I miss her...

As we were cuddling Sadie down for bed just before we said her prayers we had a cute conversation that I don't want to forget.

"Where's Great Grandma?"

"She's in Heaven."

"Why?"

"Because her body got old so her spirit went to heaven. She is SO happy there. She gets to be with Jesus and her Mommy who she hasn't gotten to see in a really long time. So she is HAPPY!"

"(Whine) I miss her!"

"Me too!"

"Can we call her?"

"No, there are no phones in heaven; but you can talk to her any time you want to and she will hear you."

"Okay! Can I right now?"

"Sure!"

"Great Grandma Vilate, I miss you. I love you! All my Grandma's and Grandpa's be okay."

Then she leaned in and just hugged me, did some whimpers and said,

"I miss her!"

"Me too Sadie, Me too! We will get to see her again someday!"

Sadie has always been very in tune with feelings and how other people feel. I LOVE that about her. She has also always loved elderly people, which for her age is very unique. I think most little kids are a little unsure. She LOVES to talk to "Grandma's" in the store and has since she was tiny! One of the first few times she saw my Grandma Beebe she excitedly greeted her by saying, "Good Morning Sunshine!" (which my Grandma Beebe always had a little poem she said with that when she woke up my Mom:

'Good Morning Mary Sunshine,
How are you this fine day?
The sun is up, the birds are out,
what do you have to say'

In which my Mom would reply: 'Go away!' )

Then that entire night Sadie sat by her and made sure she had everything she needed! It was so sweet. And tonight, that just melted my heart. She just kept hugging me and whimpering and talking about how she missed Great Grandma Vilate, and how she wanted to see her! Although we can't see her, I know she is here with us! I definitely know she was with us tonight! I love you Granny!

Putting it off...

I LOVE this picture. This is of my Gramps with Shane, and my Granny with Sadie. It is just so descriptive of them! Gramps being silly and Granny so sweet and cute!Last week, (on our 8th Anniversary, May 19th) my sweet little Granny passed away. I have been wanting to do a post about her, but it is so difficult! So I have been putting it off. Finally, Tricia asked me today if we had gone to the children's museum again! I know, I know! My grandma broke her hip back in February or March and ever since then she has slowly gone down hill. Thankfully, my sweet Aunt Jill and Uncle Jerry have been taking care of her and my Gramps for the past few years! My Aunt Jill is a nurse, so she has been the biggest blessing to them ever! Anyway, we knew it was coming. And actually the day that we went to the children's museum (the picture of the girls sitting outside the restaurant on the bench), I got a call from my Granny so that we could say good bye to each other! I will never forget her sweet words of love, wisdom and encouragement! She is honestly the most Christ-like person I know! I am thankful for her example of love and kindness. She was the perfect combination of sweetness and spunk! (If you look at the top picture of all the different pics, my favorite picture of her is on the bottom right hand corner. It was when she and my Gramps were visiting the Amazon and she is holding a snake that is bigger than she is! Although you can't see it, her expression is too cute! I always thought she was so cool! This was back when I was in Middle School-ish) As a mom, I am more appreciative of her patience and love. I remember she always had such beautiful sculptures , candelabras, vases, dishes, everything around her house. Once all the grandkids were playing and one of us broke the head off of this statue of a little boy. She didn't even get upset! She just told us to be careful! I realize even more so now, how patient and loving she was.
My Mom and Dad married after a divorce from my biological father, when I was 3 and my Granny always talked about how I just ran up to her with a huge smile on my face and gave her a big bear hug and how she felt I instantly loved her! I am sad I will never get to hear her tell that story again. It is kind of like a kid always wanting to hear about the day of their birth...it never gets old!

The morning I got the call from my Dad (who was up there with her), I was then crying after I got off the phone. Sadie was so sweet and asked me what was wrong. So I told her that MY Grandma Vilate died. (So she wouldn't get confused with one of HER Grandma's) She gave me a hug and did a few little whimpers with me. Then she said, "It's okay Mommy, we can see her again after we get baptized!" It was so sweet and really did help me feel better!

Then we went downstairs and went to have cereal and I had to smile again because somehow the fridge door didn't get shut completely tight so the milk was warm with my cereal. Whenever we visited my Granny and Gramps they would go to bed HOURS before we did and would then get UP HOURS before we did. She always had such a beautiful table set for even cereal! I loved it! But since they would get up way before us, the milk was always a little warm from being out for a few hours! So having warm milk with my cereal on the morning she passed just made me smile and miss her! It was perfect! She also always had home made jam and I LOVED it! After making some this year, I think of her every time I have it! (which is a lot!)

So I went up to Idaho last week for a quick trip to go to her funeral. (Thank you Sheila and Lyndsee for taking such good care of our girls!) It was a fast trip, but it was SO NICE! It was great to see family that I haven't seen for so long! So fun to see their adorable kids too! It was fun to look through all of Granny's remembrance books and through old pictures...too funny! Bethany, yes you were ALWAYS cute!

