Jesus Loves Me This I Know...

One of the exciting things for me about being in a new house is discovering all of the plants that spring up unexpectedly. The other day as I was coming back to the house from getting the mail, my eyes fell upon this wonderful surprise-a peony plant! I think peonies capture everything beautiful about being a flower: incredible scent, vibrant color, soft delicate petals and an intricate pattern. Anyway, this may not thrill anyone else, but I was excited and considered it a kiss from my Father.

A Cycling Surprise

Ramin got quite a surprise as he was riding his bike down Left Hand Canyon on Thursday afternoon. He felt a smack on his shoulder, stopped, and when he went back to discover what it was that had hit him, it was this beautiful butterfly. She was injured from the contact, so Ramin brought her home so that we could nurse her back to health (and surprise Isaiah). She ended up being too hurt to make it, but we enjoyed looking at and feeding her while she was alive.

Ramin made her a pretty little habitat in this vase.

So Beautiful!

When we released her, she fluttered onto Isaiah's shirt. He couldn't have been more pleased :)

Isaiah, "Hooper" and Daddy

Rest in Peace little Hooper.

Y-M-C-A

Isaiah just finished 3 weeks of swim lessons at the YMCA and we are proud of our little swimmer! His first day he wasn't sure about being there at all, but by the end of the session he was a little fish, participating every time and really feeling more comfortable in the water. Summer, here we come!

Here he is on the wall doing "ice cream scoops"

Our happy little swimmer! He was really excited about the goggles :)

Kicking

Bobbing up and down

Doing scoops and kicking with the teacher in the background. Nice tongue :)

Happy Birthday Mapleton Montessori School!

Recently Isaiah's school, Mapleton Montessori, celebrated it's 31st birthday and all of the kids and parents were invited to come to a picnic and carnival. We had a great evening with all of Isaiah's friends, their parents and his teachers. Here are some photos from the evening...

Isaiah and some friends at the paint twirling table.

Isaiah's turn

Isaiah and his favorite school buddy

In the sandbox...his favorite place!

Wide view of the sand box

Ramin brought our grill and served up 100s of Hebrew National hotdogs, italian sausages, bratwurst, turkey dogs and the obligatory vegan based tofu dog (he was compelled to bring the grill when he heard that the meat was being prepared and served in crock pots).

Isaiah playing the bean bag toss game...a bit in front of the line :)

The fishy prize Isaiah chose after "winning" the bean bag toss.

Very carefully waiting while his face is painted like a green sea monster.

And there he is...the sea monster...scary!

A Hiking We Will Go

After the hike where we found Hooper the Butterfly, Isaiah was excited to go again, so the next day we got ready and headed back to the Boulder Creek Trail to see what we could find. We had a fun time exploring and though we didn't find another butterfly, we did find "Hooper" the caterpillar.

Hey Mama, I'm ready!

On a cool bridge that took us to the trail

On the trail and frustrated at Mommy for stopping to take such pictures

On a rock by Boulder Creek (he was excited because the rocks looked like a snake habitat-not my favorite thought)

Under a tree whose roots were large and above ground.

The silken tent of the Western Tent Caterpillar-the eggs hatch in there and the little caterpillars crawl out to eat and then become moths.

Of course we took one home with us :)

Sonny and some cool rocks

Hooper the Butterfly

IJ is fascinated with "pets" these days and is always on the look out for his next "Hooper" (the name affectionately assigned to every living creature that comes into his care). The latest and greatest of these was (yeah, the little butterfly didn't fare so well with incessant wing grabbing) Hooper the Butterfly. We found him on the Boulder Creek Trail on our rapid return to the car after Isaiah picked up a dead bird (sink. soap.quick). Anyway, Hooper came home with us and this video captures the in home release of our little winged friend.

This second video is of IJ and Hooper having a "play date" (a.k.a. Hooper fighting for life). Oh, and just incase you were worried that we'd subject another living thing to this sort of pet ownership, rest at ease. There will be no pets at the Razavi home for awhile.

Pure Loveliness

On Friday my girlfriends threw a party for me and although I didn't capture the best of pictures, I had to post these snapshots just to acknowledge their loveliness. The time was filled with wonderful conversation and a time of encouragement for me, which lit up my heart and made me overflow with gratitude for these women in my life. It is truly a rare and beautiful thing to be surrounded and supported by such true and authentic women and I couldn't be more thankful.

Lisa, Betsy, Judith and Lisa S.

Shauna, Rachel, Ally, Carol, Corrie and Lisa

Aubrey, Meggan and Shauna

Cassidy and Shauna L.

Jill and Me

Shauna L. and Betsy

"Sonny, Your Hair Looks Good Today..."

And to that compliment he replied, "Yeah Mommy, it's all combed up."

Saturday morning was one of those glorious mornings when we woke up realizing that we had nothing on the calendar. In honor of our free day, we all went to the Original House of Pancakes for a delicious stack and some time together. The hair was one of the best parts of the morning (it often ends up being one of our favorite parts of the day).

My Birthday Dinner

Ramin, Isaiah and I celebrated my 32nd birthday at West End Tavern this year. The mac and cheese served in a frisbee with an American flag stuck in the middle was the main reason why. Who can resist that? We had a great time together.

Isaiah, showing off his big lips. He thinks it's really funny that he and Daddy can do this and I can't (my lips are too skinny).

A big lip smooch!

show offs.

There's a sweet smile

IJ and Charlie the purple engine

Strawberry shortcake...YUM!

Us.

Sonny nearly ate the entire dessert himself.

They forgot to put a candle in the first dessert, so they brought a second. Very kind. Someone was NOT sad to have a second dessert delivered.

Sucking down dessert number two-a tiny vanilla milkshake.

Me and my Sonny

Cold Days In May...

...call for trips to the cozy Book End for coffee and hot cocoa.

cocoa mustache

mmmmm...coffee

Sonny being Sonny

yummy

a satisfied kiddo with a warm tummy.