Fantastic Four Year Old

Happy Birthday Eli! Eli turned four last week and it was an awesome day. I must say, it is so fun when your kid is old enough to understand birthdays, and get all excited for the "big day". I must be old, because I was way more excited for Eli's birthday then my own this year. Eli woke up early on his birthday, came into our room and tapped Blair on the shoulder (we were still asleep) and asked, "is it my birthday?" We took Eli and his cousins to Classic Skating. They had a blast on all the bouncing things. We also had a party with family that night. "Aunt" Tracy made Eli an awesome R2D2 cake (that was his request). And everyone spoiled him with lots of fun toys. Eli is an amazing kid, and I am lucky to be his mom.






Eli also "graduated" from preschool this week. He did a great job in the program. Here is a picture of Eli and his teacher.

LIVE RICH RACE

I wanted to let you all know that our LIVE RICH team was a huge success. The race was awesome. There were about 50 people who ran on our team in honor of Rich, including several who flew in from out of town to race. We raised about $30,000 for cancer research! How awesome is that? There are so many good people in this world. Thank you to everyone who donated.
Rich had planned to go to the race and be at the finish line to greet the LIVE RICH team, but unfortunately it was the night before the race that he went to the hospital with pneumonia. But saturday my whole family went straight up to the hospital after the race and we were able to tell Rich all about it. He was so excited to hear all the details. I really think he hung on for the race.
Rich was and is an inspiration to me and has taught me through his example what it means to "live rich."

Richard Kimball Lloyd 7/25/1972 - 4/25/2008

Richard Kimball Lloyd, a loving and gifted husband, father, brother, son, and friend returned to his Heavenly Father on Friday, April 25, 2008, after a courageous and inspiring battle with brain cancer. Rich was born July 25, l972, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Kimball and Elaine Lloyd. He graduated from Skyline High School and the University of Utah, where he gave his class commencement address in 1996. He met his sweetheart, Marianne Monson, on a study abroad program in Jerusalem in 1994. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on March 20, 1997, and were blessed with three wonderful sons, David (8), James (6), and Joshua (3). Shortly after their marriage, they moved to Boston, where Rich attended Harvard Business School. After graduating with honors in 1999, Rich and Marianne moved to Austin, Texas, where Rich worked for Dell. In 2006, Rich left his position as Director of Global Marketing at Dell to begin his dream job as President and Chief Operating Officer of Peruvian Connection in Tonganoxie, Kansas. Everywhere they lived, Rich and Marianne easily made life-long friends who have continued to love and support them throughout this difficult year. Rich certainly lived his own creed: "Life is about people, not about things." His recent battle with cancer taught us what it means to "Live Rich." Rich loved his service as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Trinidad and Tobago from 1991-1993. He was a dedicated member of the church throughout his life, serving as elders quorum president, early morning seminary teacher, and most recently, as a member of the High Council of the Lenexa, Kansas Stake. He cherished his time spent working with the youth of the church and was always a missionary and ambassador of the gospel. Rich was a talented pianist, often composing and arranging musical numbers that brought great joy and inspiration to many. His love of life and valiant testimony were reflected in his spirited music. Rich also loved sports and passed this passion on to his sons. One of his greatest joys was playing ball with his boys. He was an avid University of Utah fan, but also learned to love the Boston Red Sox, Texas Longhorns, and Kansas Jayhawks. Unquestionably, Rich's greatest passion in life was loving and serving his family and his Savior.

Easter Pics

I realize Easter was a few weeks ago, but I just finally got around to posting a few easter pictures of my kids. Luckily they have a good grandma who hooked them up with some cute easter outfits.



Jane has discovered the playground, it's a whole new world. She thinks going down the slide with her brother is the greatest thing ever. We can't wait for more sunny days!

Good Read

I just finished reading These is my Words by Nancy Turner and I definitely recommend it to anyone. It is easily the best book I've read this year. It is fiction, but is based on the author's family memoirs. It tells the story of Sarah Prine, in her own words, who lived in the Arizona territories in the late 1800's. I won't go into detail, just trust me, it's a good book. The book inspired me to:

1. Keep a journal, which is something I struggle with, but would like to do.
2. Read more good books and continually seek to educate myself.
3. Learn to shoot a rifle while riding a horse. Just kidding...but she is one tough chick.

Now I'm reading The Perfect Mile, recommended by my brother Nate (a runner). I'll let you know how it is.

Tagged

I learned something new this week. I learned that people in the blogging world play tag. Apparently, since I've been tagged, I am supposed to list six things about myself. So here goes, here are six things you may or may not already know about me.

1. I love the Utes. I was raised watching utah games, going to utah games, listening to utah games, talking about utah sports at the dinner table. I was a ball girl for the lady utes basketball team when I was in junior high. The only time I felt homesick on my mission was when I heard that my utes were playing in the final four of the big dance. Truly, I bleed red. When I married Blair he was a luke-warm Ute fan, I'm proud to say that he is now as passionate as I am about it.

2. I love March Madness. Last weekend (the first weekend of the ncaa tourney) might possibly be the best weekend of the year. Last thursday morning when Eli asked me what we were going to do that day I told him it was march madness, so we were just going to stay home and watch basketball all day long. He was a little confused.

3. I really like to read. My library card is one of my most prized possessions. I think I have passed this on to my son. Blair is worried that he is going to be a nerd like his mom.

4. Speaking of nerds, I also love sudoku.

5. My favorite food is ice cream. My very favorite ice cream in the world is from a gelateria called Ciccio's in Palermo, Italy.

6. Okay, I'm trying to think of something a little more obscure, something you might not already know about me. I passed out on the top of Mt. Sinai. When I woke up a Brazilian doctor was jabbering at me in portugese and offering me a cup of hot chocolate.

I am tagging all my work peeps, except you Jorae since you tagged me. Kim, Laura, Michelle and even you, Nanci - I'm tagging you.

Las Vegas

We had a relaxing and fun vacation in Las Vegas and St George this last weekend. It was so nice to just be outside in warm, sunny weather. Eli and his cousin Aidan had a blast riding bikes, playing at the park, flying kites, seeing dolphins and white tigers and "hot-tubbing." And although our Utes lost friday night to UNLV, they did win one more game then we thought they would. The sand dunes in snow canyon were a hit with Eli, Andrew and Owen, but Jane would not even touch the sand! Uh-oh, I hope I don't have a girly-girl on my hands.