Joy School Grad

Preston had his Joy School graduation this past Sunday night.  I can't believe he's done with preschool!  This next year will be the first time in four years that we won't have a kiddo in Miss Jen's Joy School.  What am I going to do without a preschooler?  And what are we going to do without Miss Jen?!  It's a good thing I already put Jilly on her waiting list.  :)

 Showing off the family flag.  This is the same flag we've had for the last four years.  I made it out of the kids holey jeans.  It never fails to amaze me how quickly they get holes on the knees of their new pants.

 Preston, singing one of his Joy School songs about reaching goals.  I love how animated he is.

 Doing the Joy School cheer.

 Miss Jen told the parents something special about each of the kids.  She talked about what a quick learner Preston was, once he decided he wanted to learn.  :)  That's pretty typical of our Buds.

 Preston earned all of his stars.  Getting his hug from Miss Jen.

 The graduate.  It was all I could do to get him away from his plate of refreshments to get a quick picture.

We love Miss Jen and are so grateful for the wonderful education she has given our little Buds.  She is the absolute best!

It's Cupcake Time!

Summertime means cupcake time at our house.  Several years ago we started what is now known as the Cupcake Tradition.  Once a week one of the kids gets to look through my cupcake cookbooks, or at all of the cupcake recipes I've downloaded online, and they get to pick whatever kind of cupcake they want for that week.

It was Preston's turn to pick this week and he chose Pina Colada cupcakes.  Super yummy.  Next week is Viv's turn.  Can't wait to see what she picks.  Or rather taste what she picks.  ;)

Dad

My dad has been on my mind a lot lately.  It's been over ten years now since he passed away.  I was in the car the other day, driving along and listening to the radio when a Pink Floyd song came on (one of my dad's favorite groups).  It was the song "Brain Damage".  Of all the things, it brought tears to my eyes.  I was raised on Classic Rock.  It's all my parents listened to.  I didn't even know there were other genres of music until I was close to ten.  I thought groups like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and The Beatles were all that was out there.  So, my brother and I heard the "Brain Damage" song a lot growing up.  My dad had the "lunatic" laugh down pat.  To.A.Tee.  So it became a habit for my brother and I to ask my dad to do the lunatic laugh.  More like beg him to do it.  Beg and beg and beg.  And the more we begged, the more stubborn he became about not doing the lunatic laugh.  I think he just liked hearing us beg.  :)  My dad was always a prankster.  It wouldn't be until about five minutes after we stopped begging that the maniacal laughter would begin, which would make us laugh like lunatics too.  Anyway... Who knew a Pink Floyd song could be so sentimental?

I often wonder what life would be like if dad were still here with us?  Less empty I think.  Not that life feels horribly empty.  There are just certain times in life when I really would like my dad to be here.  Like when my brother graduated from the School of Mines this last December.  I can honestly say it was the first time I ever felt angry about my dad being gone.  It kind of took me by surprise that I could be so incredibly mad about it after so many years.  And then there have been the times when I've had babies.  As joyous an occasion as it was, there was always a little hole there.  My dad was gone by the time I had my last three kiddos.  Their blessing days were really tough on me.  Beautiful moments, but tough.  I'm sure my dad was their in spirit, but I really wanted him there physically.

For several years after he died, I couldn't look at pictures of my dad.  And when thoughts of him would come to my mind, I would push them away.  I would go days and weeks without thinking of him at all.  It was almost as if I thought that if I could forget he had ever been there, then I wouldn't feel so sad.  Of course that wasn't true though.  And I was fooling myself to think I could ever forget.

I always thought the more time that went by, the easier it would get.  The truth is, it never gets easier, you just learn to cope.  I still miss my dad as much today as the day he died.  In some ways I miss him even more.  I miss seeing him grow older with my mom.  I miss seeing him be a part of my kids' lives.  I'm sad that my three youngest kids didn't get to be with him in this life.  He was such a wonderful grandpa in the few short years my two older boys got to be with him.  Trenton still remembers being thrown sky high in the air by his grandpa.  And the wrestling sessions.  My dad used to lay on the floor on his stomach and let Trenton jump all over him.  We're talking running down the hall, great flying leaps.  We all thought it was hilarious until Trenton started to do that to the kids in nursery.  I guess he thought that was how you played with other people because that's what he did with grandpa. :)  Oh, and then there were the "bonks".  My dad would tell Trenton, "Give me bonks."  To which Trenton would promptly give my dad a head butt.  And when my boys were babies, you have never seen such a baby hog in all your life as my dad.  Which is so funny to me because when Trent and I first told our parents we were expecting a baby, my dad was mortified that he was going to be a grandpa.  At the ripe old age of forty, he was convinced he wasn't yet old enough for that.  But the closer I got to the end of my pregnancy the more the idea of being a grandpa grew on him, to the point that he told his boss and coworkers, "If I get the call the my daughter is in labor, I'm out of here, I don't care what is going on."  So much for not wanting to be a grandpa initially.  ;)

