A spring concert.

We were lucky enough to attend the most fabulous spring music concert last weekend.  Simone and her friends from the YMCA daycare put on a top-notch performance.  Simone's class stated with the Color Song, then went into Little Bunny Foo Foo and ended the concert with I Love My Little Dinosaur Pet (sung to the tune of I Love My Little Calendar Girl).  Simone kept telling us that she was nervous, but when the songs started she was up there singing and dancing and didn't skip a beat.  Jameson noticed that "Simone knew every word to all of the songs".  My personal favorite was the little hand on the hip dance move that she perfected.  Simone was lucky enough to have a large fan base: Dad, Mom, Cullen, Tracy, Jameson and Quinn.  And she made her fans very proud.

Lucky 7.

I feel like we write the same post every year.  Time flies when you are having fun!  Cullen is now 7 years old!  We've had 7 of the greatest years navigating parenthood with this great kid.  Cullen is sporty, smart, sweet, empathetic, caring, energetic, imaginative and cool.  We are biased, but he's an absolutely awesome kid and we are lucky to be his parents.

We celebrated his birthday with a burger BBQ with the Swanson family.  The next day, he hosted 10 friends at South Lanes bowling center for pizza and pins.  The highlight may have actually been the mustaches and the crane "try to win a stuffed animal" game.  The boys loved anything competitive and had a blast.

Happy 7th birthday Cullen!

Paradisus

In February, we experienced Paridisus.  The Swanson family was lucky enough to take a trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  The resort where we stayed was the perfect blend of relaxation and family fun.  The kids learned the value of a swim-up-bar.  The vacation almost started out on the wrong foot when we found toy guns that Cullen had stashed in the carry on.  After the gun was discarded, the vacation commenced!  Cullen and Simone did great on the flights and when we arrived at the resort, their sights were set on the pool.  The resort offered a personal concierge to make dinner reservations and most importantly, put personal touches in our hotel room.  After returning to our room from the pool or beach, Allan (the concierge) would fill the tub with bubbles and balloons.  Cullen and Simone were in heaven.  Paradisus Esmeralda also hosted a waterslide and three pools.  Every afternoon, there were nachos and cotton candy next to the pool.  Cullen ate so many, we thought he would turn orange.  Simone was partial to the cotton candy machine.   Overall, Dirk and I were able to relax by the pool with some fruity cocktails and just enjoy being with the kids.  Sure, there were moments when the kids were crabby (see the photo of Cullen at Xcaret).  But overall, we had a great time.  Truly relaxing.