A Very Fun Staycation!

The girls and I took a staycation.  We love doing these.  Sidney had spotted a new hotel in Meridian a few months back that she wanted to try out.  We decided to give Bailey a little staycation at his favorite kennel as well.  He always comes back incredibly tired.

First stop on our vacation, Idaho Ice World.

We had not been ice skating for awhile, but we quickly picked it back up.  The girls even choreographed their own ice dance in the center of the rink.

 

Next stop was dinner at Ling and Louie's (no pictures, bummer).  Sidney, Kevin and I had eaten there last summer and loved it.  We had to talk Kendall into trying it.  She immediately loved it as well.  The girls favorite part...eating with chopsticks.

After that, we were ready for some hotel fun.  The hotel lobby had these awesome bird chairs.  Sidney has been trying to talk me into getting some for the house.

The lobby also had a pool table.  We spent much of the afternoon and the following morning playing pool.

The girls made time for a couple of dips in the swimming pool, while I relaxed in the hot tub.  The pool had this hilarious dolphin that kept giving the girls a run for their money.  It seemed they kept rolling off it more than they could stay on.

 

It was very fun and relaxing in a 'I do not have to be responsible' kind of way.  Here's to another successful staycation!

A Very Merry (and emotional) Christmas!

Kevin's side of the family came back to help us celebrate Christmas.  At Halloween, Kevin talked us all into running the Christmas 'fun' Run.  He had no intention of running it, but he managed to talk us into it.  We dressed up, but found that we were actually quite under-dressed.  There were some amazing costumes.

 

 

I had to get a close up of Sidney.  She put wrapping bows on the sides of her glasses.

 

The run was awesome.  It was a cold morning, but it felt great to get out and do it.  It was also awesome to think that Kevin had put us up to this and was with us in spirit.

Here is our clan, most of it.  Chip was taking the picture and Lisa and Kaden had left for the night.

Sidney read a nativity poem and used my Willow Tree set as props.

Kendall played a couple of Christmas songs on the piano.

The girls did a very special candle lighting ceremony to honor and remember their dad. 

Kevin and I got the girls hoverboards for Christmas.  I would like it noted that I thought this was a TERRIBLE idea.  Kevin assured me that we had insurance.  Fortunately, it only took a few minutes for the girls to figure them out.  Now they are riding around the neighborhood.

 

 

Lisa stayed a couple of extra days and took the girls to a movie and swimming. 

It was a great Christmas.  There were a number of moments that my heart felt very heavy, but mostly we celebrated and tried to remember the ones that were not here this year!

The First Snowfall and Christmas Baking.

We had our first snowfall at the end of November.  It was enough snow for a decent sized snowman.  The girls played outside most of the day.  They went sledding with the neighbor boys.  We have not had much snow to speak of since.  I hope I did not just jinx us by typing that.

  

The girls had fun baking sugar cookies this year.  They made plates for the neighbors and for their Awana classes.

This picture captures the silliness and fun that they have while they bake and decorate. 

 

The next day, they got busy making gingerbread houses.

True to their form, more candy went into their mouths than on the houses. 

The Performers.

The girls have had a number of performances this month.  Kendall's piano teacher usually reserves a recital hall, but she decided to have a Sunday afternoon recital at her home.  It was beautiful and unexpectedly emotional for me.  We were in a hurry to get there as we only had an hour in between dog training and the recital.  We quickly went home to get cleaned up.  When we arrived, the program listed Kendall as the first performer.  She sat up to the piano.  The moment she began to play, I could barely hold back the tears.  Kevin lived for these things.  He loved to watch her play.  She did a lovely job.  He would have been very proud.

 

Sidney had her mid year parent performance in drama class.  This is just a time for the kids to show off a few things they are learning.  It was very fun to watch.  I continue to marvel at how much this class has helped her come out of her shell.

 

 Last up was Kendall's choir performance.  She had such a fun time performing.  They did a number called The Reindeer Rap, which had everyone laughing. 

 

As we were leaving the school, Kendall showed us this board outside of the office.  She pointed out a special card that had her name on it.

I know all of the things that her teacher said to be true.  However, it sure is awesome to see her acknowledged for all of her hard work!

Welcome to December!

It is hard to believe that December is already here.  While AshLee was in town for Kevin's services, she took Sid out for a date night.  It was an awesome gift that was much needed for Sid.  She loves her quality time.  They both got their toes and fingers done.

 

Then they went out for funny face pancakes.  AshLee claims she had a salad, yet where is it in the picture?  Those pancakes are hard to resist:)

Sidney had not just one, but two, friendly encounters with Santa this year (evidence below).  The funny story on this one is that we had just run into this very same Santa and Mrs. Claus an hour earlier at the Christian book store.  When we entered the store, Sidney ran and hid from him, knocking three Willow Tree Angels off the shelf in the process.  After the book store, we met Terrell, Lisa and Kaden at Sizzler for Terrell's birthday dinner.  When we walked in, there was Santa!  This time, Sidney was not afraid.  She chatted with him.  He showed the girls some magic tricks and told them a few jokes.

As we were eating dinner at Sizzler, the snow began to fall.  It snowed all night.  The girls woke up early and ran outside to build a snowman.  They named him 'Larry'.  Within a few days, he was 'Leaning Larry'.  Now the only thing left of him is the carrot for his nose.

Bailey graduated from beginner dog training.  It had been fun.  The girls and I have been taking him each week.  He had learned a little and played a lot.  We are going to move on to intermediate training.  It is essentially the same commands with more distractions.  He is a golden retriever, the king of getting distracted. 

We celebrated Kevin's birthday on December 4th.  Terrell made his favorite, pineapple upside down cake.

The girls and I had decided to hold off decorating our photo tree until his birthday.  We ate cake and put the ornaments on the tree. 

We decided to add a unique ornament to the tree each year, in honor of Kevin.  This was the first one we chose.  It is beautiful!

Honoring a True Hero.

Kevin had a beautiful day honoring his life.  The afternoon began with a military burial service at the Idaho State Veteran's Cemetery.  It was amazing and respectful of the years that Kevin dedicated to serving this country.

 

 

 

After the burial, we had a celebration of Kevin's life at our church.  Jason and Hallie had put together a slideshow and music list that showed his life and passions.

We chose to use the words of Psalm 23 throughout both services.  This passage has given our family great comfort the past few years.  There were many nights that I would wake up at 2 or 3 am and begin to worry about life and what the future might hold.  I memorized this passage and would recite it, drawing comfort from it. 

 

Lisa and Sherry put together some beautiful displays of Kevin's life.  The night before the service,. Kendall took her friends from youth group up to see them.  It was awesome to sit back and listen to her proudly tell stories of her dad. 

Our relationship.

Our family.

Our girls.

Kevin's military career.

Kevin's career in coaching and athletics.

His childhood and growing up.

 

His sweet tooth.  Lisa set up bowls so the girls could share their dad's favorite candy with everyone. 

Our friend Bridget did the flowers for the service.  She knew just the right arrangements to make.  They even included a small bouquet of daisies.  Kevin had picked me a wild bouquet during one of our dates in New Zealand.  When we were married, that was the flower that we used for our wedding.

It was an amazing day, honoring the life of an amazing man.  A great father.  A great son.  A great husband.  A great teacher, coach and mentor.  A great soldier.  A great friend.