We're Baaaaack

Well, Zach worked hard and pulled his grade up. Not to where it should (easily) be, but enough. So I carted all the cords in from the car and we're back in the electronic age. Not sure about that. It was pretty peaceful here with no tv, no internet, no x-box.

Finals week is over for the boys. I can NOT believe that Kenny has only 3 semesters left and he'll be done with high school. Where does the time go? Remember this little guy?



My new job is about killing me. I love it. I really, really do. And a girl told me the other day, with tears in her eyes, "I've learned more from you in three weeks than I did in all my classes put together last year." Okay, that will keep me going for a while. But man, I really have to THINK now. My toddler classes and the CCRR job I'd been doing for over 10 years and things were pretty automatic. It's good for me. And I like that I'm learning, too. And growing. But this old dog is TIRED after doing new tricks all day. But it's a good tired.

Zach has been playing basketball, his team is still undefeated. This is quite remarkable, as he plays on the sophomore team. And the coaches have taken the six top sophomores to play either varsity or JV. And the 10 guys that are left are amazing. Zach's been named player of the game twice. He's really hitting his stride now. Of course, the season's almost over. Oh well. We can't wait for BASEBALL!! While we're walking down memory lane...here's a few early basketball pics of Zach.



Kate has been playing basketball, too. Weekend tournaments, travelling, driving in the snow, it's all good. We don't even have time to miss dance. Much. She had a tournament in La Grande two weeks ago. And that means...MOUATS! We got to see Will, Stacy, Ryan, Christian, Kyle and Caleb. It was so much fun. And very emotional. Kenny, who wears his heart on his sleeve, had a very difficult time at first. Seeing Will is such a strong reminder of Dave. It's hard to explain, but when I see Will, it just feels like Dave should be there. But soon, with the help of Stacy's stellar grilled cheese, Kenny settled in and then the boys played football in the snow and went to the gym to cheer Kate on. Zach's still helping coach the team. He loves "his girls." It's really brought Kate and Zach close. I even watched him hug her at the WaHi game last night. He didn't even know I was looking. Sweet, sweet moments.






Kenny skis with Special Olympics on the weekends. He's really enjoying it. But getting up so very early isn't as easy for him this year as last year. He's a morning person, but his usual wakeup time is about 7:00. So when I come in and wake him at 5:45, it's always been fine, but he's been a bit cranky lately. Breakfast at McDonalds seems to help. He's made some incredible art projects this year. He's also enjoying drama. No, not the kind he creates, the class. Here's a picture of Snickers checking out his "Wild Thing." The wild thing's name is Blitz and he's a monster dog made from an old sheet.

And here are Garfield and Odie. Kenny made these in pottery last year, but he's been after me to post pictures of them, so here you go.


And the dogs. Oh, the dogs.


Gosh, we love them. They BOTH sleep with me. So does Snickers and sometimes Macky. So don't you worry about me. Lonely, I am NOT.

PS. Did you notice those beautiful hardwood floors? I'm still so proud of them. And of me and my sis. We rock.

We went to Spud's funeral in Lewiston. I was okay until the soldiers played Taps. Wow. Here's a picture I found of me with Spud. He had this idea to drape my long hair over his bald head so it would look like he had hair. Bert always used to say that she married Spud for his beautiful curly hair, and now look!


And...the biggest news of all, Kate is 12. TWELVE! She is incredibly smart, kind, curious and enthusiastic. She has a tender heart and a true sense of the spiritual. She has music in her step and mischief in her smile. And even with the emover, she's so beautiful. She takes my breath away, and I simply cannot believe that we almost didn't have her. Some surprises are just what you need. You know, every time we were pregnant, Dave was SURE the baby was a girl. He bought Kyle a pink sleeper. He put that darn pink sleeper under his pillow when I was pregnant with Kenny and with Zach. He grew up in a family of boys and to him, girls were fascinating, magical creatures. And while he loved his boys with his whole being, there was something especially tender about his love for Kaitlyn. He used to call her BabyCakes. Until she got old enough to say, "Actually, I'm not a baby anymore." "So what should I call you?" Kate wrinkled her little nose and thought. "Well, I guess you could call me ShortCakes." Oh how he laughed. I guess ShortCakes wouldn't work anymore.

Just before he died, Dave bought Kate a birthstone ring with two little diamonds. He told her, "Your first diamond must come from your daddy, because no man will ever love you as much as I do." You can see how much he loved her in this first pic. Never was a child more adored. And her brothers, too. I have a ton of pictures of them squeezing, kissing, carrying, snuggling her. As a baby, she hardly ever got to nap; the boys kept waking her up because they missed her. Whatever she wanted, they were right there, doting on her. Kate was actually quite miffed when she got to preschool and not everyone dropped what they were doing to hear what "the baby" had to say. It was a bit of a rude awakening for her, but I think the experience of being loved so thoroughly was worth it.


And now some pics of our girl through the years.





















Because of you, Kate, we all feel like we're walking on sunshine.