Emily was sick around the time of her 5th birthday and we made a visit to the doctor, but we didn’t call it our well visit. I guess we really wanted to have a 5 year and 4 month checkup instead.

It is hard to get excited about this checkup when it brings with it a LOT of shots! Emily was very much dreading the whole event. She did enjoy visiting with the doctor, taking her hearing test, reading the eye chart, and completing a drawing exercise. Part of her drawing exercise required her to draw a person, so she drew her best friend Elena in a princess dress. She had a few new experiences that were interesting, but in the back of her mind she knew the shots were coming. When the four shots did come she was pretty upset. Interestingly, by the last shot she had calmed down and showed how brave she was. The dread was worse than any of the shots. That is a tough lesson to learn as a kid.

Her weight was 39.4 lbs. (a four pound increase in a year) and height was 45 (a three and half inch increase in a year). Like usual her percentage for weight was in the 20th percentile, but 75th for height. Her height change in this year is quite noticeable when hugging her while standing and not having to bend so much. She also doesn’t need a step stool at the house for much anymore. Occasionally, she wants to use them for comfort, but not to gain access to things.

This fall is going to bring a lot of changes for our family with Emily starting school. When the doctor asked me if I thought that Emily was ready, it was a definite yes. I realized that my sadness at her moving on to this new stage of life is not fear of the future, but sadness for the loss of this special time together. I’m very excited for the new experiences, new things to learn, and the stretching of herself. We have enjoyed all of these pre-school days together and I’m grateful for all of them (and a few more memories we will make this summer).

Emily could not be outdone and had to fit herself in too. She still fit, but Julia wasn’t strong enough to push or pull Emily around in it.

Julia’s class performing their song selection. Julia sang with a lot of exuberance and seemed to love being on the stage. Normally she is such a shy kid and seeing her act so bold was really fun. Julia’s little voice could be heard loud and clear.

Emily’s class singing for their performance. The kids seemed to enjoy singing their songs and all the actions associated with the songs.

Elena was a great performer.

Emily finding her Mama in the crowd.

Fantastic photo of the singing Julia. She sang with gusto!

Maeve was shy and not willing to venture far from her teacher. We weren’t sure what happened with her knee and the Band-Aid, but it was distracting her a bit.

After the singing performances each child was presented for their diplomas. The little girls came first.

Julia continued with her boldness she had while singing. She marched right up on stage, got her diploma, and gave the crowd a wave.

Maeve was so brave. She crossed the stage to Ms. Kelly and got her diploma. She wouldn’t give a wave to the crowd, but who really needs that.

Elena was presented in her cap and gown for graduation. The kids were asked ahead of time what their career would be when they grow up. Elena’s answer was that she would be a veterinarian.

Emily seemed to be very happy to be in the limelight. Her career choice was to run a hotel, serve food, and be a doctor. We are very proud of the accomplishments of the girls and their best friends!  

Just as soon at it began it seems to be ending. Today is this year’s last day of Thursday School. Emily is finishing her third year and Julia her second year. They were a bit tired this morning and a little grumpy on the way in, so smiles were not easy to come by. They also know that today is the last day of school and that has affected their moods a bit too. Thank goodness their best friends were there today and that was the grease that got them in the door and to their classrooms.

It is great to have a best friend in class!

Emily with her teachers, Ms. Frieda and Ms. Diane. Zoe was interested in being in the photo and that made Emily happy.

Julia with her teachers, Ms. Stephanie and Ms. Verda.

Maeve was either serious in general or serious about her cracker. This was the best she would do for me. Love that girl though!

Spring is here and the strawberries are ready to pick. Good thing we had some kids ready to pick some strawberries. It was a warm morning, but not too hot. We started in a shady spot where we got wet strawberries and wet hands from our work. It didn’t take too long to work our way back out to the sunny part and as we went the smell from the field was very sweet and warm. There are just some things that can only be experienced and the smell of a field is one of them.

