Alright!  I'm back to catching up 2013-14.  Here are a few pictures from the late fall of 2013.

While Jade was able to go to Springfield for the 4th grade, Amaris was still at the local elementary school. The teachers and principal were great, and they had a wonderful Veterans' day celebration.  My dad (now 98, but then, 97) was very proud to come and be recognized as the only WWII vet--Amaris was very proud, too.

I had the privilege of seeing this little sweet girl into the world--Jade and Amaris are good friends of the mama, and came the next day to hold little Ahnaya.

Amaris is progressing through the levels of swimming at the YMCA.  She is doing SO well!!

Amaris is a WONDER...she is a big girl, but she will still play babies with Gwenna, and even share her vest so the two "mommies" can match.

Back to School!! September 3, 2014

I have to pause in my "catching up" posts to add this current set of photos.  Both girls were incredibly excited to be off to school at the same place!  No more going to two separate schools with different schedules and vastly different environments.  Amaris will better understand what Jade was loving so much about her year at Springfield!  The girls both have only 8 students in their classes, and will go to school M-W from 8am until 12pm, Thursdays from 8am until 2:30pm, and no school on Fridays!!  They begin guitar lessons next Monday, and will continue with swimming lessons and Girl Scouts.  It will be a great year!  Stay tuned for details...after I  finish catching you up on last year!

Usually, CJ will have to take the bus to school, because I'll have the neighbor's kids in our car, but this morning the neighbor wanted to drive separately so she could be there on the first day, so we treated CJ to a ride and a sausage sandwich.

He had a little trouble smiling with his mouth full....

...well, not too bad.  CJ's school, Covenant High

                                             School, is in the same building as Springfield.  
                                                        He's a senior this year!  Crazy!

Amaris and her headbands...she loves them, and I could not

 convince her that it might look a little better further back

and maybe with the bow to the side a bit....oh well!  She 

felt very happy and fashionable, so why interfere??!

Jade's colorful and word-rich classroom!  She's excited to be back with her pals, and one new student to get to know!

Happy Autumn Everyone!!

Still Catching Up--Autumn Home Days, 2013

We had a bumper crop of zucchini, so Amaris and I made loaves and muffins, while Lonnie and Jade played games!  That was a win-win situation!

It's only been a year since these were taken, but I'm astonished at how different Jade and Amaris look now!!

Okay, I could not resist this one...Gwenna (my granddaughter , Tori's firstborn) is very often along for the ride, because she LOVES  Aunties Jade and Amaris...the sweet thing here is the doll baby next to Gwenna--all buckled in.  This little play car seat is a favorite of Amaris's, and I don't MAKE her share it--my theory is that by "owning" things, and having the responsibility and privilege of choosing to share or not to share, kids will learn that it is rewarding to share, and it also provides them refuge from littler, sometimes toy-abusing kids if they have something of value they don't want wrecked!   Anyway---Amaris struggled very greatly over sharing this prized baby seat--in the end, she decided to share, and Gwenna was the happiest of 2-year-olds....I'm sure her ability to fall asleep with such abandon was due in part to Amaris's generosity!

The story here is that the little fox belongs to Lael (another granddaughter, same age as Gwenna, firstborn of daughter Rachel), and she was most distraught to go home without finding it.  This is Jade at breakfast, with Lael's fox in her backpack, promising to bring it to her that afternoon!

The public school near our house, where Amaris attended in 2013-14, had a really fun "pumpkin run" in October!  Here's Amaris with one of her friends, waiting in line to run!

Of course, she finished well!

The girls' Girl Scout Troop had a fun autumn party where they made mummies of each other!  Here is Jade as a model mummy!

...and Amaris as a mummy-maker!

Great pumpkins were carved!!

Jade made an adorable Tinkerbell

Amaris was beautiful as Cleopatra...after she got her attitude together.  I can't even remember what she was miffed about--we were at swimming lessons, then got costumes on and were headed out to a fabulous party in Gig Harbor put on by Rachel and Justin's church (our daughter and son-in-law)....

It never takes too long for Amaris to "join the party!!" Here we are at the church building.  I wish I'd taken some pictures once inside--VERY impressive game booths, mazes, and awesome challenges..and lots of treats!

Autumn 2013

I continue to play catch up with 2013.  Here are the girls in the autumn time--my favorite time of year!

You will soon see these boots featured again in the autumn 2014 shots...they have not aged as well as the girls!  Amaris loves these boots and has worn them winter, spring, summer, and fall!

Jade really enjoys gardening, which is great for me!  I love it, too.  She is very intuitive about how to get all the dead things picked up, and settling the perennials in for the winter.

 Happy Birthday to Tehani!!  What a darling girl!  Auntie Amaris loves her!

Surrounded by love!  Gramma and Auntie!

What is this!??

Cousin Cuties!

Daddy and Auntie introduce frosting!!

Jade loves her some Gramma Tina!

Auntie Taneika gave the girls these cute necklaces!

The pumpkin farm with cousins....silly, and

seriously having fun.  It was raining, but great!

Beginning of the school year, 2013

I'm writing this on September 1, 2014...just 2 days before school starts around here.  These photos and one DARLING movie were taken at the beginning of LAST school year...I can hardly believe how much these sweet girls have grown in one year!!

This was an exciting, but a little bit sad picture.  This is Jade's first day at Springfield, a lovely, small, private school...and Amaris' first day at Fawcett, our local public school.  Both girls ended up having a great year, but they were not happy to be parting ways every morning.

September days are confusing...especially for the birds.  A misled robin smacked into the window, and Jade gave him a decent burial, adding a lovely red dahlia to honor him.

This was a FUN surprise!  A cousin showed up at church!  Uncle Isaac's cousin Zack was in town and decided to join us for Sunday worship!

Jade and I drove out to McKenna to visit friends, and we spied this enormous anthill....I was happy to be the photographer!  That is one GIGANTIC ant hotel!!!

This little movie really made me smile...first, because the girls both look so little!!!  And again because even though they've changed SO much in a year, they have also remained very much "themselves"...notice how Amaris so quickly speaks up to correct me that this GREAT present came from Gramma Tina, not Steve and Kara (I was mistaken, because we picked it up from Steve and Kara's...), and that they have continued to use this amazing invention all through this summer as well!!


Well, rats!  I tried again to upload this video, but it doesn't seem to work...I wish you all could hear the audio!