Kailei-ism's

As I was prodding my daughter to get to bed, she responded with "Can't you just give a woman a moment?!"
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"I am _so_ going to rock school this year!"
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"I switch up my earrings every morning.  Small, then big, then beautiful." 
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Me: "Can you be a little neater?"
Kailei: "Mom, you know that's not one of my subjects."
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We were trying to figure out what an inscription read on a watch we found. It was tiny and we were having a hard time. Kailei offered her assistance and said, "Let me try. I have small eyes."
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"How are babies made if they aren't adopted from China?"  
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"and when I eat the brownie it goes into my vault of wonderfulness." 
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"I think I just burped up tofu." 

MWCC and YMCA...a great combo

While it wasn't officially planned, the majority of the MWCC group ended up in Estes park for the weekend to enjoy their fall festival. It was a struggle for me to prepare for this but we managed to get up there late Friday night so we could at least start the morning with everyone. It was a busy day. Cookie decorating, crafts, and pumpkin carving took up the morning followed by some play time and some roller skating in the afternoon. The evening was spent square dancing which was loads of fun. I was hoping for better weather but such is life in Colorado. It was in the 70's last weekend and down to the 40's this weekend. Might not have been so bad but the wind was wicked up there. The girls did not want to leave today but we assured them it would not be too long until we see each other again. So nice to have these times together.

Fall Break

This week was fall break for the girls. I was hoping to take a day off but having missed a week earlier, I decided I better be there. Both of the girls enjoyed a day at school with me. Kailei admitted she really comes for the candy however. my co-worker Jeannie has won them over so I know they enjoy spending time with her. She is much cooler than mom.

Keara was able to see her friend Sam so she enjoyed that time. We all went to see Hotel Transylvania and that was just pretty darn cute. Could have been better, could have been worse. My break comes in another week and I am currently living for it.

Embarrassing!

Decided to go for pizza tonight and since it was so nice we also decided to ride our bicycles.  Zeb however has a broken bike that needs fixed.  Rather than walk beside us, he hopped on Kailei's old bike and rode it.  We were all cracking up.  I just had to capture the moment. 

Botanic Gardens

We took advantage of the absolutely beautiful weather and headed down to the Denver Botanic Gardens this weekend. it was a great escape and nice to have some time with the family. I constantly forget how much I enjoy it there. Keara and I talked about how much we would love to come down there with a book and spend the day. we will have to make that happen sometime. we topped off our day eating greasy burgers and onion rings at Gunther Toody's. it was delicious.

Merle

The last few weeks have been a roller coaster. On September 28th Merle was taken to the hospital in Kansas with chest pains. he had been in and out recently so we didn't think too much of it. On the morning of the 29th they were talking about transferring him down to Texas so he could be with his oncologist. By noon, Zeb got a call that things had taken a turn for the worst and we needed to go. I was up in Greeley when Zeb called to tell me the news. We quickly wrapped up our hair appointments and headed to Denver while Zeb began packing. As soon as we got there we headed to Kansas. It was a five hour drive and the time seemed to crawl. Zeb continually received updates on Merle's status and it wasn't looking good. We arrived around early evening and felt blessed that he knew we had arrived and were there. As is typical Merle was trying to crack jokes but admitted he was not feeling well. He didn't look well and was in and out of consciousness due to the medicine they had him on. It was extremely hard for the girls to see their Grandpa this way. My sweet Keara wears her heart on her sleeve and cried until there were no tears. Kailei internalizes her thoughts and pain and remained stoic for a while. Around midnight I decided to take the girls to the hotel for some sleep and we got a call around 2pm that he had passed. We were heartbroken. It seemed surreal at times. We were however grateful to be there those last few hours. Zeb and his brothers were there with him, as was Phyllis, Sue and Carla who had made the drive. Alva and John, Merle's brothers, we're also there and it was helpful to be surrounded by family. The next week was spent taking care of funeral arrangements, crying, thanking all those that stopped by with condolences, food and flowers.

Merle's funeral was a wonderful tribute to a great man. it was sad but inspiring to see how many lives were touched by this man. he lived his life for the lord and we take heart in knowing he is there with him now.

Please pray for those that survive him that their hearts heal quickly. we find ourselves worrying about Phyllis. it is not right to have to live though something like this twice but we hope she knows how much she is loved and we know the people in Walsh will take good care of her.