Fun times with the grandkids!

We've been a bit busy attending events our grandkids participated in over the past few months. Here are some of the events: First was Brodi's bake sale at pre-school. She sold us some yummy treats.

We went to Kylie, Lexi and Sadie's Arts and Academics Night. We were able to see some of the artwork the girls had displayed. 

Sadie won a medal for a poem she had memorized and she was very excited! 

While I was in St Louis, Bryan took all of the Mesa grandkids to a Realtor Appreciation Event and as you can see they had lots of fun!

Somehow missed a picture of Sam, but he was there too.

The night I got home from St Louis was Sam's piano recital, but I was kind of drugged up on Dramamine and didn't get a picture. Hopefully BJ and Shannon have one for me. Sam played 2 songs and did great!

Next was Kylie's piano recital. I stole this picture of Kylie with her cute piano teacher, Lindsay McRae, from Tiff's blog. Kylie is doing great on the piano!

Kylie and Lexi had their Spring Sing. We weren't able to go this spring, but I think we've been to every other performance they've had. They have a spring and a winter sing each year at their school.

Kylie won 1st place in her school class spelling bee, so she was able to compete against 15 other 5th graders and she came in 7th place! It was a scary experience for the kids, but they did great. 

The next morning, Sadie had her Kindergarten Spring Sing at 9:00. Right before the kids sang their last song, a little boy threw up on about 4 people who were standing around him. It was so sad. Luckily Sadie wasn't near him. She is the cute one in the middle of the bottom picture with the stripes.

 Right after Sadie's Spring Sing was Kylie's orchestra concert. I love hearing how Kylie's group improves each time I hear them. 

 Sam had his Kindergarten graduation and the 5 kindergarten classes each performed a song. It was very cute. (Hannah did not want to look at me for this picture!)

We were very proud of Sam because he won a citizenship award. I think there were only 2 from each class who won this award, so great job, Sam! 

Sam is on the front row in the middle and was singing so well!

 Last, but not least, we were able to go to Brodi's pre-school graduation. Aunt Tiffany is her teacher and has done a great job teaching Brodi. 

We're so thankful we live close enough to these kids to be able to attend their events. We LOVE it! I remember when I was a young girl, my Gramps and Grandma Grace came to everything I was involved in and I remember how much it meant to me to have them there.

St Louis Trip

While I was in St Louis, I was so happy to be able to attend Claire's school play. She had one of the leading roles and did a great job! I don't very often get to see Claire and Ethan perform, so it was such a treat to be there for this adorable play. Claire was one of the birds in a bird nest, who was afraid to leave the nest and go out into the world. Different animals came along and told the birds about the world and they finally got brave and flew out of their nest! Here is a picture of Claire in the nest.

 I was also able to see Ethan and Claire's Science Fair Projects. Ethan did his on Grease in chips and won a Red Ribbon! 

Claire won a Blue Ribbon on hers and was also able to take her project to a district competition, where she won another blue ribbon. I was able to be there when they awarded her the blue ribbon.

Before I left, I had two requests - to see the St. Louis Temple and to see the Arch, so on Saturday, a week after Emily was born, we went on a sightseeing trip for me! Holly and Emily were with us, but Holly stayed in the car with Emily while Jeff, the kids and I walked around. We went to Claire's soccer game before - that's why she still has her soccer clothes on. Here are Claire and Ethan at the St. Louis Temple.

A couple from Queen Creek, AZ was at the temple walking around and they took the pictures below for us. It was crazy because they were in Holly and Jeff's ward the next day visiting! Small world.

We realized afterward that we should have taken Emily out of her car seat to be in the picture with us, but she was happily sound asleep in the car right next to us.

We needed to get a few things at Costco, so I treated everyone to lunch while we were there. Claire and Ethan were excited to get a berry smoothie.

I loved seeing the Arch. The park next to the Arch is gorgeous! I couldn't believe how green everything was. It's so different than Arizona!

The Arch was beautiful! You can actually ride through the Arch in a little box that looked way to confining for me, so I don't think I could ever do it. Besides, we got there at the end of the day and it wasn't possible.

Here is a close up of the Arch. You can see how large it is! Underneath the ground we're standing on are gift shops, a museum and that's where you catch the ride to go through the Arch.

The lighting wasn't very good, but somebody took this picture of Jeff, Claire, Ethan and I.

One other thing I loved about St Louis were all the birds - especially the Cardinals. I finally saw some Cardinals on my last day there. I tried to get a picture, but my camera wasn't fast enough and they wouldn't land for long enough. But, this is what they look like and they are beautiful.

 I loved being in St Louis and I'm so thankful I was able to go help The Boyers. It was fun spending time with them. Claire and Ethan were so good and helpful and I also enjoyed hearing them practice the piano and read to me. Thank you, Boyers, for letting me visit you!

