DeDe

The past few weeks have been a blur. We are just now starting to get back to our "normal" schedule, and in some ways it still doesn't feel real. But we lost our DeDe this past month. She was 87.

I most admired her outspoken nature. As my dad put it, "she said what she meant, and she meant what she said". When we were first pregnant with Southern, before knowing he was a boy, we had the name Julia on the top of our list for girls' names. We are very fortunate to have had so much time with her, and I love that our boys loved her so much. Southern has often said, just out of the blue these past couple of weeks, "I miss DeDe". She will be greatly missed.

We normally visit Yoakum and family often, but since Southern has started school, we have been so busy that we haven't gone as often as we'd like. We now have school 5 days a week and church 1 day a week, so that only leaves 1 day free, and most of the time we'll have a birthday party to attend that day or some other thing going on that causes us to stay in New Braunfels. The last time we visited with DeDe in Yoakum, we went with her to Manetta's house for lunch. We visited with her at her house after the lunch, and I remember sitting with her in the living room and talking as the boys ran in and out of the room with various toys. Southern told her about school, and we just made small talk. As we were leaving, she made sure to pass out a box of animal crackers to each boy. (She always had some on hand to give them when we visited) That was in mid-Sept.

Since then, we talked on the phone quite often. (Dustin would call her almost every day on his way home from school to chat, and he had gone into Yoakum to mow her yard and share supper with her more recently). We would also send little drawings that the kids had made and/or pictures to her in the mail. The boys got Halloween cards from her with a $1 bill in each. But we didn't see her in person again until the day we got a text from Dustin's dad saying DeDe had been life-flighted to the heart hospital in Austin.

I picked Southern up from school as usual, and on the way home I told him what had happened to DeDe and that we were going to go visit her. Her surgery had gone well, and things were looking up. We were at home just long enough for the boys to make pictures for her. Southern drew a picture of DeDe laying on a bed with a doctor wearing a mask holding scissors standing nearby since I had explained what the word surgery meant. He also drew hearts around it and colorful squiggly lines. He added his and DeDe's names to the top. Remington said that he thought DeDe would want a RescueBots picture, so he found one in his coloring book and colored that for her. It was a picture of Blades and Boulder. He wrote his name on it.

When we made it to the hospital that evening, we found out that no one under 12 could visit DeDe in the area that she was in, so the boys were very disappointed to be left in the waiting room. Allan was still there at that point, so they were kept busy playing with him. But Southern was so heartbroken not to be able to see DeDe. Dustin and I delivered their pictures and visited with DeDe. She looked weak but was very mentally sharp and was making jokes/being sarcastic like her usual self. We were all smiles during our short chat. She made it a point to thank Dustin and to thank me for coming to see her, and she was tickled to hear that the boys were in the waiting room. She named them each and told their ages to her nurse. It was a great visit.

We then went back to the waiting room after having been told that they were moving DeDe to her own room soon and that we could visit with her again after the move. It took a couple hours until Dustin was able to see her again. Allan had already gone home, so I was in the waiting room with the boys. They were tired, hungry, and grouchy, but I am so glad that we did that. Dustin said his visit with her then was even better than the first one. And we were able to FaceTime with Dustin's phone and mine so that the boys could see and talk to DeDe. Southern and Remington told her hi, that they hoped she got well soon, they loved her, and bye. Baylor squealed, smiled, and waved a lot. She had an oxygen mask on, so Southern said she looked super cool - just like Darth Vader. It was a late night, the boys fell asleep on the way home, and we left feeling upbeat.

Sadly, things went downhill rather quickly after that, and DeDe passed away a few days later. On the morning of the day that she passed, Southern, quite ironically, had a Jump for Heart event at his school. The kids jumped rope to raise awareness and funds for the American Heart Association, and Southern jumped in DeDe's honor. I was there during the event, and he was so proud to jump for DeDe. When I picked him up from school that afternoon and told him of DeDe's passing, I said that we were all really sad and that we would miss her alot, but that at least she was with Poppy now. He had been in Heaven waiting for her, so they were probably really happy again. Southern thought about it for a bit, and then he said, "One day, when I die and go to heaven, DeDe will be waiting for me".

DeDe holding baby Remington. She and Manetta had made a trip over to our house not long after Remington had been born to see him and grab a few snuggles.

DeDe with three-month-old Southern. I love this picture.

