the Graduate!

[ the graduate ]

[ me and my baby ]

[ the graduate with mom and pops ]

[ the graduate and sisters ]
By the way, my baby sister Katie is pregnant!!! She's 16 weeks along!

[ side shot ]

[ convocation in the Hart building ]

[ receiving my BYU-Idaho diploma ]

[ my beautiful family, how I love them so. ]

[ So glad my husband caught this candid shot, this is the perfect representation of how I felt. ]

Well folks, I graduated!
My husband, little Charlie, my parents, Leanna, Ernesto, Azaliea, Jeremy and Katie came up to Rexburg to show their support. Commencement was in the new BYU-Idaho Center and it was quite the experience. President Kim B. Clark presided and shared a short talk to the graduates. I was so overwhelmed with emotions during that commencement ceremony.
Tears were in my eyes the entire time as I listened to the
beautiful musical numbers and the talks.

The most important thing I took away from graduation was the confirmation that God loves me. I felt His love the entire time and it lingered with me the rest of the night. I felt so special.

I am so grateful for the family and friends that helped me get to this point.
I am grateful for the many prayers that have been answered this last year.
I am so grateful for my husband who was the most supportive person in this process.
Lastly, I am grateful for my Mom going back to college with 5 kids(3 teenagers, 1 in middle school and 1 in elementary school), you are my greatest example!

class of 2011

I can't believe this is really happening! My husband and I are graduating very soon!
Luckily we are graduating within a month of each other and could
send one announcement out to all our family and close friends.
That probably saved us a few bucks.
My family is coming up to Idaho for my graduation this Friday and
Charlie's family will come for his graduation in August.
I can't wait to see everyone!

Family pictures at Lake Norconian

My talented cousin Lyndzee, of EPlove took our family photos at the beautiful Lake Norconian.
Many people don't know about this lake and resort nestled in Norco because it is now a prison and naval weapons base! Who would have thought?!
It was a glamorous resort for movie stars in the late 1920s and you can check out this site for more details. It was truly breathtaking.

When Charlie and I first got engaged I had a crazy idea about having my reception in the pavilion located right behind this last picture. We would have row boats available at the boat house but then I found out it would be impossible to get 300+ guests through the gates without background checks and i.d's! Believe me, I looked into it.
Luckily my older brother Luke is in the air force and was able to work his magic for our family to get in for family pictures. Plus it was Father's day so they were extra nice to us!

the carousel

Little Charlie loved, loved, loved the carousel.
There's something about rides that go around in circles that just get to him.
He also loved dumbo, casey jr., little mermaid ride, pirates and the tiki room.

Disneyland

Little Charlie with his Grandpa Greg

fun in the tiki room with my sissies!

we had to eat at pizza port... it's tradition!

We spent 3 days at Disneyland and California Adventure.
Little Charlie was such a good boy for us. He loved going on rides that went in circles like dumbo and the carousel. He stayed pretty quiet on the other rides and just watched his cousin Azaliea go crazy with excitement. He's just a mellow kid, which I love.
Little Charlie loved eating the pineapple whip by the tiki room and drinking cold water from my water bottle. He took a nap right at 12:00 and woke up around 2:00 which gave me and my husband time to go on rides together.
We had such a great time and I think little Charlie enjoyed getting to know his cousins more.

that family of mine...

became one of those families that wear matching shirts to Disneyland!
But really, they were awesome shirts that Ernesto designed and it helped spotting the family amongst the thousands at the park. Soon, we were comparing our shirts to other family reunion shirts and felt pretty confident that we had the best design!! One of my favorite parts of our trip was getting little Charlie's silhouette done.
This is a long tradition of the Dellenbachs. My Granny got silhouettes for her children, my parents got silhouettes for us kids, and now it's my turn to get a silhouette of my child. Such a fun experience.
The lady in the shop was amazing and blew my silhouette making out of the water!

More pictures to come!!

piano man

I love having a piano in our home. Love, love, love it.
Not only can I practice but I have been teaching my husband to play.
We have only done 3 lessons in a month but with our busy schedules that is the best we can do.
Little Charlie loves playing the piano with me or he just climbs on the bench and starts strumming along. I remember when I was pregnant with him and I would sit by the piano hoping my little baby would enjoy the music and learn to love the piano.
I think it payed off.

summer snack

*** watermelon ***

My family is loving watermelon these days and it has been the
perfect go-to snack during the day.
Every time I buy a seedless watermelon I think of the skit by Jerry Seinfeld! too funny!

my youngest best friend

{ Little Charlie tagging along on my strange hobby... looking at model homes!}

Is it strange that I consider my child one of my best friends?!
Because he IS.
He is always with me and I love having this constant companion each day.
I do just about everything with him each day which includes:

-cuddling in bed each morning
-eating breakfast, lunch and dinner together
-taking walks together
-go to the park together
-read books together
-taking drives together
-going swimming together {our new favorite summer activity}
-talk to each other
-learn new things together

I think a best friend helps you want to be a better person and little Charlie has done just that.
He reminds me each day of my infinite worth and my potential.
He helps me work harder to reach my goals and be more Christ-like.

I love this little child of mine and I'm so grateful that I am blessed to be his mother and friend.

my two Charlies

I love my two Charlies!
They keep me on my toes every day and I love watching them interact!
They are the best of friends!