Spring Break at the Farm

We couldn't decide what to do for Spring Break when we were discussing it several months ago. I just knew we wanted to 'go somewhere' and do 'something fun.' When we were at SILs in January, hubby and BIL were discussing when to plant seed and sunflowers (to grow to attract dove to hunt.) The best time to do that was in March and we decided to spent our time away from school there with them.

Hubby is always in heaven when he is there. It's just not the environment, driving the tractor/disc or working while there, it's the interaction with his sister and BIL that makes it all worthwhile. The fact that they now have a pool makes it even better as he can work hours doing something he loves and then swim or sit in their hot tub. It's always a wonderful place to visit and I so much enjoy talking with SIL about everything under the sun. She's the sister I never had and our relationship over the last 30 years has continued to thrive. We enjoy the same kind of books and movies. While there, we all started watching the first few seasons of Doc Martin, a British comedy television series that has been on for years. We've only finished the first three or four seasons but I can't wait to watch more of them. Even my kiddos loved the series and have started saying "Yeah, innit."

This is my SIL. She looks like this most of the time. When she gets dressed up to go somewhere and puts on her make-up and 'fixes' her hair, she believes she looks so much better but this is how I see her...enjoying the morning walk with her dogs on her farm with us...and I was so glad to be able to snap a picture to capture the moment of her as she usually is...beautiful.



My SIL is an animal lover. Years before she (and BIL) got their first dog, she wanted a female black lab named Molly. I love the way she defines a goal and waits for it to come to her. She also wanted a certain kind of place to live (farm) and had a vision of what it would look like. Now she has had both for years. Over the last number of years, her huge heart of helping dogs, in particular, has invited 9 dogs to live there, not including foster dogs. She farm has a fence that keeps them safe and they can run and roam as far as they'd like. She is very knowledgeable about what to feed them depending on their age; several are now getting old and have arthritis and she make sure she gives them whatever meds they need to make them feel better. If I were a dog on Earth, I'd want to live there. Her heart doesn't stop with her pets. She's always been there for any of us (and my extended family) and continues to provide for her mother (my MIL in the ALF.) Watching her throughout the years with her grandchildren was what I want to be able to do for mine. She has never once forgotten our birthday or anniversary or happy occasion and always sends us a card (or present.) Hubby says no one makes chocolate chip cookies like she can (they're REALLY good) and loves it when she makes them for him. She is the person to take care of my kiddos should something happen to us (and my bf friend Janet as plan b) but of course, nothing will happen until they're all grown up and old. Luckily, BIL likes us and is really good about us going there, messing the place up and 'eating them out of house and home.' He's a great guy and is quiet. SIL said that they used to say at his work that he didn't say much but when he did, everyone listened. That is true. He has excellent moral character and is a great thinker. They make a great team!

The farm doesn't get a lot of rain but when it does, in this time of year, wildflowers will sprout and grow. I forgot to charge my camera before I left to go there so I didn't take a lot of pictures but I took a few of the kiddos in the flowers. My kids are overdue for haircuts as their hair is not usually this long.



And my favorite...


We just spent 10 days there and it feels like just 4 or 5. The days passed quickly. The kids played, read lots of books (well, my kindergartener did) and played outside. I read at least 5 or 6 books and we didn't watch a lot of tv. Their internet barely works so I checked my email here and there but didn't spend the time I usually do surfing or watching tv. It was an awesome Spring Break with the people I love. My younger daughter was at home (she has job interview and couldn't come) but it was a nice relaxing vacation of sorts. I am totally blessed to have SIL in my life. I came back home and saw of FB lots of exciting trips that other families took out of town and their wonderful pictures but have to say, I couldn't have asked for a better Spring Break.

Ronald McDonald House

Last week, I stayed with my daughter and her family at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) because we were all out of town for my granddaughter's surgery. I hadn't had any firsthand knowledge of the RMHs other than they helped families who had kids in hospitals. We all drove over 5 hours to get to this particular hospital where Olivia's surgeon practices and were very lucky that there was a room available for us to stay at the facility in Dallas, TX. My daughter/family got there a day before I got there (there was an early morning MRI scheduled) and I drove up there so that I could go attend the many appointments with them the following day.



