Esme moves into the double digits!!

Our lovable Miss Esme moves into the double digits this year! How can this be? I guess it has something to do with time marching on!! We do love this girl - always up for some fun - and loves to learn and help out. Can't ask for much more than that!

Here is Esme with Ella holding her - almost 10 years ago! The little core of Terrill grandkids has grown along with her! (Ara is holding Eve and Henry is in the middle.)

Always a smiling girl!!

Probably a fave photo of mine - Esme kicking back with her dad!

Have a great day Esme - and a wonderful year ahead!

Happy Birthday Esme'!

Esme' is moving into her last year of a single digit age. How exciting is that??

I love Esme'. My favorite Esme' story is from the year Bonny and the girls evacuated to our house because of the fires. The girls all carried in large, white boxes that were their "treasure boxes," so named because they had been told to put in "things that money can't buy." They held the boxes in their laps - because the rest of the car was pretty full.

When Esme' got to our house, I asked her if her box contained her American Girl doll and accessories. Her reply, "Oh no, you can buy those with money." What she did have in her box was all her work from kindergarten - she had just started school that year - paintings, pictures, papers. Things that money can't buy!!

You just gotta love a kid who knows what's important - right from the start!!

Happy Day Esme' - and a happy year ahead too!

Too busy having a good time!

Blogger has been a little touchy tonight - so these photos are not in the order I intended at first. Esme came this weekend for her Grandma's Birthday Sleepover - and we were having such a fine time, I forgot to take a lot of pictures!! But rest assured that we had a fine time - pics or no!!

She came late Friday night after the school talent show. Next morning we hit the apron store and Urbane for the obligatory manicure - which Grandpa has now christened the girlicure!! Then we had lunch with Grandpa and Noah after visiting them at the job site. After that we went shopping at Target, and Esme, a savvy shopper, found the above little shrug that went well with her new dress. Esme wanted Eve to join her, so we stopped by to get her. The girls played - very carefully btw - with the American Girl Dolls that live here on Primrose. The dolls are getting lots of love anyway, even if they don't get attention from Hannah and Eliza!!

That evening, she and Eve accompanied us to the Stevenson reception where they had a fine time dancing and dining!!

Home for baths and bedtime - and Grandpa Bob. Grandpa had gone out with the missionaries and was a bit tardy getting back - so the girls read for awhile while waiting. They even had me read a story to them while waiting for the one Grandpa would tell them! We did chocolate milk but no Milanos. Girl Scout cookies ruled the day this weekend!

Sunday was a busy day for me - with Ward Conference in Arcadia and a meeting at the Stake Center, so after church, Eve and Esme played at Harry and Dawn's - and seemed to have a fine time. After dinner, Dad and I drove her back to Malibu. The moon was full - it was a lovely drive.

This shot belonged on top - thought I would just show our own Mr. McClure being feted as employee of the month at the School Board meeting. There was a lot of action there that night - some significant budget cuts are decimating things at Clifton - so we were there as a show of solidarity - our Canadian Social Science teacher was advocating civil disobedience - and I'm about ready to second the motion.

But we won't get political here!! Let me just say that NCLB costs money - money the government has not provided!

Weekend Wrap-up on Tuesday night - when the weekend is almost here again!!

Lest some of you were worried that major changes had occurred in our "sprucing up" efforts, here's proof that some things never change!!

Remember this all started with me wanting Dad to paint the guest room. (It's not painted - with our weekends booked until April 24th, they won't get painted any time soon.)

In the midst of the fumes and the chaos and the doors and windows wide-open with fans going too, I hosted a little farewell dinner for Amy, my departing 2nd counselor. We had a fine time - lots of good food and good conversation - and we all know it doesn't get any better than that! And we will miss Amy - guess we will have to have more little dinners together! (Did you notice my new vintage apron??)

I wanted Dad to paint the guest room because we thought we were having guests this weekend - Saturday night at about 9 - after worrying if we'd somehow missed them, Dad figured out that they were coming March 20th!! The futon is made up - and I'm leaving it up for Esme's Grandma's Sleepover.

The floors do look lovely. So does the new rug. And it's a little soft and plush to boot!

Saturday night was a surprise 60th b-day party for MJC at Johnny Rocket's in Pasadena - a fun time - good food too!

Sunday was Esme's big day - and she carried it off in fine style. We did bring a crowd to "the one true ward" in Palisades!! Bruce's sister and family have moved to SoCal - we added 8 women to Relief Society alone! Primary and YM/YW were similarly impacted. And one of the speakers was the second to youngest daughter of a family I used to work for out in Saugus - back in the day!! There are always connections to be made in Malibu.

Her baptism was a sweet, spiritual event. Harry F. and I spoke, Ara played the flute, Ella led the singing, Michael McLean showed up and sang a song for Esme, and Bonny and Bruce shared their testimonies.

Queen for the Day - holding court!! (The Willis's have 7 daughters - it was Girls' Day at the hangout!)

The youngest girl enjoyed taking it all in.

It's always great to see Jinny.

Mom, Donna, and Mary made the trek too.

I do love all the wonderful grandkids we have. And we do wish you all could have been here!

Getting ready to blow out the candles!

Serenading the birthday girl.

The next-to-youngest Willis daughter was intrigued by Isla!

Esme had been sure that Michael and Lynn would come - and she was right! They had a harrowing tale to tell of flat tires in the middle of the night on the Nevada desert - and good Samaritans who rescued them! Maybe a song will come out of this!

Four generations.

Camera-shy Porter asked me to take his picture!

And Harry W. didn't want to be left out!

It was a great weekend - being with family is truly a blessing. I didn't get everyone's picture - Noah, Dave and Becky, half of Dave and Becky's kids - I'm not even sure I got in a shot of Annika! But it was a beautiful day - dawned rainy here in Monrovia - got sunny as we headed to the beach - clouded over midway through the day - but never got too cold. The blessings of family and the gospel are the bright spots in our days.