Other February Happenings

Here are a few February highligths.  

My cousin Melanie came to visit the Odessa Vore fam.  She is married and has four boys ranging in age from about 15 to 8.  I'm so glad she was willing and able to make all the arrangements on her end to make a weekend trip.  

Mel is positive, energetic, quick to laugh, Godly focused and just a lot of fun to be around.   My dad, siblings and I all really enjoyed hanging out with her over the few days she was here.  I loved hearing all about her boys, her work and she and her husband's plans.  They are very involved in their church and their community.  Her work is part of a ministry that puts on revivals all over the world.  She and Dakota have been looking to move from Portland to Texas over the past few years.  Hoping it happens!

My cousin/her brother, Trent, also drove down for a day while she was here. I only got to see him in a group setting for about an hour, but it was wonderful to catch up. (We had Taco Villa Monday on Saturday at Rosas so we could all be together before he drove back to Austin.)  His boys are Brinley's age, and our kids grew up together.  Max and Mason are awesome young men.  It was fun to hear about Mason's first "real" job after graduation and Max's first year of law school.  I love his wife, Linda, and wish she could have made the visit too.

A couple of poor photos from our lunch:

Aub got her letter jacket.  She was excited.  I was wary.   At Permian High, if they are on varsity for a sport, they "earn" their letter and their jacket.  It's kind of a crock though because somehow the "free" jacket ends up costing at least $200.   I know this will not get worn much and will soon join Brinley and Parker's jackets in the guest room closet.  Oh well.  I guess it's a right of passage.  I am glad she's excited, and I'm proud of her for being moved up to varsity this year. (And she looks pretty cute in these pictures...crazy girl!)

My new order tally thing-a-ma-bopper.  I am marking per order and not per t-shirt.  It's kind of fun to have.  Also,here are a few of the  shirts I've been making this month:

Easter is early this year, March 31st, so I put out our Easter scene at the end of this month.  I put it on our entry way table and walk by it a million times a day.  It makes me happy.   I also added some of the flowers Bri got me to a little vase and set it on the table.  I think I will buy more as needed during the Easter season.

It was my week to be the extra parent as seminary.   Ang and Britney are the teachers, and they alternate weeks.  They are amazing women: faithful, loving, strong, prepared.  I am very grateful Aubrey has the opportunity to be in their class.  Here is a picture I snapped of the breakfast they enjoyed while working on Doctrinal Mastery.  (I think they were missing about half of the class on this day.)

Lft: Sister Angelique Vore, Haley , Luna Head, Aubrey,Riley Avery, Emmerson Ormsby, Max LaSuer, Abraham Pena, Shainea Pena, Ali Crissinger

I love these pictures for several reasons.  1. Kaide loves going down his little slide.  2. It was adorable that he wanted this Paddington Bear to have the chance too.  3. My friend Alma gave him this bear when he was maybe 6 months old.  She was delighted to see him enjoying playing with Paddington. 

Two of my favorite cuties: Aub Daub and Kaide.  Also, I finally hung the temple picture I had framed for Bri's b-day last August.  We were married in the Oakland temple and this is his temple of his youth.  He purchased the print several years ago and had it tucked under the bed.  When I stumbled across it last year, I decided to surprise him by getting it framed.  I didn't realize, but I guess his plan was to one day make a frame for it.  Whoops!  I told him to still make it!  We can transfer to the print when he does.

Kaide has taken to calling Brian Papa, and it's adorable.  He says it so clearly in his little boy voice.  It melts us all.   Brian makes a pretty great Papa!

And to wrap up the month....we were able to celebrate Aub's graduation from Junior Leadership Odessa. 

Gabriel, Eva Garcia, Aubrey Vidal, Emilie, and Aubrey

I'm so proud of Aubrey.  She was selected to take part in Junior Leadership Odessa.  She spent several hours each Monday for five weeks going with the group of teens from several schools in Odessa and learning about our community.  The weeks were broken down into Media and Education, Government and Public Safety, Medical and Social Services, and Arts and Culture.

She felt anxious joining a group of peers she didn't know, but she went out of her comfort zone and had a good experience. They visited places like the art museum, UTPB, the commerce building, the Auto Tech building at Odessa College and many more.  She made new friends and learned new things.  I'm grateful for the Chamber of Commerce for the many hours they put in to providing this experience for our future leaders.