The many appointments beforehand and the long hours spent in the hospital afterwards made the whole experience stressful. Having the blessing of such a place like RMH was amazing! They had volunteers who provided meals during the day (which helped because we had no energy or time to go out) and we caught one or two a day due to our schedule. They had many wonderful benefits for those staying there like washers and dryers (along with the detergent,) places to store your food (cabinets or use of refrigerator/freezer,) playrooms for kids and separate ones for teens, exercise room, library, places for guests to sit and talk, and you could even borrow/rent dvds to watch. They didn't have any televisions but that was no problem as we were so busy going back and forth to the hospital or reading about procedures and/or filling out paperwork.

This is me and Olivia before we left for the many appointments the day before her surgery.



Since everyone there were there for the same reason (did not live close to the hospital and had a young loved one there,) we were exchanging stories and supporting each other. Just when you think you heard a really sad story, someone else's experience was even worse (luckily, our Olivia's condition was a necessary planned surgery and not one needed for a life/death situation or accident.)

I was completely overwhelmed by the generosity of the staff and RMH for us and others like us. I am much more aware of what RMH does and will be forever grateful for their commitment to helping kids/families. And just this week as I left a restaurant, I noticed this gum machine. Now that I am more aware of where the money goes, I will be a lifelong supporter.

Cream Cheese Brownies

...and they're still warm. Heading to the kitchen right now!

...almost spring

...and with spring comes new beginnings. Long gone is the heater and we've been running the a/c for weeks.

We planted a garden last week. And when I say we, I mean my hubby and son. I was inside doing something else, perhaps folding clothes or watching tv or surfing ancestry.com. While I love outdoor activities, I usually don't do a lot around the house/yard. That has always been hubby's hobby and I've taken a backseat. And, with my latest precancerous skin stuff removed off my arms, I'll take any excuse to stay out of the sun, lol! We love eating those little red potatoes. I grew up eating them as my dad would plant them each spring too. My son used his tiller to make a couple rows. By the time I went out to take a picture of him, he was practically finished. So I asked him to pose for a picture anyway.







This month was also blessed with my granddaughter's first surgery. An incredibly stressful couple of weeks led up to this necessary procedure. Of course, she'll have to have many more surgeries throughout her life and this was just a first. I loved spending time with my daughter, her fiancé/boyfriend and their daughter. I have never spent that much time with them, just me and them, and was eager to help them as much as possible. Having support in times of stress can make life so much easier and I was grateful they allowed me to enter their world and stay with them. And my younger daughter graciously watched my younger kiddos while I drove 5 hours away for 5 days to stay with them. I couldn't have done any of this without her helping me care for them. While away, it felt like I know my granddaughter so much more now. Since I have young children, much of my time is spent with them and I'm the grandma who helps with rides, money or paperwork for insurances/applications. The other grandma is the one who usually babysits and spends time with them....so I loved each minute I spent with 'lil Olivia. This is her new beginning as this surgery helped remodel her skull to give her brain more room to grow...

Awesome Park Equipment

Last weekend, we went to my SILs for the weekend to dogsit and relax. While there, we went to a park where she lives. (This is the SIL who lives at the farm and you have to drive 15 minutes to get to any businesses in the town.) We drove to a Dairy Queen (fast food restaurant that has burgers and ice cream) to get the boys an ice cream cone and planned on driving around until we found a playground for them to play. I thought I had seen on before while driving through but wasn't sure.

We found one quickly! It was an old style playground with very tall slides, nice swings. the kind of monkey bars that I grew up climbing (built with metal bars in squares) and these two cool things! When I first saw this ferris wheel type toy, it seemed magical! There was boy rolling the wheel on the side to help his friends (or relatives?) go up and down. My youngest son and I practically sprinted over to them while my older son kinda followed back a long way (he was feeling shy.) I said some cool things about the thing and asked the boy if my kids could get on. He was nice and he (along with his friend) stopped it so that my boys could get on. My oldest seemed unsure but I insisted he have to get on because of the weight (needed another person.) It was awesome watching them! If I were a kid, I would have loved to have ridden that!



And then the merry-go-round...they were taking turns pushing their brother around on it! Of course with all this fun play in the fresh air, they had nice long naps afterwards...while I read on my Kindle.



