I want to start this post by thanking all of the people that have helped out in so many ways over the past week with food, child-care, coming to the memorial service, sending cards, praying for us, and on and on! This past week we said good-bye to Grandma Lena Friesen (Randy's mom's mom). She passed away in her sleep last Friday, Feb. 20th, just one month after celebrating her 95th birthday (see past posts). Thankfully Randy was able to take three days off of work: Wednesday to attend the memorial service, Thursday to help his mom clean out Grandma Lena's room at Palm Village, and Friday to spend some time relaxing with family, reflecting on Grandma (and Grandpa) Friesen, and writing a letter to Audrey about the events of the past week and some special memories he has watched occur between Audrey and her Great-Grandma.
Although she has only been my grandma for 11 years, I have many fond memories and special skills I have learned from her. She taught me how to make zweibach and borscht (two staples of the German Mennonite home), and kept my freezer supplied with strawberry jam up until a couple years ago. She was an amazing seamstress, cook, and hostess! She served the Lord faithfully with these gifts all her life, and spent time every day on her knees in prayer. Although she longed to be in heaven with her Savior, and we know she is waiting for us there, we will miss her sorely. We love you Grandma Lena. Audrey, Isaac, and Violet with their Great-Grandma Lena on Christmas Eve morning.
Once again, Randy and I decided that watching the Oscars was a reason to have a party! For the THIRD year in a row, it was raining on the day of the party. And how do I know this small tidbit of weather history? I purchased 4 yards of red fabric for our very own "red carpet" three years ago, and have yet to be able to use it! I decided this year to simply put it in my front entryway...not quite as grand, and the luminaries had to wait yet another year, but it was still fun. Everyone that came brought a dish that coincided with one of the nominated movies. We had chicken curry that warmed our tummies just like "Slumdog Millionaire" warmed our hearts (served by Christa, who donned her very own yellow scarf), dumplings that "Kung Fu Panda" found to be his secret training weapon, and chocolate brownies that were so sinfully delicious they made you "Doubt" your tastebuds (to name a few). We kept track of the winners as we each had our own ballots filled out. My brother called during the show to check in on his tally, but big sister got the best of him this year. We also played Oscar Bingo (thanks Cindy!) and had a fun time keeping track of all the funny things that happen during the show (ie. woman trips, orchestra cuts off a speech, man cries, etc.)! Kristen and Allen were two of our lucky winners! And although I beat my brother in the tally, I didn't beat Aaron Wiens, who went home with the big prize of the night (2 movie tickets) with a tally of 19! Thanks to everyone who came, brought food, and played along! We had such a fun night!
Last weekend our family enjoyed a visit from Auntie Alli (my brother's wife). She flew in from Portland for Valentines' weekend to see friends and family and celebrate the coming arrival of Baby "Bump" Porter! The kids and I drove to Visalia for a baby shower on Saturday morning and had a fun time chatting with family and playing some funny baby games. I made a fleece throw blanket out of green soccer fabric (green is the color of the Portland Timbers) but failed to get a picture of it with my camera (sorry). The shower ended around 1 o'clock but we hadn't eaten lunch, so off to my favorite Mexican restaurant in V-town, Las Palmas, before heading home! Thank you, Aunt Yvette, for joining us for lunch, and helping me with the kids! Alli stayed in Visalia with her family for a bit longer, but came over Monday morning to spend the day with the five of us. It was a rainy day, so we stayed inside reading books, doing puzzles, and chatting. But we got out for a quick walk in the afternoon when there was a break in the rain and ended the evening at In 'n Out Burger (at Alli's request)! The kids had a great time with their Auntie! Audrey loved sitting next to Alli, cuddling, and talking into Alli's tummy. Isaac and Violet were a little more nonchalant about the whole baby thing. But every day since Alli's left Violet mentions her cousin at least once, "My baby cousin" this or that. And whenever she sees a baby in a front carrier she points him out and asks, "Is that my cousin?" She says she wants the baby to be named Sally, but when we tell her it's a boy, she promptly replies that it's a boy now, but it will change to a girl when it comes out. Hmmm...either way, I don't think Ben and Alli will go for the name Sally. Thanks for coming Alli! We loved seeing you!
There have been a lot of fun, little things going on with the kids that I haven't taken the time to post lately, so here goes:
Audrey is thoroughly enjoying second grade! She loves her teacher, loves reading, and is improving with her spelling, addition, subtraction, and even a little multiplication. One of her highlights during the week is her dance teacher! Robinson Elementary is one of three schools that was chosen for an art grant that (over the course of four years) will give students in Audrey's grade additional instruction in music, visual art, performing art, and dance. First, they learned about "creative movement" in dance, next a line dance, and recently, they performed the lion dance for the Chinese New Year. Here's a picture of her with her lion mask on; she was picked to be first in her line. And here's a quick video of the dance (sorry it's so far away).
