Charity's Crazy Beautiful Life

Missing him...Killian

Tonight I was wrapping Killian's presents....and an overwhelming feeling came over me. I miss him!!!!!!!!! It's been nine...wait, ten months since we've seen him. 

Since right before we left Montgomery back in February. And I know I'm only his stepmom, but I've been a part of his life for eleven years and it's hard to be so far away. The hardest part tonight has been...putting together an album of family pictures for him. Pictures that he's not in.

 

 Pictures where there needs to be another big brother.

 

 

Pictures where there needs to be another son.

 

Pictures where there's supposed to be one more child. Because our family...it is blended, yes. So most of the time you will only see five of us. But really, there are supposed to be six.

And when I start to focus on that. On how much I miss having him in our lives more. On how I miss the daily interactions, him being a part of our holiday traditions and nightly prayers...it's times like these that I have to pause for a minute and reflect, and be thankful for the time we have had with him.

Thankful for the several folders on my computer filled with pictures of us all together last Christmas. Of the two weeks we got to spend together in Orlando at Disney World before we moved worlds away. Of captured memories like this one...

My tuckered and tired kiddos after a week and a half of Disney World...on Christmas eve in their new pajamas, with their new ornaments and the tiny tree we brought to our hotel room.
 

And on night's like this, after I count my blessings, I ask God for grace. Grace to be the best stepmom I can be. Grace to get through times when I miss Killian. Grace to do all that I can from afar -- sending love, family photos and lots of prayers.

 

Happy Father's Day from Idaho

 

We are spending time with my dad in Northern Idaho this weekend for Father's Day. I don't think that I have spent Father's day with my dad in...14 years, or so.  Although there isn't snow like this there this weekend, it was like that just a few months ago when we visited.

And, I don't think I've introduced you all to my dad before. Everyone, this is my dad, Dave. He still lives in the cabin that I grew up in. On a hill in the mountains of Idaho. And this is his girlfriend, Wanda.  And my kids, of course.

So anyhow, Happy Father's Day to all you father's, dad's and daddy's out there. I hope it's a good one!! All our love is sent your way!! And a special Happy Father's Day to the best daddy I know, my husband, Craig. We miss and love you!!

Two dear friends, two lovely ladies, and a few memories

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I love this picture for a few different reasons. I love that my mother is looking so beautiful in her purple shirt. I love that she is so obviously happy to be with her dear friend, Judy. And I love that dear friend, who was my Mom's best friend growing up, our neighbor, and the mother to my best friend. Judy is so much a part of my past, my history, my growing up. So seeing these two women together, like they were two weekends ago, like they were all through my childhood...it warmed my heart. They hadn't seen each other in, what, ten or more years?? 

My mom spent the weekend with Judy while I spent the weekend at my dad's, just a trail-walk away. I don't think my Mom has been back up to the cabin where my dad lives in over a decade. The cabin that she and my older sisters helped to build over thirty years ago. That cabin that she had to leave. 

When we left that Idaho mountain the summer that I was nine, when we were saying goodbye to Judy, I remember her telling me that my mom was taking me on a "journey". Oh what a journey it has been.  I'm not about to go into that tonight, but it's a journey that has shaped me in so many ways.

All I know is that seeing these two women together, two women that mean so much to me, in the place that seeing them together seems so natural and carries with it so many memories...it evokes alot of emotion. 

And the strangest thing about it is...do you see what is behind them? Behind my Mom and Judy? Well, of course you see the brilliant blue sky and the pine trees that let you know they are in the mountains.  But, do you see those poles? Do you have any clue what they might be?  Those, my friends, are teepee poles. Yes, teepee, as in, what the American Indians used to live in.

