Memorial Day Weekend ~2012

Memorial Day weekend brought a lot of heat this year. It was downright gross out. Humid. Low 80s, high 90s all weekend.  We spent much of the weekend trying to stay cool!

We had a super lazy day Saturday spending much of it in the bedroom in the ac watching movies and relaxing.  Man, that heats just zaps me. Sunday wasn't as bad with the heat in the morning and we did some things around the house, returned an ac that wasn't cooling like it should be and got a new one. In the evening, the humidity had dropped and it was perfect. After Lily went to bed, George played guitar for a little while, Andrew played video games with friends and I sat outside on the back porch doing some blogging and photo editing.  A very relaxing evening.

Memorial Day we had a couple birthday parties and a cookout to head to. Lily and I went to a 1st birthday party of our friends Amy and her baby! Who doesn't love 1st birthdays???

Lily had fun eating chips and running!

After we left that party, we headed over to our Pittsburgh parents' house for the next birthday party and cookout!  Andrew was excited to swim swim swim!

This was Lily's 1st time in the pool this year and at first she was a slightly hesitant, but it didn't take long and she just kept saying, "splash! splash!" and wanted back in the "bath". She started out with Auntie Hannah who is always great with her {and kids in general}!

Daddy got in soon after Lily was comfortable in the pool! She kept wanting him to throw her up in the air and spin her around to make waves.

Dirty Dancing, anyone?

After she got out of the pool, she decided to mow the grass...

She is so happy to just run around...literally.

 

While Lily was mowing and running, Pappy was grillin' up supper so we could have cupcakes and ice cream soon!

Izzy was in the middle of a super nap after supper, so it took her a little bit to wake up while we sang "Happy Birthday,"! Granny's always got a smile. :)

Lily was happy to pick up and carry the cupcakes from the display... This was number 3.

 

Lily reluctantly giving a toy to the birthday girl

Lily also managed to make it happily throughout the whole day on zero nap time...

until she hit the car...

17 Years

Last Sunday I got a text from an old friend. 

She's not old, of course, but old meaning we've been friends since junior high school and since we graduated 22 years ago, well, that's just too much math for me, so suffice to say...a dear, lifelong friend. :)

She and her husband, who is also that long of friend, and their children were heading to the cemetery to visit her mother's grave.  Her mother and my father are in the same cemetery. 

We had emailed once last Fall about where my dad was located and where her mom was when we'd learned they were in the same cemetery.   It was honestly quite awhile ago and life is busy and until I got her text, the conversation was simply filed away in the back of my mind.  We have 7 children between us. She and her husband are both plugging away through nursing school and working also.  When I got her text asking me to remind her where my dad was located, my eyes instantly filled with tears.  It was so thoughtful and so out of the blue for me.   I gave her the directions to where in the cemetery he is and she and her family took time to take care of my dad's stone and leave flowers.  It was very much appreciated!

My dad's marker is under a tree. :)

May 28, 1995, was a life altering day. 

I miss him every single day of my life. 

I'm not sadder just because it's an anniversary date. It marks a passage of time for me. 

I find myself missing him more when I hear Andrew say something he would laugh at or watching Lily kiss her daddy to get a taste of his popsicle on his lips because I used to do the same with Kool-aid with him when I was little.  I find myself missing him when I see old couples holding hands and I'm sad for my mom. I find myself missing him when I think about all the things my kids don't even know they're missing for not having him in their lives. I find myself missing him when my husband says something almost word for word, he had said.  It's difficult when the love of my life and my children don't know someone so very important to me...still.  We talk about him openly so it's not foreign to them, but it is very removed because they don't know him in person.

Those moments happen at any random time, not simply on a birthday or anniversary date.  I so very much appreciate the rememberence and acknowledgement from friends and family. 

I'm very reflective as it is and I've been very blessed to have good, good people in my life who love me and accept all of me.  Thank you for walking beside me in my journeys...especially when they are difficult.  I spent this, the 17th anniversary of my dad's death, with people I love... who love me, love my family and even those who love my dad. I choose to honor him by living.

~1975~

My dad, my cousin Jonny, our Oma, and me.

End of the Week

This week was one of those weeks. A lot accomplished. A lot going on. Not bad at all. Good, actually. Great, in fact.

The heat has been cranked up for the weekend like nobody's business. All of a sudden it's summer. Not really much of a Spring at all, sadly.  I can deal with the heat.. It's the thick, soupy air that kills me.  We've got that too.

Last year, end of July one of our window air conditioners broke, so we had to replace that this year.  One of our other "keep cool" staples are popsicles.   Yesterday afternoon, Lily and Daddy shared some. :)  She'd give him a kiss in exchange for a bite. It was super cute!

We headed out last night to run a few errands and I had one of those moments of disbelief. This is my baby...how is she big enough to want to walk into a store instead of being carried????

She adores her daddy, that is for certain.

My kids had a great week all around too.

Monday brought an evening of hanging outside after chores and homework, catching up on our day of transition.  It was adorable to watch Lily just so enamored with Andrew and Reagan and wanting to be like them.  We're very blessed with the children we have.

Lily had some cereal in a bowl with milk for the first time this week and it's safe to say, she loved the milk the most!

She also spent some time trying to soothe her teeth this week.

Operation Paci Weaning has been going really well! She's cried for it a few times randomly, but overall, she mostly just wants it when she's tired and ready for a nap or bed.  During the random times, if I ask her if she wants to take a nap, she'll shake her head no and then stop asking.  Smart baby and I feel pretty good that we'll be able to be done with it by the time she turns two. That's the goal anyway.  We're also going to seriously start potty training this summer too. She hides when she poops and comes and tells us afterwards, "Potty. Poopy."  The other day I left her diaper off just to see and as she peed in front of my bedroom mirror, she said, "Mama, potty."  Okie dokie, Lily.

Andrew and Reagan are heading into their homestretch of the last 2 weeks of school. They're definitely anxious in some ways to be done.  Reag had her final field trip of the year and her Brownies end of the year ceremony this past week while Andrew has his big 6th grade field trip coming this week.  They found out they won't be getting their yearbooks until next year because the committee wants to include all the end of the year activities. Andrew's pretty bummed because his friends won't be together to sign them.  

This coming Monday marks the 17th anniversary of my dad's death, which in some ways seems like yesterday and others so long ago.  My family will be spending the day celebrating birthdays with friends and family and I can think of no better way to honor my dad than celebrating life.♥

Hope you're all having a safe Memorial Day weekend!