The girls enjoyed playing with their friends. We have some unusual symptoms from allergies (maybe) so the Edwards girls had to remain on their own row just in case. This was not a popular decision. The mud wasn’t so bad in the field this year and most of the scrubbing after picking was to get strawberry juice off of cheeks and fingers. Julia was a strawberry eating machine. Emily picked and ate and sometimes put them in my tray. We were joined by the usual suspects – Ashley, Elena, Maeve, Ariaun, Aiden, Natalie, and a newbie Hazel.

Maybe we will eat these berries quickly and have to go back for more. 

Aiden is showing off what the strawberry patch is for!

One of Elena’s bounty – I wonder if it went into her bucket or her mouth.

Who know what this grin is for? I think she was mid-strawberry-bite. But then again she is five and gives lots of silly faces.

Another five-year-old grin.

Hazel is quiet and seems kind of serious, but that might just be because she was just getting familiar with the situation. She seemed pretty busy in the field herself.

Julia was a serious picker. One day when she learns to put them in the tray she might be the fastest. Instead she shovels them into her mouth about as fast as she can find them.

Maeve is also serious about her strawberries. Fruit being her favorite food I suspect the strawberry field was as close to heaven as she can get.

The girls with our family bounty. Some for jam, some to freeze for later, and the rest for just eating. Yeah!

Emily and Elena are practicing using their lassos.

The big happy cowgirl.

The little spunky cowgirl.

Emily is fascinated with volcanoes and talks often of them and her interest in wanting to see one. She has lots of questions. She is also fascinated with the story of the Firebird. We have checked out every book from the library and heard lots of versions of Firebird story. She also likes to listen to the music from the Firebird Suite by Stravinsky.

This week her two interests intersected and she was delighted. The girls discovered that we had the DVD Fantasia (Fantasia 2000 to be precise). Included is a sketch featuring the Firebird Suite. Emily discovered that there is a firebird who is the spirit of lava that chases down a sprite and burns her. It does sound sad, but the sprite survives and brings the forest beauty back. Emily has her own interpretation of the story. In her version the spite is the firebird and the spirit of lava is Kashchei.

Emily had Robby make a playlist of three of the movements from the Firebird Suite and created a dancing version of the story that she has preforming for us. We love her fascination and imagination with the story, but also her interest in exploring different versions of the same thing and make her own adaptation. We also love her growing interest in classical music.

• You both have been crawling on the floor pretending to be pets eating spilled cheerios. Generally Emily is the cat and Julia the dog. We hope you haven’t been spilling them on purpose.
• When racing to the car, house, tree, or whatever – when you reach your destination both of you girls say "TOUCHDOWN" and sometimes Emily adds a "woo-hoo" to the end.
• When Mama puts away a draw full of clean jammies or makes Julia’s bed, Julia comes and hugs her Mama and gives a very sincere "Thank you, Mommy". So sweet, she seems to appreciate the acts of service. We will have to wait and see if it continues.
• The two of you have given nicknames to everyone in our house. Daddy is Big Pickle, Emily is Little Pickle, Mommy is Mommy Cookie, and Julia is Little Carrot. Emily named herself and Daddy. Julia named herself and Mama.
• You two seem to have selective hearing. You heard that you could have Easter candy, but you didn’t seem to hear that you could only have one. Several candies later you both were bouncing off the walls.
• If you ask Emily what she is "interested" in, she will answer "I am interested in volcanoes and tornados".
• Julia is talking much more. It is likely you will hear her say phrases like: I just joking, come-on E, Das (That’s) my baby, Mama come-on, Do it myself, Put me down, I do, Let’s go (to the) park, Lemme go daddy, Yep, Shoo, Shush, I want go Daddy work, and Pleaze-pretty-pleaze.

This is Becky and Emily going on an adventure to find the volcano. I’m not sure how the balls were involved in the expedition.

Emily insisted on swinging on the little kids swing so she could go higher and faster.

All three girls were “cooking” at the diner. Julia kept serving Mama macaroni and cheese soup. The main ingredient was mulch.

The happy swinging boy!

Julia would alternate between wanting to swing “higher-faster” and “slower-lower”. She loves her swinging.