I didn't plan to take their picture right there in front of those poles. I caught these two lovely ladies walking up the trail from Judy's and wanted a picture of them together, arm in arm, smiling. But it's perfect that they just so happened to be standing in front of those teepee poles. Why? What's the significance to them, you ask? Well, because that teepee is what my family lived in, on top of this mountain in Idaho, as they built the log cabin that my father still lives in, today. That was in 1979, the year that I was born.  And those poles are from the teepee, where, with the aid of a midwife and my older sisters, my mother gave birth to me. Yep, folks, that's where I was born. Not in a hospital, or even in a house. Nope, not me. I was born on top of that mountain. In a teepee. With my mom's friend, Judy, right next door. 

 

Sarah full of Grace

 

This is my niece, Sarah.

 

Sarah Grace. (I love her name!!!)

 

She loved the Slip 'N Slide at my boy's birthday party.

 

I loved that she loved the Slip 'N Slide at my boy's party!

Watching her love it was my entertainment.

 

So I watched her through my lens for a bit.

 

I watched how much she was obviously loving life and let the lens tell a story.

 

Which put a smile on my face and made me grateful.

 

Grateful for my nimble niece,

 

Sarah, full of Grace.

For the love of -- Daziel

Two weekends ago my oldest child, my first born, my very first baby boy turned twelve.

 

As a parent, watching your children grow -- and grow -- and grow is a bit bittersweet. I would even venture to say it can be hard. I remember holding my babies, and watching them toddle around, and their first this and their first that...their first day of school. So having to endure my son's 12th Birthday when I still remember his 1st very vividly...yep, you got it! Hard. 

  

What made it even harder was that we were in the middle of this move to Japan.  So, my poor boy was away from his friends that he's had for the last four years.  And yes, as we always try to remember, 'tis the way of military life.  And we try not to complain. But sometimes it is hard. So, especially because of that -- because of being in transition, I didn't want the day to just come and go without a bang! We are in the middle of moving and I wanted to make it special. I wanted Daziel to know that our traditions and our family is what we make it, no matter where we go. 

So I asked Daziel what he wanted to do on his special day. He of course wanted his Birthday Breakfast -- because that is a tradition in our family.  No matter what day we celebrate your birthday and have your party, no matter if it's a big party or just dinner with a friend, we always, always, start your actual birthday out with a special Birthday Breakfast. Whatever you want it to be, whether that is pancakes with m&m's and cool whip... or what Daziel requested this year... eggs benedict perfected by Uncle Darold. 

When I was planning what else we'd do for the rest of Daziel's birthday, I was a bit surprised by his reaction. I offered to take him to Silverwood, a theme park not too far from here. I told him we could take him to play laser tag, or to go fishing...but my boy, he just nodded and with a ho-hum little voice he said "yeah, whichever will be ok".  So I thought, and I talked to my boy, and I thought some more. What was making him so glum? He finally told me he was bummed about not getting to spend his birthday with my husband, Craig. You see...Craig was gone last summer too -- he was deployed for four months.  So my boy was bumming about that...and who can blame him? This whole moving and being away from the ones you love kind of stinks. But, Craig's already in Japan, we're here, there wasn't much I could do about that.

So, I thought and thought some more...about my boy and what he was feeling. And I thought of another option for his birthday, an option I was a bit hesitant to suggest.

You see, we are staying with my sister Angela -- who just so happens to live in the same town as Daziel's father.  So, I worked up the courage and I set my feelings aside -- I asked Daziel if he'd like us to have a family barbecue with his dad and all his dad's family. His eyes lit up, he smiled and said "yeah!".  So, I went about planning it out. Daziel and I even sat down one evening to plan it out with his father.  Because even though his father and I aren't best buds, and even though we've had some very major disagreements that were/are being worked out... I thought it was still very important for us to wave a white flag, to call a truce, and to throw a party -- together -- for our son. So Daziel could see us working together for him.  We hadn't done a party together for Daziel since his 3rd Birthday. I wasn't so sure that I was up to it.  But I was sure it was what my boy wanted -- so that's what he got!

 

He got to spend the day with all of us (who could make it on such short notice) together...with his father...

 

with his beautiful grandma, who I love so much!  (And even though it's been 12 1/2 years since I've dated her son, I have a feeling she loves me too. As she walked into the backyard, she was carrying two huge trays of her homemade enchiladas. And as she was giving me a great big hug, she told me that she made them especially because she remembers that they were my favorite -- gosh, I really do love her!!)

