Our Beautiful Daughter

A few weeks ago I took Anastasia out for her senior pictures. We had a great time, just the two of us and the camera. We took the computer with us as well so we could upload after each shoot and decide if we liked them or not. The weather was not real cooperative as it was a little darker than I wanted it to be and it started raining at the end. You can see some of the rain on a couple of them. The rain didn't spoil our party, we had fun. I still can't believe that I have an 18 year old daughter. What a beautiful person she is, inside and out!

Black Saturday!

Yep, it was that time again. Each year my mom, sister and I go shopping on black Friday. Hollee had to work Friday so they came over from Redmond on Saturday and off we went. Nikki had to work so she couldn't join us, next year though. Hollee's baby Dulcie joined us for the day, she was a great little shopper! We started our shopping experience with lunch to fuel us up for the big afternoon. After that we were off. We shopped all afternoon and just had a fun time. The highlight of our shopping is the caramel apple that we always get and share. I am already looking forward to next year.

Christmas Fun!

Last Friday, we took Buzz and Mulan to the Festival of Trees. It's a fundraiser and companies decorate Christmas trees and then they auction them off with big trips and other fun things. We didn't go to the auction part we just went to look at all the big trees and admire the creative genius that goes with them. We were once again amazed and the kids really enjoyed looking at all the trees. We took a break and decided to let the kids decorate their own mini-tree and what a fun time we had. Mufasa and I did one as well and we donated ours to a local nursing home. It was a great way to kick off the holiday season!

Stefanie Daley's Hindorf

Here is a video that I put together of Stef's bars at gym. Her coaches are in contact with a college so hopefully something will come of it. The Hindorff move (the one on the top bar) is an extremely difficult move. According to Stefanie's coaches there are not many girls in the country that can do this move. Yes.....she is amazing.........

Good-Bye Jeep

Well the Jeep that Santa brought Anastasia for Christmas about ten years ago had to go. It has been sitting in the garden for over a year now and it was time to send it to Jeep heaven, aka the recycle center. Anastasia was our neighborhood taxi for many kids and if her brother's were nice to her she might even let them drive it every now and again. The things she could do with her own wheels were endless. The trunk was her main storage and she would carry everything from dolls to rocks in it. She even transported things like snakes and frogs for her brothers. Her friend Alexis had a red jeep and for awhile they forgot how to walk anywhere. If she couldn't take her jeep, she didn't want to go. Why ride two wheels when you can have four, that was her motto for an entire summer. She put countless miles on the jeep and eventually her knees were up to her chest when she would sit in it. When Mulan and Buzz came along we replaced the batteries, wheels and a few other parts to keep it working. They too enjoyed the jeep but all too soon their knees were up to their chests when they would sit in it as well. It was a tired Jeep and no longer in working order. It was time to say Good-Bye.
Buzz and Mulan took the lead in dismantling the Jeep. Mufasa was the overseer on the project providing support and instructions for them. Buzz is very good with a screwdriver and had the most interest as he stayed with the project until almost the end. Mulan was interested at first, but then her soccer ball and squirt gun were calling her. In the end it went the way of all projects. Dad was left to finish and clean up.

Anastasia the Princess

Prom was this last Saturday and I have to say that Anastasia had to be the most beautiful girl there. I saw some of the kids around town and there are sure a lot of ugly dresses out there. She picked out the kind of dress she wanted and then her dates mother was kind enough to make it for her. She is such a beautiful girl inside and out and I love her so much. I am proud of the young woman she is becoming.

Mufasa did a little shortening of the dress, he's such a great dad!

Sahalie Falls

Last Friday Reena, Ryan and I headed to Redmond to see my parents. They have been working on their house over there for the last five months. They purchased a foreclosed house and they gutted it and started over. New carpet, cabinets, countertops, molding, and paint. My dad did a ton of work on the place and we wanted to see the finished product. Their place looks great and unfortunately I forgot my camera. My parents have spent countless hours over there and it is worth it.
On our way we stopped at Sahalie Falls, a great half-way spot to stop when Ryan is feeling carsick. We had Gracie with us too and I think she appreciated the stop as well as she also gets carsick. I took these pictures with my cell phone so that's why they are not all that great. Reena and Ryan could have stayed there all day. We walked to the top of the falls and looked all around. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed the relaxing beautiful environment. What a great day!

Ryan has been doing a ton of growing!!

Oh, how I will miss him!

Lightning McQueen will soon be leaving us as he starts to spread his wings and learns to fly. He has been accepted at BYU Idaho and will begin in mid April. Emi-K, if you think it's hard letting her to kindergarten, wait until you send her off to college! I thought it might be easier since he is number two, but it's not.

I have soooo many thoughts running through my mind.

Did I teach him everything he needs to know?
Will he remember to pray and have faith when the world seems to be crashing in around him? Does he know that Heavenly Father loves him and will look out for him if he will trust him?
Did I teach him enough about integrity and honesty?
Will he be respectful of the girls he dates?
Will he make good choices at school and in his life?
Will he continue to make music a big part of his life?

Will he be a responsible citizen?
Will he slow his driving down? I think he's learning this one.
Will he remember to remove his clothes from the dryer? Sometimes.
Will he keep his room tidy? Probably not!
Will he still make runs to McDonalds or Taco Bell at 1am? Yep!
Many, many more questions that go through my mind............

Of course, I hope that we have taught him most of these things. The reality of it is that while he thinks he might know these things, he will have to learn some of them for himself when he is on his own. He will need to rely on his knowledge and faith to help guide him.

Is he ready?? Yes, he is definately ready!!
Will he make mistakes??? Of course, we all do! But like me, he will hopefully learn and grow from them.

Things I will miss most about Lightning:

Hearing his music on a regular basis. I love his violin and will miss hearing it late at night even though I sometimes complain. I will miss his piano playing and hearing him sing and play the guitar. He is gifted and I hope he continues to develop his abilities.

Having him around all the time. When he got laid-off from Monaco, it took him a very long time to land a job and I have gotten used to him always being here. I will really miss his presence.

His presence at dinner. Our dinner table is getting smaller and I'm not convinced I like it.

His willingness to be helpful. He has shown a lot of growth and maturity in the last year and is usually very willing to help me out when I need it.

Hearing Lightning and Anastasia talking late into the night.

Watching him play with Mulan and Buzz.

Watching him play with Parker and Gracie.

The ability to give him a hug when he needs it.

Seeing his smiling face everyday as I have for over the last 19 years.




Things I will not miss about Lightning:

The smell of food cooking after midnight. Popcorn is the worst!

The sound of the video game rumble after midnight.

Toothpaste in the bathroom sink. Yuk!

Hearing him coming home from three miles away because his car is decked out with massive speakers.


I am very proud of the choices that he has made in his life and I know that he will be just fine while he is away. I am happy that he can go to college and learn some new things. But, oh how I will miss him!!!!!!