Gato comes to visit!

Gato is one of my very good friends. Her nickname Gato comes from our freshman year of high school. We had a Spanish class together. We started calling each other Gato after one of our classes and it stuck! Her real name is Christine (Chris) and she is amazing! I'm so glad she texted. We weren't doing anything but cleaning and running a few errands. She was pretty bored, so a plan was hatched. Come up to my house and have a fun day. The kids had a blast playing outside with the chickens. They were a little scared of them at first but they quickly caught on to catching them. Gato and I sat inside and visited while the chickens entertained the kids. They played outside from the time they got here until it got dark.
The girls loved playing with the boys Jared and Hunter. They can come visit anytime. After a fun day of playing with chickens, we went and got Burger King for dinner. After dinner we had a movie night complete with popcorn and candy (no pictures of that, I was busy watching the movie). What a fun day. It started our pretty boring and turned out to be one of the funnest weekends we've had in a long time.

Thanks for coming GATO, we'll do it again soon!

Thank you!

Let me start this post off with a great big thank you to James, Tammy, and the kids for the Christmas gift they sent us. They sent us scarves from Old Navy!! So cute, and very soft. We also purchased some scarves and hats and coats for ourselves this year. I didn't want to push their gifts in the bottom of a closet, or give them away or not use them. What was I to do? Yeah, that's right. I made a quilt! The kids love it. It's fleece and super warm. Perfect size and very colorful. So.... Thank YOU!

Who Knew?

Who knew the people I work with are so amazing? I did. I knew this long before this morning. I love everyone I work with. We're like one big happy family. We support each other, we stand up for each other, and we care for one another. This morning when I showed up to work I had this waiting for me on my desk. Along with my tulip plant was a card signed by every single person that works at our school. Not just their signatures either, the card was full of heart felt sympathy for our family and our loss. I dreaded going back to work this morning (it's hard to go after a good week and a half off!). As soon as the first student said good morning to me my attitude changed. I got so many hugs and so many I miss you's. It was good to be back. I'm grateful to have such caring co-workers. Thanks for everything!

Mom, can we do the volcano now?

Since December 25Th I have heard one question asked at least once a day, everyday. Mom, can we do the volcano now? Me and my bright ideas. Alex got a volcano making kit for Christmas. Now I've been paying for it daily! I finally gave in and said yes. We celebrated MLK Day with a volcano making party!
The mold had to set up for 30 minutes. It seemed like it was the longest 30 minutes of Alex's whole life! She was so excited.

It's done, yippee!

Then it got a splash of color from our very talented artists. I thought it turned out great. Now it was time to get the lava flowing. Eruption here we come!

WOW, look at that white lava bubble. It was kind of a dud in the wow department but the girls enjoyed it. They had a good time watching it erupt.

Now, finally, I can get some peace and quiet about the dang volcano. Or so I thought, what do I hear this morning? Mom, can we do some tasty science experiments for breakfast? Ugghh, next year we may be buying toys!

A day with Tammy

While James and Tammy were down from Montana, we went to visit a good friend. Tammy Fenn. She is one awesome lady, her family is amazing and her house is beautiful! We had a great time feeding the horses, petting the dogs and going for a walk to the shop. Kalynn happened to be home. I babysat Kalynn for many years when she was little. We flew kites together, I read her stories before bed, and had a lot of fun. Now look at her, she's all grown up and as beautiful as her mom. She is so smart too, she graduated high school early and she is already taking college courses. AMAZING!
Believe it or not Clay helped put this swing set together for the Fenn's one Christmas Eve many years ago. The girls had a blast playing on it. Alex and Sydney loved the rings and Araya loved swinging.

Then we got to see Devin's (Tammy's husband) new office. It was amazing. He is a very skilled hunter and has decorated his office with his animals. It was like walking into he Cabella's in Glendale. As you can see by the picture, we were all in awe.

The kids however could care less about the office and all the taxidermy animals. Araya has a very skilled hunter for a father (my brother James) and has animals on the walls of her own house that she sees every day. She was off to play on the swing set and the girls were going with her!

Thanks Tammy for letting us visit. We had a great time!

Chickens, Chickens, Chickens.

We all know that we have chickens at our house. We've been away from our house for a little while and the girls have really been missing their chickens. Good thing Papa has a ton of chickens. The girls helped feed the chickens and check for eggs while we were at papas house. Araya liked to get the chicken feed out of the feeder and throw it at the chickens. They didn't care how they got it, they ate it.
Araya kept trying to get the chickens to come to her. Papas chickens aren't as tame as ours so they ran for their lives whenever she got close. She didn't like that much.

Papa enjoys his farm and all the animals on it. He gets real excited when some one new comes along and wants a tour. He gave Araya the grand tour of the chicken coop. They had a lot of fun.

We had just come from feeding horses at Tammy Fenn's house so Araya thought the chickens would eat out of her hands like the horses had. They didn't, she was sad.

Alex caught a chicken. My girls must be chicken whisperers or something.

She shared her catch with Araya. Araya was so excited to see one up close and get to pet it. I don't think the chicken liked being caught much but she was a good sport. There is always plenty to do at papas house, playing with the chickens is just one of many.

Fun at Papa's.

Here are just a few pictures from the time we spent at my dad's house with James and Tammy and their kids. Here is Mason playing with the princess phone we got for Araya (we didn't know she already had four phones in the car. Her parents are gonna be loving us on their 2200 mile drive home and their little girl is talking to princesses the whole entire time.)

