Washington DC Again

This past Memorial Day weekend the Malecek's went on a vacation. Saturday morning we boarded the plane to head to Washington DC to take a break from home and to visit Darrin. We had planned this trip long before my other trip in April with my siblings and parents and thought about not going since I was just there... but we decided to go, and we are all glad we did. We had a great time!! Gracie experienced many "firsts" during this trip such as: 1st airplane ride, 1st zoo visit, 1st metro ride (DC's subways system), and many others... which unfortunately she won't remember. Luckily we have pictures to prove it to her someday. She did okay on the airplanes... traveling with a toddler sure adds a spin on the situation.Looking out the airplane window as we left Minnesota.
Visit to the zoo. Gracie loves animals and it is amazing how she can pick the animals out so well, when she has never even seen most of them. She would point her little fingers and then make her little squealing noises and sometimes laugh. It was pretty cute to watch her reactions.

After the zoo we went to downtown DC to sight see the memorials and monuments. After a long day of walking, it was refreshing to put my feet in the fountain water. Gracie enjoyed it too.

We hit really nice weather the 4 days we were there. Very warm and sunny.

Gracie says... "Finally I am free to run! No one holding me! No stroller! Let me run!"

On Monday we headed to Baltimore for a baseball game. We walked down to the harbor before the game, which was full of boats, walkways next to the water, and restaurants on the side. Looked like a fun place to hang out. Below is Darrin, and Marty holding Gracie.

The Baltimore Oriole's take on the NY Yankee's.

Gracie and Uncle Darrin intently watching the game.

After the very hot day at the ball park we enjoyed a dip in the pool at our hotel.

Darrin holding Gracie after swimming.

We flew back home Tuesday afternoon.

Thanks Darrin for the Good Times! We Miss You!

Puppies

My Mom and Dad's dog Cocoa has recently fathered 8 baby puppies. Cocoa is a fellow Cockier Spaniel, just like our Willie. So when we were home for Mother's day and my graduation we had to take Gracie over to see the little bundles of joy! I think they were like 6 - 7 weeks old maybe... and boy were they cute! They were tugging on each other's ears and making little puppy barks. Gracie is a dog lover, an animal lover in general acutally... anyways she loved the puppies, well until one kinda scratched her, but she soon forgot, and couldn't get enough of them.

Terri Malecek, RN, MSN

Two Saturday's ago was my graduation from Minnesota State University, Mankato with my Master's of Science degree in Nursing (MSN). Walking through graduation ceremonies is optional, but I am delighted that I participated in the day's events. It was such a wonderful feeling to put that gown on along with the Master's "hood" and acknowledge that after 3 years of lots of hard work it has finally come to an end. I have met the goal of achieving a Master's degree!!! I want to thank EVERYONE so much for all the support and help they have given me during this journey. Without my baby-sitter helpers (Mom, Dad, Betty, Joe, Wendy, Christy, Shelly) and people letting me stay at their houses during my clinical travels (Darrin) this would have been so much more stressful... and lastly I thank my wonderful husband, Marty! He has been a wonderful husband and friend providing many encouraging words, being understanding, and being supportive. Although sometimes I would have liked to slug him when he keeps asking... Shouldn't you be doing homework? What have you done on your thesis lately? (Many times I hadn't touched it in weeks!)... in the end it was all so helpful. And I shouldn't forget to mention the number of evenings he and Willie (our dog) got to snuggle on the couch together, eat popcorn, and watch a movie while I sit in the office typing one of the hundreds of papers I wrote in the last 3 years or reading yet another research article. Thank you to everyone!The day started at 9am with a brunch on campus and a graduation reception from the School of Nursing. It was in an auditorium and during the presentation my advisor "hooded" me. They call us up on stage individually, read off our thesis title, and then present us with the Master's degree hood. My Mom, Marty, and Gracie came to this. Then it was the big graduation ceremony at the Taylor Center on campus at. My ceremony
was at noon. They also had ceremonies at 9am and 3pm. Above is a picture of my fellow graduate students and below is a picture of my classmate Faith and I. We had the same focus in our program which is a Clinical Nurse Specialist, so many of our classes were together. The rest of the grad students have the focus of Family Nurse Practitioner.