And I recorded a few seconds of them going around on it! (My hubby was talking in the background...oops!)


I just love playing at playgrounds! I loved going to them growing up! When I was 10 and 11 my mom had two more kids (my brothers) and I grew up looking for great playgrounds to let them play (of course, to get them tired so they could sleep great naps, lol!) And, then when my kiddos were born, the habit continued. I'm so grateful my kids are young enough to want to go to them still (as I remember when my girls got 'too old' to want to go.) Hopefully, there'll be many more years of seeking great playgrounds!

It's been a year...grandbaby's one!

How stressful this past year has been! Looking back, it could have been so much worse! I was in a totally different place a year ago, grieving and trudging through each day, kinda feeling sorry for myself and hurting for my daughter. Now, I am more proactive, don't feel alone in the Apert Syndrome community and know there's a bright and wonderful future ahead! We are incredibly blessed by having so few issues with our granddaughter! Our older daughter and her boyfriend take the best care of Olivia and she's thriving! We are supposed to be having surgeries coming up but are still trying to work out insurance issues. Hopefully, they'll be fixed within a few months. A one year party was celebrated a couple of weeks ago and Olivia fell asleep half way through it. I was able to get a couple of decent pictures though.



And this is a great picture of Olivia and my youngest daughter (who always hides from the camera!) It's awesome I got both of them smiling at once!

ABCZ

ABCZ is a name, not an acronym. It's the name of my kiddo's cat that he got for Christmas, a stuffed cat, that is. He had asked for it when he was talking to my SIL who gave it for him. He was so excited when he opened his gift and saw it!


It has gone with us lots of places lately! It is a girl and he 'married' her. His brother officiated the ceremony. He now calls ABCZ his wife and wears a wedding ring (a little ring like thing from my scarf.) At the 'ceremony,' I was supposed to be the wedding photographer. I told him to smile. He gave me a left side pose, then a ride side pose, then a front one. So cute!


He shared his meal with her at a local buffet place.



And she went on a trip out of town to see another SIL (grocery store elephant ride.) While we drive, she likes to jump from little brother to little brother in the back seat while listening to them giggle and make cute kid sounds to each other!


...and he sleeps with her too. She's warm and soft! Perfect fuzzy friend! Of course, she keeps him company too when he's watching tv. All day today, she's been there for him as he's segregated from the rest of us...with the flu.

Mud and more mud...

Last week, my kiddos played outside a lot. I watched as they bathed and frolicked in the mud and thought about how fun it was doing that when I was a kid myself. I savored each moment they painted themselves (and hair) with mud. Times like this won't last long. After they finished playing, I rinsed them off with the water hose (brrrr) and then had them run inside into an awaiting warm soapy bathtub.



He was actually posing as a zombie until I made him smile.

Left Out

My kiddo has been having some issues lately...he just doesn't fit in with his friends. He is 'into' cowboy and military stuff and his friends...aren't. He has been acting out. When I spoke with him this evening, he described how he felt. He said it felt like everybody (his friends) were in a pile of awesomeness and he was in a pile of poop. He has some friends who just don't listen to him (and/or interrupt) and sometimes, his eyes water at school and it really embarrasses him. Wanting to be one of the cool kids has always been every kid's desire, I guess. Third grade is difficult and being in the same school with the same kids for years makes certain changes impossible. I'm going to put him in some other activities that involve other kids. He needs more positive outlets and to be away from negative influences. Just feels sad to see your kiddo feel so sad and left out. Here's to a new beginning...

I took this picture a couple of days ago at a birthday party while waiting for his brother to finish jumping on the bounce thing. I thought to myself at the time (before realizing that my kiddo actually felt left out with his friends at school etc) that he seemed out of place. Or maybe he was just dreaming of being a cowboy. :)

My Colorado Trip

A few months ago, my friend and her family moved to Colorado. I had some miles built up from my airline credit card so I decided to take a few days to go visit her. She is still new to the area and I thought it'd be great time to hang out while her kiddos were at school. I went last week and had an awesome time! I love being able to go visit my friends. I used to go see my other friend J who lived in CA or NY/NJ and I'd go about every other year. I miss seeing her too and I decided to just go for it...go see a friend and get away.

I loved seeing the landscape while up in the air. It was just so beautiful!


