Baby Boy Name Clues

This is the first clue:  Think of this "Easy" as being "EZ"

“The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it.” Quote by Ezra Taft Benson

“No other success can compensate for failure in the home.” Quote by David O. McKay

The first quote is for the first name and the second quote is for the middle name.

Initials are E M....if you haven't gotten it by now, then check back later and I'll let you know.

Easter Finery

Let me start by saying that I am irritated with the selection, styles, and prices of department store dresses.  I went to every place I could think of trying to find a dress for Cara and still had to do alterations.  Even the spring consignment sale wanted $30 for their dresses.  Okay, rant over.

 So she chose this dress from Macy's of all places and we could never find anything better so I went to work adding sleeves and a modest neckline.  To get the length right, we had to buy the dress too big, so it needed a little tweeking. 

 I stayed up late making hairbows to match.  Cara always wants her hair down so this was our compromise.

 I used fabric I had on hand since we were still looking for a dress to the last minute there was not time to go to a fabric store over an hour away.  So even though the dress is more peachy/salmon, the orange and satin pink (lining) had to do.  I didn't have a pattern so I just kept trying it on her to make sure I was doing okay.  When the sleeve was sewn on (by hand since the fabric was weird) I decided to add the button on the side because it was sticking out funny.  I am happy with how it turned out.

 I almost feel bad that Holland didn't get to wear anything new.  He had this combo that I thought looked "springy" and grandma made the bow tie for Christmas.  The sweater has since been put away after I realized it was an 18 month size.  I am so happy he actually cooperated for a few good pictures.  He has a really cheesy "cheese" face.

 I have been saving this dress of Merilee's for over a year to be her Easter dress.  It was a consignment dress from OK that grandma picked up.  I had to add sleeves to it too.  I had the fabric for that already from her Easter shawl the previous year, so I was able to be thrifty.

 You can't see it very well but the front and back of the sleeve are laced together with light pink ribbon to match the pink ribbon on the tie of the dress.

 I made this bow too.  I looked all over the Internet for a good tutorial and ended up using several to come up with this.  Also with supplies on hand.

And here they are!  My sweet babes on Easter morning.

Easter 2013

As a yearly tradition, we attended our town's Easter egg hunt in the park.  They had each of the kids in a different section because of their ages and I had to go with Holland.  So we had a meeting spot where the below picture was taken and after the 30 seconds it took to gather eggs, the girls were to meet back at the meeting spot.  They each found a friend they knew in their age group and stuck to them.  And when the whistle blew they quickly filled their baskets.

 I didn't help Holland at all.  In fact, when the whistle blew, he wasn't paying attention and got a late start.  He would go from egg to egg and look it over before putting them in his basket.  A couple of times I did remind him to go find more.  Parents were not supposed to pick up the eggs but a lot of the parents were more determined than their kids to get the most eggs and could be pretty rude.  I think Holland ended up with 7 or 8 eggs.   

 We got to the meeting spot first and then Cara.  She was excited to see how many eggs Holland got but when she looked into his basket she said, "Aww, Holland, here have some of mine."  and then gave him several of hers.  He got upset and started giving them back because those weren't HIS eggs.  It was such a sweet gesture, but very much represented both their personalities.

 We elbowed our way in to the community gym where they had some crafts and cookies.  We found the Easter bunny and waited our turn while others cutted ahead of us or tried to jump in the picture.  The bunny costume was a bit creepy and he was a little too aware of kids coming up at waist level and seemed to be constantly protecting his bunny parts.  It just grossed me out so we didn't stay long.

 Did I mention that Justin worked all this weekend?  So, I got up early to get myself all ready for church before waking the girls up.  They went in and explored their baskets while I got breakfast set out.  Holland had to eat breakfast in the car on the way to church and see his basket when we got home because I let him sleep in.

After church and a quick nap, we went to a church friend's house for Easter dinner.  It was SO good.  It was different not being around our extended family but that is something we have to accept for as long as we live out here.  Despite that, we hunted eggs inside because the desert chose to have some drizzle that day.  And our friends are so great and quickly becoming our CA family!

Holland Turns 3!!

Holland had a small birthday party with a couple families that we have gotten to know pretty well.  They each have a boy Holland's age and they play pretty well together.

 He LOVES Diego, so that was his party theme.  He also got to open the presents sent in the mail from family in Oklahoma.  He got a Thomas the Train blanket and train tracks, nerf gun, bubble gun, train table, play dough, and more that I cannot remember.  He really loved all the gifts!

 I wasn't going to pull my hair out making an elaborate cake for our smallish group, so Holland requested a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and that is what he got.