The three girls attempting to slide at the same time.

Grace pushing the fountain button so Emily could get her drink. What great teamwork.

Just some shots from the fun beach play.

No words can say more than Emily’s face already is saying.

So intent, Julia what are you studying?

Dylan being busy. Lots of sand digging – lots of fun!

What a ham! Natalie was SO great with all of the kids.

Everything is so new and fresh for Elizabeth. Even her crying face is cute.

Hazel was born in Missouri. At a young age her father deserted his family damaging something in Hazel that she would always struggle with. Her mother worked as a milliner to take care of the family. Hazel’s grandmother was Swedish and never spoke English. There were times that Hazel would have to play quietly at her mother’s workplace because there was no other place for her to go. With the hard times, Hazel’s mother had Hazel go and live with some family members out-of-state. The stay was not long, but Hazel feared she would never be reunited with her mother. When she did return, her life was considerably better because her mother had remarried. Her step-father was a kind man who always treated her well.

Hazel grew and after finishing high school she got a job and earned enough money to travel to the Word’s Fair in Chicago, IL with a girlfriend. She met her husband Harry at work. Because they married during the Great Depression she had to leave the workforce to allow for an additional job in the community. Several years later her life changed again, she became a farm wife. There was always something to do and she was a master at keeping her hands busy and getting as much done as possible with the limited time. There are stories that while she would do mending and sewing she would rock the baby cradle with her foot. Also, with washing clothes being so much work and their life filled with a lot of routine she potty trained her second daughter at one-year-old to reduce the volume of laundry to do. Hazel had her first child at a hospital before they moved to the farm and there no issues, so when it was time to have the second daughter, they were to have her at home with help. The second delivery was difficult and she almost didn’t make it through the delivery.

Her life was a lot simpler when Harry moved to town and took up a working wage job. She was still the hard worker, but not having the additional labor required by the farm was a welcome relief. Her young years in the depression and her personal family struggles seemed to give her an attitude of making do with whatever she had. Hazel enjoyed her time in Albuquerque and made lifelong friends. In Oak Ridge, she enjoyed her church and having family close by again. Always staying busy, she served her husband in retirement. She outlived him by over ten years. She missed him tremendously in those years, but also had the support of family, neighbors, and her church family. Hazel knew all of her grandchildren, saw all of them marry but one, and met many of the great-grandchildren.

This is the grandparent that Mama was the closest to. That closeness came from just spending time and the opportunity of being nearby. Those last 10 years of her life alone were also the years that Mama could do the most for her. We spent time going to the grocery store together and doing yard work for her. What a blessing to have known her as a child and as an adult. Grandma, as she was known to Mama, was always sewing. For most of her life she made the clothes that she and her girls wore and repaired the clothes that Harry wore. Later in life when ready-made clothes were simpler to buy she changed what she sewed and took up quilting. She had a beautiful small stitch and made many quilts. She made embroidery work for others, including pieces for Mama which now hangs on the walls of her girls’ room. Mama remembers spending hours in the kitchen with Grandma cooking. Her best treat foods were the cinnamon rolls and chocolate meringue pie. We spent summers on the back porch snapping green beans for her to freeze for the winter. She always seemed to have time to get everything done and had an order to her life that kept life simple and uncluttered. She was quite a letter writer. She had kept friends from the different places she had lived and kept in contact with those letters. When Mama was away from home she could count on having a letter in her mailbox every week from her grandmother.

There seem to be many things that Mama has from Hazel. Quilts, dollhouse furniture and accessories, embroidery, furniture, family keepsakes, but mostly Mama has wonderful memories.

Mom’s favorite memory of her mother is: sitting creek-side in Colorado and playing with her Ginny doll while her mother sewed dresses for her doll.

Hazel’s legacy is her hardworking spirit, hand-working skills, and her fantastic roll recipe.

Three generations: Grandma, Rachelle, and Joyce.

Grandma with all but one of her grandchildren. From the left: Carrie, Philip, Rachelle, and Chip.

Hanging out with Grandma in her domain.

Rolling out dough with a little Rachelle helper.