I had a dream about my dad not too long after he had died.  In my dream he was blind, but it was his task to lead us to our destination.  We were traveling by foot, through grassy meadows, forests, and uneven, rocky terrain.  And although my dad was blind, he never tripped or stumbled... not once.  I kept saying, "Dad, you're blind.  How are you going to lead us to where we need to go.  You can't even see!"  He repeatedly told me that he didn't need to see, he knew the way, and that everything was going to be fine.  I couldn't stop worrying about the fact that he was our leader and he was blind!  But he was also the only one who knew the way to where we were going, so I finally just had to trust that he could get us there.  That dream actually brought me a lot of peace and comfort.

I know we will get to be with my dad again.  That is the beauty of Heavenly Father's plan.  And I know my dad is still here with us, even if we can't see him and talk to him.  We have our very own guardian angel.  And there have been several times we have needed one.  Like the time Preston was a little younger than two.  He fell down our unfinished basement stairs to land on the concrete floor below, and the only thing he had to show for it was a tiny little bruise, the size of a dime, on the side of his cheek.  Or the time Vivian's porcelain piggy bank fell off the top shelf of her closet and landed right on her head, breaking into tiny porcelain shards all over the place.  The only mark it made was a tiny little cut on the side of her knee.  And there have been many other times that I swear we were protected by the arms of an angel.

I can look at pictures of my dad now.  I actually love to look at them.  Sometimes it brings tears to my eyes, but I'm okay with that.  And every time I think about him, I embrace the thoughts that come.  I don't push them away any more.  I think it means that after all of these years, I'm starting to heal.  :)

Spirit Week

This was Preston's last week of Preschool.  So bittersweet!  The other day when I told him this was his last week, he said, "Yep!  And then I'm going to Kindergarten!"  I made sure he realized he won't start Kindergarten until after the summer break.  I'm glad he's so excited about it.

For their last week of school, they got to have spirit week.

 Tuesday was pajama day.  This is Preston with one of his best buddies, B.

 Wednesday was crazy hair day.  My personal favorite!

And today was school colors day.  (Red, yellow, and blue.)  They also got to have field day today, which Preston loved!

I can't believe how big my boy is getting.  The other night when I was putting him to bed, I gave him a big kiss on the cheek and he said, "You're going to pay for that!  From now on every time you kiss me, you're going to owe me $12.00!"  I told him I guess he wouldn't be getting any more kisses from now on.  He promptly told me, "Mom, you know I'm just joking! You don't have to pay me $12.00."  He likes to pretend he hates getting kisses from mom, but I know better!  ;)  One of my favorite things he does is he calls sneezes bless you's.  The other day Jilly sneezed on him and he said, "Ugh... Jilly just bless you'd all over me!  Gross!"  So cute.  I sure love this boy.  I'm grateful he has been able to go to Miss Jen's Joyschool the last two years.  I know he is so excited about Kindergarten, but I wish he would stop growing up so fast!  I'm glad Kindergarten is only half day so we can still spend plenty of time together.  I'm not ready for him to be away from me all day yet!

Memorial Weekend 2012

We started off our weekend with a family BBQ/b-day party for Trenton and Sean.  (Grandma and grandpa Stock were out of town on the real birthday, so they had another party so we could celebrate with everyone together.)  It was a very windy day this past Saturday.  Apparently windy enough to blow down half of mom and dad's flowering pear tree in their back yard.

 We were all sitting around visiting together after eating copious amounts of delicious food, then CRACK!  And half the tree was lying on its side.

In no time flat, the guys had pulled the saw and chainsaw out of the garage and were working to clear the tree off the fence.

There was another split down the side of the limb that was left standing, so the guys decided they better chop it down.  They were all in their element!  They had so much fun.  ;)

Colson even got in on the action.  Preston was disappointed that his dad wouldn't let him have a turn with the saw.  He was even more disappointed when daddy made him stay in the house.

He ended up getting a front row seat though.  You can see him and Vivi watching from the dining room window.