 

He got to spend the day with his uncle -- who -- wow! Doesn't he look so much like!?!!

 

Daziel got to have his wonderful aunts there. It's funny, because I really love his father's family. I was a part of their family for the 2-ish years that we dated. And it was nice to see them and to visit with them for an afternoon. It was nice to see how we could all come together for the same goal ...

 

to play and have fun...

 

to slip and slide...

 

to do a pinata "the right way"...

  

to scramble for the candy (as I was showing my mom these pictures, she remarked about how much I look like Daz's grandma in these pictures -- weird)...

 

to enjoy the yummy mexican candies inside of it..

 

which was followed by a special cake made by Uncle Darold and decorated by Aunt Angie, and cousin, Bethany.

 

That day was all about making sure that a very special "little" boy felt very, very loved!!

"Sisters" -- Enjoying the View

Through this journey my family has been on over the last few months, you've heard me say the word "sister' a few times. And you may be wondering how many sisters I actually have. Well... I am blessed to have five wonderful sisters!! Over the next few weeks, I will introduce them all to you, in no particular order, except for who's on my heart. Enjoy this episode of "Sisters".

Earlier this month, the kids and I were in Battle Ground visiting my little sister... 

 

Alisha. (Who is actually my little step-sister. But I don't like to call her that, because I just don't like the word "step" -- it sound so mean. And maybe that's because I think of Cinderella.) But anyhow, while I was there visiting Alisha, I was impressed with so many things!! First off, that she lives out in the country in a house all by herself. Ok, so her Uncle does live on the same piece of property. But, she goes to sleep out in the country all by herself. And she's only 22 -- and she's not even afraid!

 

I was impressed with the view from her front porch! It was so pretty and perfect with the plush green grass, the white picket fence, and Mt. Saint Helen's off in the distance. 

I was impressed with the view from her back porch as the sun was setting...

 

The perfect blend of pinks and blues in the sky. The way the trees frame it out.

But mostly while I was there, I was impressed with my little sister.

She has grown up so much from that little girl I met when I was thirteen. That was the year that my mom married her dad and I gained two little sisters...something I had always wanted! She was six. My Colby's age. And she was cute. And sometimes she was not. And now...she is growing up. She's got a good head on her shoulders. She's in college and will graduate next year. She's focused and has an awesome GPA. She volunteers for CASA and she is going to go to Law School and fight for children's rights. She keeps her house clean and her laundry caught up and she cooks for herself. She doesn't go out and party alot, nope, she does her homework instead. She took my kids each separately after dinner on three different nights into town for dessert and to pick out a Mother's Day gift...for me. She touched my heart with her kindness. By how much she has grown. By how I was able to hold such grown up conversations with her. And by how much I got to know her as the woman she has become. 

 

Even though she's no longer a little girl, she's still my little sister. And I sure am enjoying the view!

Tomato, Tomahto, Bacon, Bakin', let's call the whole thing off!

This is my brother-in-law, Darold.

  

He likes to cook. And he's good at it! We like to talk cooking.

 

This is my darling niece, Sarah Grace. She looks adorable in blue and she loves to bake! She's good at it and makes sweet, yummy treats! She wants to grow up and be a pastry chef. I'm sure you recognize my daughter, Allyssa Hope. She's usually pretty game for about anything, especially when it involves her cousins.

The story:

(Setting) The girls were in my sister's kitchen, looking like they needed something to do. Uncle Darold was in the kitchen too... surprise, surprise!

Darold: "Hey, Allyssa, do you like bakin'?"

Allyssa: "Yeah, I LOVE it!!!"

Darold: "Well, then would you girls like to bake a cake?"

Allyssa: "With BACON!?!???"

Enjoyable Evening

 

Yes, an enjoyable evening indeed! With Aunt Kimmie and Uncle Lance...and cousins Madisen and Chloe and "The Andy Griffith Show".  

