Mom and Dad

Today is a very emotional day for me.  Not just for me, but for my siblings as well.  It has been 4 years since mom died.  I can't believe it has already been that long.  Not a day goes by that I don't think of both of my parents.  I often ask "why".  Why did they have to die at such young ages?  I miss calling home just to hear their voices.  

I miss mom driving up in the driveway and seeing her sit in the car and talk to herself.  I miss mom's laugh.  I miss her limp. (the grandkids didn't know her without having a limp)  I miss her coffee cake.  (she made the best coffee cake)  I miss her late night talks.  I miss playing "nerts" with her.  I miss seeing her lead the music.  She was great.  I miss all the "projects" she had going on at her house.  (I think I took after her too much that way)  I miss her never ending service she was giving to someone.  I miss my mom.

I miss dad coming home from work and walking through the side door.  I miss that smell of diesel mixed with the hand soap from his work.  I miss hearing him singing.  I miss hearing him talking in Spanish.  I miss watching "The Man From Snowy River" with him and dreaming of a day when we could go to Australia.  I miss hearing his old truck drve up in the driveway.  I miss his smile.  I miss my dad.

I hope they are both smiling down at us.  I hope we are not disappointing them in our decisions.  I hope that one day my children will be able to understand fully what wonderful people they were.  I hope they are celebrating this anniversary of their reunion together.  I look forward to the day that we will see them again and smile in the thought that Families Are Forever.

These bags were made for the Relay For Life event here in Sierra Vista, Arizona.  This was my way of paying tribute to them at this year's event.

Easter 2009

We had a great Easter.  The Easter bunny came and left many goodies for all of us to enjoy.

It was sure fun watching the kids decorate the eggs.  Watching the excitement on Keilani's face as the eggs turned bright colors, was priceless.

ALOHA

Aloha!!!!!  Boy, it's been a while since we've been able to say that.  We were in the Mesa/Phoenix area for my sister's wedding and there happened to be the Aloha Festival that same weekend.  Our friends, the Cottles, went with us to the festival.  We enjoyed walking around looking at the different booths.  I felt like I was at a smaller version of the Swap Meet.  I have sure missed the Polynesian dancing, music and food.  What a day.  My kids really enjoyed it too.  Can't wait for our family trip to Hawaii in a few years.

Dr. Tom

We are thrilled that Tom finally finished his Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree.  He has put a lot of time into school and is so glad to be done.  YEAH!!  I will get more photos posted from his graduation as I get them downloaded from his camera.

Skiing at Sunrise

We took the three oldest kids up to Sunrise for the weekend to ski.  Kameron was able to take his friend, Bryant.  They had a great time skiing by themselves.  Tom and I spent all morning working one on one with Kaulin and Ali on the bunny hill.  By about 11:30 am we were all tired and hungry so we stopped to grab some lunch.  When we got back on the slopes, Kaulin and Ali seemed to catch right on.  In no time they were able to turn and snowplow without our help.  We then spent a few hours in the afternoon taking them up to the next level, Fairway, and skiing down.  They really liked that.  (Ali didn't like when I pulled her down with me when getting off of the ski lift.  She decided she didn't want to go with me anymore.)  This makes three kids that now know how to ski.  Only two more to go.  

Enjoying the Snow

We spent a week after Christmas up in Eagar.  There wasn't a lot of snow in town, but plenty of snow in the mountains.  While sledding the kids got cold but didn't want to leave.   Korey and Kaulin were our little dare devils.  They had no fear.  Kaulin was hit a few times by other people coming down the hill and he did a few flips through the air.  Each time he would get back up and go right back up the hill.  I just had to remind him to walk up the hill on the side where other people aren't coming down.  He does have a few battle wounds to show for the good time he had.  Korey loved going down on the plastic sleds/saucers because he would just fall through the middle hole in the tubes.  He was happy to follow any stranger up the hill, ride down with them and then say "hey friend, let's go again".  What fun!

All the stocking were hung by the chimney with care...

Okay, so maybe the stockings weren't hung by the chimney. But, they were hung. These stockings were all made by my mother. She was so talented at making them and embroidering the names on them with a regular sewing machine (not embroidery machine). These stockings really make me think of her and miss how she did hang the stockings with care. She made sure everyone had one hanging even if we weren't there to celebrate Christmas with her. I sure do miss those times and I sure do miss her.