Sean's Birthday

Sean turned 19 on March 15.  I made him the Best Ever Chocolate cake.  It is really good and chocolaty!!!

Hope all your wishes come true!

Smokin'!

Look what Sean got for his birthday....his visa to Brazil has been authorized.

We won't be sharing Sean's birthday with him for two years!

Tea Party

We had a tea party one morning.  We invited Shauna, Kennedy's other grandmother and Lee, Kennedy's great grandfather.  Lee had never been to a tea party before, it was his first one!  He was very excited :)
We had a fruit plate, a vegetable plate, crackers and cheese, and bread and jam.  We drank fruit punch with fancy straws.  The kids helped me make Scotch Shortbread cookies with icing.  It was fun icing them!!  Unfortunately I didn't think to take any photos of the food. 
All the girls wore fancy aprons.  After lunch, we played Bingo.
I tried to take a photo of the four of us.

Kennedy, Charlotte and both of their grandmothers.

Great Grandpa, Kennedy and Charlotte

Our tea party was an activity I will always remember :)

Looking after three of my grandchildren

At the end of February, I looked after Bridger, Kennedy and Charlotte for a week while their parents went on a cruise.  I was so excited to spend time with them although it was pretty exhausting.  Go, go, go!!!  Even though I had six of my own, I was like Lindsay back then.  Doing everything.  I am out of practice now.
Here are some of the things we did......but only some of them :)
I was too busy to get my camera, most of the time!

Charlotte loved wearing my jewelery.

I took Kennedy and Charlotte to their dance classes.

Do you know why Kennedy's face is so lit up?  It's because.....

Charlotte is coming is coming towards her........

.......for a great big hug from her favorite sister :)

The dance teacher invited Charlotte to do the "princess walk" with her sister.  Charlotte was thrilled!

Now it's Charlotte's dance class.

Charlotte can make a "sandwich" with her feet.

Dave came over one day with his police car and ran the siren and flashed the lights!  Rebecca made dinner for us that night :)

Neo, Bridger and Kennedy

Bridger loved his monster shake before he went to school.....

......and they ate their eggs in the hole all up!  Kennedy looks like a sleepy head :)

Snack time, Crazy time!

One evening when I checked on the children before I went to bed, i found Little Miss Sleeping Beauty.  Can you believe it?  ha ha ha!!

It had been two weeks since I had seen Ricky and Sean.  When I cam home, Sean had a welcome sign for me on the chalkboard.

I was able to do what I wanted, whenever I wanted when I got home.  The best of both worlds.  Don't worry young moms, I have put in my time.  To everything there is a time and a season.....

Sean's 19th birthday

We celebrated Sean's birthday today by having corned beef and the trimmings for St. Patty's Day and homemade mac and cheese, Sean's favorite.  

I made him the "best ever chocolate cake", and it was huge for just the three of us :)  We went to see the movie, "The Lorax".  It was so good!!!
Did you know that Brazil is the most difficult country to get a visa for?  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints has made an agreement with Brazil so their missionaries can teach the gospel of Jesus Christ there.  All missionaries must be Seminary graduates,  and their time at the Missionary Training Center counts towards their being able to get a visa there also.  Most of the missionaries don't get their visas by the time they are scheduled to leave for their missions, so they have to bide their time in the U.S. until their visa arrives.  Sean is scheduled to leave for Brazil from the Sacramento airport on April 24.  
We came home from the movie theater and saw this!

The visa isn't in hand yet, but we are sure it will be!  Yeah!!!!!

Sean's Endowments

On February 18, we went to the Jordan River temple for a very special day.

There is nothing more wonderful than being in the temple with your children and their spouses.

Afterwards, we went to Rebecca and Dave's home and had a feast!  Homemade hamburger buns with pulled pork, salad and veggies.  Lindsay made some delicious homemade oreos.

Sorry, no photos of the grandkids.  I was enjoying myself too much to take the time ♥

Sean's Mission Call

We were pretty sure that it would take Sean's mission call about 10 to 14 days to arrive.  Sean took the mailbox key and put it on his key chain, and checked the mail daily.  Little did he know that I had an extra one :) I checked the mail a few times to see if the large white envelope was in the box.  When it wasn't, I just left the mail there for Sean to find.  One day Sean was late getting home from work.  I checked the mailbox and imagine my excitement when I spotted a large white envelope titled "Elder Sean Christian Horst" in the box.......I thought about leaving it there for him to find but what if he didn't come straight home?  It would just sit there.....what to do, what to do? There was only one choice.......grab the envelope, and run jumping and screaming to the house to tell Ricky the news!!!!  That's right, I skipped and jumped back to the house, singing and singing and singing.  I didn't care who saw me.  That is my story, our last missionary, a ton of excitement!
Please excuse my silly gasps and oohs and aahs as I film Sean opening his call.  Enjoy!