Southern and DeDe having a little chat.

DeDe would always walk us to the door as we were leaving and wave us off from just inside her front door. This picture captures such a great moment.

DeDe with Southern and Remington

Fixing Southern's hair for the photo

A goodbye hug from Southern as DeDe left our house from a visit

A summer beach vacation with our little family, DeDe, and Mikayla

On the ferry

A hello kiss from Southern to DeDe before eating lunch at Los Cucos in Seguin

Snuggles with baby Baylor

Remington didn't want to put his animal crackers down long enough to take a picture ;)

Remington's 3rd birthday party

With DeDe on her 87th birthday. I had made her birthday cake the night before, so we dropped it by her house that day. After happy birthday greetings and a quick chat, we "made the rounds" in Yoakum before heading to Victoria for her birthday dinner with the rest of the Wyatt family at Baytown Seafood Restaurant. We then went back to her house that evening for cake and ended up hanging out with her until 11pm! DeDe was not a night owl at all, and I had never seen her stay up that late, but we were having too much fun to leave. She told Nola the next day that she was tired, but that she had a blast.

Me and DeDe. This photo was taken about a decade ago on Thanksgiving. DeDe was always my ally.. looking at this picture reminds me of the frank chats we always had. Things weren't easy in the beginning with everyone in Dustin's family, but DeDe loved and accepted me from the start. I remember going to lunch at her and Poppy's house with Dustin during high school not long after we started dating. They had asked him to bring me so that they could meet me. They were so welcoming. And when Dustin and I moved in together in college, I overheard her and Poppy telling Dustin to marry me! I had gone to the bathroom and was just walking back when I heard it. They said I was the one for him :) Since Dustin had lived with them for a time after his mom's passing and was always so close to them, they called him #4 Son. After our marriage, DeDe called me #4 Granddaughter.

~Darlene Wyatt~ YOAKUM: Darlene Julia Wyatt was born in Yoakum, Texas on July 26, 1927 to Roston and Lilly Burkett, and passed away on November 25, 2014 at the age of 87. She and her husband Earl Franklin Wyatt were the center of the Wyatt family's universe for almost 70 years. She is survived by 3 sons, Terry Wyatt (and wife Andrea), Allan Wyatt (and wife Dori), and Wayne Wyatt (and wife Cain). She will also be greatly missed by her 6 grandchildren: Matthew Wyatt, Kelly Wyatt, Dustin Wyatt (and wife Lindsey), Carly Park (and husband Robert), Coltin Wyatt, and Mikayla Wyatt. DeDe as she was called by her grandchildren and great-grand children, was the proud matriarch of 4 great-grand children, Southern Wyatt, Remington Wyatt, Baylor Wyatt, and Claire Park. Darlene is also survived by her sister, Manetta Hairell and her sister-in-law, Dr. Georgia Hitchcock. Nola Clay has been invaluable as her assistant, her eyes, her legs, and as an adopted family member for the past 4 years. She chose the name DeDe in 1982, upon Dustin's birth, in attempt to preserve her youthful attitude of being too young to be called "Grandma". And so it was, for the last 32 years. She was always too young to be old! Her feisty and vibrant spirit was a rallying point whenever the Wyatt family had a project, a Boy Scout function, or a deer camp to put together. She was her beloved husband Earl's Second-in-Command, and "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer" until his death in 2010. Darlene was an excellent cook and had a fondness for crystal. No pet or homeless animal was ever turned away from her house. She posted a list of all the family's important dates, of birthdays and anniversaries. Even if the whole world would forget your day, DeDe made a telephone call and had a card in the mail for you. Visitation was 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, November 30, 2014 at Thiele-Cooper Funeral Home. Funeral service was at 10 a.m. on Monday, December 1, 2014 at First Lutheran Church in Gonzales. Burial was at Yoakum Restland.

Thankful

What are you thankful for this year?

At the top of my list are my favorite guys - Dustin, Southern, Remington, Baylor, and Dracky.

I am on the bulletin board committee for Southern's class, and we decided to focus on what the students are thankful for during this month. We sent each child home with a feather to decorate however they wanted to show what they are thankful for. Here is Southern's completed feather:

He was thankful for (drawn in this order) his Iron Man T-shirt, his Iron Man toy, his Iron Man toy ship (which shoots blue discs), Mrs Smith, Jesus on the cross, Baylor, Mommy, Dracky, Remington, and Daddy. Notice he gave me big pink lips ;) And I think he would have kept drawing, but it was getting close to bedtime, and his feather was full.