Shelly (my sister) also graduated with her Master's degree. Her focus is gerontology. It was a delight to share this special day with her again... we both graduated with our Bachelor's degree together 5 years ago from MSU, M.

Of course our kids always get dragged into our pictures.

After the ceremonies Shelly and I celebrated with our families at the Mexican Village. I think we had close to 30 people there with us. The food was of course great and it was a joy to have all of our loved ones celebrate with us.

This last picture is just a side note... two of my sisters are pregnant also... so this is probably the last time we will be together before one gives birth so we have from right to left:

Christy 36 weeks, Shelly 26 weeks, and Myself 21 weeks

(The weeks might be a little off, but hopefully pretty close)

Family Trip to Washington DC

April 10-13th I spent with my immediate family in Washington DC. My Mom came up with an idea sometime in March that she wanted to take her girls on a trip, and since Darrin lives in DC... that was the destination. Once plans were arranged then Dad decided he wanted to join us also. So it was just my sisters, parents, and I off to Washington DC to join up with Darrin with no spouses or kids. This hasn't happened in like 15 years! The weekend was the grand finale for the Cherry Blossom Festival, which was a parade down Constitution Ave in downtown DC. Some of the trees were all done blooming, but some were still going. The tulips and daffodils were beautiful as well as the green grass! Seeing the monuments, White House, and Capital was amazing. We went through a few museums as well and also went to see Mount Vernon which is George Washington's estate. Such a history lesson, so interesting, and wonderful to see. The best part was of course spending time with my family. Having no kids around allows for actually adult bonding and conversation. Below are pictures from our trip. Enjoy!!

Washington Memorial

WWII Memorial

The Family

Vietnam Memorial Wall

Darrin and I standing in front of the Washington Memorial and Reflection pool.

Ab Lincoin Memorial

Mount Vernon Estate

Jefferson Memorial

1 year Pictures!

On Friday evening we went and had 1 year old pictures of Gracie taken at Sears. Now that she moves... a lot... it is not quite as easy to get her to sit still for the picture man. We did end up with some pretty cute ones though. Today (Sunday) is her birthday... so she is officially a toddler!

1 year Birthday Party!

We celebrated Gracie's 1st birthday last Friday evening (her birthday is in two weeks, but alot of the family was around for Easter, so it worked out to do it early). We had a pizza party. It was lots of fun. Lots of Aunties, Uncles, and cousins were there, and Grandma and Grandpa Malecek.

Below is an attempt to download a video from my camera. I had the camera turned sideways, and don't know how to rotate it... so sorry you have to look at her sideways. Gracelyn very much enjoyed her cake! She really didn't do to bad with the mess. She sure was cute to watch.

To view the video, double click with your mouse on the play button symbol and it should play.

Our little girl is growing up so fast!

A Walk In The Park

There has been so many beautiful days lately (temps 40-50's) with the sun shinning, so Gracie and I decided to dust off the stroller and take it for a spin at Ramsey Park in Redwood. Most of the trails were still snow covered, but we found some spots to go. There are a few animals in the little zoo so we checked them out too. There were these white geese just talking and squawking up a storm. Gracie wasn't too sure about that. I thought she would take a nap during the walk, that is what she did last summer all the time, but she just kept those big blue eyes open. She is a little bit bigger and more interactive than she was last summer!!! I think she enjoyed the fresh air and some different scenery to look at. I know I sure did. Now if this Minnesota weather would stay this way... we don't need that cold back.

This is the frozen Ramsey Waterfalls.

Checking out the big buffalo.
Checking those noisy geese and ducks.

Having Fun!

Am I cute or what?

Playing with daddy.

Daddy has taught Gracie how to do double "high-fives."

It is pretty cute.

I sure like this Easter basket thing...
I really like to empty it ALL THE TIME!
And then Willie likes to take the plastic eggs and chew on them.