This week we're staying with my sister, Kim, in Portland (Oregon, not Maine).  I know, I know...you are all wondering how many darn sisters I have (if you're not one of them :-) I'll fill you in on that later. Right now I want to tell you that my kids went to bed very excited tonight. Because tomorrow night Uncle Lance is taking the boys to a Portland Beavers baseball game and Kim and I are taking the girls to the mall to shop.  With money they earned by setting up a spa and charging us old and aching adults $2 for massages. You know they earned bank on that one!!

Side Note:  I just watched Grey's and it made me cry tonight. And I'm FAR FROM a tv crier. I don't cry at Hallmark commercials, or Lifetime movies (heck, I don't even watch those!)...I didn't even cry when I watched Marley and Me! But for whatever reason, I cried tonight. Izzy Stevens made me cry. 

Anyhow, it was a very nice night...crying and all! I hope you had an enjoyable evening as well! Nighty night. Over and Out! Hasta Pasta.

Beware: this post talks about puke! (But only a little.)

Today, my friends, I could share with you about my day...about how I took the kids to Hannah Montana: The Movie, how we all liked it, and how it was much better than I thought it would be. Or, I could tell you about how I attempted to take the kids to Saturday Night Mass. How, after being there for five minutes, Daziel told me he was sick to his stomach and puked at the back door as we were hurriedly trying to find him a bathroom. My poor boy! Or, I guess I could tell you about how Colby decided to join Daziel and now both of my boys have been sick all night long.

But no -- no, no, no. I won't do that to you. I won't go into those gory details. Instead, because neither of those topics sounds exciting or enticing... (And because I was missing my husband and going through pictures from when we were in Wisconsin and happened upon some funny pictures that are much nicer than talking about puke!) Today I share with you this:

 

And yes, this is how we -- we who lived in the South for almost four years-- dressed in the freezing cold Wisconsin weather while we were there.

Did I mention that while we were there we stayed with Craig's sister, Tracey? His happiest sister?

 

Well, yeah, ok, she is his only sister...his only sibling for that matter.

But just look at that smile. Doesn't she look happy? She's always smiling! No joke, Tracey is one of the smiliest (is that a word?) people I know.  Especially for pictures. Which makes me smile, and laugh, because that is SOOO the opposite of her brother. Oh, I'm not talking about the happy part. Craig can be a pretty jovial kind of fella. He just doesn't ever smile for pictures. He could be in the greatest of moods, but when a picture is taken, his smile disappears. Which means that we have a ton of pictures where Craig looks -- mad and annoyed. Which again, makes me laugh!  

Do you see Tracey's daughter, our niece? That's Mariah, and her red hair is for real! I think she is one of the cutest red-heads I have ever seen! 

   

On one of those cold, February evenings while we were visiting in Wisconsin, we took the kids out to play in the snow. Which kind of excited Craig and I, who had both grown up playing in the snow. It excited the kids too, because we hadn't seen snow in years!

 

Then our nephew, Matt, got out his four-wheeler.  Which enticed Craig to get out a four-wheeler. And what do you do in the snow with a four-wheeler? Well, you pull a kid on a tube, of course!!

  

Which of course enticed me to take pictures of that kid on the tube. But these pictures, they just didn't do. So, I climbed on the back of that four-wheeler, held onto my beloved camera with one hand and tried to hold onto my beloved husband with the other.

 

Hold on, Colby!

 

Aaaah, Craig, slow down....

yes, I know he's smiling...but I'm falling...

No, he didn't slow down or stop whipping around just because I was sitting backwards on the back of that four-wheeler. He didn't slow down for Colby either.

 

So we lost him.

Which means that Colby wasn't smiling any more.

  

So Craig did what any good father would do. He consoled his son.

Then asked, "Who's next?"

Gosh I miss him!

Gosh I miss that butt!!

(Ok, ok, sorry! He's been gone for a month.)

Mostly, I'm glad that I didn't have to talk any more puke tonight!