Isaac started a new class two weeks ago...karate! For Christmas he received a gift of four free classes to Mr. C's Karate in Clovis. We signed him up for the month of February and he has enjoyed his first two classes so much that we signed him up for March and April as well (and he got his uniform too). It is a one-hour class with a dozen four and five year-olds, a whole lot of energy, and a bunch of fun. I am so excited about all Isaac will learn: how to use and control his muscles, focus, respect, and patience. It's every Friday night at 5, so let me know if you want to drop in and watch sometime and I'll give you directions! Sorry, no pictures yet.
Violet has been enjoying her gymnastics class over the past 3 months! She had to wait until her thumb healed before starting her class, but she hasn't let that slow her down. She runs all over the gym, from bars, to beam, to rings. She loves her teacher, Miss Mickey (Michaela), and has a great time trying new things with her help. Yesterday was Violet's final class and since Randy had the day off for President's Day, he got to come! It was fun to see her in action with all the different skills she's learned. We will definitely put Violet back in gymnastics again soon (her body is built for this stuff) but we're taking a break to do some swimming lessons. Violet receiving her ribbon for participating in the semester...TA DA! Violet loved the bars, hanging on them, flipping over them, she amazed me!
Does anyone know how to get squirrels out of the house? Although I haven't actually seen one indoors, and there are no apparent holes to or from the house, there seems to be no other explanation. I think they are building a nest...under Isaac's bed! And it seems that the holidays drive them indoors. Shortly after Halloween, a small stash of broken toys (I'm assuming for use as twigs) covered a small mound of candy wrappers. We cleaned the area thoroughly and checked for squirrel droppings, but to no avail. Near Christmas we, again, found wrappings of candy canes, mixed with the colored foil of Hershey's kisses. I've never known a squirrel to like candy, but who else could be doing this? We thought that the weather was warming up enough to keep the squirrels outside, but I guess they've become accustomed to hiding under Isaac's bed. A few weeks ago we found taffy wrappers, and then on Sunday night, remains of candy-coated peanuts! That solves it...NUTS! It must be squirrels! I mean, even though it's under Isaac's bed, I've never actually seen him eating the food, and when I ask him about it, he seems to be ignorant of the whole situation. And five-year-olds never lie; right?
Last weekend Randy let me get away with some girlfriends for a whole 3 days! We traveled by car Thursday night all the way to La Quinta (a small town, east of Los Angeles, in the desert) to stay at Megahn's parents' home. Friday we enjoyed a 9-mile bike ride through the hills on the edge of town in the morning, relaxing by the pool in the afternoon, and a BBQ steak dinner on the patio, followed by drinks around the firepit. Saturday we woke up at the crack of dawn (literally) to hike 7 miles up the Art Smith trail in the desert cliffs dividing La Quinta from Palm Springs. It was a warm, strenuous hike (I'm glad we started as early as we did), but worth the effort for the views, the scenery, and the talks along the way. After going home for a short rest and a shower we headed into town for a light lunch, some shopping, some wine-tasting, and a late dinner at Arnold Palmer's restaurant. Sunday was pure relaxing...with a late start to the morning, coffee and biscotti in a cute shop in Old Town, and a browsing through their Sunday Farmers' Market. I got to try three kinds of local honey (orange blossom, avocado blossom, and one other I can't remember), 5 kinds of dates (the Halawy were my favorite), and a bumpy green fruit called a chiramoya that I'd never seen before (it tasted a lot like a mango)! We even got to "brush shoulders" with Arnold Palmer himself. We went home to make a lunch with our local finds from the Farmers' Market (muffins, a spinach strawberry salad, and scrambled eggs...they had quail eggs at the market!) and enjoy a couple more hours pool-side before the long drive home. It was a great weekend away with some fabulous friends! Dinner on the patio with (L-R) Andrea, Megahn's mom Sue, Megahn, and Myra. (L-R) Christa, Myra, Andrea, Me and Megahn on the Art Smith Trail overlooking LaQuinta. This was early on when we still had on all our long sleeves. Andrea enjoying the pool in the backyard...overlooking the Dunes golf course. Christa, Andrea and I on the way to Arnold Palmer's. This imaginative picture of us five bathing beauties was Christa's idea! Since it's only our legs I was all for it...but guess who's white legs stand out in the middle? LOL!
I am so thankful to have a wonderful husband that took great care of the kids while I was away, even taking the Friday off work to get the kids to and from school! And thanks a million to Megahn and her mom for the gracious hospitality all weekend! It was fabulous!
Audrey, Isaac, and Violet with their Great-Grandma Lena on Christmas Eve morning.
