Fridays with the girls (2017)

Lily and Rylee spend almost every Friday night with us.  The Spring and Summer months are the best, since we can do more outside activities.  Here are some highlights from 2017:

We built a Frozen Lego Castle together, it took a while, but both of them helped until the end. 

Mimi and Lily made these delicious strawberry cupcakes that everyone loved. 

Granddad got a marble maze for Conor to put together with the girls.  They enjoyed just stacking them. 

Conor helped them build an actual maze further down, but they enjoyed just stacking them when he wasn't here to help.

We made a huge mess making cupcakes.  They chose their own liners, then filled them.

Just a little bit was outside of the cupcake liners...

Their favorite colors this year are Blue for Lily, and purple for Rylee.  I made icing in each color and they decorated their cupcakes.  They were delicious.  :)

They spent a lot of days working with Play-doh in the play shed. 

They helped me decorate Rylee's birthday cake.  

Here Conor is helping them put the maze together as intended.  

More cupcakes - they will be pro decorators when they are older.  :)  By the way - Lily has on eye makeup that Rylee brought to share.  Just so you don't think she has a black eye!

Rylee was concentrating so hard.  

 And the finished products!  Not bad for a 4 and 5 year old, huh?  Lily turned 6 in 2017, but not until May.

Rylee and I made pink Rice Krispy Squares one weekend when Lily wasn't here.

Lily moved into a new house this year and here is her bedroom:

Gage's 15th Birthday Pary

We all enjoyed the coffee toffee ice cream cake.  <3 p="">

Rylee loved wearing her Easter hat - even before Easter.

Conor playing soccer with Lily.

Coloring Easter Eggs outside

Rylee got bored with it and so I didn't get a picture of her with her eggs that night.

But the next day at Mimi's house, she did.  

Going through their baskets to find the good stuff.

Hunting for eggs:

Going through the eggs 

Relaxing in the hammock chair

Conor pushing them on the swing

Playing at Mimi's house:

Lily's birthday party game - Pie In the Face was fun:

These doors were painted last year, and these are the "before" pictures:

We painted them white again and they repainted in 2017.

They helped to plant seeds in the spring and prepare for the garden

Lily, relaxing in the Hammock chair.

A girl and her dog

Picking Strawberries

Petting goats

Eating the candy we bought them when we paid for the Strawberries.

Trip to Loveland Castle.

They had fun exploring the castle.

The stairs were so steep and Rylee scared me every time we went up and down.  Her fearlessness stresses me out!  

Rylee refused to sit and get her picture taken with Conor and Lily.  

It's hard to get her to sit still for a picture most days.  

Rylee announced her promotion to big sister:

And then the repainting begins - blank slates for both:

Pops helped by outlining things they requested so they could paint pictures.

Rylee's finished door:

Lily's finished door:

This was just a nice day to sit outside, but they were watching videos on the phone.

Lily was missing her two front teeth at this point, so she was eating the peach with her side teeth. 

Lily's dance recital:

Rylee licking the beater from the Pavlova I made

Then helping me with the dishes:

Picking Black Raspberries in the back yard:

Mixing slime in the play shed:

The finished product:

Having dinner on the deck

Playing in the building Pops is working on

Still eating with her side teeth:

Sitting on Poppy's tractor with Ricky 

Tug of war in the back of Pop's truck

Swinging after swimming

Picking "flowers" in the yard

Lily working with clay

Painting her project

It's a dog :)

Finished products:

Love her curls:

Preparing to find rocks to paint

Gathering them in their dresses

Light up boomerang type things...

We had hours of fun shooting them into the sky.  

Swimming with Mimi and Conor

Making more slime:

Gathering more rocks

Rylee bent over laughing

The carnival games practice - hitting the buckets off the ladder:

Painting rocks

Farmer's market on Kid's day - animals to pet,

bouncy house to play in,

story time.  

They were given a craft from the story - it was a horse. 

More rocks to paint

Roasting marshmallows by the campfire

Getting ready for her first game

The only blue ball in a group of pink

Rylee tying Mimi's shoes during Lily's soccer game because she was bored.  

Playing Uno with Lily when Rylee wasn't there - Rylee doesn't like card games yet.  

Helping Pops cover the strawberry plants with straw:

Getting ready to watch a movie:

Making Jello creations:

Coloring giant pictures

Lily's drawing of a giraffe - her favorite animal at the time.

Lily's drawings displayed on the fridge at Mimi's:

Getting ready to play:

Rylee gives great hugs :)

Lily's team:

Rylee with braided pigtails:

Lily pushing Rylee on the swing:

More rocks to paint

Hello Kitty Coloring pages

Rylee enjoying a baby bottle pop at Conor's soccer game:

Dressed for Lily's soccer game:

Swinging at Mimi's 

Princess day at preschool:

Soccer pictures:

The whole team:

Both worn out before us - that didn't happen often!

I do not remember what she was eating...