 Poor tree.  Mom and dad planted this tree in their back yard over 20 years ago.  This wasn't it's first mishap.  Several years ago it lost half of its big branches in a snowstorm.  The leaves were still on the tree when the snow hit, and it was a really heavy snow.  The poor tree couldn't hold the weight of it, and the whole middle section of the tree came crashing down into the yard.  By the next year, the surrounding branches had grown upward and filled in the space of the missing limbs and it looked beautiful as ever.  Not this time though, darn it.

TIMBER!

 There was a nest in the tree that had two baby birds in it.

Poor babies.  I hope they make it.

 This is mom and dad's neighbor, Sam.  She came to party with us.  As she left that night, she told Janet, "I love your family.  They're so fun and wild!"  We are a pretty crazy bunch, I have to say.  Never a dull moment.

 Once the tree was all torn down, we went back to partying.

 Singing "Happy Birthday" to each other.

 Love the faces.

 Money bags.  Grandpa and grandma gave him a box of money too.  Funnest gift ever!

 The kids hadn't had enough excitement yet and were dying to take a stroll up to the park.  We played lots of Frisbee and let the kids run and run and run.  I need their energy!

Jilly absolutely LOVES the swing.

The next day was Sunday, so we went to church, then came home and made our chocolate chip cookies, like we do every Sunday.  Then the kids begged and begged us to start a fire in the fire pit so we could have s'mores. 

 They didn't have to beg very hard.

 It was a pretty chilly night; perfect night to hang around the fire pit.  And with the tree falling down, we have enough wood to last us all summer!

 On Monday we headed to the pool so Vivi could try out her new swim goggles.  We had tons of fun this weekend being able to spend so much time together!  I need more weekends like that.

Birthday Boys!

 

Last week we celebrated Trenton and Sean's birthday.  It was 13 years ago that Trenton was born on Sean's birthday.  I think they like having the same birthday.  They are two peas in a pod.

Since his birthday was on a school day, Trent and I took lunch to Trenton.  This was the first time I had taken lunch to him at the middle school.  His choice was a whole meat lover's pizza.  (He likes to share with his friends.)  :)  His friends were very nice though.  They didn't want to take any until Trenton had had his fill.  Very polite for a bunch of 7th grade boys.  Once Trenton was done, the pizza went fast!  It was so fun to have lunch with him and meet some of the friends we hear him mention all the time.

As always, Trenton chose breakfast for his birthday dinner.  We had the works... Homemade waffles, with homemade syrup, whipped cream, mixed berries, cheesy eggs, hash browns, and sausage.  This kid loves his breakfast food!

He prefers cheesecake over cake, so I gave him my new cheesecake cookbook to peruse, and he chose a blackforest cheesecake.

 There were lots of steps to this one, but it sure turned out yummy!

 

 Getting ready for the balloon launch.

 

With all of the birthdays we've had lately, we've found that Jilly really LOVES balloons.  :)

 Sean's friend Brock (far left) came over for a little while to celebrate with us.  While I was trying to get everyone together for the balloon launch, I told Preston to go over and stand by Brock.  He said, "No mom.  His name isn't Brock.  It's Rock!"  I explained that actually no, it wasn't Rock, it was Brock, and he said, "Uh, okay."  After everyone else heard this though, Brock ended up being dubbed Uncle Rock.  My kids think Uncle Rock is the bomb.

Bye birthday wishes!  Hope you all come true!

 Singing "Happy Birthday".  You've never heard the "Happy Birthday" song until you've heard it sung by Trent's family.  Awesome I tell you.  ;)

 What did I tell you?  Peas in a pod.

 They even look a lot alike.  Vivi was just happy to sit in Sean's lap and laugh at them being so goofy.

 There goes one birthday boy's candles.

 Then the others.

 Trenton was extra spoiled this year and got the electric guitar he's been dreaming of having for the last year.  He loves it!  He sounds awesome.

 Happy birthday boys!  Hope it was the best yet!

St. Patrick's Day, A Little Late

I was scrolling through our pictures the other day and realized I totally forgot to post our St. Patrick's Day happenings.  I thought since this was the first year we did more than just wear green for the holiday, it was worth posting.

Vivi came home from school the day before SPD desperately wanting to catch a Leprechaun.  So we built a trap.

 She was so sure it was going to work.

 After all, we left him some treats and some gold.

 But all that naughty Leprechaun did was make a mess of our house!

 He made all our pictures on the walls hang crooked, and knocked over tons of furniture.

 And he left his dirty little footprints everywhere.  But no Leprechaun.  Vivi and Preston were so disappointed.  Maybe next year.