Grandma

My grandma passed away on Thursday evening of Ovarian Cancer. I wept tears of thanks that she had left us as things had gotten to the point where her life on earth was no longer enjoyable or comfortable for her. But I also cried. A lot. Selfish tears. Because I still wanted her here. For me. For my girls.

I didn't tell the girls that their Grandma Oh-Oh had passed away until Saturday morning. It wasn't pleasant. They cried. A lot. I was not surprised by Taylor's tears- I knew she would be upset and she was. She was devastated that she hadn't gotten to give her one last goodbye. One last hug. Trying to explain to a 7 year old that you were protecting her from something that I knew she would remember (not in a good way)for the rest of her life is almost impossible. Her love for Grandma was undeniable. Our sweet, sensitive girl already misses her. All day she would drop random comments like: "I'm going to make someone a pretend chair. I would make one for Grandma Oh- Oh, but she's dead now" or, "Where is she being buried at?"

and "Well, if she isn't being buried, where is her body?". We will continue to talk with her, shower her with even more love than usual. I was much more surprised by Maddie's tears. She is our girl who lets just about everything roll off her back. But today, she stopped, thought and cried. Real tears. She listened as I talked and after about 5 minutes, I saw my Maddie girl in true form- "Mom, could you un pause the T.V. now?" Bless her!

It's been a long week for all of us and so I suggested to Dave that maybe we should hop in the motor home and head for the ocean for the day. When we mentioned it to the girls they were thrilled by the idea of getting out of town. It was really just what we all needed. Here's what I thought about and realized while we were there today.....

We are strong. United. Courageous.

We have a good thing going here. That even in tough times, we have one another to lean on, to laugh with.

That a smile can go a long way in melting a mama's heart and making it feel that much better.

That no matter where I am in my life I've always got this guy. My rock. My love. My support.

That in any kind of situation- from a wedding, a 100% on a spelling test, a lost tooth, to a loved one lost, these 2 can make everything better- I take that back, they can make everything great!

Grandma, I love you. You will always be in my heart.

First Day of School!

The first day of school was extra fantastic this year for all of us!

Despite feeling nervous and scared about her first day of Kindergarten she had an amazing day and has adjusted to life with Mrs. Ott very quickly and smoothly!

I made these pennants and posters (courtesy of Pinterest) for their big days as I wasn't home to take their pictures! Thanks to Grandma Kathy and Grandma Carolyn for getting them ready and taking lots of pictures!

Taylor was beyond excited to head to second grade! She loves her teacher and has quickly settled into her usual school routine....and she's excited that it's been two weeks and she still hasn't had homework! It's hard to believe that she's in 2nd grade already- she is acting more and more like an adult every day.

2nd Grade 2011

Kindergarten 2011

Can I tell you how nice it is that they are both at the same school and same daycare? Loving it!

Maddie girl in her Kindergarten room!

A very happy little girl getting off the bus!

Dave and I also had great first days of school! Dave loves his new job and is enjoying the staff and students! We are loving that he is so close to us- we even went to a volleyball game with him last week- so fun! I am living the dream right now- I have a class from heaven- I have a few students who like to cause some waves but they are minor compared to some of the behaviors I'm seeing in the other two first grade classes. I'm enjoying each day and my fingers are crossed that we don't get any new special friends that might disrupt this greatness (please note that now that I've said this, I'll have one waiting for me tomorrow morning!)

Tumwater Falls!

The weather has been SO beautiful this past week and we haven't really been able to enjoy it due to Miss Maddie's recent illness. So we decided to head outside for a bit as a family- we love Tumwater Falls and it's an easy, short little hike that the girls can do. Apparently, Maddie is still a bit tired and recovery from all her time down as she fell asleep in the car and continued to sleep as we arrived to our destination. So....Dave and Maddie stayed in the car and Taylor and I headed outside to enjoy the Falls! (Not exactly as I had pictured our family outing!)

My mom had recently bought Taylor and Maddie new running shoes for back to school and it's always been a rule that you can't wear anything new until school starts BUT we broke the rules yesterday (shh...don't tell Grandma!) and Taylor thought she was pretty H.O.T. stuff in her new shoes! It was one of those days where she would've let me take her picture for anything and everything. I only posted a few of my favorites for you!

Notice the shoes....and her H.U.G.E. feet (she's gonna be a tall one!)

I feel like I should be fast forwarding to Senior year in high school in this picture :) This is my favorite!

The scenery was breath taking yesterday!

This picture is where she got the new shoes wet and muddy :) They are officially broken in!

By the time we got back to the car BOTH Dave and Maddie were sleeping! We woke them up and headed to the neighboring park and then finished our outing with some B & R ice cream!

