Sunday, March 30, 2014

We finally get to meet Kami

We finally had a free weekend to run to Orem to meet Kami and see Ford and Shiala. It was really hard waiting a week to go. I knew I didn't want to horn in on Shiala's mom but I was very anxious to be there. Wish there was more I could have done to be helpful. I hope as I get more opportunities and more grandkids, I will figure out how to be more helpful.

She pretty much slept the whole time we were with her. The little bit she was awake, she was very calm. Ford and Shiala say she is just a great baby, very calm and easy. I told them they should count their blessings and they said they do!

She looks quite a bit like my babies, like Ford did as a baby, but I also see Shiala in her, mostly in her mouth. She has a good amount of darkish hair and is just the sweetest little thing. We love her so much! Can't tell that by the pictures of everyone loving on her, can you?
Aunt Hannah and Kami

Aunt Sadie holding Kami and Aunt Cambria admiring her.

Grandpa having a little heart-to-heart with Kami.

Yup, he still knows how to hold babies!

Grandma with Kami. I forget how little they are. Even though she was a good-sized newborn, she still felt tiny in my arms.

Aunt Cambria getting her turn to hold Kami.

Good Things
no track meet this weekend
seeing my son so involved with his child
Getting to eat at Outback with Ford and Shiala

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Jr. Prom 2014

This was the real deal. The Jr. Prom. (even though she went last year and helped with the promenade.) 
The common thing here in town is to start asking in Jan. And it has to be some crazy, super-elaborate way of asking. So that's what I was expecting. And so was she. And she wasn't very excited about it. She kept saying, 'I wish someone would just ask me so I can just answer, without having to come up with some crazy creative way to answer.' 
One night she and Hannah went to a game. She'd been to the weight room and was still in her workout clothes with her hair all screwed back. When she came home, she was excited to tell me that Trent D. had come up to her at the game and just flat out asked her if she would go to Prom with him and she had flat out said yes.  I told her that her wishes had come true. She was happy to not have to wrack her brain to come up with an answer. 
Way back in Oct when she and I went to State Cross Country together, we went prom dress shopping in the South Towne Mall. We looked at every store and tried on lots of dresses. She had it in her head that she didn't want a traditional frilly-frou-frou prom dress. She is a very practical girl. To spend that much money on a dress she would likely only wear once was just more than she could stomach. So at Dillard's she tried on lots of nice, modest dresses that looked like something you'd wear to church. She found this red one that she really liked and declared that that was what she was buying for prom. I tried to talk her out of it. I guess I've always had dreams of seeing my little girls all dressed up like princesses. She laughed at me and said, 'Mom, this is backwards. You're supposed to be telling me to spend less money, not more!' I finally backed down and she got the red dress, saying that she'd dress it up with jewelry and shoes and a fancy hairdo.
I should have known she was right. She looked absolutely beautiful and very stunning in her dress. 
(Trent's mom had asked me about the color of her dress and such and I told her about it and then mentioned that it was just a regular dress and she thought that was perfect since Trent was not renting a tux. They both looked very nice and I commend both of them for using their brains and not spending more than was necessary for a nice date to a dance.)
Cambria and Trent heading to the dance
The group of kids they were doubling with had a nice Chinese dinner with fortune-telling at Trent's house. Cambria said the food was very good and it was a lot of fun. Then they all went home to clean up and get ready for the dance.
Exchanging boutonniere and corsage...
I think Trent's afraid of her with a pin in her hand!
Looks like he survived though...
How did she grow up so fast??
The gym was decorated very beautifully. Simple, but very nice. See that big thing hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the picture below? That's a gargantuan tumbleweed that was spray painted silver and had lights in it. There were other tumbleweeds used near the columns.  The food was fun and displayed nicely, with cute little chalkboard tags indicating what was what.
A panoramic view of the decorated gym.
This is when their names were announced. Her promenade partner was Dustin C.
I didn't get any pictures of the actual promenade. Curtis videotaped it. Maybe I can upload it here.
It looked as if she was having a good time. But I think she's really just very glad it's over.
After the promenade, they announced the Prom royalty. It is based on several things and when all was said and done, she was chosen as the 1st attendant. She has a very nice little tiara now! Which I'm sure she's dying to wear again. not. 
I think she was surprised to hear her name read as 1st attendant in the prom royalty...with Tim E.

Off she goes with her dad to dance. 
Good Things:
I like the traditions here that have stood the test of time.  
It seems like in the big city schools proms have degraded to school sponsored one night stands.
I love that here the jr. class is still presented by name, they still dance a special dance (promenade) that they've worked on for weeks, and that parents are invited to attend and are welcomed and expected to dance with their child.
4 down, 5 to go!