Merry Vacation -- Day 1 & 2

Ok, so we got here and originally were going to wait until the 19th to go to Disney and wait for Craig's sister and her family to arrive (they flew in on the 18th). But we got word that they might be delayed due to weather, so we went ahead and started our Disney adventures yesterday...the 18th.

 

And of course we started out with The Magic Kingdom. Please excuse Colby in any pictures...if he doesn't look happy...it's because he gets moody about getting his picture taken. He is having a blast, though.

We all are. It's been two full days of parks and we're having so much fun. After doing about half of The Magic Kingdom yesterday, we decided to take a different route and do The Animal Kingdom today. We have seen and done so much already! Rides, shows, pin trading, safari's, character autographs, and have spent time with family.

 

And Craig has found his favorite ride...a roller coaster that has made him a lover (he's not been a huge fan of them before today)...

 

A ride all about this mountain. A pretty big mountain, right? Well, it's a pretty big ride too. And I heard it was pretty stinkin' cool! I mean, Craig wouldn't quit telling me how cool it was. I didn't find out for myself.  You see, Colby and I didn't ride it. I mean, somebody had to stay back and take the pictures...right?

Can you spot them?

 

How about now?

 

So yes...we're having a blast...we hope your days have been just as merry.

Adorable Entrepreneurs

 

Allyssa and Colby spent pretty much all day outside hanging out with some of our back yard neighbors. 

My friend and neighbor, Kristi, was great today!  I had such a sinus headache and she had my kids over to hang out and play with her kiddos on her big blow up slide for a good portion of the day  She's got four; and all of our kids get along fabulously!  And today, Allyssa and Kristi's two youngest daughters decided they needed to make some money. So...they set up a Lemonade stand and "went to work"... 

chanting "lemonade for sale, only 50 cents, lemonade for sale, only 50 cents, lemonade..." all afternoon. So much that it drew me out of my house enough to get a little fresh air and a glass for myself. 

I must say, Kristi is a great neighbor to have!  She was such a life saver today.  Because my kids would have been so bored and bummed since I was really not feeling that great.  We have been spending alot of time with her and her family because her husband is deployed right now too.  Another good thing about living on base, we have each other to lean on.

Meet Leah, she is sweet, and adorable and such a princess girly-girl. 

And here's Tony.  She's the rock star -- all attitude and sass!

They're both great kids and Allyssa really enjoys playing with them. I think because they adore her so much and let her boss decide what they're gong to do. 

And of course, you already know my Adorable Allyssa.

So today... the girls decided the lemonade stand would be fun.  They were so cute!!

And when a big Suburban pulled up filled with tons of big kids getting back from an afternoon at the pool (Kristi with a load of neighborhood kids which included my Daz man, her older two, and most of the other older kids in the neighborhood), the girls had a line of enthusiastic customers. (What good big kids to come home chanting "lemonade, lemonade, lemonade") and making the girls feel so special!

So they went through their line of customers, and made quite a bit of money.

What Adorable Entrepreneurs!!!

 

Biscuts, Baseball and Memories

Last week while Amy was here visiting, we went to a Biscuits game. You know, our local AA Southern League ball team.  

The game was great!! We had a ton of fun.  We sat right behind third base and a foul ball (line drive that was super duper fast) almost hit me and Amy.  It was about an inch low and got lodged in the seats in front of us.  Crazy scary.  But Colby was so excited about it and got to keep the ball.  He was SOOO darn cute! 

 

After that, he went and sat down right behind the dugout and watched the rest of the game.  He was cute and cheering and so into it!!!  And because he was…one of the guys from the dugout went and got a broken bat and gave it to him.  Oh my, did that make his night!

Amy and I really enjoyed it!!  We used to play ball together, way back in the day.  We sat there talking and reminiscing all while enjoying the game and watching my kiddos enjoy the game.  And there's something to be said for AA Southern League ball games!  Lots of down home, good southern spirit!  And as the sun set and the sticky air settled into a slight breeze, we sat back and enjoyed the game, some old memories, and making some new ones!

