Landon's Birthday

 

 Landon's birthday was the same day as Dad's funeral, so we celebrated it after we got back home. He and Megan had already celebrated, so he was getting an extra party. I wanted to buy the numeral candles, 2 and 6, but Wal-Mart didn't have any 6's and I didn't want to go to another store. We didn't have 26 candles, this is all we had. It will take a big breath to blow them all out!

 

 

 Landon would get so excited about presents when he was a little boy--he still does! "Are all of those for me?"

 

 

 It was hard to come up with gift ideas. Because they are still living with Wade and Kimberlea, almost anything we give him just goes into storage. I wanted to give him something that would be useful now. Everyone likes to go out for dinner, so this is a gift card to Outback. Steak--yum!!

 

 

Landon gave this box a shake, trying to guess what was in it. 

 

 

 An Amazon gift card! Landon has a kindle and he loves to read, now he can buy some books!

 

 

 New clothes are always nice when you are an adult. When he was a boy he used to say, "Ugh, don't give me clothes!"

 

 

Blake made a little campfire with all the candles. Why do boys like fire so much?? 

 

 

 

 

 

Landon wanted what we call fake cheesecake for his birthday. It is made with lemon jello and it much lighter than real cheesecake. It was yummy!

 

 

Gracie has taken over this stuffed animal pig. Every time they come over she plays tug of war with it.

 

 

 Dagny was super cute in this little ladybug sleeper and hat.

 

 

 "Happy Birthday Dad," she says!

I've Been Heart Attacked!

 

 

 When I came home from Cub Scouts, this is what I saw!! I was so surprised!! I got released from Young Womens last month and the Mia Maids heart attacked my door to thank me. Each of the girls had written a note on a heart. Their words were so sweet and made me so happy. Young womens is a hard calling for me, I don't feel like I am friendly enough or creative enough to be in this calling. I see myself as quiet and practical and I'm afraid the girls will think I am just a stick in the mud. I had been the Mia Maid advisor for 14 months and our release was rather abrupt (a long story). I was more sad than I thought I would be. I felt like I was just getting to know the girls really well and building relationships with them, and then we were released. Their words made me feel loved and maybe they enjoyed being with me more than I realized.

 

 

It certainly made my night! 

 

 

 They also left me a plate of goodies--lots of chocolate! Such a sweet treat to come home to!

 

Our Trip to Texas

 

 These are just a bunch of random pictures that I took while we were in Texas. Claire loved to climb on Grandpa and pretend that he was mountain. Camille wanted in the fun as well.

 

 

 Our sweet girls! Being grandparents is the best!

 

 

 

Claire and Camille are such great sisters! Claire loves to hold Camille, sing to her, play with her, show her toys, and make her laugh. Camille loves to watch Claire run around and is always keeping a close eye on what she is doing.

 

 

 Camille has grown a lot since we saw her at Thanksgiving. She can now sit up by herself.

 

 

 She rolls a lot and isn't very far away from crawling.

 

 

 She is a happy baby.

 

 

 I couldn't resist taking lots of pictures.

 

 

 Austin only worked a half day on Friday and the girls were so happy to see him when he got home.

 

 

 

 

 

Austin is making a board with some hooks to hang things on and he let Claire help him paint. She was very careful not to get paint on her hands or her clothes. 

 

 

Claire is taking Valentines to church on Sunday to give to the kids in her class. She was so excited about "my balentines!" as she called them. She spent a lot of time working on them. She put heart stickers on them and scribbled where you write your name. She carried them around all day on Saturday and took such good care of them. 

Pretty as a princess! 

 

 

 Ready for church on Sunday.

 

 

 I think this is Camille's favorite toy. I am surprised she can shut the tops down already. I remember my kids playing with this toy, but it seems like they were closer to a year old before they could shut them and a few more months after that before they could open them. Maybe she is going to be a detail person and have great hand-eye coordination.

 

 

 Melissa and I spent some time doing embroidery. She wanted to learn how to do French knots. She is making some really cute dish towels. I am so happy that Melissa enjoys different kinds of sewing. It's fun to have someone to talk about it with and compare the projects that we are working on. Denya and Britta's interest in sewing comes and goes. Denya did make aprons for her roommates for Christmas and Britta does work on some dish towels every now and them.

 

 

 

Claire wanted to sew with us, and so she did her sewing cards. 

 

 

 We gave this jewelry to Claire when she was a baby. She hasn't worn it too much yet. Denya and Britta both had turquoise jewelry when they were babies. I grew up in a town bordering a Ute Indian reservation and there are a couple of shops that sell Indian items, such as turquoise jewelry, mocasins, and beaded things.

 

 

 

 

Claire showed us her Simba piggy bank. Grandpa gave her a handful of coins to put in it, and that made her so happy!

 

 

 Her bank is almost full! It was heavy! That's a lot of money for a little girl. Maybe she needs to open a bank account. We sure had a fun trip and the days passed by quickly.

Texas Nature Hike

 

On Saturday, we went hiking at this nature preserve. 

 

 

Austin had to point out the snake! Yikes, hope we don't see any!

 

 

 

 Claire wanted to climb on the fence.

 

 

 It was a little windy, so Camille was bundled up well in the stroller. She loved our walk and was so happy the whole time.

 

 

 Claire and Grandpa take a rest on the railing.

 

 

 There was a little pond beside the trail we were following. Claire had to check it out up close and throw some sticks into the water.

 

 

Happy walkers coming down the trail. 

 

 

 There was a tower that overlooked the preserve, we could see for miles! Austin showed me some pictures on-line before the hike and it is beautiful during the summer when everything is green. It was still fun to see even though the trees have no leaves.

 

 

 You can't really see it very well, but Grandpa is showing Claire a bird's nest. Maybe it was good there were no leaves, or we wouldn't have been able to see the nest!

 

 

 Time for a snack break! All that hiking works up an appetite. Crackers, nuts, and Chex Mix--yum!

 

 

 I was happy to see Austin has a Colorado patch on his backpack. I like to think that even though he lives in Texas, he is still a Colorado boy at heart!

 

 

There was a playground at the Nature Preserve and we let the girls play for a while. Claire climbed up this twisty ladder to the slide. She is not afraid of anything and wanted to go on the biggest slide. 

 

 

It was great fun and she did it many times. 

 

 

Camille loved the swing! She stayed in it for about a half hour, smiling the whole time.

 

 

 Austin and his girls go for a swing! We had a great time at the Nature Preserve! I hope we can go again sometime when everything is green!

We All Love Braum's Ice Cream

 

No trip to Texas would be complete without at least one stop at Braum's! We went Friday night for dinner. I had a swiss mushroom burger that was SO big I was afraid I wasn't going to have room for any ice cream! Not really. I will ALWAYS have room for ice cream! I had peanut butter cup and cherry limeade. Cherry limeade is my favorite flavor at Braum's! I have never even seen it any where else. Claire had orange sherbet.

 

 

She wanted me to take her picture, and of course, I was happy to do so.

 

 

 

This was Camille's first time to taste ice cream. She was very curious and interested. "That looks so good," she is thinking. 

 

 

She really wanted to grab it.

 

 

 

 Austin also had cherry limeade, which is a little tart. Camille wasn't  sure what to think. Maybe her first taste of ice cream should have been something more sweet. I'm sure she will learn to love it soon.

 

 

 A few bites later and she is still trying to decide if she likes it.

 

 

If you live in Texas, Braum's has to be one of your favorite places!