God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again Grandma Sweetpea!

 Last week, we lost Grandma Sweetpea.  She lived a good life and we are so grateful for the times that we were able to share with her.  My kids will forever associate going to IHOP with her because we often went up and took her to breakfast there.  They will also miss going to her place and doing puzzles, getting treats from her jar, playing with her stuffed animals, especially the pound puppies, doing art with stuff from her art bin, playing with her army men, getting treats from her jar, playing with the lamp that turned off and on just by touching it, building with her blocks, and getting treats from her jar.  I loved to go and sit and talk with her while the kids played.  She told lots of stories (some of them more than once!) that were fun to hear.  I hope my kids will remember a few of them and remember that life used to be very different!  I'm grateful for the influence she had on my husband and his family and for the great legacy that she left. 



 
She was definitely a unique lady, even at the end.  She made it known in multiple ways that she did not want a funeral, just a graveside service.  Even that event was by invitation only.  If you weren't on a list that she made, you were not to be there!  Thankfully we were on the list and were able to help lay her to rest.  I'm sure she had a great reunion in Heaven with all of her family that went before her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 While we were there, we were also able to show Addy the grave of her namesake.  I'm pretty sure she didn't quite get it, but I think Cole and Emily did.  I guess you have to start somewhere!

God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again Grandma Sweetpea!

Happy 93rd Birthday Grandma Watt!

 In the same week that we buried one Grandma (Great-Grandma), another one turned 93.  It's probably been a long time since Grandma Watt had this much family around to help her celebrate her birthday, so we did it in style with 2 cakes and lots of ice cream!

 

 I'm not sure this does it justice, but at one point she was almost crying from laughing so hard.  I guess she had not been serenaded with multiple birthday songs by mostly off-key singers before!

 Whether you are turning 1 or 93, our kids love to help you celebrate!!

 While the kids were disappointed the cake didn't have 93 candles on it, it's probably a good thing.  Although she did manage to get all but 1 candle on her first attempt!

 Somehow at this party, my son ended up with a semi faux-hawk.  I'm still trying to figure out how that happened!!

 But he likes it and it's the summer and hair grows back, so I guess we'll live with it for now!!  (Can you see that I'm still trying to convince myself it's ok!!)

We love you Grandma Watt.  We are so glad that you are out here for us to spend time with.  Hopefully we get to celebrate many more birthdays with you!

The Spring Spectacular

 
Emily loves gymnastics.  She did gymnastics and then we switched to dance to try that for a while, but she really wanted to go back to gymnastics.  So we did!  A few weeks into it, they had an opening in a class for Addy at the same time, so we decided to give it a try for her as well.  Both girls loved it.  After a few short months, they had their gymnastics showcase.
Addy definitely has personality!

Emily loves to pose for the camera!
 

 Addy learned lots of great skills in her class.
She learned balance,

 She learned how to do a forward roll,

She worked on her arm strength,

She learned how to follow directions,

 And she learned how to jump (sort of!).

 At the end, they did an obstacle course that showed off lots of their skills.  Addy was obviously a little distracted by all the other kids around her!
 
 But, when she focused, she did pretty well!
 
 In the end, she learned lots and had a great time! 

And, most importantly to her, she got a medal to show off to everyone!!


 Emily's class was a little more advanced.  They learned a routine on the four different events. 
She performed on the bars,



She performed on the vault,




She performed on the beam,


And she performed on the floor.

Emily also learned a lot, including almost being able to do a cartwheel.  She also loved it and can't wait to get back to it!
Great job Emily!!

 

An Eclipse?!

Chad and I were very excited about the chance to see the solar eclipse last weekend.  Utah had a great view of it, although we were a little off line for the total Ring of Fire.  Chad wanted to get glasses, but I remembered that when I was in elementary school, we used note cards to view an eclipse.  So, I convinced him to try it.  Thankfully it worked and we slowly watched the moon cover up the sun.
The sun went from a full circle,








 To looking like a crescent moon,

 To almost completely disappearing.

 I tried to take an actual picture of it to see if I could see the moon and the sun, but I don't know if the clouds disguised it or if you just couldn't see it through the camera.  However, the resulting pictures were still cool.

 

 Eventually our neighbors wandered out to see what we were doing.  After looking at the note cards, they decided to try looking through the tinted windows of their car, with sun glasses on to protect your eyes.  I'm not sure if it was the safest idea, but it worked and showed a cool view of the moon covering up the sun.

I'm still not sure the kids thought it was as cool as Chad and I, but at least when the next one comes around, maybe they will have an idea of what people are talking about!!

Easter Photos

 I always wait too long to go shopping for Easter dresses, so I can never find the ones that I like in all the right sizes. This year was even more complicated because I had three different categories of sizes that I was trying to match (baby/toddler, young girl, and girl).  So, after looking at several stores unsuccessfully, I finally found some I liked at Kohl's, but of course not all in the right sizes.  I managed to find 2 sets of dresses that I really liked in Emily and Kaitlyn's sizes, but not Addy's.  I decided to buy all 4 dresses anyway and then go check some other stores for a matching or similar dress in Addy's size.  However, just in case I couldn't find one that matched one of those 2 sets, I bought the one set of dresses that I sort of liked that they had in all 3 girls' sizes.  So, in all, I left Kohl's with 7 dresses!  Thankfully they have a great return policy!
Luckily, I managed to find a similar dress, that was just the opposite colors, for Addy at another store, so I could go with the cutest dresses!


They wanted to show off the back also.

I loved this dress and Emily only makes it cuter!

Addy often dares to be different, so her dress being opposite was actually fitting!

 We tried to get a picture of Kaitlyn, but she was not happy about it.

So we tried again,

 And again,

 And again, with only mild success.

 I tried to talk Cole into a new tie, like a bright green, orange or purple one to add a splash of color.  But apparently he's too good for my color scheming and I ran out of time to find one anyway.  So, we went with the black and white square polka dotted one!  It's a good thing he's cute anyway!

 As I was deciding what I was going to wear for Easter, I remembered Chad had gotten me a new dress for Christmas that was...black and white polka dots! 

At that point, I decided we were going to be that cheesy, matching family for Easter.  So Chad willingly found his black and white polka dotted tie.

 Since Cole is old enough to take pictures, we even managed to get one of the two of us.  (This was about the third attempt though.  Thank goodness for digital cameras!)

Since we all matched and looked so cute, I decided we were going to attempt to take a family picture.  Our last one was a few kids ago I think!  Chuck willingly got out his fancy camera and found a good spot for us.  He took multiple pictures for us.  I was so excited to finally have an updated picture.
However, apparently my kids did not want an updated picture because I don't think Kaitlyn looked at the camera for a single picture and Cole did not tuck in his shirt like he was told to.  Oh well, Shot down in a blaze of glory!

At least my kids are cute!?!?!!?  (And I think Kaitlyn is finally smiling in this picture!)