A Summer of Visits -- Part 3 -- AMY Z.

 

Again, we are thrilled and excited to have another summer visitor!!!  Amy and I have been friends for (how long Amy?) 15-16 years.  We were trying to figure it out, and to our best recollections (which is hard to do...recollect... because we are getting kind of old you know) we met right before our 8th grade year.  Amy and I went to high school together and have kept in touch ever since.  And in high school, let me tell you, we got into, well... really what I mean is...stayed out of alot of trouble.  I mean, we did alot of stuff that could have ended up resulting in a heap of a mess, but really, considering all that we did...we actually stayed out of trouble were good kids.  Kind of.  Right Mom?  Right Maggie? Come on, some support here...please?!!?   Just saying... that through all of the sneaking out and boys and break ups... through loves and losses and loves and weddings and babies and moves...through it all, we've kept in touch.  

So, Amy, you know...the Amy I went to visit two spring breaks ago, got here on Saturday and is staying until Thursday and we are having so much fun staying up late and talking and having a few drinks and reminiscing and going to dinner and enjoying each other and my kiddos (minus the Daz man who is at Scout Camp -- more on that later).  I love it when you have a friend that you can reconnect.  With Amy, I can go years without seeing her, or months without talking to her, but when we do, it feels like yesterday.  Because it does, it feels like just yesterday we were hanging out in my bedroom, sprawled on my bed, talking on the phone to this boy or that...being teenagers.  Thanks for taking a vacation from mommy life and leaving your darling little girls with your parents so you could come and make my summer a happier one.  Thank you Maggie and John for watching the girls so she could come visit!!!  I really, really needed this visit!

A Summer of Visits -- Part 2 -- MISS KELLY

First, I have to say that I am so thrilled and excited to have so many people who we love and care about want to come visit us this summer.  I know, in part, alot of them are coming because they wanted to be here for my graduation, but the summer works better for them.  I also know that many of them are making the time to visit because they know Craig is gone this summer, and are trying to help make this summer a good one for me and the kids.  And guess what?  It's working!

Yesterday, the kids and I went to pick up a good friend of mine from the Atlanta Airport -- Miss Kelly! We are all so excited she's here!!  Kelly and I used to "work together" back when we both had our own home daycares when we were stationed at Fairchild.  Kelly and I went through the same daycare training classes and became very good friends.  We worked so well together that we decided to be "partners in crime"...I was always at her house or she was at mine with all of our daycare kids.  And it was amazing, because you'd think with twelve little ones packed into a base house there would be chaos. Not with Kelly and I.  We are two peas in a pod and we had those kids on a schedule, organized, and it was smooth sailing!  Play, create, laugh, sing, make lunch...OR, we were off on some grand field trip together.  We both always had a full load of kids (meaning, we were at max occupancy) and were always planning something wonderful and fun to do together.  A backyard circus for the parents, a trip to the lake to swim and go on a nature walk, a trek downtown to the children's museum, or a day of carnival games and bike rides.  One of my most favorite moments when Kelly and I did daycare together was, after September 11th, we got our kids to do a mini-concert for all of their parents. We did it after work on a Friday: we did patriotic songs, had them dress in red, white and blue, and even had a flag cake for dessert.  It was so precious!  Kelly and I loved to do the same things with the kids, we loved to keep them busy, and we loved to do it together.

So, even though Kelly and I didn't technically "work together", we did work together...we had this kind of synergy, we both loved what we did, and doing it together made it that much better..  Have you ever had the kind of relationship where things seemed seamless, like a well oiled machine?  Well, that was me and Kelly, and we basically spent almost every working day together for...almost three years. Wow!  Now that I think about it, that was alot of time together!  And in that time, we did many circle times, family style lunches, craft times, and our favorite (of course) nap times...because then Kelly and I could sit and plan menus and talk and giggle.  And working with Kelly while doing one of the hardest and most taxing of jobs (daycare is definitely that, especially doing it by the military standards...and I'll tell you stories of that another day), was such an amazing gift! 