 We sang, he wished (maybe), and tried to blow out the candles.  They were trick candles but he couldn't even get them out the first time so we could see them relight themselves.  I had to finish blowing them out or he would have spit all over the cake.

I wasn't in charge of the camera very much so we don't have a good group shot but thanks to the Zajanc's and the Morace's for coming to his party and making him feel special.

Hairdos, Lost tooth, Awards

So as I try to get updated, I found these cute pictures.  We attempted some fun hairdos for Valentine's Day.  This was the only picture I got but we had a couple different styles we tried out.

 Holland likes to get in on the hair fun sometimes.  When I put his hair like this he says he looks like a prince or a king.

 Cara lost her first tooth.  Or I guess I should say she had Merilee pull the tooth out for her.  I am so happy that the girls have such a good relationship most of the time and this was one of those times.  Merilee was giving Cara some tips on pulling it out (it was REALLY ready) and I just asked Cara if she wanted Merilee to try and she said yes.  So, one yank and Merilee had pulled it out and became the hero.  Both girls were thrilled with their part in the process and the tooth fairy carried on the tradition of giving a dollar and a new hairbow as a treat for the first tooth.

Merilee was also honored for her 4.0 in a very small/pathetic "assembly" at her school.  I try to not say negative things about their school around the girls, and I know the teachers and faculty really try to do the best they can with what they have, which is not much.  The girls have fantastic teachers and have excelled in spite of the "rough" environment.  Their school struggles in so many ways and as active as I have tried to be in their public school education, it does not feel like it is enough.  So, our minds may change but I believe we have decided to try a charter school in a nearby town and homeschool the girls next year.  It will be a huge challenge for me, but it just feels like the right thing to do for right now.  If we ever move to a place where the schools are better, then I will be happy to get them back into public school.  Merilee is standing with her principal, Mr. V. and some lady I don't know.

Memaw and Papaw's Funeral

Shortly after my Papaw's birthday, he passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family.  It was not shocking news because he had been declining for quite some time.  I was undecided about flying home to attend his funeral but after a lot of sincere consideration, we scheduled a flight for me to go back to Oklahoma for a few days.  Right after my plane landed, my parents picked me up and took me to see Memaw who had taken a turn for the worse and was also in rapidly declining health.  I had the opportunity to hold her hand and talk to her.  She was "asleep" but I felt she heard me tell her my goodbyes.  The next morning, we went back over and she was much worse.  We were only there an hour or so and she started taking her last breaths.  All the family that was there at the time, gathered in her room and watched as her spirit left mortality.  She was given precious Priesthood blessings and told to go and be with her husband and that he was waiting for her.

 Family quickly made arrangements to have a double funeral that next morning.  We ordered a beautiful spray and made lots of phone calls.  More family flew in and it was very hectic. 

 It could not have been more perfect to have them leave this life so close together and have very little time apart from one another.  Each of their lives were represented in creative ways, especially though music.  Papaw was honored for his service in the Navy and Uncle Tom accepted the flag.

I am so grateful that I could make the trip.  It was a whirlwind and I have included more personal experiences from this event in another journal.  Most of the grandkids were able to attend and some of us had not seen each other in over a decade.  The relationships we have were strengthened and memories were shared.  We even played progressive gin and had root beer floats as a tradition we shared with Memaw and Papaw.  I miss them, but I have also felt their love around me.

Knott's Berry Farm

Not too long after we got home from our Christmas vacation, Knott's Berry Farm was having the month of January as free admissions for law enforcement.  Corrections officers fell under this category so Justin had some co-workers help get us all in for a free day.

 The kids really had no idea who the Peanuts characters were but acted like they were cool anyway.

 This was the first ride the kids went on.  It took them straight up in the air and dropped them in spurts.  Holland got panicked after the first drop but we told Merilee to talk him through it.  After he knew what to expect he seemed to enjoy it.  They rode it back to back because there was no line.

 The day we were there, it was not very busy at all.  Most of the time we were able to walk up to a ride and get right on.  They had so many rides for kids and that was so great for them.  Merilee was actually too tall to ride this train ride.  Holland could even ride most of them.

 We went to several shows as well.  Our favorite was a Wild West type show with a bank robbery and lots of comedy. 

It got really cold as the day went on but we were prepared with sweaters, coats, and blankets, so we were able to stay until closing.  It was a really good amusement park for kids.  We didn't ride any adult roller coasters because Justin and I are both wimps and I was pregnant.  We would like to go back for the next free admission day and make it a yearly tradition.