One thing I realized within minutes of landing there...was that Colorado is full of 'Christmas trees.' I am severely allergic to those kinds of trees and it has been getting worse over the last several years. For years, we had a noble fir for Christmas and now, we can only have artificial trees because of my instant allergic reaction to the real kinds. I spent my few days there sneezing, having itchy and watery eyes, blowing my nose, and having tiny swollen eyes! I need to make sure my weekly allergy injections contain that stuff to help be around those kinds of trees! I took a picture of the backyard of my friend's house.

While I was there, I visited the Garden of the Gods. It was absolutely gorgeous!!! (This is me and my friend T.)


Some other pics from there...






And my favorite with the snow topped mountains in the background -


We went to a mall one afternoon and look! There is a fireplace in the food court! (I've never seen that before!)


We were going to go up to Pike's Peak but we didn't have enough time...Instead we stopped and took a picture of a stream near Iron Springs.



We also visited the Capitol Building in Denver. I just loved the trees and the changing colors! There are some maple trees around here that change colors but for most of the trees, it seems they are evergreens and we(in the SE near the coast) don't have that changing of the colors like other states do. I just loved the yellow leaves in these trees right outside the Capitol!


We went on a tour while walking around the Capitol. I learned that Katharine Lee Bates wrote "America the Beautiful" song after she went up to Pike's Peak in Colorado and saw the beautiful landscape. This tapestry hangs in the Capitol and has many important and influential people in Colorado's history. The tour guide had lots of interesting information and it was a joy to be able to hear about another state like that (as opposed to reading from books or watching tv.)


We were also able to explore the rooms that the Colorado senate and representatives use. I noticed the extremely small seats (for people decades ago were measurable smaller than the current population) as well as the ashtrays on each seat. The stained glass windows were amazing and the tour guide discussed each person in each window and their significance.


I felt guilty for not having my family with me...the older I get, the more I want them with me to visit cool places. I used to be able to just ...go... and not feel (too) guilty but rather enjoy the time away from everything at home. I don't know if it's the difference between going when I was younger as opposed to being older, or whether I just want to enjoy it all with them. Nevertheless, I had an absolutely great time and can't wait to go again (hopefully, after I have better allergy medicine with me!)

Raccoons and more raccoons!

As I was leaving my SILs the other day, I went by her daughter's house. I had seen a photo she had posted on FB about some raccoons near her house and I was curious about them. I had my oldest daughter and granddaughter with me and we were going to stop by for a little while (and see the place where the raccoons were which was along the way) and then go back home (a good two hour drive.)

There's a store near my niece's neighborhood and the raccoons will come out at dusk and beg for food. As we drove up to that side of the parking lot, they were EVERYWHERE! I went inside the store about bought some bread to 'feed' them and they'd come up and stand on their hind legs with their front feet on my legs waiting for me to drop pieces of bread to them. Totally scary! I was imagining their very sharp teeth and claws!

While we were there, it was quite an experience. They were polite...didn't come up and chew my leg or arm off and there weren't too many fights for the food we threw at them. I've never seen that many raccoons in one place in my life!

Of course, I was trying to take pictures!



My niece feeding them.





My daughter feeding them.

Pop-Up Tent Camper

We have some really good friends who have had a pop-up tent camper for a long time. I've heard them talk about it but I had never been in one. We as a family love to go tent camping and love camping in general. I've seen people driving down the road with those pop-ups but have never known what they were actually like. Lo and behold, our friends upgraded and now have an RV so they wanted to sell this camper thing.

I went over to their house one day and took a look at it. It had air conditioning!!! And a heater! There was even a little potty and tiny shower area inside. Tiny. They were both really tiny. But I was impressed that there were anything like that inside!!! There was even a sink! And a stove (that you can take and use outside too.) And a refrigerator (it doesn't work but it's a great place to store stuff.) I had no idea it was like that! We have never camped in the summer (we don't like mosquitos and/or to be really hot and prefer to camp when it's really cold instead for those reasons.)

To make a long story short, we bought it from them!!! Now, all we have to do is plan an overnight or weekend get away to learn how to turn everything on etc. and we'll be more experienced to plan a longer vacation. A really close friend and her family moved to Colorado and we will drive to see them next summer. I am planning a nice long trek that way while stopping by a couple cool state parks along the way.