Here is my dad with all the grand kids. Poor Mason, the only boy. We loved playing with Araya. I even got to babysit Mason for a little while. I've had my baby fix for the week. I'm so glad they came to visit.
James, Mason, and Sydney playing with Mr. Potato Head. We couldn't find many baby toys but Mr. Potato Head was perfect. We kept Mason entertained and happy. It wasn't hard, he's an excellent tempered baby. We had a lot of fun with him.

Papa even played with Mr. Potato Head a little bit. We all know Papa is a kid at heart.

Uncle Will even got in on the action. He was showing Araya his new phone. It has this really cool app from the app store that is a babysitting app. Looks like it works for the little kids and big kids. Shame on you if you really went to the app store to find that app!!

The girls love spending time with their cousins. We know they're going to be leaving soon, we're going to miss them so much.

Family

After the funeral, we went back to mom and dads house to visit as a family. Mom had to work so she didn't get to visit much. Before James left we decided to get a few pictures of the family. Will, Dad, and James. Ummm, they must get their smiles from their Dad.This picture has James' baby James Mason (he goes by Mason) in it. All the Stanley boys, aren't they handsome?
Throw in the only girl in the family and you got yourselves a Stanley Family Picture.

I had a great time hanging out with my dad and brothers and all the kids. We had a good visit, I can't wait to see them all again. Love you guys!

Grandma Stanley's Funeral

We took a few minutes at Grandpa's house to snap a couple pictures before we headed to the cemetery for Grandma's funeral. Vina (grandma Stanley) was my dad's step mom. She was the only Grandma on my dad's side I had ever know. She was always seen by our family to be our Grandma. My kids only knew her as their Great Grandma. She was a wonderful lady and we're going to miss her. She had a wonderful life, with lots of friends and family that loved her. 91 years is a long time to live, she lived a good life. The girls with their Great Grandpa Stanley.

The girls with Nana and Papa.

We even had a little time to get a family picture, not my favorite but better to have a bad picture rather than no picture at all.

Clay, Will, and Papa at the cemetery for the funeral. Yes, I am one of those people that take pictures no matter what the circumstances. I got some weird looks from some. I wasn't doing anything wrong, or disrespecting Grandma or her memory. I just wanted to remember this day and have pictures for my children to help them remember.

Grandpa and James. James and Tammy drove down from Montana to pay their respects to Grandma. It was so good to see them and the kids. I was glad they made it.

My cousins Lane and ElaineMae. Their my dad's brother's (Uncle Scott) kids. It was great to see them. Elaine flew in from Colorado and Lane came up from Tucson. It's been a while since we had seen either of them.

Grandpa and his two boys. Where my dad, and me, got our short height from, I'll never know!

The Stanley family on Grandpa's side that attended the funeral. It wasn't quite the typical family reunion atmosphere, nor the perfect reason to get together but I am very thankful for the opportunity I had to visit and catch up with my family.

4 generations of Stanley's. What a great picture, definitely a Kodak moment. The funeral went as most do, the flowers were beautiful, it was a very pretty day weather wise and I know Grandma was looking down on us. I'm sure she was very happy and could feel all our love and support.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We woke up early this morning to make Clay a cupcake for his 36th birthday. Alex was so excited to use her cupcake maker that she got for Christmas from Grandma Wing. Sydney helped out by reading the instructions. They both mixed the batter, and Sydney put the cupcake in the microwave to bake. Then it was time to frost and decorate. The cupcake maker frosts the cupcake so it doesn't make a big mess. Alex picked orange sprinkles to decorate, orange is Daddy's favorite color.
Look at Dad's face. He is soooooo excited to eat his birthday cupcake for breakfast. I think it was cinnamon strudel flavored. The girls are anxiously awaiting his verdict on their cupcake.

It's all smiles after the first bite. That must mean it was VERY yummy. Good job girls. You're dad is lucky to have good cupcake makers like you. We love you Clay.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

MAAAATT!

This post is for Matt, my husbands friend from work. I've met him once, I didn't know it was him until I was already home from a party and telling Clay all about the party. Matt is one thoughtful guy that's for sure (or else he married a real swell lady that keeps him in line). Well, this year (not unlike years past) for Christmas we once again received gifts from Matt. This year they were just for the girls (how cool is that). They each got a handmade Christmas ornament that was purchased by Matt. Then a few days later Dad came home from work with a bag. He said it was a surprise from Matt.
Inside were two cute little goats (Matt raises goats). The girls instantly feel in love. Matt is the coolest Mom, Alex said. Who knew stuffed goats loved playing Uno? Apparently the girls knew that. I suggested we name one of them Maaaat. The girls didn't think I was funny.

Alex named hers cocoa puff and Sydney named hers Snowflake. Matt, thank you for being so thoughtful. I keep telling Clay we need to come out and see your goats. One of these days. You made the girls so happy (I think the goats like playing cards with them).

Let's hear it for Maaat!

Grandma Stanley

My Grandma (the kids Great Grandma) Stanley passed away early this morning. She was my Dad's stepmother but Always, Always considered our Grandma. We love her very much and we know that we will get to see her again. Since Grandpa Stanley has Alzheimer's he isn't quite understanding what has happened. The kids and I went through pictures and scrapbooks while I explained that their Great Grandma had passed away. They were very sad. They liked going and visiting and playing with all the toys and crayons Grandma would get out. Alex remembers the melted cheese sandwiches we always had there.
We love our Grandma Stanley. She will always hold a special place in our hearts and we will look forward to the time when we can be together again.