Galentines Weekend.

Valentine's week was a bit hard for me.  I know that Valentine's is just a commercial holiday.  However, the girls always made Valentine's such a special day for Kevin and I.  They would always plan a special date night dinner at home for us.  For many years, they would decorate, serve us and leave.  The past few years, we have asked them to stay and enjoy the evening with us.  I knew it would be hard, so I asked my sister, Hallie and Terrell to join us for a 'Gal'entine's dinner.  It was fortunate that my sister was planning a trip down. 

The whole week I felt a bit blue.  I went to Costco and found this beautiful bouquet to brighten up the house.  It reminded me so much of Kevin and the flowers he used to buy for me.

The day of Valentine's, several of Kevin's friends reached out to wish us well.  Our dear friend, Richard, lives in Chicago.  He got ahold of Terrell and asked her to pick up some flowers and candy for the girls and I.  The thought meant so much to me!

 

For our Galentine's dinner, we had homemade pizza and Terrell brought a delicious chocolate dessert.

Sidney decorated the table and the dining room for our special dinner.

 

Kendall went to her first middle school dance that day.  It was from 3:30 to 5pm.  She came in the door looking amazing.  The dance was themed 'paparazzi'.  She and her friends 'dressed to the nines'. 

 

Hallie spent dinner with us.  Her boyfriend came over promptly at 6:30pm, which was the earliest we told him he could arrive. 

 

We each made or brought small valentine gifts to exchange with each other.  My mom was not able to make it down, but sent gift for everyone.  She got Terrell this super cute table runner.

 

My mom got my sister and I cute Valentine's towels and delicious chocolates.

 

On Saturday night, Hallie and Jeremy went to a movie while we tried our hand at ceramics.

 

 

On Sunday morning, we went to the cemetery to visit Kevin's gravesite.  It was the first time the girls had been.  They had wanted to wait until Aunt Stephie was here.  They felt that she would bring me great comfort.  She did!  She also made it possible for me to spend some one-on-one time with each of the girls while we were there.  Visiting is so hard.  Everything seems so permanent and final.  It is good, emotionally, to be there though.  We miss his presence every single day.

 

Reluctantly, my sister and Hallie headed home.  The girls and I will miss them!

Ballet and Basketball.

I decided to buy the girls and I tickets to a ballet at the Nampa Civic Center.  We were all so excited to go.  The day of the ballet, Sidney came down with a super high fever and felt horrible.  I was tempted to cancel, but Terrell encouraged Kendall and I to go, while Sidney slept.  We did, and it was amazing.  It was a performance by the Capitol City Youth Ballet.  They did an amazing job!

 

My best friend from third grade, Lorain, has a daughter that plays on Lakeland's high school basketball team.  The team made it to the state tournament this year.  We were excited to go watch Katie play.  The team was a bit nervous, but they seemed to calm down in the second half.  Moreover, it was awesome to see them make the tournament and have that experience.

We managed to wrangle Jeremy into going to the game with us.

Lorain, her son Luke, and me.

Best friends for 38 years.  Here are our kiddos!

Creativity and 'Negative Space'.

I am a very crafty person.  I am not suggesting that I am good at it.  I just LOVE it all.  The girls have been learning to create things from the very beginning.  I love watching them use their imaginations.  To that end, they both have decided to join 4H.  Kendall is going to learn to crochet and Sid joined the sewing club.  The group they joined meets once per month.  The rest of the time is spent practicing at home.  Next month, the club will be doing a community project.  They are making quilts for a local hospital.  Here is Kendall during the first club meeting.  The kids did a scavenger hunt at JoAnn's.  These girls were goofy as ever!

For Valentine's day, Sidney's class had a box contest.  Initially, Sidney asked me to buy her a box.  My response, "You are creative.  You have a brand new shoe box.  Go to town!"  She did just that.  She won the contest for her vending machine box.

Kendall entered the school art contest.  I forgot to take a picture of the oil pastel that she entered, prior to her turning it in.  She did an amazing picture that was themed around the state of Idaho.  She is taking an art class this quarter.  She gave me a lesson on her use of 'negative space' in her picture. 

Kids these days.  Sidney borrowed my phone for a few minutes.  Next thing I knew, I had all kinds of funny pictures of her saved to the phone.  Hilarious!

The girls do not always get along, but they are very close.  They spend a lot of time with each other and really know how to get under each other's skin.  However, there are moments like this one, when I just have to take in the beauty of their friendship.  While I was up working in the office, I heard Kendall ask Sidney to come play the piano with her.  Kendall has been taking lessons for years.  Sidney has never been too interested.  Sidney sat at the piano with Kendall, while Kendall taught her to play a few keys to a song.  Once Sidney had it figured out,  Kendall jumped in with the rest.  It was magical!