I'm super excited about all this! It's like a whole new camping kind of world just opened up and we're looking forward to using it!

The Calm Before The Storm...

My sister-in-Law, my hubby's oldest sister, is dying. Of course, we're all dying...we're all one day closer to death...but her expiration date is coming up faster than ours. She's enduring her third bout of breast cancer and it has metastasized. From what I have read (and/or heard her physicians say,) she has up to a few months left (I think that's an optimistic number.) I know so many people who have had cancer, who currently have it or have lost loved ones to one dreadful type of it or another. Each time I realized that someone I know and love is affected by it, I want to do what I can to make life easier for them.

I've been really close to my SIL throughout the years. She had a daughter the year before I had my first daughter. She had a few sons and then years later, had another daughter. I did the same kind of thing...had girls and then years later, had some more kiddos (boys.) We've been close. I will really miss her. So I've been going to see her once a week (at her home to cook/hang out) or to her hospital if she's there (and sit with hr.) for the last six weeks or so. She has ascites (fluid in her abdomen that fills it up...consisting of malignant breast cancer cells) and recently, tumor loops in her intestines (obstruction.) Did I mention that I'm going to really miss her? My boys and I took a trip a couple years ago to Hot Springs Arkansas and then on to Memphis Tennessee and we invited her to come along. It was a great time and we drove there/back and did touristy stuff. I had never gone with a family member on a trip like that before and it was a pretty memorable time. We had always hoped to do it again. She's always wanted to have an RV and go on a trip. A couple of weeks ago, I told her that at some point, if she wants to go, I will take the grab the kids out of school and we will take a trip! Just say the word and we'll rent one and go wherever she wants to go!

Anyway, she was discharged from the hospital from her last stay on Saturday night and I had planned on going to sit with her at the hospital on Sunday. Since her daughter's bridal shower was on Sunday, I assumed she was going to go. Since I try to avoid large gatherings (I prefer smaller groups,) I decided to skip the shower and just take a day trip with my boys to Galveston. So, we packed up a picnic lunch, sand toys and took off for the day. I wanted to NOT think, not be sad, and to laugh and enjoy the day.

We ate lunch AND dessert at a huge restaurant (the kid's dessert was a bowl of ice cream with different toppings that they could create a sundae themselves.) Then we rented a bicycle and drove all around the sidewalks and side roads. We even stopped at a park and played on the swings and slides. We then went to Rainforest Café and rode the little boat ride inside the restaurant (with robotic animals and noises creating a great atmosphere for kiddos.) Finally, we found a place alongside the seawall, grabbed our toys, chair, towels and camera and hung out for hours. We fed seagulls at the back of the ferry, watched dolphins swim (fins above the water) and even saw one jump...several times...that's a first for me while traveling to the other side of the island! We practiced my son's vocabulary (homework from school) on the way to as well as on the way back from there and enjoyed a great day! I can't remember how long it's been since I've laughed SO much and had such a great time with the kids. I let my son drive and control the brake and the brake didn't stop very well...which caused a lot of laughter for the good and bad scares related to that. He wanted to do it all day.

Here are some pictures from our day -

My 'lil one sat in the 'basket' and we sat on the seats behind him. So much fun!



When I asked them to gather up the beach toys (and we have lots of buckets, shovels, stuff to make sand castles etc.,) I realized that these are what they consider 'sand' toys! I said...why not...and helped load them into the car trunk!



My 'lil one was running around and when I took this pic, he was smiling at me and kinda facing me. I immediately thought of one of those songs from Bugs Bunny shows a long time ago...'Hello my baby, hello my darling...' Was it a dancing frog? I have no idea but I thought his smile was adorable!



I wanted them to pose for at least one picture and asked them to come sit on a sand pile. My bigger boy jumped down to that spot and I said 'Stop - don't move! Smile!'







I always keep an extra set of clothes in my trunk just for occasions like this...they loved getting dirty and sandy! We had everything we needed! I love their faces of happiness!





My youngest couldn't see over the ferry gate at the front so I held him on my back the whole time. I didn't even think about make-up on this day but if I had put some on, I probably would have sweated it all off before this picture was taken anyway. And, of course, I'm wearing my favorite shirt.