I am so thankful that Kelly and I have kept in touch! Our families now live miles apart, we are both very busy with kids and military spouses, but we still have made time to stay close.  And even if we don't get to talk but a few times a year, we can pick up and keep going like it was just yesterday that we used to spend every day together.  We've had two very fun and jammed packed days so far, with Miss Kelly here to visit, and are looking forward to what the rest of the week has in store!  The kids and I are all so excited to be spending more fun-filled days with our dear friend!  Thanks for coming to visit us, Miss Kelly!!!

A Summer Of Visits -- Part 1 -- GRANDMA SHARON

This summer, if it goes as planned, will be filled with lots of fun summer visits. This is one way for us to enjoy our summer and give us things to look forward to while Craig is gone.  The other side to that coin is that we've lived here for 3 years now.  Originally, we were supposed to be here for only 3 years.  So, the chances of us getting orders in the next year-ish are pretty likely.  And since we are hoping for orders overseas or to Alaska... Montgomery may be as close as we'll be to our fun summer visitors for a while. 

Our first visitor:  MY MOM, or as the kids say, GRANDMA SHARON.

It was so nice to have my Mom here to visit.  Especially since she arrived just a few days after Craig left.  It made that transition a little easier for the kids -- gave them something to look forward to.  And she got to stay for 12 days!!  I don't think my family has had that kind of one-on-one time with my Mom in, oh, definitely since we moved from Fairchild AFB (Spokane, WA) three summers ago. And really, even when we lived there, we never had this long of a visit.  And...we all loved it!!!  (My family did, anyhow.  We hope we didn't drive Grandma too nuts!! :-)

She got to be crazy, busy with us and go to one of Allyssa's ball games.  She got to celebrate Daziel's Birthday, go to two of Colby's ball games...

yes, I bought her team shirts for Allyssa and Colby's teams...and the back of her shirt reads "COLBY'S GRAMMA".  Grandma Sharon got be at my graduation and she got to witness a proud Boy Scout build a fire so we could roast marshmallows (and of course, Grandma Sharon, who has built many camp fires...tepee fires...and wood stove fires of her own had a few pointers for our little scout). 

 

We drug her here and took her there...we did the pool, and the movies...went to the kids' school and met their teachers, had a BB-Q, cooked dinners...and had very nice, Grandm-y kinds of conversations...te he he, like, te...te he he..."Grandma, why do you smoke so much?"  to which my mother so wit-fully compared her addiction to nicotine to Colby's addiction to candy.  I had to hurry, take that picture, and run back inside so I could double over in laughter.

And I, being the lovely, middle-child daughter that I am, loved to take pictures of her when she really didn't want me taking pictures...

 

Be forewarned, if you come to visit us this summer, or if we come to visit you, I LOVE to take pictures.  And I don't really care if you love me taking pictures of you or not.  I'll take them anyways.  Because I love you, and I love pictures of you.  And especially if I've found you in a compromising position (look back at Craig on April 21st), I love your pictures. Or found you with your vices, (ahem, Grandma...cigarettes and wine)...I still love you, and your pictures...and I love to post those pictures on my blog...te he, te he he.

Unless, of course, you whip out your camera and threaten to take pictures of me in return.  Then I back down.  Then I wave my white flag and ask for a peace treaty, because pictures of me?  Ha!

 

And I especially love taking pictures of things we love to do togther...

yeah, yeah, I know...this is like the 156th time you've showed me how to sew, Mom.  Just count on showing me 156 more, because..."It's always better when Mom does it!".

And I also love to take pictures of things that have become traditions  Like this...

 

how Grandma always marks how tall we are when we see her...

and always exclaims, "Wow, look how much you've grown!"...

and we love it so much, that we only do it when she's here. 

We said goodbye to Mom on Wednesday as she flew back across the country, but we'd like to say...

Mom, we loved having you!!  Thank you so much for taking the time off of work to come and visit us and join in our crazy lives for a while.  It meant so much to us all, and we sooooo enjoyed our time with you!  We love you!!!