Emily Sue Boyer

I was planning to leave for St Louis on April 25 because Holly was going to be induced on April 27. Fortunately, I had a buddy pass from US Airways and I could fly out whenever I needed to. At 4:00 pm on Apr 24, Holly called me and said she thought she was going into labor and could I come on the next flight to St. Louis. I was babysitting BJ and Shannon's kids at the time, so I called Bryan over to watch the kids while I went home and made arrangements to go. I had mostly packed that morning, so all I needed to do was pack my make-up and blow dryer. I called the airlines and there was a plane that left at 6:00 pm. Shannon arrived home at 4:30 and Bryan came and picked me up and we went to the airport. I was there by 5:00 and I was able to get on the flight. The plan was for Holly & Jeff's friend to pick me up at the airport in St. Louis. When I arrived, I called Holly to see if she had the baby and she said the hospital was sending them home because everything stopped, so they would pick me up from the airport. It was actually probably better for me to leave on Wednesday night anyway because the flights were more booked up on Thursday and I might not have made it on the plane. It also gave me a chance to get acquainted with the area so that when Holly was in the hospital, I could take over.

On Thursday and Friday, Holly and I got pedicures and manicures, drove around to Claire's soccer field, the kids school and the hospital, so I could learn my way around. We went grocery shopping to stalk up on the things I needed for the meals I was going to cook and we caught up on laundry and cleaning. Jeff, Claire, Ethan and I walked to the park. Claire and Jeff went home early, but Ethan and I stayed and threw pebbles into the water. 

Then, on Friday night at about 8 pm, Holly and Jeff left for the hospital for the induction and then we waited. 

Saturday morning, there was still no baby, so I took Claire and Ethan to Claire's soccer game. It was raining and the field was very muddy, but the game went on! Claire did awesome and scored about 5 goals!

She is celebrating one of her goals in this picture!

 And another one in this picture!

Claire is doing great at soccer and it was fun to watch her. Right when I drove up to their house after the game (a little after 1 pm), I got a text from Jeff saying "She made it" with a picture of their cute new baby. I showed the kids and they were SOOOO excited. There was much squealing and cheering going on! I told Claire to hurry and go take a shower so we could go to the hospital. I think that was probably the fastest shower she has ever taken!

In almost every prayer, Claire prayed that Emily would be born on April 27. Claire was born on Nov 27 and Ethan was born on Feb 27, so now all 3 kids have a 27th birthday. That should be easy to remember!

Here are some pictures of our first visit with Emily Sue Boyer. She weighed about 7 lbs 3 oz and was 19 inches long. She is a beautiful baby, as you can see! She had such a calm, sweetness about her - I could feel the peacefulness in the hospital room as we walked in. 

This is the first picture I took after we arrived. It was so fun to see how giddy and excited the kids were to see their sister. Every time Emily moved, Claire said, "SHE MOVED!" It was cute.

Claire holding Emily for the first time.

Ethan holding Emily for the first time.

 Nana holding Emily for the first time!

 Holly and baby Emily. Poor Holly could hardly keep her eyes open - she was so tired.

The Boyer Family

 The nurse came in to check Emily and we got a good view of her black hair!

SO ADORABLE!

Ethan, Claire and Emily

On Sunday, Jeff, the kids and I went to visit Holly and Emily at the hospital before church and after church. We took some Italian Chicken to Holly. Then, on Monday, Jeff had to be back at work, so I was able to go pick Holly and Emily up from the hospital. I'm holding her in the picture below while Holly showered and got ready to go home.

 I got this picture right as we were going into the apartment  - her first day home!

 I was holding Emily on my lap and had the camera all ready to take a picture when she let out the biggest smile! I'm so glad I was able to capture it!

 And, here is Emily Sue, sleeping peacefully. Such a beautiful baby!

We've all been waiting a very long time for Emily to join the Boyer Family and we are so thankful she is here safe, sound and perfectly healthy!

Quickie trip to Utah

On April 12-15, I had another quickie trip to Utah just for the weekend. When I found out that Mallory, Madie and Finn were going to be in Utah visiting Mal's family, I checked flights on Allegiant Air and because it only cost $100, I booked a flight to visit with them. I knew most of their time would be with Mal's family since they were the ones who paid for their flight to Utah, but I was happy just to have one day with them. I hadn't seen them since last October and I needed a Madie and Finn fix. So, Kathy and my Mom again picked me up at the Provo Airport and we enjoyed an evening visiting together.

On Saturday, I drove to SLC and picked up Mal and the kids and drove them back to Orem, since Mal didn't have a car. We spent the whole day together and then I took them back to SLC that night. Here are some pictures of our visit:

Me and My Madie 

Me and My Finn-Man

Love these kiddos and don't get to see them often enough! 

 Grandma Clark with Finn and Madie

 Madie playing with the playhouse I played with as a child. I loved it and now the next generation loves it!

Mallory and the kids

Mallory actually was able to take a nap while I took the kids to the park by my Mom's house. We had fun playing. Aunt Tiffany sent Madie this cape that she loved flying around in.

I was also able to drive to Salt Lake on Monday and have lunch with Mallory, the kids and Mal's Mom, MariLou. We went to Paradise Bakery and then it was time for me to drive back to Provo and fly home to Arizona. I look forward to seeing these kiddos again in August.

As it turns out, Dave and Ruth were in town from Southern California the same weekend I was there. Ruth's dad was having some serious health problems and they came to lend support to Ruth's Mom. On Sunday evening, Dave and Ruth, Doug and Kay, Kathy and Dennis all came to Mom's house and we had dessert and a good visit. It was very rare that we were all in town at the same time. Here is a picture of my family.

It was a very quick trip, but believe it or not, in that time, Mom and I were able to work on another puzzle and it was almost done when I left!