Rylee walking to the stage for her Christmas program:

After the program, by the decorated trees:

Cracking and eating Black Walnuts with Mimi:

Coloring gift tags Nana printed for them:

Lots of swing time:

Helping to decorate our tree:

Learning to draw with a Sketcher toy:

Playing Monopoly with Conor and Pops

The following 2 videos were done for me by my Google assistant on my phone.  They are similar, mostly because both girls are in most of the videos together.  But one highlights Lily more and one highlights Rylee more.

Lily's Video:

  

Rylee's video:

There were so many more pictures - but this is a highlight post and long enough.  We have lots of fun every week they are here!  So glad they enjoy coming over and spending time with us!

February Snow

Just when I thought that we were done with the snow weather, we got hit with another couple of rounds.  Jeff went to North Carolina for training, so it was just Conor and me here to deal with that white stuff on Feb 7th.  Jeff was flying home that evening, though, so I wanted to be able to get out of the driveway.  I talked Conor into tag-teaming the shoveling until he broke the shovel when we were about 1/2 way done.  Here he is just starting:

Here's where we ended - the worst of it at the end left undone.  

I ended up paying someone to come and finish it.  I was so over driving through snow at the end and packing it down so that it turns to ice.  You can't tell in this picture, but the road goes up in both directions, we live at the bottom of a big hill.  Getting out isn't fun because you have to be quick - cars fly down our road and you can't see them until they are at the top of the hill in either direction.  I didn't want to slide out into the road.  

I was so sore the next couple of days - I want a snow blower!  Easier on my back.  

January Recap

The Christmas decorations were gone before the New Year started - for the first time ever.  We had a low-key Christmas, and a lower-key New Years.  We spent a lot of time clearing stuff out this month.  Clearing the clutter, minimizing, whatever you want to call it.  I went from 3 bins of Christmas decorations to 2 bins.  Cleaned out more clothes.  Went through a lot of stuff and just got rid of it.  Burned old documents, donated usable stuff to the Veterans, and have a box of stuff we will attempt to sell.

We had a lot of snow this year - and low, low temperatures.  Below zero and single digits for a couple of weeks.  I worked from home - no way was I getting out in that stuff.  I also got the flu - not as bad as last year, and not as bad as some others.  I was down for a week.  Jeff got it too, but his only lasted a few days.  Conor was spared the flu, but he sprained his ankle at the Y in the middle of the month.  It wasn't pretty.  It looked worse as it healed:

We celebrated Jack's birthday - the first since his passing.  Molly and I, along with our families, took food and dessert to Mom's house to be with her.  It was good to spend time together.

Jeff, Conor, and I started a Harry Potter marathon, complete with Butter Beer. However, we did not finish - we still have both of the 7th movies to watch. 

Of course Rylee's birthday was celebrated with a party as well. That's already posted. 

The very best part of the month was that Jeff got a job!  After nearly a year of part time contractor work, he started a full time job on January 29th.

2018 is off to a good start - the rest of the year is promising.  :)

Rylee's Birthday

Miss Rylee turned 5 this year and she chose a My Little Pony Birthday cake.  I rarely work with fondant because it tastes bad and I don't like it.  However, I couldn't find a rainbow suitable for the cake.  So I found a marshmallow fondant that I could make and worked with it to make the rainbow.  It tasted good - well, like sugar.  Better than regular fondant.  It was the hardest part of the cake.

I took the cakes to the party local to assemble and the girls both helped me put the decorations on.  They didn't leave room for me to write her name, so that is why there are two spots that look different colors - I had to put the icing to fill in the holes from the ponies being put there.  

Lily put the decorations on the cupcakes - it was her idea to stand them up like that and they looked great.  I would have just placed them on - so maybe she'll have a knack for decorating.  

Rylee is a ham for the camera - she always poses and looks cute.  :)

We had pizza and a pinata and silly string... what else could a girl want for her 5 year old party?

She got lots of clothes and toys and candy.  

The pinata was a little hard for a 5 year old to break.  Conor was the one who finally broke it so the candy fell out.  

The girls gathered their candy and then the silly string fun began.

It turned into a "spray the birthday girl" theme and she had it trailing behind her.

Rylee put party hats on everyone - even Conor.  

Jaxon wore his for about 30 seconds, but I got a picture in that time.  :)

Pops and the girls gathered in Rylee's room to play with some of her toys.  They made their own scented markers to color with.  

And I got baby snuggles for an hour.  <3 p="">

I love this video.  I watch it often, it makes me smile and just a little bit tired (the yawn).

And a great time was had by all!  Happy birthday my sweet, energetic girl.  <3 p="">

2017 Review

2017 was a rough year. The problems with Allie that began at the end of 2016 and continued into 2017. I'm not going to go into that on here - it's just not something I wish to share publicly.