Remington, Baylor, and I stopped by the school this morning to finish putting up all of the feathers on the bulletin board along with another mom and her younger daughter. I think it turned out so cute! And it was fun to see how each child decorated their feather. Some just wrote on them, others wrote and drew pictures, and others used stamps, stickers, paint, and glitter on theirs. 

The kids were so proud and excited to see their feathers featured on the bulletin board.

Silly Science

Remington has been doing classes at the Landa Rec Center every Monday morning since the beginning of September. Because Southern started school, I wanted Remington to have a little something to look forward to as well, so I signed him up for some classes through the New Braunfels Parks and Rec Dept. Last month was "Dr Seuss on the Loose" where they read a Dr Seuss book each time and then did a craft and/or activity about the book. Like on the day they read Green Eggs and Ham, they cooked eggs with green food coloring in them and ham. And on the day they read The Cat in the Hat, they made a Cat in the Hat mask to wear and did an activity where they threw colorful balls into the cat's hat.

The October session of classes are called "Silly Science", and each class consists of the kids doing one or two science experiments. Remington has made slime, a tornado in a jar, a color explosion in milk, etc. The highlight of the class had to have been the erupting volcano though. It was made on the first day, and since then the boys (there are two other boys in his class) have been asking their teacher, Mr Matt, to do more explosions. (He listened to their request, and at the end of our most recent class, he took us all outside. He had a bottle of Coke and some Mentos. All he did was open up the Coke, pour a few Mentos inside, and run back. An explosion of Coke shot up about 8 feet in the air. It was awesome, and the kids loved it! BUT you have to wonder what those things do inside your stomach - and I am super grateful that I rarely drink soda and don't eat mints.)

So below you will find a short video clip of Remington's volcano exploding. They used modeling clay to form the volcano (you had to make sure and firmly attach it to the paper plate at the bottom). The kids then decorated their clay with markers. Mr Matt helped them scoop some baking soda and pour it inside of the volcanoes once the clay had hardened. Then they dropped in a few drops of their choice of food coloring. Finally, Mr Matt walked around to each boy and poured vinegar in the opening as we all watched on.

Pumpkin Patch

What a fun month October is for the kids. We have decorated our house, picked out costumes, visited the pumpkin patch, decorated pumpkins, and it's not even Halloween yet!

We went to Sea World earlier this month for their Howl O'Scream event. The park was decorated, and the shows were Halloween themed. It was fun!

We also had a couple play dates at the pumpkin patch. We have a little group of friends that are all going to be in kindergarten the same year as Remington, and we meet up with them on Wednesday mornings. Pictured below are most of them plus a few siblings.

And of course since Southern is at school now, he misses out on those play dates. So we made an extra trip to the pumpkin patch to take him. Daddy got to join in as well, so it was perfect.

The boys were very into decorating this year. We have spooky spider webs (with plastic bugs stuck in them) in the bushes by the sidewalk. We have orange and purple lights in the bushes by our porch. We have blinking lights in painted jars (they look like pumpkins, ghosts, and monsters) on the porch along with our decorated pumpkins and a giant spider. Inside, we have custom towels in the bathroom and kitchen, a Halloween table runner, several jack o'lanterns - lit, unlit, and even Scentsy warmers, hanging paper pumpkins, etc.  

Our first Halloween party of the year was another Wednesday group play date. Remington LOVED being dressed as a shark. He kept that little hat on the entire time. I finally convinced him to take it off after food started getting on it as he was eating. We didn't get a group picture with everyone, but there was also a Dalmation, a pumpkin, and many different princesses.

And one last shot of Remington and Baylor at the pumpkin patch. This one was taken this morning. We had another play date (this time with kids that will be in kindergarten the same time as Baylor), and we purchased another pumpkin. We got this one for Southern and Daddy to carve! We normally just paint our pumpkins, but they are having a carved pumpkin contest at the Fall Festival at Southern's school this weekend, and I can't wait to see Dustin and Southern tackle this new project.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Floating the Comal River

Shoebox floats are one of the exhibits at the Comal County Fair every year. We would always see them when we were at the fair, and it was fun to look at all of the different ones. The exhibit is open to kindergarteners in Comal County, so that means that this year Southern got to enter a float! I was thinking about what Southern's theme for his shoebox and was wanting to something local. I asked my mom for ideas and said that Southern would probably want to do TMNT or Transformers or something but that I was thinking something local. She suggested the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles floating the river. What a great idea! 

