Thanksgiving 2023

 By some miracle we got Dada's whole side of the family together in one spot for Thanksgiving. The cousins were PSYCHED. The fellowship was so refreshing. And there was far too much food. 

Trypophan's a real thing... all the brothers are out!

Gaming and eating and eating and gaming

And cooking and splashing

Did I mention eating?

So then there was hiking and we found huge sycamore leaves!

And more photo sessions. Couples and cousins

All the cousins, above.

Below, one of those is NOT a firstborn...

Crafting and more cooking which led to more eating.

Rinse and repeat! 

Once upon a time

 The year was 2010 which feels rather like a lifetime ago:

It certainly was for these cousins who all turned 13 this year. my mother had the brilliant idea of recreating the above photo and the attempt cracked us up completely. life is short. don't blink. you might miss it.

Feeling like Sunday morning

 I love telling stories in reverse order. (*rolls eyes*) Okay, the morning after the wedding (which I haven't blogged about yet, so bear with me- you're not losing it) it was decided that our whole kit and caboodle would have breakfast at Bob Evans AND we would get to meet up with friends of ours. Some of us did a coffee run whilst others slept in or showered or swam, in Damon's case. We got to Bob Evans and needed seating for 14 so all the cousins could sit together and goof off while the adults could hear themselves think. And there's always Shenanigans.

Together again for the first time in 12 years!

These kiddos had started elementary school together and then between 2nd and 3rd grade their family moved to the other side of Ohio. The kids found each other on social media and checked in on each other once in awhile, and then orchestrated the breakfast when we figured out we'd all be in roughly the same spot in Ohio. Thanks for coming to see us! Damon had just been a little guy when they left, so they were delighted to see how big he was, which made him blush a little. Hopefully there are more adventures together in store and it's not nearly as long between visits!

All that swimming, traveling, and eating wore the boys out. We made it home safe, picked up the dogs from the friend who graciously watched them, and hope to not have to go anywhere today. Have a good one!

Something for everyone

It has been some month. April is known for throwing curveballs and I'm not just talking about the ridiculous weather. This April, my 90 year old Nana passed away. That means family gathered together, road tripping from all over North Carolina, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and who knows where else. Fortunately, it was a beautiful, warm, and dry weekend so there were fewer traveling hassles than there could have been. Though we've been married for 19 years, there were still family members Dada had never met. Some of these were my cousin Ruthie, her husband, and sons. Our boys all hit it off and were quite the sight:  

After a concise service including music that Nana had preselected which had been written by a relative, there was a little bit of time to spend before the lunch would be served. Cousins being cousins and it being way too long between times spent together, some Shenanigans ensued, which may or may not have involved our kids and my cousin's kids, Cora and Blake. 

I remember thinking that it was the perfect kind of spring day: some clouds in a blue sky, a slight breeze, warm sun on our shoulders. I think Nana would have enjoyed all of it except maybe our "monkeying around" at the cemetery. I know there are other pictures on Dada's phone so I will have to see what I can track down to share. 

It's bittersweet that she is gone. I don't think she ever had any desire to be the world's oldest living person, so to make it to 90 is quite an achievement. I'm so glad that we saw her last summer while we vacationed with her in good health; that those memories of sunshine and her interacting with us and the dogs and her nurses are the ones closest to our hearts instead of the ones where she sat wretchedly on the alarm pad of her bed in the nursing home while taking multiple medications. I'm glad she got time with all of our kids and that they'll remember her. 

I'm glad we have fun family that takes advantage of opportunities to get together and make more memories. I'm sorry that we won't get to see Nana at the beach this summer. It will be odd to not have her coming out of her room with her walker to ask us if we've eaten yet or what we're up to that day. I'm glad that she didn't linger a long time through her pneumonia, being miserable. I'm glad that we got to celebrate her life. I know it will be a process, and the kids have already mentioned missing her, and that's how it should be as she held a special place in our hearts and lives. 

Nana Carrie, 1927-2018, we love you.

Thanksgiving 2016

We are blessed with incredible neighbors who watched Triskal for Thanksgiving so that we could travel over the river and through the woods to Uncle Kelly and Aunt Becky's house. Thank you SO much, you guys. 

We headed out there Thursday morning and there was hardly anyone on the road. It's not a bad drive by any stretch of the imagination, and we had small cousins waiting on the receiving end.

