I'm 4 now!

Yesterday was Ressa's fourth birthday. Amazing when we think back to her delivery and her stay in the NICU... barley breathing to virtually unstoppable! There's our girl!

We started off the day with her breakfast of choice... doughnuts. Then it was off to baking all the cake parts she wanted.

After the baking process her best friend ever, Rachael, came over for a birthday outing. We went to the stables down the street where another best friend, Shae, met up with us. We did a pony ride and the petting zoo. The highlight of the petting zoo was the goats. Ammon kept tackling and pulling their ears... no fear! Then the girls all got a kick out of feeding the goats. There were also bunnies running all over the grounds so the kids had a great time trying to catch them.

After the farm it was home again to decorate her cakes. She wanted a dancing princess cake... we did the best we could. Cyanne, Foster and Ammon had purchased Polly Pocket dolls in the Dinsey Princess form so we broke into the package early and used them in the cake. She LOVED it!

To wrap up the night a few of the neighbors came over for cake and ice cream. We fired up the candles and although it took her a few tries, and ultimately some help, she didn't mind having boyfriends to show for her effort. She even named them all off!

The best part for her is that as of today she gets to be a big girl and sleep on the top bunk! She and Cyanne are switching beds tonight. Should be interesting...

Soccer Update

Cyanne had her second game last weekend. Only 4 girls showed up for our team so it was a crazy game with lots of running. Cyanne scored 2 goals and another girl, Chelsea, scored another 4! They are really good about working together for the goal. Anyway, as promised, here are some updated pics... check out the uniform!

Monkey Boy!

Ammon has discovered how to climb. He is constantly climbing up into the glider and then bridging the gap between the glider and the foot stool; then onto the couch or straight from the glider onto the other couch next to it. The rocking foot stool is also great for him to practice his upcoming surfing skills. He loves to stand on it as if he was catching a wave. He is a tough kid... as soon as he falls he is up and doing it again. When I try to stop him he has a fit. I guess he is just going to be another dare devil. The pictures really don't do him justice, but you get the idea!

Soccer Chick!

Cyanne had her first soccer game ever last weekend. She was awesome! Maybe she was showing off for the neighbor family and her aunt and uncle that were in town, but I think her competitive spirit is perfect for the sport.

She has incredible endurance and was all over the field. Her first goal was, unfortunatley, scored for the other team. Once she figured out where her team's goal was she scored another goal. She then followed up the goal action with 2 assists. Her highlight was when she headed the ball to a team mate off a goalie kick. Of course I know nothing of the sport so, those of you that actually know what is going on, please bear with my poor discriptions.

I was so excited to get to her game I forgot the camera. This picture is from her first practice. Will get a better picture at this weeks game. Will keep you posted!

New Family Holiday...

Yesterday marked the first anniversary of my grandma, Grace, passing away. She was quite possibly the most amazing person I have ever known. She was, as some of you know, responsible for most of my amazing personality. She took care of us while our parents worked, taught me to cook, swim, and ski; passed on her impeccable fashion sense, handed down her sense of humor, and loved everybody. So how should we honor her? I thought about it all year and finally decided to declare a new holiday.... Grace Day!

Grace married my grandpa, Harry, when they were teenagers. They were married by a blind justice of the peace... so that he would not question their ages. They had too much fun together. Stories range from Grace being accident prone... almost shooting Harry rather than a rat, ramming Harry through a cement wall with a car, being attacked by a "tame" deer, nearly drowning Harry in the swan river; to her amazing strength during WWII when she drove semi trucks over mountain passes and took a pin up picture for him to have during the war, to the way they raised their 5 boys. Many of her stories ended with her giving Harry a glass of Blackberry Brandy; her cure for everything from a stomach ache to shock.

Then there was her cooking! She was the most amazing cook. She always had treats waiting, never minded cooking for a few extra people, and made sure NOBODY ever left her house hungry. One of the boy's friends once told her she was like a "Jewish grandma" since she always fed people. She always welcomed friends and family into her home, and never gave a second thought to the amount of work it was to entertain. She thrived off her group of "Hippie Mothers" and the outings they did as well as the unexpected people that would stop in "just to say hi", but ended up staying for hours. Everybody was greeted warmly and with food.

My years growing up were spent in her home, across the street from my own, and at Flathead Lake. Always listening to stories of their lives... never ending stories. Right when I would think I had heard them all they would spit out another I had never heard. She was a strong woman who found what worked for her and lived it, she was as headstrong as she was loving, and she was never "just" a mom or grandmother... she was just our everything.

So, for Grace, on the anniversary of her death we will celebrate her life. We will eat old fashioned pasties for dinner (her Butte specialty), have brownies or fudge for desert, we will share stories of her, and we will remember everything about her. She will be first and foremost in our hearts. On every other day our house will, as it has always been, be open to friends and family, always have good food available, and more than likely will have a new story to be told. I guess we all know now who I ended up taking after!