We had a guessing game within our family, and our police chief who really wanted to be included.  Everyone guessed where Sean would be called.  Seven people guessed Brazil, including the police chief!  I promised a little prize to all those who guessed the right country.  Here is what I came up with..

A gift bag with the Brazilian flag, filled with.....

A box of white chocolate covered oreo cookies, some Brazil nuts, a bottle of acai water, and a page of interesting facts about Brazil.

Only Ricky and I were there when Sean opened his call, but he called his grandparents and brothers and sisters afterwards.

Our Family

Ricky and I were married in  1980.  We had 6 children, there were 8 of us.  One by one, our children were married.  Now, there are 19 of us!  We have received countless blessings over the years, with a few trials thrown in.... Life wouldn't be life without some trials, they help refine us and hopefully develop us into better, more wise and insightful and thoughtful people.  
Lindsay's friend, Jennifer Gray, took our family photo, the day before Thanksgiving.  I absolutely love them!  Here they are in order..

Ricky and I

Our children, (left to right)  Addison, Vanessa, Jordan, Rebecca, Sean, Lindsay

Rebecca, David and Maisie

Lindsay, Jeremy, Bridger, Kennedy and Charlotte

Jordan, Kimalee and Reagan

Addison, Mabulane and Neo

Vanessa and Mike

Sean with us.  Sean has been called to serve in the Brazil Porto Allegre south mission for 2 years.  He will be leaving April 24, and he will be speaking Portugese.

All 19 of us!

Ricky and I with our six wonderful and adorable and sweet grandchildren ♥

Now let me introduce you to them...

Bridger is 6 l/2 years old, and is in Grade one.  He is in the Chinese immersion program at school.  In the morning he learns math and spelling from his English teacher and in the afternoon he learns everything else in Chinese.  Since the first day of school, Bridger's Chinese teacher has never spoken English, only Chinese.  It is incredible how fast Bridger is learning, he is like a sponge.  Bridger is a Lego enthusiast and constructor, and he takes private gymnastics classes.  He is so flexible, and can arch his back so that when he lies on his stomach, his feet go way past his head! 

Kennedy is 4 l/2 years old and will be starting Kindergarten in July. She goes to preschool and takes dance class.  She had her first recital in December, and her second one will be in June.  Kennedy is a silent observer and knows a lot of reading and spelling words just from watching Bridger do his homework.  Kennedy loves dressup and tea partie, playing with dolls, and everything homemaking.  Her most favorite thing in the world is her baby sister, Charlotte.

Charlotte will be 2 in April.  Charlotte has the "Horst brute strength", and has loads of confidence.  She loves soft things, sleeping and sucking her thumb (which she only does in her crib).  Charlotte is a leader, all the other babies want to do what Charlotte does.  She adores babies, and plays the mother role really well.

Maisie is 19 months old and full of emotion!!! In one minute she can go from laughing to crying to laughing again.  She is so animated, she talks non stop, although we aren't quite sure what she is saying most of the time.  Maisie loves to clap and clap and clap and she loves talking on the phone.  She has called me quite a few times, and we have a great chat together.  

Neo is 16 months old.  She was born 8 weeks early at 3 pounds.  She has caught up, and was walking by her first birthday.  Neo is shy, but will warm up to you when she gets to know you.  When Neo is around people, she will just stare and observe.  She is very curious about what people do and say.  She may even stand like a statue, just watching....Neo has started talking a lot, although no one is really sure what she is saying.  Neo is really ticklish and loves other children.

Reagan is 15 months old.  Her whole face lights up when she smiles.  Reagan loves to carry a baby doll around with her, especially naked ones.  She loves undressing them. Reagan is easy going, and not shy at all.  She seems very mature for her age, and she can do cute little tricks.  Her two older sisters are big dogs and sometimes she thinks she is one of them.  She can dance and wiggle her hips like an expert :)

Photos are like memories, they can recall experiences you may have otherwise forgotten.