It's almost time for back to school- I packed 4 lunches last night and we are about to head out the door this morning. The girls are going to their daycare for the day and I'm working in my classroom. Then, I have my LID day tomorrow and Open House on Wednesday. Happy Week Everyone!

Soaking It Up!

As our last few weeks of summer are nearing we have been living it up with....

Impromptu get togethers with friends....

Rock On!

What is better than a 4 man slip and slide?

This girl loves to slip n slide!

And going downtown to see parades.....

The bag pipes are my favorite.

The pet parade is a favorite at our house! This years theme was Villains vs. Superhero's!

And heading to Seattle for our first Storm game.....

LOVE Tay's face in this picture! Makes me LAUGH every time I look at it!

Not gonna lie- I loved going to the game, loved the people, the activities and these spirit sticks!

It was a beautiful night and when we walked out of the game the Space Needle was gorgeous!

This week we've been home quite a bit as Maddie girl has had the summer flu. Poor girl has been fighting a 103 temp for 5 days now and has been laid up in bed. She's been to the doctor and they've taken blood and checked her out- they think a few more days and she should be back as good as new. We are looking forward to it!

I head back to work next week for my LID day and open house and to get all those bulletin boards up and decorated! Reality is about to set in for me! Not sure if I'm ready to give up my Jammie's until 10 and drinking coffee all morning routine quite yet!

Dave has been at work all summer and is really enjoying his new job! He has finally been able to meet a lot of the students this week as they had registration and he gets to meet and interact with his new staff early next week as they begin their LID days as well.

Taylor is anxiously waiting to find out who her 2nd grade teacher is going to be (don't you remember those days??)! She watches for the mailman to come each day and runs as fast as she can to the mailbox. I'm hoping the letter arrives soon for her sake!

Crescent Bar!

The girls and I took a little 5 day trip over the mountains this past week to go to Crescent Bar with my mom, sister, Emilie and Trey. It's become a tradition and one that we all love doing! We decided that on the way over we would all meet in Leavenworth. I L.O.V.E. Leavenworth. The girls did too! They are at that age where they can make fun wherever they go....

Hence, the rock climbing.

The posing for picture with their cousins, Emilie and Trey.

And with Grandma Kathy.

They even liked going into the shops (The Christmas store being a favorite!). Maddie was always nice enough to come outside with Trey and I to wait- he wasn't as interested in shopping!

And the hats....who wouldn't have fun in the Hat Shop?

We ended the visit with ice cream....well, the adults did. The kids each wanted candy. You can't beat a bag full of gummy bears or a long stick of sugar!

After we arrived at Crescent Bar it was time for a swim! And if you ever needed to find me at any point during the trip, you could usually find me here :)

(I love Emilie's "silly" face. When I asked her to make one she looked at me like I was cRaZy!)

I'm quite certain I could pull this picture out of my 2010 summer photos as well. I'm not sure what we are going to do when 1. Her Ariel bathing suit no longer fits here and 2. When the Care Bear floating that I got from the $ store 3 years ago pops.

We had lots of down time. For me, this picture says it all- and why I treasure our families oh so much.

If I was lucky enough to leave the pool (don't feel too badly for me- I did get to read an entire book AND lay out in the sun while doing this- two of my favorite things!!) I would get to go down to the river where Maddie and I spent a lot of time on the jet ski! Thank you to Danny and Pam for all the rides :)

She was most happy in any kind of water this week!

Maddie fell in love with this old life jacket that used to be Jill's when she was a little girl. I'm thinking we have room for her to grow into it!

Sisters. We were still smiling after our trip together :) Love you Darci!

A First for Maddie!

Miss Maddie lost her first tooth this week! She has been waiting in the shadows of her big sister for this moment to happen for what seems like forever! And when it happened it was like Christmas morning for her! Here's what happened. I was in my craft room working on headbands and she comes in with a whole apple and says to me that she thinks that her tooth is bleeding because her apple is all bloody. I look at her tooth and sure enough, it's as loose as can be! She squealed with excitement and for the next two hours would come and find me every ten minutes to wiggle it and try to pull it out. Finally, while eating dinner we gave it one last try and out it came! She was one happy girl! I have to tell you though, I had some seriously mixed emotions...I was thrilled for her but at the same time, almost started crying. My BABY is loosing her teeth. Her first, but my last. SaD. But this new smile she's got going can't keep me down for long.....

Her sister was as sweet as could be, letting her borrow her special tooth box since Maddie doesn't have one of her own.

Her letter to the tooth fairy was direct and to the point. Not even a hello!

One last shot of this very excited girl! And I have to tell you that she woke up at 4:30 a.m. and carried her loot (which consisted of a Justin Bieber spiral notebook, a pencil and a new glittery t-shirt) into our room to show us and then couldn't go back to bed due to her

excitement!