My Grandma's $1000 chair, a medical one that lifts you ALL the way up! We were having fun! Once the LITTLE kids warmed up to it, we could not get them off! My Grandpa was sitting in it and said, "I think I paid $1000 for this chair!" My Aunt Jill told him he did so he said, "I better get some use out of it then!" and then put his nose in the air! Too funny!

My sweet Jill and two of her grandkids! I have to say that Avery is the cutest! Not that they all aren't, but I just wanted to take her home with me! She is the smiley one in front. She would do that and say cheese whenever she saw a camera! Why can't I have a child like that!?!It was a beautiful service! I was lucky to be able to sing at her funeral. She had asked me YEARS ago if I would sing. So I am glad I got to do that! It was so hard to do, but I know she was up there with me, helping me get through it! At the end of the song, there was a little piano part, so as I was standing up there, my sweet Grandpa blew me a kiss, and I blew him one back! I will never forget that! The hardest part about that day, was seeing my Silly Gramps SO emotional! He has always been the joker not one to show his emotions, so seeing them POUR out was very difficult! They had been married for over 63 years!! They had traveled a lot and done amazing things together! I will miss her cards and letters for EVERY occasion! She never failed to show you she was thinking of you! We love you forever Granny!

My Dad pouring sand from the Ventura beaches (where they lived while my Dad was growing up) and sand from St. George (where they lived after they retired) into her grave. It was really sweet.

My Mom kissed her casket and left her lipstick mark on it, so we all had to do the same, so our kisses are with her forever!

Proof that I ENJOYED the 2 pounds I gained! Yummy funeral potatoes and chocolate cake!

Children's Museum

Sadie filled up her sticker chart again so she wanted to go to the Children's Museum! We took the girls downtown on Saturday (which turned out to be crazy because the march of dimes was going on and they had TONS of roads closed so we had to park far away and walk since we couldn't even get there!) but we had SO much fun! They always switch things up a bit and this time it was about sounds and vibrations. It was cool and the girls had a blast! They LOVE the little kitchen! So we started there. Sadie's pose is hilarious...she is asking me what I would like! Then off to the music room where they get to dance and play on a stage and see themselves on TV. They spent FOREVER here! They get to pick the song and can play with the lighting over at the sound board. Lucy loved pushing the applause button and seeing the sign light up!Then we went upstairs for some arts and crafts. They had fun having access to all sorts of supplies!Lucy LOVED this pulley thing! You clipped the pig on a parachute on and then pulled the rope until it got to the top and it would unclip the pig and the pig would parachute down! She did it over and OVER!Then they played in the construction area, sorting different shaped "nuts and bolts" into their appropriate slots, doing some brick work playing with tractors! Then they played with the sound stuff. They had this cool huge contraption that you could shoot balls all over and they would hit different things and make different sounds. It was cool. Then there was a slinky piano that would vibrate the different length Slinky's. Lucy didn't really like to feel the vibrations of this drum.Sadie loved the phones because when you talked into them, each phone made your voice sound a silly different way. What about these high-tech head phones! We played so hard that we worked up quite an appetite! So we walked around the corner to the Spaghetti Warehouse and had a yummy lunch! We were so excited to be able to sit inside the train! The girls sat on this bench outside and I couldn't pass up the picture. I liked the feel of the wood floors, the brick, and the bench! So I did a vintage look for fun!

Green Wall

We went to the children's museum on Saturday (I will post pictures later) and the outside of the museum is this crazy green! I thought it would make for a great background. Lucy wasn't willing to participate, so I got some fun pictures of Sadie and wanted to share.

She is so funny! She HAS to wear this hat almost daily! Good thing it is so cute! She is definitely our fashion girl! Sometimes she really puts together cute outfits or accessorizes cute with an outfit I picked, but other times...it is a struggle! But she is getting it better. Like for church this morning she picked out her dress (which, Mom, is the brown stripped one you gave her and Lucy and is her favorite! She wants to wear it every week, so I am sorry to say that I am SO SICK of it! Plus the fact that it is 95 degrees outside and she is wearing a long sleeve, hooded dress that she insists on wearing the hood up!) and put on some mary-jane type shoes with pink decorative socks with doggies on them...hideous! So I told her how it would look better if she didn't wear the socks and how Lucy and I both had our sandals without socks. She thought about it, looked at my feet and then Lucy's and said, "I know, how about I get my sandals on!" YEAH! That's a GREAT idea!

At preschool a while back her teacher was telling me how one day she was wearing a sweater and this hat and it turned out to be a warm day and she refused to take the hat and the sweater off. Heaven forbid, she had a tank top under her sweater and that would show her arm pits! After recess her face was bright red and her teacher was a little concerned so they had the head lady come down and check on her and had her talk to Sadie about taking the hat a sweater off. She finally did! So silly!

Here she is on another HOT day, in her hat! But thankfully she is in a short sleeve shirt and a skirt (which was also given to her by Grandma Stewie and is a favorite!)

Good Friends, Conversations and Screaming!

