Spring Break @ the OR Coast

We 24 Idiarts (Nadaulds) spent a long Spring Break weekend in March, at the beach. It was so much fun to all be together and Grandma and Grandpa came over from their mission to stay, too!
This is my cute family and although Emma is a 1/2 in. taller than me, she's standing on her tippy-toes in this picture! She's 13, Josh is 11, Rachel is 9, Katrina is 7 and Ben is ALMOST 6.
This is an even cuter picture and includes our foreign exhange student, Diana Marta Gomez-Revilla Mancilla and Emma's Buddy, Lainey. So we had a total of 26 people crammed in our rental house. We really did have a fun time!
Best Buddies: Josh and Ash Idiart.

Beach Beauty: Em Idiart on her 13th Birthday, soaking in the rays.

Josh was smart enough to borrow a wet suit for himself and went out in the FREEZING Oregon Surf.

Rachel is so adorable without her braces, isn't she?

Katrina is every little cousin's favorite friend. She's here with Lucienne.

These are ALL the grandsons: Ash, Ben, Josh, Noah & Marcus.

Here are the cute Grandgirls: Rachel, Elise, Katrina, Annie, Mary, Eliza & Luci. (Not Pictured: Emma)

CP2 Volleyball

This year, our Ward Volleyball Team split into two teams, with 5 coaches and 1 cheerleader (ME!) We had 20 girls that played and 6 of those were non-LDS friends! We are missing a lot of our girls in the Team Pic, but you can see Emma on the front left and Diana, my exchange student, on the back, 4th from right.

I really tried hard to take some pictures, but this was the only one that sort of turned out. Emma is on the left, she's a goof!

This was the picture I put on the front of the girls shirts. . . on the back, they each had a TOUGH name that I tried to yell out at them, during the game. I was pretty much the only person there at all the games, yelling my head off. I think I scared people. Here are the girls names, if you want to see how crazy I am:

Explosive Emma
Death by Diana
Jess the Jawbreaker
Sophie Spiker
Rowdy Rylee
Sam LaSlam
Hot Lava Lainey
Shandi VonSlayer
Krista the Killer
Mighty Michelle
Breanna LaBoom
Demolition Desta
Ginny VonGutsy
Alden Annihilator
Dana McDamage
Lil'Bruiser Brie
Maple Mayhem
Kati Kneivel
Aven Assault

Happy Birthday to my Teenager!

My sweet, darling Emma turned 13 today! I still remember when I took her to a REAL photographer, not someone in the mall, for the 1st time. She had just turned 2. I borrowed all the clothes she wore from some better dressed kid and curled her hair. She charmed the photographer and we all had a great time. She was so adorable, with such a fun personality. I was so proud to be her mother.

When I look at these photos, my two favorites, I still can't believe that Heavenly Father sent Damian and I such a special girl. Emma, you have always been a true blessing to our family. You're a marvelous oldest sister and example. Even at 2 years old, you babied and cherished Josh, your new 6 month old brother. You have always been very obedient and righteous. You are kind, pretty and smart. What a combination! I love you very much, sweetheart!

The End of Childhood

My Emma turns 13 this week. She'll officially be an teenager and I'll officially be OLD. I've earned all these gray hairs! I wanted to publish these pics that my friend Kate Watkins took a few years ago. I think she and Jim came to visit us 3 years ago, so Emma must have been 10. She's grown so much, but she's still the sweet girl I love.

Emma may be a Daddy's Girl, but she'll be MY daughter forever. I wanted an oldest daughter so badly and the Lord blessed me with Emma. She's a good friend, although she doesn't really realize it yet. She makes me laugh and she gives me a hard time. She makes me look at myself realistically. She keeps me honest . . . there's no 'embellishing' a story when I'm teaching in Young Women, with her around! She's so fun and I love being her mom. She doesn't let me hug her much anymore, so I catch my moments when I can!

I think this is a super tender photo of us. I don't think I even knew Kate took it! I'd better give Emma a framed copy for her birthday or a magnetized one, for her locker. I don't want her to ever forget how much I love her!

Governmental Flow Chart