God be With You Till We Meet Again

This post is long overdue, but I have been putting it off. On 3/3/11 we lost Wes' grandfather. He has had Parkinson's disease for years, but it was unexpected when he passed away. He just got sick and weak. He ended up in the hospital and never came home. We weren't able to make it up to the hospital in time, but we did make it shortly after he passed and had a chance to hug and give love to Wes' family.

Douglas Oates is an amazing man! I was grateful that we had a chance to visit with him and his wonderful, sweet wife in January. We had a chance to really talk and learn more about Grandpa Oates's life and his history. Little did we know it would be the last chance we would be seeing him. If there is anything I have learned in this life is you never know when your goodbye will be the last one.
He is very religious and always bore his testimony to his children and grandchildren. It was an annual tradition for him to take time at the Christmas party to make sure we knew what he believed.

I am so very grateful for his example and we will miss him. The funeral went well. Funny enough, at my very first Oates Christmas Party we had a talent show. I was convinced by Wes' family to sing. After it was all over Doug approached me and told me he wanted me to sing the Navy Hymn at his funeral. I was very surprised. I didn't know him very well yet and for anyone to ask me to sing at their funeral while they are still living is always unexpected. I assured him that he would be living for a long time to come.

At the hospital Wes' aunts reminded me of their father's request. I did learn the Navy Hymn and it was an honor to sing it at Doug's funeral. I am so glad I had a chance to know him. It will be great to see him on the other side.

End of School Performances

Each of the girls had an end of school performance. Adelle's performance was a special night for all the ALC students and their parents. Each grade did a special performance and they even had a fun game "Are You Smarter than your ALC student". Adelle was so excited to perform for us and she did a wonderful job.

Lydia had on last orchestra concert. Her music teacher has been really fun this year. The kids performed some more modern and well known songs including pieces from Charlie Brown and even Coldplay. She is planning on continuing on with orchestra this next year in Jr. High.

I am so proud of both of my girls! They did wonderful in school this year. Lydia earned several awards including the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence. I love my girls!

Show and Teach

Adelle's class doesn't have Show and Tell they have Show and Teach. Each child only gets to do it once during the year. Instead of just bringing some random item and showing it off each child needs to bring something to teach the class about.

Adelle had been anticipating her turn all year. Her teacher informed me that she kept asking when she would finally get to present. She also confessed that she has a special place for my affectionate girl. She said that she loves whenever they are walking in the hall how Adelle will just slip her little hand into hers. I am glad it is something she likes. At times even in our house we have to use the phrase "personal space". She really is such a sweetheart!

Adelle thought long and hard about what she wanted to present and she finally settled on Topaz. There is a long tradition in Wes' family or gem hunting, especially at Topaz Mountain. We took the girls a few years back and Adelle still has her own precious stash of gems. She brought them to the class and set them down under a camera that projects onto a screen. She even had a microphone that she could wear around her neck. I am amazed at the technology that her class has. She was so excited that Wes, Violet and I attended. She researched on Wikipedia and rattled off all of the different colors that Topaz can be. She spoke about where we find the Topaz and how to sift in the dry river beds to find them.

She passed a few of the topaz around the class for the children to see and touch. Then it was question and answer time. One child even asked where Topaz ranks on the Moh scale (hardness rating scale). Adelle didn't know how to answer that one, but her daddy told her the answer afterwards (a seven) and she passed the information onto the inquisitive little boy. I am so proud of my little girl and I'm so glad she has had the opportunity to attend this special class!

Lydia's Medieval Festival

In May Lydia's school held their Medieval Festival. The kids prepared all year for this exciting event. They had to become Lord or Lady be performing acts of service, making hats, shields, crafts, and even a castle. Lydia got to wear her special dress that Wes made and Wes and I even got off work to volunteer. The kids went to various different stations. This first station was learning how to handle a sword. Wes helped with the catapult station where the kids got to take turns catapulting marshmallows at a castle with army men.

I'm not entirely sure what Lydia was doing at this station. It looks like the game where you have to close your eyes and squeeze each others hands until someone is out. Yep, that is the technical name.

I helped at the checkers and chess station. Violet was with me so I was glad my station didn't require too much work. Lydia was sweet enough to let Violet play with her. Several of the other kids were quite taken with my little girl and Violet was quite happy to see another face besides mine. Makes you feel loved.

