Thursday, April 16, 2009
Hoppy Easter!
Easter was a lot of fun! We had a family Easter basket. Auralee got a fishing pole, Taryn got a giant caterpillar, Luc got a CD and I got a DVD. Fun stuff :) The girls were able to color eggs before we went to church and they enjoyed that. Next year we'll do it on a Saturday so we will have more time and can do more.
My sister-in-law, Sarah, made this great bunny cake for desert at my in-laws. Isn't it cute!
All the (walking) Engstrom grand-kids got to hunt for candy filled eggs inside for a little while. They all had lots of fun and scored on the candy.
Then the hunt moved outside where they hunted for more candy filled eggs and a few hard-boiled ones. The boiled ones didn't make out very well.
The whole time, I just let the girls eat whatever candy they wanted. Taryn went a little overboard and ate ALL of her candy. By the end of the evening she was paying for it and had a huge stomach ache. I don't think she learned her lesson though.
Visit from mom and dad
Around the end of March, my parents came to visit. They brought their foreign exchange students Nat and Ling. They are both so great! Taryn really took to them.
As they were leaving, I was able to get some pictures, but Auralee refused to smile. You can't force that girl to do anything if she doesn't want to!
Nat and Ling loved everything I cooked for them. They are the kinds of people I like to cook for ;) They took pictures of everything. It was great!
I love my parents so much!
Of course, Auralee had to go take a nap because she was so grumpy. :(
Lets go fly a kite
For her birthday, Auralee got a kite. It came at just the right time to fly it. Her dad helped her set it up and she was able to fly it very well all by herself.
Happy, Happy Birthday Baby
Six years ago, I woke up early to help Luc get ready for work. I thought my water might have broken, but I wasn't sure. I called the hospital and they said to come in and they would check me out. I packed Luc's lunch (which I never do any more since Ive had children) and saw him off, then I took a shower and went to our rental office and paid rent. I drove myself to the hospital where they checked me out and found that my water had indeed broken. I had to stay there because of it, so I called Luc and told him what was going on. When he asked if he should come, I told him nothing was going to happen for a while and he could just stay at work. His boss disagreed and sent him on his way. Needless to say, I was there all day and didn't start having hard contractions till around 5pm that evening. I dealt with that for about an hour and then I was ready for my epidural! Lots of family were able to make it and, after driving 7hrs, my mom was even able to make it on time. I wasn't prepared for my baby to come. She was 15 days early and I didn't even have any onesies or receiving blankets for her. Regardless, at 23:23 on 3-3-03 weighing in at 7lbs 15 1/2 oz, there came my beautiful baby girl, Auralee Rose Engstrom. My grandmother, Frieda Rose, had died 5 years before to the day, so everyone thought it was appropriate that Rose be my little bundles middle name. I like to think that it was my grandma who brought her little spirit here to earth to us.
My sister, Mechelle, made a yummy, yummy, yummy chocolate mint cake with chocolate ganache and whipped frosting. It was so good, my mouth waters just thinking about it. She also did a fabulous job decorating it. The theme was the Princess and the frog.
She got lots of great presents, all of which she loved. Her dad and I got her a bike. Thanks to everyone!
After-wards, her grandparents took us all out ATV riding. On our way there, we were met at the cattle guard by a herd of cattle intent on not letting us pass. It was pretty funny. We all had a great time and it was a nice top off to a good day. Our friends, the Dodges, were able to come with us.
New Mexico in January 2009
We were so excited to have snow when we got to NM where my parents live. We had gotten the girls some snow gear while in Colorado so we bundled them up in it to go play. Of course, Taryn fell asleep on the short drive there. Everyone knows you don't wake a sleeping baby, so Luc and I took turns waiting in the car while the other spent time outside with Auralee.
I picked up a sled while we were there and my parents told us where there was a good little sledding hill close by. It was fun and Auralee was having a blast!
If course, right when we pulled up to my parents house, Taryn woke up and wanted to go sledding. She was NOT happy when she found out we were already done :(
Poor baby! At least she looks cute ;)
The trip back home to AZ was nice. Surprisingly enough, my hometown had more snow than the rest of the towns we passed through. Shiprock looked great with the low cloud cover.
Our Colorado Trip
This past December our family took a trip to Denver for Grandpa Greats funeral. Although the reason for the trip was sad, we were able to have an enjoyable time while were there. The drive there through New Mexico and on through Colorado was beautiful. I love seeing the snow covered landscapes while being safely bundled up in my warm car ;)
While we were in Denver, we were able to stay with Luc's aunt and uncle.
They are a fun family and we are grateful we were able to stay with them. From l-r; Kent, Bryce, Cody, uncle Jim, aunt Coreen and Chandra.
The girls had tons of fun jumping on the trampoline in the back yard.
Every time the Engstrom family got together with Grandpa Great, he would treat us all to a nice dinner at Red Lobster. The uncles thought it would be a nice tribute to grandpa to have one last meal there in his honor. Everyone had an enjoyable time and the kids even got to touch a live lobster.
Another place Luc's family likes to visit in Denver is Casa Bonita. The food is OK, but the big reason to go is the atmosphere. Once you get inside, it is HUGE! You go through a cafeteria style line for your food and then they seat you in one of the cubbies that are spread out maze-like throughout the building. A Mariachi band plays and they have a little variety show comprised of the same three actors doing each spot. They even have a little cliff diving mixed in. After you eat, you can go through their pirate cave and then the kids can try to get in on breaking the pinata. They also have a puppet show, but we missed that. Their gift shop was also nice to wander through.
While Luc and others in his family went skiing, I took the girls to McDonalds and then to a movie. They had lots of fun doing both and were really good for me.
This is the house in Littleton that Luc lived in when he was little.
Luc went to Pifer Elementary School. He would walk or ride his bike every school day to get there.
We took the scenic rout down through Colorado to get to my parents house in New Mexico. We even went through Wolf Creek Pass, which was thankfully opened at the time. Everything was so beautiful! I wouldn't mind taking the trip again.
Lloyd Junior Engstrom
June 22, 1917-December 19, 2008
"When King Lear dies in Act V, do you know what Shakespeare has written? He's written "He dies." That's all, nothing more. No fanfare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words. The culmination of the most influential work of dramatic literature is "He dies." It takes Shakespeare, a genius, to come up with "He dies." And yet every time I read those two words, I find myself overwhelmed with dysphoria. And I know it's only natural to be sad, but not because of the words "He dies." but because of the life we saw prior to the words."
The five sons; Ralph, Carl, Rex, Jim and Bob Engtstrom
The casket
The Engstrom family home in Colorado
At the viewing, Auralee asked her grandma Engstrom where grandpa great's blanket was. Every time the girls saw grandpa when he was at Luc's parents house he was sitting in the recliner with a blanket on his lap.
When Taryn saw grandpa in his casket, she put her finger up to her mouth and whispered "shh, grandpa's sleeping."
It was nice that my girls had a comfortable experience and weren't scared. Lloyd was such a good grandpa to them and they love him still.
Grandpa Great
We got a call from Luc's mom letting us know that grandpa great wasn't doing well, so we went to visit him. It was so good that the girls and Luc were able to visit him and that he was awake and a little coherent. He is one of the best men I have known.
A few days after we saw him, he passed away. We will all miss him.
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