While Southern was at school this past Monday, I went through my closet to look for a good sized shoe box. My closet is currently in shambles after the rod and shelf fell out of the wall and to the ground, and we haven't had enough time at home to fix it yet (which is a whole other post ;) ) so I wasn't able to get to most of my shoes. But I was able to reach one side of my closet and get the box of what I call my honeymoon shoes. We spent our honeymoon in the mountains of Tennessee and South Carolina, so before we left I bought some new Adidas trail shoes to wear, and I still wear them every now and then. It was a good size and a sturdy box, so I grabbed it. And since it had meaning for me, that made it even more special for Southern to use it. 

So when Southen got home from school that day, we got to work. I got out the box, construction paper, copy paper, pencils, map colors, a sharpie, scissors, and a glue stick. I helped direct the project, but Southern did all of the work by himself with a little help gluing or cutting when needed. I was so proud of him. He took it real seriously and did a great job. 

He decided to add April laying out on a blanket in the grass. The sign that is on the float shows the way to various local spots near the river. 

It was due Wednesday, so Remington, Baylor, and I dropped it off at the fair after dropping Southern off at school that day. Winners were to be notified on Thursday. We didn't get a call so we must not have placed, but I am looking forward to seeing it out on display at the fair. 

Remington at Chick-fil-a

This boy loves Chick-fil-a!

Perez Family Port A Trip 2014

Another great family vacation!

Almost every year for many, many years, my Perez grandparents have been taking us to the beach for a family vacation. I am so happy and thankful that my boys can now take part in this tradition. They had a blast playing in the water and the sand, and they spent a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa and the other family members. 

Dustin, the boys, and I drove in one night early. Southern and Dustin took off of school on Friday so that we could have another day at the beach. We spent the night at the Best Western Ocean Villa and enjoyed our stay. Upon waking up on Friday morning, we ate breakfast and the boys got in a dip in the pool before checking out. 

After we checked out, we went around town to the different shops.

We got Southern a new shark t-shirt since he had outgrown his from last year. We loved being able to pick out a shirt in whatever color he wanted and then put whatever design on it that he wanted. We also picked up a shark tooth postcard that had all of the different shark teeth labeled on it, a shark tooth necklace for Southern, and a Diego sea turtle book for Remington. We visited the candy shop just to see the live rattlesnake. Surprisingly enough, neither boy was interested in going in until I mentioned the snake. Dustin told me not to buy any more "junk" so I picked up a sterling silver toe ring and sterling silver anchor earrings for myself. ;) Our last shop of the day was Port A Outfitters so Dustin could stock up on live shrimp.

Then we made our way to the condo for check-in.

After unpacking and visiting with the family, we headed over to Tricia's condo for a spaghetti supper. After we ate, we hit the beach. What fun! All three boys ran (or crawled) and played in the water and sand until it was too dark to see. We left Dustin out there fishing as we made our way back in to shower and go to bed.

The next morning, we got up to make breakfast for the family. Southern and Remington helped by shaking the pancake mix. 

After breakfast, we played games with the family.

Then we applied our sunscreen and headed out to the beach once again. Baylor took his nap while the boys played and I read part of my book. He was soon up though and ready to play as well.

We spent much time in the "HO boat" as I call it ;)

After a few hours on the beach and several minutes in the pool, we were ready to come inside and relax in the AC. We took our showers and got dressed. Dustin got the fajita meat and headed down to the BBQ pits to cook our supper.

We visited with family, and Grandma read a few books to the boys while we waited for supper to be ready.

After we ate, we celebrated Trey's birthday (Sept 4) and Dustin's birthday (Sept 9) with a cake with strawberry filling. Yum!

We hit the beach again before bedtime. When we woke up the next morning, we started packing. Dustin and Southern also went out to the beach for one last swim.

After a group picture (which was missing Dayne, Joy, and Sammy), we loaded up our cars and headed over to St Joseph's for church. After Mass, we drove to Corpus Christ for lunch at Joe's Crab Shack.

What a fun family beach vacation!