Jack's diagnosis at the beginning of the year was heartbreaking. They predicted 6 months to a year, but that didn't come close to the time we had left with him.  He passed on March 18th at hospice.  He did everything for me that a dad should do. There is not a time in my life that I don't remember him being there. Growing up he always said, "I hate a liar worse than anything."  And that shaped me.  He taught me how to play poker.  He taught me how to change a tire.  He taught me how to sand and stain wood. He taught me to use a hammer and a screwdriver.  He taught me how to use a saw.  He taught me how to fix things.  He was the one I called whenever anything broke and I needed advice on how to fix it or who to call.  He loved me as a daughter, he loved my children, and he loved my grandchildren.  And we all love him.  I will always miss him.

We had the girls (Lily and Rylee) almost every Friday night and this year, and we did many activities.  I wish I would have been posting more of those to this blog instead of just Facebook, but... I'll try to catch up with pictures on here someday.  For myself and them to look back on.

Conor finished 8th grade and began as a Freshman in High School.  In 8th grade, he took an engineering class and loved it.  He downloaded software for a 3D printer and designed items on it that his teacher printed on his 3D printer.  His summer was spent conditioning for soccer tryouts.  Every day he went to the soccer field and practiced.  He also got a summer job.  14 years old and he asked his friend's dad if he could get a job working at his engineering company - and he said yes.  So 2 days a week he would work 8am - 3pm.  He occasionally got to work 3 days.  He loves making his own money.  His Freshman year he is taking all the requisites, of course, but 2 of them are Honors classes - Geometry and Biology.  He is also taking Algebra II.  He feels so good when he gets good grades.  He's also still growing.  I believe he started the year at 6'1" and ended at 6'4".  He worked at the tree farm again in 2017 - this was his 2nd year working there.

The picture above: on the left is from Ceara's graduation (nursing school) in 2015, the one on the right is Ceara's baby shower in 2017.  Just to give you an idea of how much Conor grew.  His height changed, but his picture pose remained the same.

Lily turned 6 in 2017 and started 1st grade in August. She loves school, she loves to learn. She already reads very well and enjoys it. She is quiet, a little shy, and soft spoken. She did take dance classes this year and had an end of program performance.  She did very well up on the stage in front of so many people. She also played soccer this year.  Her first game she just ran with the group that had the ball when she was on front line - just behind them and didn't attempt to get the ball.  She would kick it when it came straight to her.  By the end of the season, she had improved a lot and did go after the ball.

Rylee turned 4 in 2017 and is in preschool.  She is a very spirited, energetic, and fearless. She is also so very sweet.  She will help with anything you ask, she is giving and kind.  She turned 4 in January of 2017 and wanted a unicorn cake.  She wanted to play soccer and went with us to watch Lily play, but was very bored as a spectator. 

She was in a play at Christmas time where she played a sheep.

John Carter's arrival on Christmas Eve is the final major event of the year.  Our first grandson. Ceara's labor was relatively easy as far a labor goes, and he is perfect. 

I'm sure there are lots of little things - really the important stuff - that I left out of this, but this covered the major (good) events. 

Christmas 2017

Our Christmas celebrations began on Dec 22nd with our big family - aunts, uncles, cousins - at my Aunt Judy's house.  

Santa always stops by with a gift for the kids.  Rylee is still so very excited to see him.

He calls them up, one by one to get their gifts and sit on his lap for pictures.

Conor was much taller than Santa, but he still got to sit on his lap.  :)

Lily was putting together a Lego cop that she won in a game my aunt Mary brought to play. 

 The candy canes were another game Mary brought.

Then on Saturday, December 23rd, we had Christmas at my moms with just my sister and our families.  

We were watching Home alone and eating a Ham dinner before the gift opening.  

Rylee ripped through hers very quickly, and even opened some of Ceara's as well.  

Everyone had fun.

My mom put an extra wrapped present under the tree and said that anyone could exchange one of their gifts for the unknown gift.  Rylee was the only one who wanted to, but after she opened it she wanted her old present back.  lol  (purple coffee mug)

Jeff M's gift was mis-tagged and he opened one that was meant for Lily - a Smart Sketcher.  For a while, he believed that the gift was really meant for him and he was super confused.  It wasn't until Lily opened the gift that was meant for him that we realized the mistake.  Lots of laughs over that mix up.  :)

Lily got a tattoo maker and she and Rylee got tattoos on their arms - glitter and glue.  

On Christmas Eve, John Carter decided it was time for him to come into the world and meet us.  Ceara had a relatively smooth delivery and we have our first grandson!  <3 p="">

Our tree this year - another one from Wertz Tree farm where Conor has worked for the past 2 years - he cut two down this year.  One for us and one for Mimi.  

From the field to our living room, all decorated. 

I received many Christmas Cards this year, and I loved them all.  The one below was my favorite, hand drawn for us by Allie.

Christmas was very low key this year.  I didn't bake, we didn't shop much - only for the kids.  It was great spending time with family and friends without the stress of shopping.  In 2017 I began to minimize my house.  I have much more to do in 2018, but I am well on my way!  Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!