Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, Eric!

I know that if Sheri were here, she would post something about Father's Day. She was a very proud wife, and often talked about what a great dad Eric was. Once on her blog, she wrote,

"Eric is a great dad. He is more than helpful with Abbey. He has no problem taking her with him wherever he goes and has been known to argue TO change the 'dirty' diapers. [Really this is only when Abbey insists that I change her--then he insists that he do it to prove to her he can do it just as good as mom.]

When Sheri was at work, Eric took great care of Abbey. I know that this made being a working mother much easier for Sheri. She had total faith in Eric's parenting and knew that Abbey adored her dad.

When Ava was born, one of the nurses in the hospital told me that the only other time in her career that the mother died, the father left the hospital and never came back for the baby. Eric was the exact opposite. He loved Ava from day one, even while grieving the loss of Sheri. After Sheri passed, many people asked me who was going to take care of the girls. I was shocked by this question. Of course, Eric was! Clearly these people did not know Eric. If they did, they would have known that his girls are his highest priority and that he would be there for them every step of their lives.

Eric, I wanted you to know today, that the I think you are a great father. You carry a heavy load, being alone and parenting all by yourself. You do an amazing job! The girls are sweet and wonderful, and it is because of the person raising them. Happy Father's Day! I wish I were in Montana today to give you a break, but I will watch the girls this weekend for you instead.

Happy 5th Birthday Abbey!

Abbey, Ava and the birthday cake!

Abbey and her friends sitting at the kids table.

Abbey enjoyed opening her presents. Here she is with her Spongebob fishing game.

The kids enjoyed hitting a Pablo (from the Backyardigans) pinata! Part of the pinata broke after a few swings so we had to string him up by his neck.

Monica put Pablo's head on Ava...Ava loved it!

We missed Abbey's biggest fan on this very special day!

Thanks to everyone who helped make Abbey's 5th birthday a success!

Ava Playing in St. George

When you are almost 2 years old everything is a toy!

Ava's super cute smile

 

Abbey riding the lizard at the Las Vegas airport

Abbey and Ava in St. George

Abbey and Ava had a lot of fun during their week in St. George. Here is Ava playing with her cousin Kenna:


And Abbey playing with her cousin Jeniel:


Ava loved playing with all the toys and blocks,


climbing on the furniture and the little footstool,


smiling and being happy,


and being not-so-happy.


Abbey enjoyed playing games and cooking. She made some of her favorites: Jello jigglers, "sandwich on a stick," and fruit pizza.


She especially loved eating what she cooked.


Kenna and Abbey helped Grandma Bev make Abbey's birthday cake (to celebrate Abbey's 5th birthday on June 14). Abbey wanted a special cake, so we made one . . .


That's right! An Elmo cake!


Later on, Abbey made an Elmo cake for Bev's birthday:


We loved going to St. George with Abbey and Ava and Jeniel and Kenna.


And hope we can do it again soon!

Memorial Day 2011

Here are pictures of Sheri's grave during Memorial Day weekend. Andrea, Skylar, and Trevor pose with the pinwheels they put on Sheri's grave every year:


Russ and his family pose in front of Sheri's grave. Notice all the snow on the mountains in the background!


Scott and Beverly pose in front of all the beautiful flowers. You can see the snowballs from their garden and the pansies that Abbey picked out.


Sheri's grave looked wonderful. Thanks everyone for your thoughtfulness on Memorial Day.

More of Abbey's Amazing Artwork

Here's more of Abbey's artwork. She drew these pictures on vacation in St. George this past week (June 2011). Here's the picture she drew of one of her favorite beany babies: Buffalo.



Her hand (Grandma Bev put the numbers on the watch):

And a self-portrait:

Pretty amazing art, Abbey!!

Abbey in St. George, June 2011

Scott, Beverly, Eric, Abbey, Ava, Kenna, and Jeniel all spent a week in St. George, from May 29 to June 6, 2011. One fun activity was going to the Sand Dunes in Snow Canyon State Park. (Beverly and Ava didn't go with us.)

Abbey and Eric play in the sand:


Abbey covers her legs with sand:


Abbey dances in the soft sand:


We buried Eric all except his head and feet. Notice the six pack that Kenna drew in the sand:


Here he is totally buried, except for his pant pockets and his head:


Another activity, which we did every day, was go swimming. Abbey loved it:


Eric and Abbey liked playing together in the water:


It was a great time in the beautiful weather of St. George!