The beauty of being 2 months behind on my blogging is that now, as I go through the photos, I get to relive our summer all over again. Some of the memories have already started to fade and others are as strong as if they happened yesterday. Today, these memories are bittersweet. I sit here trying to figure out what I'm going to say for this post. You see, on July 9, Nikolas and I set out for MT, yet again, to spend time with the family back home including our ever-spirited Grandma G. We had a wonderful trip filled with many special moments. That's the sweet part. The bitter part comes with the fact that Grandma G. passed away this week, August 15 to be exact. As much as I anticipate looking through these photos filled with the warmth and love that we shared, I sit here with dread for the emotional journey it will take me on. To say I lost my grandma would be an understatement of all proportions. She was more than my grandma. She was a confidant, a supporter, a teacher, an advisor, a friend. In my darker moments, I wonder how I'm going to go on without her guidance in my life. When I allow the sunshine through, I see how very lucky I was to have such a wonderful woman be such an important part of my life. She had a very full life (88 years!) and she leaves behind a family who knows what it means to be loved. God bless you, Grandma. I'd say that you'll never know how much we're going to miss you, but somehow, I think you do.
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| Grandma and Nikolas |
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| My Grandmas- Grandma O. and Grandma G. |
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| Snuggle time before drifting off to sleep in "Grandma and Grandpa's" motorhome. |
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| Rise and shine, sleepyheads! |
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| Grandma G's 88th birthday celebration. |
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| She's hiding it well, but she can hardly wait to dig into that cake! |
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| Grandma and me |
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| Grandma and Thad |
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| See, what did I tell you?! With Thad as an accomplice, Grandma was sticking her finger right into the cake! |
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| It was fantastic to see grandma acting like a little kid! Look at that mischievous, happy smile! |
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| Grandma and her kids: Davar, Vickie, Mom and Kevin. |
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| My aunts Lynda, Vicky and Vickie with my mom. |
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| Substitute a Lynda for a me and there you have us. |
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| A sweet hug between mother and daughter. |
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| We had GREAT laughs taking turns reading our birthday cards to Grandma. |
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| What a TRUE moment of emotion. LOVE IT. |
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| Thad passing down a USAFA uniform jacket to Nikolas. |
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| Mom and Grandma have spent more than their fair share of days doing bookwork. |
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| Thad arranging Grandma's flowers as she directs him (notice her hand in the foreground!). |
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| I always though it was neat that my mom's birthday is one day after her mom's. Here we celebrate with a meringue dessert (yes, I made that!). |
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| All the silliness....wish I had a photo of what was taking place behind the camera as Vickie was walking up the sidewalk, looking through the window and wondering what we were doing! =) Oh, happy times! |
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| Ready to embark on a hike up the creek to catch some fish! |
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| Mom, Dad, Thad, Nikolas and me. |
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| Hercules Thad holding that entire fallen tree up with one hand. |
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| Grandpa showing Nikolas how it's done. |
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| Do we dare try and cross this high creek?! (I'm thinking, NO NO NO NO!) |
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| That's my mom- what a trooper! |
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| My dad- this photo captures him so well! (If you click on the photo and enlarge it, you can see the little fish he has on at the end of the line!) |
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| My brother. He's just plain funny- even when he doesn't know it. =) |
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| The sound of the rushing waters was so loud! |
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| Grandpa! WHAT are you doing?! Be careful!! |
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| See Nikolas' itty-bitty trout?! |
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| The rain falling through the trees. |
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| I remember doing this hike when I was little. |
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| Some tall, tall trees. |
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| "Country Road, take me home........" |
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| One of my favorite camping spots growing up. |
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| One of my favorite flowers, too- the Indian Paintbrush. |
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| It was neat being able to show Nikolas the place I loved to spend my childhood days. |
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| Thad spotted this moose on our drive home! It was huge! |
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| Cousins: Layne, Lauren and Nikolas |
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| Another mother/daughter moment: Vickie and Kendra. |
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| The Kearns family....well part of them anyway! |
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| Thanks to my grandparents, auctioneering has played an important role in our family. A good friend and customer of Grandma and Grandpa's made this for them many years back. What a true replica it is. |
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| Mom, me and Grandma G. |
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| My mom and her mom. |
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| Nikolas loves to shuck corn. I told him it's not near as much fun when you don't have any cows to feed the it to! |
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| Kids at play. |
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| "Oh yeah?! Watch THIS!" |
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| No frilly stuff for these girls! |
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| Kade left to his own devices. How funny! |
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| My dad and Kade having a real heart to heart. |
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| A twilight view of the mountains from Grandma's house. |
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| The lights on in Grandma's house, but sadly not forever. |
We love you, Grandma. Rest in Peace.
