternoon, all in a small conference area. And all free! With no political agendas being pushed! Unheard of these days!
The train ride home was also interesting, as it was packed with commuters but was virtually silent as they sat and read, did business on laptops, etc.
Our family squeezed in a quick dinner together before I dashed back to school to attend 8th grade parent night. So today I accrued 8 more hours towards my 100 hours of practicum...I'm well on the way on my path to graduation.
Tomorrow I will accompany our senior class to Dave and Buster's and the Zoo, which will hopefully be warmer than it was today. Then I get the pleasure of chaperoning prom from 10-12 Saturday night, so it's a working weekend. I'm sure I'll have some good pics to post of those soon. Stay tuned...

When Daddy's Away...

...Mom and Eli Play!
This weekend while Jon was in Arizona and Vegas for work, Eli and I kept busy. Friday night we went to our friends' the Durbins for a home group dinner. Saturday morning began with a bike ride to the park, where we met with Key Club kids from Vista to help with Battle of the Bands. After a good time there, we headed back UPHILL (causing me to realize how out of shape I am!) to go to Caleb's birthday party. There we had a great time with lots of friends from Church, but unfortunately I forgot my camera.
After a nap, we headed to DU to take in the Sesame Street Live show: Elmo Grows Up! Eli really enjoyed his first (hopefully of many)stage show.
As if that were not enough to exhaust us, we started again Sunday after church with Taylor's 4th birthday party. It was held at the House of Bounce, so kids young and old loved the exercise and had plenty of "floor burns" to prove it!
After a quick nap, we were off again, this time to celebrate a Passover Seder at our neighbor's mother's home in Denver. It was so kind of them to invite us, and we learned some more about the Jewish culture while enjoying a delicious meal.
After all that, we were ready for Dad to come home! Thankfully he returned safely late Sunday night after a long drive. Good thing we don't have weekends like this every week!

Sacramental Weekend

No, I didn't write "Sacramento" weekend...never been to California aside from a layover in LA once. But I hope to visit that fine state some day.
This weekend was a joyous one, filled with the celebrations of a dear friend's wedding and another beloved's baptism and birthday party.
Friday night we enjoyed a lovely rehearsal and luau-themed meal at church. Following the festivities, I (Whitney) joined Jon and Eli for the basketball coach/family end-of-season party. I hear that Eli was quite the "groom" for the girls, so I'm excited to see those pics.
Saturday was devoted to fulfilling my duties as the bride's "personal attendant", which was rewarding but exhausting! Laura looked so radiant and had a beautiful wedding. I'm so delighted that the former "Miss Cross" (me) was able to be a part of the new "Mrs. Cross" (Laura). I'm convinced we're related, we just need to find it officially in our family trees.
On Sunday we were blessed to be a part of our friends' the Brookfields celebration of their daughter Kylie's baptism. Jon was honored to serve as Kylie's Godfather. The beautiful ceremony was in the family's UM church, which is the same denomination to which Whitney still technically belongs. After the service, we joined others at Kylie's house to enjoy brunch in honor of her baptism and first birthday!
Now we are exhausted after an eventful weekend (which also included Jon's attending the Rockies 2nd home game) but grateful for this beautiful life with such amazing friends!

Happy Easter!

We were blessed with another beautiful Easter celebration! Although the weather was a bit chilly in the morning (25 and about an inch of snow!) it was almost 60 by the time we returned from a glorious resurrection worship service. This morning, Eli awoke to find that the Easter bunny left him a basket of toys. His favorite was the red ball he'd requested. After his nap, he went outside to find that the "Grandparents" Easter Bunny had also visited, and had hidden lots of eggs, candy, and toys in our yard. His favorite (besides the bubbles) is the giant Tonka dump truck.
We had a great time coloring eggs yesterday, Eli is becoming a pro at naming the colors (even in Spanish like Dora, Diego, and Mommy!).
The grandparent bunnies are also dental-hygiene-conscious, so Eli also received a new toothbrush and toothpaste to make sure he doesn't get any "tooth owies" from all the candy!
What a delightful day. Off to work tomorrow after a productive Spring break for Whitney! Soon we will have summer adventures to report.

Family Fun

Since we've entered the world of blogging, not much has changed with us. We still have our house on the market, which means lots of cleaning and leaving for showings (and no-shows who leave us quite frustrated!). Eli likes to "help" with our efforts with his own pint-sized vacuum.
We recently found a new hobby after a friend gave us a Play Station: Guitar Hero.(Even though Jon got kicked out of band for lacking rhythm, he's still pretty good at the game!). Therefore, Eli needed his own "tar", so we found him a Backyardigans one which he absolutely loves. Mommy also found him a cute t-shirt to remind everyone of what a cool Daddy Jon is!
Dining out with a kiddo is always an adventure, but more fun with other kids around. So we spend a lot of time with our friends Max and Zoe and their parents. This weekend we ate at CiCi's pizza (one of Mommy's all time favorites) and got to play in their game room for a while after dinner.
Eli is looking forward to the Easter Bunny's visit, and dropped several hints about his favorite candy and toys today at the grocery. Hopefully Peter Cottontail will not be coming in snow again this year, although we are expecting up to a foot of snow tonight and tomorrow...perhaps some snow pics will follow!

Entering the world of blogs

Here we are!
First it was Myspace, then Facebook...now BLOGSPOT!
We have arrived...that calls for celebration. Right after I get done watching Bob the Builder, that is! TTFN!
Don't have any recent pics uploaded...this was a few months ago.
Caption it "Eli is tickled pink to be in the blogging world"!