Aunt Tonn. Jan.19 1942 - Jan. 29 2009

Thursday was a very sad day for us. Aunt Tonn (LaVonne, to most, Aunt Tonn, to us kids) passed away unexpectedly. It was a shock to all of us and we all miss her very much. My mom and her brothers, Uncle Tom and Uncle Dave, responded with what is familiar to all of us -- being together as a family and sorting through the sadness and loss together. Our family is strong and our bond seems to grow even stronger when life turns upside down. My aunt was kind and had a sweetness about her that you knew was genuine the minute you met her. Her childlike demeanor was refreshing. She touched all of our hearts and we know that she is now living a wonderful life up in heaven - reunited with Myron and Grandma and Grandpa Keeney. She loved angels, and her house was full of the many that she had collected over the years. As I told my girls......"the angels came down and took her wonderful, kind, heart up to heaven to be with Jesus". Knowing that makes it easier to accept....but she will be missed everyday by all of us. We love you, Aunt Tonn!

Ice Angels

I thought you might want to see Audriana and Maria's progress....this is them after 3 forty-five minute lessons. Pretty good! Audriana is "working on her speed" as you can tell! As with my other videos, you will first need to scroll down and stop the music from playing, then you can begin the video.

Ice Skating Lessons at Riverfront Park!

Audriana and Maria ready to get on the ice!

Oh my gosh! I can't tell you how excited Audriana has been to get out on the ice rink! She had her first lesson last Saturday and I have to say that she did really well! I was a bit nervous, but felt a little better when the staff recommended that the little kids wear bike helmets to protect their heads! It may look a little funny, but safety first! Joye and I watched as Maria and Audriana stepped onto the ice with tears of pride swelling in our eyes. Audriana did hold onto the wall at first -- kinda just scooting her way around the rink, but within a couple of minutes, she let go and began making her way into the center of the ice! I had already prepared her that she was going to have lots of falls and that it was all part of learning ~ and so, she hardly seemed phased at all when she took her first spill....and then the second tumble....and even after the 10th tumble. Her little spirit stayed so strong and she just loved every minute of it. I was so thrilled when I saw that one of her ice skating instructors was an old friend of mine from West Valley High School! Charmaine is so sweet and gentle with the kids and it was really neat to see her again. She probably thought I was crazy when I ran up and hugged her (after 20 years! She looks amazing and has definitly not aged like some of us from high school have.....maybe its all the skating.....hmmmmm. Anyway, here are some shots of Audriana on skates for the first time.
Oh, by the way, lessons are for kids 4 and above, so Sofia is waiting patiently on the side lines with us. She'll be out on the ice next winter!

She has talked about nothing else since her first lesson. She had a very long week waiting for her 2nd lesson, which was today. Her confidence really shone through today as I watched her get onto the ice with everyone else and head straight out into the middle of the ice (not hanging onto the wall but for a split second). There are about 50 kids all together on the ice warming up and then they break off into smaller groups for their lessons. Audriana was with Charmaine again, which made me happy because I think she looks to be about the best instructor out there. By the end of the class, she had them skating backwards!! They did "The Hokey Pokey" as a group - which was hilarious watching all the kids figure out how to "turn themselves around" on the ice. So cute and sweet. Joye and I had a second week of tear filled eyes as we watched them learn and grow.

Here is a very cute picture of the girls with their ice skating teacher (my friend, Charmaine!).

And the SnOw keeps fALliNg!

Oh my gosh - it seems like the white stuff will never stop falling. Over the past 3 weeks we have seen record snow levels drop to the ground. Somewhere between 60 and 70 inches. Thank goodness most of it fell during winter break, so the girls have been able to play in it together a lot! I took quite a few days off during the holidays, as well, so we made it a family affair! It has been really fun. The girls like our little sled run that runs alongside the house, but they really like the big hill that we go to in Eagle Ridge (near Maria's house). It's a bigger hill - which means they go faster. I understand Audriana wanting to go faster -- she's 6 and has a couple of sledding years under her belt......but Sofia is the one that scares me. She just turned 3 and can absolutely keep up with Audriana. She hikes up to the top of the hill (which I can barely do!), all by herself, with her sled in her hand. Then down she goes -- the faster the better. It scares me to death, but I figure the snow is pretty soft, so when she wipes out, she usually comes up with a huge smile on her face, saying "that was fun, Momma"!. So cute and such great memories.