Conversations

Callie's rest time has become less about sleep and more about destroying her room. She's been sick, so I thought she might sleep today. I opened her room to find every toy she owns on the floor, along with her wall decor, and the contents of her piggy bank.

Me: "Look at this mess! You're fired!"
Callie. "I am not fired. I am Callie."

"Tea" Party

According to Callie, her dress up clothes can only be used among friends. Evidentally it isn't fun to be a lone princess. She did ask me to put on one of the dresses and didn't understand why it wouldn't fit me.(Bless her.) So on Tuesday we had some friends over for tea( water), delicate finger sandwiches (peanut butter), and fancy dessert (cupcakes.)

Too bad Callie doesn't like frosting.

The party eventually moved outside where the princesses used their tea cups/saucers to dig in the mud!

The Savanahs enjoyed hanging with the big girls.

We missed the other princesses who go to school on Tuesday/Thursday. Let's get together for Fall Break!

Callie's New 'do

I got tired of fighting with Callie's hair. She sleeps with a blanket over her head and wakes up every morning with thick knots and tangles. She also pulls bows and barettes out, so most of the time she looks like her mother doesn't bother to do her hair. It's very sad. You should have seen her school picture. Anyway, after consulting with her stylist (Aunt Stine), we decided a new haircut was in order. Callie wasn't too hip on the idea until her Stine told her it would be a "Dora" haircut. And it would involve a sucker. (I mean the lollipop kind.) She was sold.

The rear view

The bow actually stayed in at school yesterday. A small victory, but we'll take it!

Conversations

A friend of mine has occasional posts on her blog entitled, "Conversations", usually with just random things that kids say. I've decided to have "Conversations" on my blog too. Here's our first:

Chander: "Mom, I'm in love."
Me: "With who?"
Chandler: "I'm not really sure, there are too much girls."

Two trips to Arizona

Sometime in April, I was looking at the calendar in my Mom's kitchen. I noticed that she had a trip scheduled to Arizona over Mother's Day weekend. I asked her, "You're going to be gone for Mother's Day?" She told me that she was going to be spending Mother's Day with HER mother, because it was probably her last one. I looked at her and said, "What?!! What do you mean it's Grandma's last one?" She explaned that Grandma Cook had been to the doctor that week and was told that she should begin work on her "bucket list." A few hours later I too had a plane ticket booked to spend Mother's Day with Grandma Cook. We had a wonderful time. It was such a blessing to be able to spend Mother's Day in the role of the daughter and granddaughter, instead of the mother. We went shopping, ate Mexican food, and just enjoyed being together. I was able to visit my "oldest" friend, Michelle, meaning we've been friends since birth, not actually that she is the oldest. :)

Our moms were visiting teaching companions when they were pregnant with us.

Throughout the weekend, my grandmother kept telling me how grown up I was. She said , "If you're so grown up and mature, no wonder I'm so old!" It was a choice time to be together, to remember our fun times, and say those words that are in our hearts, but not often expressed. I walked around her house and touched those things I remember from my childhood. I saw the books she used to read me, the yard we used to play in, the table where we had Christmas dinner. As I prepared Mother's Day lunch, I recalled how many meals she had made for me. I watched her clean her plate and tell me what a good cook I had become. We attended church together, where she was known and loved by many. She drove herself there every week, leaving Relief Society a few minutes early, as her portable oxygen tank lasted only three hours. When it came time to leave, it was so hard to say goodbye, knowing that I would probably not see her again in this life. She told me she loved me and called me "her beautiful brown eyed Cat." (I was her only brown eyed grandchild for many years.)

On Labor Day, we got the call that Grandma Cook had passed away. It shoudn't have been a shock, but it was. In my mind she was always the spunky lady who wanted to ride Space Mountain one more time at Disneyland, not the frail grandmother I had visited in May. We made arrangements and I was able to fly to Arizona with my Dad and Sister for the funeral. We joined by much family, including all 19 of my Grandma's grandchildren, traveling from all over the country. No one wanted to miss the opportunity to pay their last respects to the amazing woman who taught us so much. The spirit was strong at the funeral, as each of her four children spoke. Her legacy is truly her family. She was a wonderful example a wife and mother. She loved and sacrificed so much. I cannot say enough about this woman who (along with my grandfather) raised my mother. She will be missed, but her teachings and testimony live on in her children.

What a posterity!

All the grandchildren sang the closing song, "Angels Among Us". I tried to keep from crying, but it's hard to sing while biting your bottom lip!

During the funeral, Christine sat next to me and Chad with a box of tissues. We didn't bring a trash can, so we placed the used ones in a pile on the floor at our feet. It was a mountain by the end. I could have used a rain coat! We get our crying gene from our grandmother. (along with the shoe gene.)

We Love you, Grandma and Grandpa!

Just Keep Swimming...

The kids were lucky enough to to be able to take swimming lessons this summer from their Grandma.

Chandler spent almost every day in the pool this summer. He loves the water. He learned how to snorkel, get rings on the bottom of the deep end, and do flips off the diving board.

Callie was a different story. She too, learned many things at her swimming lessons, but she did not enjoy it in the slightest. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Maybe next year?

A horse is a horse, of course, of course!

In honor of the 60th anniversary of the Germantown Charity Horse show, the city of Germantown commissioned 21 ornamental horses, created by local artists. The horses are all over the city, in front of the businesses that sponsored them. The kids have had a great time spotting the different ones along the side of the road. One Sunday afternoon, the whole family loaded up and went on a horse scavenger hunt. Callie thought it was such a treat to ride in Grandpa's car, which is normally a carseat/cheerio free zone. As much I'm sure you'd like to see all 21 horses, I'm just going to give you the highlights.

This one, covered with 15,000 pennies, is called "Horse Cents"

This one is Chandler's favorite, "Purple Reign".

My Mom, Grandma, and the kids in front of "Flower Power".

Callie, our girly girl, loved the pink horse, in honor of "Race for the Cure".

My Dad, the chauffer, could not have been more excited to see the horses.

Strep Throat, Arkansas, and Other Reasons I Haven't Been Blogging

Hello Strangers! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack.......

At a recent girls night, I took some grief for my lack of posting in the past month or so. Life is busy! And for some reason I always seem to find myself without my camera, which makes posts so much less interesting. My husband mentioned that he thinks my camera may be in his car, why, I have no idea. Anyway, I have managed to borrow my Mom's compact flash card and steal some pictures from other blogs. (Thanks guys!)

I won't list the many excuses for getting behind on my posts, although I'm sure the title will give a few hints. Anyway, enjoy the pictures. I'll try to do better, but no promises. (To quote Mary Poppins, "That would be a pie crust promise- easily made, easily broken.") Love to you all!