Grandpa Harold’s Funeral

February 17-19, 2016

While Lee was at Gonzaga we got the sad news that Grandpa Harold had passed away.  He had taken a turn for the worse not long after we left Utah in August.  It had been a long few months for him and we knew it was coming, but it was still sad.  So a few days after Lee got home he got back on a plane heading to Utah for the funeral.  The rest of us were sad we couldn’t be there, but we were glad that Lee could be there for his mom and sister. 

Oh how we loved Grandpa Harold.  Lee’s mom and Harold got married only a few months before we did, but we were just as much a part of his family as his own kids and grandkids were.  He loved us and showed us that love.  He took such good care of Grandma Vicki and Aunt Lora, he was a wonderful man.  We were so glad that we had been able to see him and spend some time with him in August, even if it was in the hospital.  We look forward to seeing Harold again some day.

It was a quick, whirlwind trip for Lee.  It must not have been all that bad though because I kept getting pictures like this from him:

Cafe Rio, Swig, Purple Turtle…some our Utah favorites.  I guess you have to find the good in sad situations.  I think Grandpa Harold would approve!

Valentine’s Day 2016

February 14, 2016

Valentine’s Day was a little bit of a bummer since Lee was out of town.  He was at Gonzaga for a school immersion that weekend.  We missed him but we still managed to have a good day.  The kids were happy to wake up to little gifts “in” their mailboxes.

We read our last love scripture before church.

Grace did the honors this year.

Isaac was beyond thrilled with his joke book.  He told us jokes ALL day long and for many days afterwards.  They were right up his alley. I couldn’t decide if I was glad I got that book or not…

We had heart shaped french toast for dinner, and then I waited patiently for Lee to come home.

The kids made him welcome home signs and were bummed they wouldn’t be awake to see him.

He finally made it home. 

We were both happy he was home and he was really happy to find his traditional heart shaped cookie waiting for him.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Swim Season Comes to an End

February brought the end of swim team season, which made Emma sad.  She really likes being with her team.

It’s fun to see her encourage her teammates at meets.

Swimming has all these weird hand signs that tell the swimmers to do certain things. I have no idea what most of them mean.

At this meet their did their kick board cheer. 

It’s super loud.

February 12 & 13th was the district meet at Mt. Hood Community College.  Swimming in the bubble is pretty cool.

But oh, you can feel the nerves!

Thankfully she had friends for pep talks!

She swam the 100 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 100 breastroke.  She was an alternate for the backstroke finals the next day and she made the finals in breastroke.  The varsity relays also swam the next day.  I couldn’t go the next day (Lee was out of town and it was a busy day!), so I had to be content with text updates and pictures from Emma throughout the day.  She and her “Lane 6” friends took some pretty great pictures before the meet started.

The Three Rivers League is a super fast district, so it was an accomplishment to be there.  Emma got 15th in the district for breastroke, and her 200 medley relay took 6th and her 200 freestyle relay took 8th.  Good job Emma!  Unfortunately she paid for it.  Her shoulders hurt really bad that day and she was in pain.  Physical therapy here we come!

Another great swim season in the books.  We are proud of Emma and her dedication and hard work.  It’s fun to watch her do something she really loves.

Field Trippin’ with the First Graders

February 10, 2016

Going to plays are my favorite kind of field trips.  They are easy and the kids are totally contained.  So I jumped when we got the notice for this field trip.  They could only take a limited number of parents so Isaac and Grace were sure that I returned the permission slip back to school immediately.  I was happy to spend time with my cute first graders.

We went to the Newmark Theater in Portland to see an Oregon Children’s Theater production of Geronimo Stilton: Lost in Space. 

Bonus points if you can find Isaac in these pictures…

I loved spending time with Isaac and Grace.  They were so good and so excited to see the play and they loved it (I may have fallen asleep…).  They are growing up too fast!

One Foot

February 6, 2016

Emma’s hair was really long.  Longer than she’s ever let it grow.

She was ready for a change so Lanna came over to work her magic.

She measured her hair,

and then she chopped off a foot of hair.

Hair is gross.  Her ponytail looked like a snake!  :)  We were planning on donating it, but we still haven’t done it yet.

The rest of Emma’s hair looked so good a whole foot shorter! 

Her new look was so cute and Emma loved the change.

Gracie also got a lot of hair cut off.  I forgot to take a before picture. 

Lanna gave her a cute a-line bob.  Grace asked to have it cut short and was so happy with the result.  She just told me the other day that she thinks her face looks better with short hair.  I’m glad she likes it because it is so much easier to brush!  She has a lot of hair and a lot of snarls.

Change is fun!