We love Gma Ann

My grandmother Ann passed away this week (yes the Ann we named Niki after).  Last week we all gathered at her house to say goodby and share our love.  I am so grateful for her life and the wonderful grandmother she was.  I know she will continue to bless our lives as we feel the influence from her spirit.  This experience reminded me of what a joy it will be to greet those who have gone before.  Like Gma would say, I don't really mind death, it's the process that I don't care for so much.  Til then, we love you Grandma Ann!


Gpa Don insisted that we take a flower from the funeral bouquets.  Lily got the first bunch of roses and was tickled pink! Niki fell asleep in the car and missed the whole thing.

NOT what I wanted to do today

I'm surprised at how many times I find myself saying this phrase as a direct result of something Niki has done.  I came up from taking a shower to discover that this was one of those days.  FYI - dry erase marker comes off really easily with wet wipes and baby sunscreen.  Go figure.

Daddy Quilts

A volunteer group in Killeen makes quilts for kids whose parents are deployed. The girls were thrilled to get yet another package from Dad (he ordered them). Niki kept pointing to him and saying "there he is" on each picture. What a wonderful gift they will treasure forever.

Playschool

Rather than spend a fortune to have Lily go to a babysitter (I mean pre-school) I organized a playschool group with some kids in the ward.  I love it! I only have to teach once a month and Lily gets all the social interaction she could desire.

So this week I taught and the lesson was on L, 6, and Grey.  We made grey play dough.

Muler Park

We went up to Muller Park for a picnic.  The weather couldn't be nicer.  Niki discovered that she can go really fast down hills on her firetruck.  I haven't heard her laugh so hard in a long time.  Scared me to death though she was going so fast!

We also went on a hike and discovered all the things that are in the "Bear Hunt" book that happens to be Niki's favorite right now:  Hike through the forest, over the river, through the mud, through the grass, and in the rock cave.  The best was going through the grass. They didn't know you could really do that.  Both girls wanted to go through it again and again.

GO UTES! and This Week with the Wests

We were very excited for the football game.  We got dressed up and went to Gpa Jack's house to watch the game with our cousins.  Gpa Dave even took Lily shopping for red treats to take: Swedish fish, licorice, and fiesta punch.  The girls both cheered during the game.  Niki even noticed that there was a football on the screen and learned how to make the touchdown goals with her fingers.  She would say 'chuch-dun' it in a small mimic voice and make the sign.  Lily just liked to watch and say, 'are the Utes winning now?' over and over. Yea.  Gooooooo UTES!


We escaped the house to the park on Friday, only to find everything was soaked.  We somehow convinced Lily that the big pools at the bottom of the slide were fun like a water slide so down she went.  After the second time she'd had enough because she was freezing.  He he he.


Here's more fun we had this week:

ZipadeeDoDah

Here is the promised performance of Lily singing (and Niki talking).  She was patient enough to sit through several takes until she did her best.  Here are the better ones:

(remember these are movies so you have to click on the picture to watch them)

Swimming Pool

We went swimming at aunt Paige's new pool with my cousins Nate and Paul.  It was really warm so we swam for almost 3 hours!

Nancy's House

We love our visits to Grandma Nancy's. This week we went to the park. Of course we had to wear the new ra ra's so that dad could see them on skype when we talked with him.

Hair Cut

Lily got a hair cut from aunt April. This was a big one for her. She's so cute now!

Park Rock Climbing

We stopped at the park during my run one night. The girls love to ROCK CLIMB

New Clothes

Tyler sent Lily and Niki a package.  They were so excited to get something special from there dad.  It was a very very exciting moment.

Lily remembers watching the U football games with Tyler.  In fact, when we turned on the first game this year, she asked in confusion "Is dad coming home?" as if that was the only way to watch Utes football.  This year, Gpa Dave has eagerly been filling in with the game-time excitement.  Calling home to tell the girls to wear their Utes clothes on game days, putting the schedule on the calendar, cheering with each touchdown.  I didn't know my dad even watched football.  Needless to say, the one "Ra Ra" uniform we had doesn't fit either girl so getting something to fit them was a must.  And who better to send it than their dad.  THANKS TYLER!!!

Oh and I got some new clothes too.  What do you think Tyler?
Here's some pictures of when Niki's package arrived. So the girls had fun cheering up a storm. Heidi came in and said they should cheer for Davis. 'oh that's a good one' said lily. 'ra ra David. Go grandpa Dave.' He was in a really grumpy mood but I thought I saw him smile for a second. Niki just likes going crazy with the pom poms.