There was even a Wii station with some Medieval games. The Wii is medieval right? Honestly most of the kids seemed bored with the Wii. They were much happier with the jousting station. Who doesn't like to ride on a scooter with a PVC pipe, while wearing a mask and trying to hit a target. The girls were much more subdued than the boys and seemed a bit embarrased at times, but secretly they were enjoying it.

The last station Lydia went to they played hot potato, but with a rubber rat and whenever someone was left holding the rubber rut they'd say "Bring out your dead" and drag the loser off to the side. It was pretty hilarious!

By this time the kids headed off to lunch and Wes and I headed home with our little, tired Violet. After lunch the kids had a feast of fruit, cheese and bread. Lydia then headed over to her friend's house after school. By the time she made it back home to us she was very worn out, suffering from a headache, and then got sick. My poor girl. She was better the next morning though which we were grateful for.

Renaissance Costume for Lydia

The 6th grade has a Renaissance Festival every year. Lydia wanted Wes to make her a very special costume. She helped Wes design the dress and helped with the color selection. The final dress is so beautiful. There is a pink underdess and a green overdress. The green overdress is trimmed with velvet and gold. It ended up being a pretty substantial dress as far as weight goes. Lydia looks absolutely breathtaking in it. I think Wes will probably enter this dress in the State Fair later this year.

Even with the cut outs in the sleeve, Lydia did end up getting pretty warm. In fact I think she overheated a little. I guess it will be perfect for Halloween when it is much cooler.

I am always amazed how well Wes can sew. I will probably never be able to match his skill level. He is a perfectionist as well. So sometimes he will undo and redo parts of the dress over and over. I think there comes a point where he lets go and just finishes. There was a little bit of a time crunch when the Renaissance Festival got moved up a week, but he did finish in time. Lydia looked so regal and I know she felt so very special wearing this gown at school!

My Marvelous Mother's Day

I am so blessed to be a mom to three of the most wonderful and beautiful girls in the world. They are always super sweet to me each Mother's day. This year was no exception. Lydia and Adelle woke up early and prepared our kitchen table for a breakfast feast. They even got out the tablecloth.

I loved all their sweet smiles!

They made me toast and scrambled eggs. Adelle made me a coupon book including one for a massage. Lydia also made me coupons. I need to start redeeming them soon :)

The girls also made me paper flowers and butterflies that I love. They have a special place in my kitchen window sill.

We then went to church where all of the girls over 12 were given M&M's. We came home, ate lunch and put Violet down for a nap. It was raining pretty hard. I almost went to my mother's grave because I was missing her. I pulled out a handwritten letter that she had given me when I was about 15 years old. I then remembered that my aunt and uncle had transferred old family gathering videos to DVD. I set up the portable DVD player in the bedroom and snuggled in to watch hours of video. It made me so happy to see so many people that are no longer with us. To see my Mom, Dad, Grandma, an aunt and uncles that have all passed away, was like stepping into heaven for just a day. It was funny to see myself as a little girl, but mostly it was wonderful to hear voices, laughter, see smiles and silliness of those I love so much.

Wes was busy sewing a project for Lydia so I made a delicious meal including cheesy potatoes again. Funny enough I don't remember what the rest of the meal was. After dinner Wes gave me some cute new pajamas and then we all played Blockus together, which is a great board game. It was a wonderful Mother's Day, and I am so glad I have such an incredible family.

Family Gathering

Early in May we went to Murray Park to celebrate my sister-in-law's (Lexie) birthday and graduation from SLCC. Silly enough I didn't get really any pictures except of my kids. Sometimes I get a little wary to post pictures of others on the Internet. I should have just done it anyway :)

It was a very windy, chilly day, but we still had a fun time. Adelle loved the little stream by our picnic site.

Lydia LOVED walking Devin and Lexie's dogs.

Topaz had fun wrapping herself around Lydia's legs. Poor Lydia would LOVE a dog. We keep telling her when she is all grown up she can buy her own dog.

Violet loved hanging out with her Aunt Erica.

Erica introduced her to running down the hill. It was an instant hit!

She was all smiles and giggles. There is nothing like Aunt Erica!