Every week after dance, we take the girls to Burger King, NOT for the "spectacular" food but for their fun play scape. The girls love it! This has been our tradition (after going to Wendy's - with no play scape and then realizing we didn't need to terrorize their restaurant when there was a play scape right across the street!) with our good friends Lyndsee, Evka and Averee. We look forward to it every week! Me and Lyndsee get to sit and chat (for the most part), and Sadie, Evka, Averee and Lucy get to run around and have a blast! Most of the time we are there to ourselves which is also a bonus! So when we were there on Wednesday, Sadie and Evka were playing so cute together! They both grabbed their usual crown but instead of wearing them on their head, they slung them over their shoulders for their "purses." They have a particular spot in the play scape that is a dead end that they like to play in. They call it their clubhouse. They usually sit at the little tables with Lucy, Averee and Gavin (Lucy and Averee's dance teachers little boy that Lyndsee watches for a little while until Mrs. Colleen comes to get him from Burger King). Today, Sadie and Evka moved their food up to this big table and sat and chatted! They were being SO EXPRESSIVE! I had to bust out my camera! It was hilarious. It was like they were mimicking their mommies talking and having girl time. Too funny. Of course I didn't catch the best part, but you get they point.

Lucy's screaming turned into everyone screaming. Then there was this crazy lady there that would not stop talking to us. Yes, it is a lady. She had the worst smokers voice ever! I thought it was a guy talking at first! Anyway, she kept coming over to the kids and saying things to them but in a really weird, slow motion kind of way. Poor Averee was right by the lady and she was terrified. She kept her head looking towards us but would shift only her eyes to keep her eye on the lady. After the lady walked away I went over to Averee and asked if she wanted down (side note: Lucy and Averee wanted high chairs like Gavin, no we do not still put them in high chairs) and she just looked at me and whined, "Mommy" real quietly! So I helped her out and took her to Mommy where she cuddled! Too cute! Anyway, so then the kids were bugging the lady by completely screaming! It was hilarious! Notice the lady playing with them but telling them to stop! But Evka "peeps" and then they all start at it again! Lyndsee and I were loving it! Such funny girls!

Mother's Day present!

I LOVE the fact that Sadie now has surprise presents that she gives us from school! It seriously means so much to me! I remember as a kid being so excited about the things I made for Mommy and Daddy! Then as I grew up and saw the things I had made...I thought "ick, how could they have appreciated this thing!" But now as a Mom I SO appreciate them and just adore them and especially the look of pride on their face as they give it to you! So thank you teachers out there that do these projects, us Mommy's and Daddy's LOVE them! (Sorry for the blurry pictures, I didn't realize that Lucy had been playing with the camera and it had finger prints ALL over it!)

Sweet Sadie, thank you so much for working so hard to make me such a beautiful bag! I LOVE it more than you know! You are my sweet little-big girl and I LOVE you all the way to the moon and back!PS - This has been the look of Lucy lately! Ughhhh! Where did my sweet, precious little girl go!?! I am HOPING it is the fact that she is getting her 2 year molars and all 4 incisors! Please, Please Please! This was because Sadie needed a turn with the camera because SHE wanted to take a picture of ME with her present! :) Too cute! Sadie took this picture as well, I don't know why it is red but I think it makes it even more funny! SO ANGRY!

Wishful Thinking!

As you know, we L O V E this movie at our house! So as I was making lunch today, the girls requested to listen to the CD. I put it on and they danced around the kitchen. Then Sadie went outside and was singing to the song on the deck. I didn't think much of it until she came back inside and said,

"Mommy, no birdies came in our house!"

Birthday Fun!

Not mine, although I did have a GREAT birthday this past weekend, I just don't have pictures...sorry! This was Sadie's friend Evka's Birthday fun! For playgroup we did something extra fun and went to this place called Kiddie Acres. It is a tiny carnival type place, a little ghetto but the kids LOVED it! I don't have a ton of pictures because my camera battery was about to die, so I had to use it sparingly! It finally ended up dieing just as Lucy was doing her pony ride. We had such a fun time and were so glad to be with SO MANY great friends! It was so cool because we got the whole place to ourselves and everyone got to ride everything one time. So nice!
They LOVED the airplane ride! I was curious to see how Lucy would do on the rides and she did GREAT!! She was such a big girl and so brave! She hopped right onto all the rides all by herself!

Turn down your volume because I was desperately (with no success) trying to get their attention and it is loud and obnoxious sorry!

She even decided to ride in the car all by herself! I was impressed!

The boat ride was so much fun, especially when you reached your arm in the water and splashed!

Again, sorry about my annoying yelling! Notice Lucy splashing and saying, "Sadie Watch!" So silly!

I was really impressed that Lucy got right on the Ferris wheel! She loved it!

Sadie, Beau and Colton. We tried FOREVER to get them ALL looking! Finally we got it! Yeah!

Riding the carousel!Lucy and Averee looking on as they wait to ride the pony!Our little cowgirl...so proud!This is all I got of Lucy on the pony and then my battery died! Lucy and Averee got to ride at the same time! So fun! So I didn't get pictures of the fun train ride and the pizza for lunch! We had such a fun time!