Friday, February 28, 2025

Christmas Programs

December 6th

Evie's Christmas Program





December 12th

Aubrey and Maddie's Christmas Program





December 13th

Fairview Mennonite Christmas Pageant

Staring cousins Adelina, Lily, and Andy



December 19th

Cooper and Hazel's Band Performance

Hazel

Cooper

December 20th

Annual Crosshill Carol Sing




Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Wrapping Up November

Here are a few additional memories that didn't make it into the other posts.

November 19, 2024

This marked 15 years since Dad went to be with Jesus.  Still feels hard to say that sometimes cuz we still wish more than anything that he was here making these memories with us.  But this world is not our home, this we know, so we press on towards the day when we will see Jesus face to face and be reunited with the ones who have gone before us, a day when there will be no more heartache.  But today... today we celebrate the moments we've been given because we know they're fleeting and we do our best to live and love well.

This year, this day was kind of a slow one because we'd just been hit by a bad stomach bug and everyone was still bouncing back.  Turns out though that this was just what I needed.  It was a day filled with sweet memories as the twins and I made a favorite meal in his memory and packed some of it up to share with Grammy.  Often we all get together but this year it was just a nice quiet day.

#We'veGotTime!

One year on our way home from a visit to Oregon Dad and Mom were bringing us up to the airport and we decided to stop for dinner.  My memory says that there was some discussion as to what we had time for, but in the end we ended up at The Outback with Dad laughing and saying "We've Got Time!" as the waitress slowly got the check and Brandon and I felt just a little bit stressed.  Well they dropped us off at PDX and ended up turning right around to pick us back up because turns out we didn't have time.  We'd missed the deadline for checking our bags and had to fly out the next day.  It was a funny story because Dad wasn't always so laid back about this stuff but he'd learned to let go of a lot of things and he'd always been good at laughing at himself.  So ever since we've held this memory fondly and laughed about his easy going "We've Got Time!"  

So the meal I often like to make in Dad's memory is the Alice Springs Chicken from The Outback served with bread and Dad's favorite Mr. Pibb which we stock pile whenever we come across it.







Thankful for this great Daddy who loves these little girls more than they'll probably ever know.

Driver's Test

I can't believe we have another driver in the house.  I'm terrified of this prospect, though looking forward to the help.  Just can't slow time down...



Ya Dad's definitely the one to be teaching her.  I'm way to serious and way to nervous.  Meanwhile he's offering her points for bikers.  I tried to explain to her that he's not explaining the point system accurately because he's saying it as if its a good thing but when you get points on your drivers license you loose it, but I think I'm wasting my breath.  These two deserve each other and I'll join back in in a few weeks when they've worked out some of the kinks.  That is of course if my Suburban survives.

Preschool Thanksgiving Party

Aubrey


Maddie


Sadie and Wesley

These two are too much sometimes.  Seriously too cute and also seriously what are we doing?!?!  Stop growing up already!!!



Black Friday Shopping

I don't really do much Black Friday Shopping anymore but I still love getting out for a few things like my poinsettias and I loved that Sadie wanted to join me this year. 


Monday, February 24, 2025

Shhh... Nobody tell Cooper he's getting a cat!

Shhh. Nobody tell Cooper he's getting a cat for his birthday!  This was kinda our joke as he knew what he was getting but it's hard for me to give up the surprise factor.  Cooper has been talking about getting a Jackson Chameleon for quite awhile now, a couple years even.  And me not really knowing that a chameleon is any different than any other reptile a gecko or a bearded dragon or whatever led him to believe that once his new room was finished we'd probably let him get one.  Well as we started looking into terrariums and what not I quickly realized that this was going to be a bit of an expense and decided we should really make it a birthday gift.  Except I didn't FULLY know what we were getting into until Brandon went to the reptile store and was told that it would cost $700 just for the chameleon and you can never touch it or it will die!  WELL SHOOT that doesn't sound like the kind of pet I'm up for so we had to break it to Cooper that a chameleon was not in his near future.  He was very disappointed and we felt terrible.  Thankfully he fairly quickly bounced back after talking to some of his buddies and decided he wanted to get a gargoyle gecko.  They're much hardier and they can be handled.  Win! Win!  

So, all this to say he wasn't going to be too surprised when he opened his gift but we still had fun teasing him.


For his birthday he got the terrarium and then he really wanted his buddy Sam, who also loves reptiles, to come with us to pick up his gecko.  He'd already been to Reptopia and had picked out the one he wanted, a little guy with an orange strip which he was going to name Rusty.  

So Saturday afternoon before his party we drove over to the pet store and were initially told to his great disappointment that we couldn't take it home immediately but then they called back and said we could.  It was all a little strange but in the end he brought Rusty home on his birthday just as planned!!

Rusty



Party Time



Friday, February 21, 2025

Family Photos and a Christmas Tree

This is a pretty amazing family we've been blessed with.  Far to often we focus on how overwhelming certain aspects of it are but as Brandon reminded me the other day we really should just embrace and enjoy the craziness of this life of ours.  We sure do love each and every one!!!

Grammy snapped these for us at the wildlife refuge across the road from our house.  Thanks Grammy!









Thanks kids for not just humoring me but getting into it and taking some really fun photos.

Then it was off to find a Christmas tree!!!









Teenagers are somethin'
Hilarious, sometimes helpful but often not, and did I say hilarious!
These two were pretty proud of themselves.

Nothing like littles under a lit tree.

Disneyland 2025 - Day 2

Day 2: Everyone was up and ready to go.  Perhaps not quite as efficiently as I would have liked but they were ready.  It just takes awhile t...