Steven's Party

After 18 years of working at APU, we celebrated Steven's Good Bye Party today. His last day at work will be on Friday and he reports to Cal Poly SLO next Friday for his first day of work.

It was a wonderful celebration and a true honor to Steven. If you know Steven then you know that he is not one to be the center of attention. But, that is just what he was today. It was so wonderful to hear all of the stories and ways that Steven has touched so many lives. There were a couple of get your tissues ready moments too. One was when an old friend told Steven, the greatest way to describe you is," your Tom Wallace". Tom was Steven's first boss at APU, his Mentor, his Hero and his Friend. Tom passed away a few years ago. Today, Tom's son Jon Wallace,(President of APU) got up and said so many very special things to Steven. At the end he said, "I know that Dad would want you to have this", and he handed him a tool. It was beyond words... so touching!!!

Handsome Ethan!!!

Brycie and Ethan

Steven and Evan

Jon Wallace making Steven talk...Steven hates to speak in front of crowd. But he did a great job.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Jack!!!

We Love You!!!

Here are a few pictures of Bryce with Great Grandpa Jack.

Red cups

Bryce had a wonderful play time with Grandma Midge this afternoon, as well was a great helper for getting Grandpa Ken's room ready. Grandpa Ken is coming for a very fast turn around business trip. I am sure that Bryce will take advantage of every second of him being here. She love her Grandparents so very much....all of them

I think that these bricks need to grow, so I better water them.

Oooh, there is something on my watering can.

I love absorbing all that is around me. Can you believe that I am going to be 19 months old tomorrow?

Who needs toys when you have red plastic cups to play with. It is so funny how we spend money on toys and it is the things like pots and pans as well as plastic cups that make kids happy.

Saturday

This morning we went to check on Steve and Becky to see if there was anything that we could help with. They did really well at their moving sale. We also were able to spend a little time letting the cousins play. This is such a sad time, but we know that it is God's plan. We all just have to trust and believe. Alan and I are not far behind them, but we think that we will end up out of state. But, we are all taking one day at a time.

Our sweet little walker boy who will turn "1" in just a few short weeks. We love you Evan.

Aunt Siya and Evan...what a handsome chunk!
Checking out this wonderful toy that Aunt Becky is giving to us. Bryce really seemed to enjoy it.

Taking a little ride with Abigail

We wanted to see how Uncle Stevie was doing on the kayak....it looks wonderful.

Look who would rather eat with an adult fork than a toddler fork. It is funny that Bryce will eat better when she has an adult fork.

Happy as can be!!!

Happy Birthday Grandma Dorothy,

We love you so very much!!!

Here are some pictures of past visits with Bryce and Grandma Dorothy.

God has blessed us with this special time.

Doors

If you hear a door open and then close, and you don't see Bryce, well she is on the other side of a door. Her new favorite game is to open a door and then close it and to continue to do that for long periods of time. She will open the door, say "hi" and then close the door-all with a little giggle. I can tell that she is not scared of the dark, today she opened the coat closet and shut the door. She stayed in there for several minutes before she would come out. Each time I watch her do this I still laugh. What a nut!!!

Where is Bryce!!!

As she would say "There"

There she goes again.

What's in here?

I'll be right back.

A Few Hours

Lately, time with family has just become more and more a blessing. It seems that life just gets to busy and we don't take the opportunity to savor these special moments with family. But today, Bryce and I made it a point to soak up some of this time. Things are changing all around us and we know that this wont last forever. We love our family and we hope that they know this, each and everyone of them is a true blessing to us. Whatever the future may bring, we will always appreciate, love and cherish this time that we have been spoiled with. It is very rare for families to live 5 minutes from each other and that is where we are spoiled. But, we all know that God has a plan for each and everyone of us. We may not see that plan right away or will we want to see it, but it is His plan for us. We just need to learn to trust and believe...this is how we learn. God only give us what He thinks that we can handle. These are all "Life Lessons", they will only make us stronger.

Thanks for the cousin time today!!!

Transitions

Well, it seems that we are in a transition stage. Bryce is wanting to sit on the potty as well as get her self dressed. I think that we have hit the "I try, or I can do it myself" stage. I can't believe it , where is my little baby? I love that she is Miss Independent, but yet, I long for the "help mom stage too".

This morning she decided that she wanted to get her self dressed. Yes,it took 45 minutes, but she did it. Bryce would put one foot in her skirt and then take it out, put the other foot in, then take it out. I laughed so hard when she would get the skirt on half way, try to walk and then stumble (I didn't laugh at that). But I did laugh that she tried to do this over and over again. Her other new favorite thing is to have a drink out of this water bottle. What a silly girl.

I am waiting by the door because Daddy is coming to take Mommy and I to lunch. To me she looks so old in this picture. I can tell that we are going to be in trouble when she is older.

Snack

Bryce has a new favorite snack right now, colorful Goldfish. I know that they are not the healthiest snack in the world, but Bryce loves them. She really is a great eater, but when it comes to sweets-forget it. Alan and I really don't mind this because in the long run, it will be very beneficial to her. It makes me laugh when someone offers her a cookie or some other sweet and she either shakes her head "no" or takes a bite and spits it out. Not your typical child, but she is mine and I think that she is perfect.

Uncle Stevie....We are so proud of you!!! Congratulations on your new job. We know that you are going to be so happy living in San Luis Obispo. Dreams do come true!!!

We Love You Steven, Becky, Ethan and Evan.