Friday, March 21, 2014

Five!

In the midst of one of our 'birthday seasons' Charles turned 5. He had requested an Avengers cake and I had no idea how to create such a thing! So instead he got a blue raspberry cake with blue raspberry frosting that I found at Walmart. I don't think it tasted as good as it sounded it might...oh, well.









Charles got a new backpack from Grandma B. Now he's ready to be a kindergartener in August!
He also became the proud owner of yet more Legos. A set that can be made into a racecar or a truck or a helicopter. He also got a new webkins from Sadie, a hippopotamus named Thunder, and a label maker gum dispenser.
We surely feel blessed to have this handsome young man in our family. He is kind, creative and helpful and adds so much to our family! Love you, Char!! You are growing up to be a nice young man!

Storytime at the library

We attended story-time at the library a couple of times. Then mom realized the boys were not too fond of it so now we just go to the library on any old day. That way we aren't competing for computer time, or books or puzzles! 
One of the times we went we learned about turtles. Sis Freestone works there and brought her family's box turtle for us to look at and touch. James wasn't interested in touching so he looked on from afar! Turtles are very interesting creatures. It was fun to see a real one close up! 

Kami Noelle

Some additional pictures of a beautiful baby in her first few days of life! She is such a sweet thing!!

First dentist visit

Charles had his first dentist visit and it was not his favorite experience. Unfortunately, he's going to have lots of visits to get more used to the dentist....7 cavities...  :(
flouride treatment

Board game fun

One of the things we like to do around here is play board games. Sadie has had to create a few for school projects based on books she's read. Charles wanted one with a Ninjago theme so Sadie helped him create one. The hard part is keeping track of all the cards and pieces....
James and Charles playing games in their pjs.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

A New Era in our family...

March 20, 2014, will go down as the start of a new generation in the Curtis Welch family. Curtis and I officially became grandparents when Ford and Shiala had their baby, Kami. 
She was due on the 14th but seemed to be quite cozy in the womb. Shiala's dr elected to induce labor today and it went well for a while but stalled at 4 cm so it was decided after hours of no further progress to do a c-section. 
Kami Noelle Welch weighed in at 8lb 3 oz, and measured 20 in long. She's a chubby beautiful little girl.
We feel so thankful that she's here safely and that both she and Shiala are doing well. We are excited to get to meet her in person, hopefully next week, 
Life is beautiful!
Good things:
Texting to keep communication open...
Priesthood blessings...
A sweet little person straight from heaven...

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Girls day at the salon...

On the last day of our Spring Break we girls escaped down to the salon for some pampering...
Pedicures, manicures and hot wax treatments...
So fun to spend some time together sans little guys....
Sadie, Hannah, Cambria

Hannah likes playing with the leftover wax from hand/foot waxing.....

Nina letting her crazy out....

Mesa Verde-spring break '14

Our spring comes really early...mid march is not really spring in my book. Usually there is snow and it feels more like Christmas break!
This year the weather was unseasonably fair so we decided to take a day trip to Mesa Verde. Most of the kids have not been there before.

Visitor Center
We stopped at the visitor center located just as you leave the highway. It's a nice building with lots of displays and a gift store. We looked around and used restrooms then paid our fee and drove into the park.
Charles, Sadie, James, Curtis, Cambria, Hannah and Soren

Watching the lights light up when the buttons are pushed

Our traditional souvenir...a smashed penny :)

Sadie

Hannah

Charles

Soren

Cambria

Sadie couldn't make up her mind which picture she liked more...

James

Kassie

Curtis
Then we drove on into the park and went to the visitor center at Spruce Tree House. We also stopped at several other sites, some pit houses, some towers, the Sun Temple and looked across at Cliff Palace. It wasn't open to be hiked into yet. Those people really knew how to build their villages in the right places. Lots of sun and warmth in the winter and shade in the summer. While we drove around we did the activities in the Jr. Ranger booklet and ran back into the visitor center at Spruce Tree House to get it stamped and get badges. Then we headed home, having checked one more thing off our bucket list.
Looking at the very cool dioramas
I loved these as a kid. I always imagined what it would be like to live inside one of them.
Sort of "Night at the Museum"ish....

hiking down to Spruce Tree House
Easy hike, cool Anasazi ruins

Our two Jr. Rangers: Charles and James
Good Things:
sunshiny day for our adventures
getting to go down into a kiva
a week of from school!