There was far too much food for 7 adults and 8 kids, and everything was yummy. I think one of my new favorites was a simple 3 ingredient dish which consisted of sliced strawberries with sliced green grapes and chopped mint all mixed together. It was sweet and simple and summery and I couldn't get enough of it! Kind of like the cucumber, tomato, feta cheese salad I had the other day while on a lunch date with Dada, "but that's another story, never mind" ("Into the Woods" reference). 

We had a great time catching up with cousins we hadn't seen since March. Sweet Rosalina is mobile and charms everyone she meets. The cousins played games inside and out and even had a night together with babysitters plural while the adults headed out for the Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith Christmas concert, which was amazing. We had an excellent dinner and enjoyed every minute of the concert while the kids watched "Finding Dory" and had popcorn and played more games. 

Uncle Kelly took all the boys and Carrie on a hike at nearby park to burn some of the stink off. It was cold but it was perfect hiking about weather with several six year old boys, including a classmate we picked up en route.

It was fun to have hills in Indiana, hehe!

Aunt Becky enjoys directing the raising and decorating of the Christmas tree after Thanksgiving, so we got to be part of that this year. Here's the mostly finished result, including Pap:

We headed back home Sunday morning and again had very little traffic. We didn't get dumped on with awful weather, there weren't accidents blocking the highway, everybody was on good behavior and we all made it home safe. Thanks for hosting, Kelly and Becky, in your lovely home, and for doing all the work. Hehe. We had a super time! We love you all and hope you have a blessed Christmas and New Year!

Extra boys in the house

Uncle Kelly and Zach and Pap were all here over the weekend. There is just never enough time to hang out with the people you love. And using any of that precious time to take pictures is not acceptable:

Trying to get two six-year-old boys to stand back to back for a picture of who's taller is quite a feat as well:

However, there was plenty of fun involved as all the menfolk took off for some Saturday Shenanigans while Mama held down the fort with the kids:

Poor Zach trundled along to karate and sparring with us and was either mildly entertained by watching the classes or a good enough sport to not complain about sitting there. 

Once we were home, as it was 74 degrees on an October day, you can surely estimate the number of minutes it took them to end up in the pond, fully clothed, playing with the water pumps. 

This is a shot of them having their lunch on the porch while they're drying off enough to be let back into the house. 

They were the epitome of a Family Circus comic strip featuring Billy's footprints all over the house and grounds. They only reason they weren't in any trees is because all our branches are too high to get up in any. They did play on the rope swing, so close enough. 

The menfolk brought back pizza and then Uncle Kel and Zach had to hit the road home. Pap stuck around another night and then took off Sunday morning. 

I asked Zach why Aunt Becky and Lizzie were headed to St. Louis for the weekend and he informed me they were headed to a funeral. Then he thought about it some more and decided, "no, a wedding. Hmm. A wedding or a funeral." I got confirmation from Uncle Kelly that it was indeed a wedding. 

At any rate, everyone had a good time and Mama needs more Kahlua...

Life is Messy

Apologies to those of you who read this blog for a giggle or an anecdote about the kids and their shenanigans. This is not that post. We've been out of commission for awhile because we were losing and then lost our Grandma Barb who went to be home with the Lord. 

And, clearly, I shouldn't have put on makeup today before I sat down to post this.

Anyway, she fought the good fight against the one-two punch from cancer and Alzheimer's. Her children were all able to visit her in her last earthly days and then she was absolutely surrounded during her viewings and funeral service. She would have absolutely loved the flowers which came from everywhere imaginable. 

And she would have been incredibly touched that those who showed up for her, and for us. She was truly loved and will be sorely missed.

Uncle Kelly delivered the sermon, Uncle Rob and Aunt Jana provided special music, and Dada and Aunt Sherri both contributed personal memories during the service.

None of them are the best pictures ever, but you get the general idea.

There were plenty of tears, but there was also laughter at funny memories and smiles over a life well lived.

And adorable grandchildren.

Afterward, some were more than willing to have pictures taken and some were not.

Back at the house, we had more time to hang out and regroup. The cousins really did have a good time together, as always, and the big people enjoyed each other's company as well.

I don't know what to say that hasn't already been said. The heck with resting in peace. Have a blast in Heaven, Grandma Barb, until we all get there to join you!

We love you and miss you already. 

Barbara Ann 

March 15, 1946- March 10, 2016