Minnesota: Part 4

During one of our last mornings in Minnesota we were at the dock fishing and Grafton decided he wanted to get in the lake. He was happy to jump in, but was not prepared for the cool water, mud, and seaweed. I think he was expecting it to feel more like our pool!

Once he got over the initial shock, we spent a good amount of time in the water catching minnows and finding sea shells.

We also adopted a pet while we were there, Speedy the Turtle. My sister-in-law found him on the side of the road and we took him back to my in-laws. We kept him for a day and then returned him to the lake.

Not only did Deklan experience his first boat ride on our trip, but he also went on his first four-wheeler ride with his Grandpa. He cooed the entire time and was not ready for his ride to end.

As relaxing as vacation can be, it is also exhausting! One afternoon the grandkids settled on their grandparents bed to watch TV and Grafton could not keep his eyes open for long.

Minnesota: Part 3

A few weeks before our arrival, my in-laws purchased a play-house for the grandkids. In order to make it a little more homey, the grandkids put on Home-Depot hats and their grandfather's T-Shirts and painted the inside. They took it pretty seriously and actually did a good job!

The following day we went to a cute little town called Nisswa and spent the day shopping. Outside one of the shops was a mechanical horse and it only cost 10 cents a ride.

We were in Paul Bunyan land, so Blue the ox was also there on display.

Minnesota: Part 2

One of the most memorable parts of our trip to Minnesota was that Deklan went on his first boat ride. We knew it would be windy, so we tried to get him to wear some sunglasses that my Mother-in-law had, but they didn't last long.

Even with the wind in his eyes, Deklan still loved being on the boat.

We celebrated the 4th of July by watching fireworks on the lawn of a golf course at a nearby resort. We had been very busy that day and Grafton fell asleep halfway during the display. However, he throughly enjoyed the fireworks that he saw!

The weather was perfect during our visit and we took advantage of it by eating outside.

Every evening, except two, we walked down to the neighboring resort and had ice cream. Grafton ordered the Superman flavor in a cone (he insisted on not having a bowl), but the Peppermint Bon Bon was my favorite.

Minnesota: Part 1

It's been a hectic few weeks since we arrived home from Minnesota, so I am finally getting the chance to blog about it now. I'm going to write about our trip in a few parts in order than I don't overload you with too many pictures.

Vince, the boys, and myself left on July 1st along with Vince's sister Rhonda and her two girls, Regen & Ramzee.

This was Deklan's 3rd trip on a plane, but the first time he was old enough enjoy looking out the window.

Once we arrived at the airport in Minneapolis, Grafton asked, "Is this Minnesota?"

During our visit we all stayed at my in-laws home. For a few of the days all of the siblings, spouses, and grandkids were staying there, which totaled up to 15 of us in one house!

One of the best parts of being there is that my in-laws live right on a lake and the kids would go fishing on and off throughout the day.

On July 3rd we celebrated Regen's 9th birthday with a 4th of July Hawaiian themed Birthday Party.

Deklan happily enjoyed the party by playing on the floor with an empty water jug. He also enjoyed the sugar cookies we ate with red, white & blue frosting on them.

Our Little House-Guest

From Sunday after church until Monday evening, my nephew Levi stayed with us while his parents were in New York.

With the exception of a few arguments between Grafton and Levi, we had a really good time. We were able to go to Peter Piper Pizza, the movies, Target, and our play-group. We also spent time at home swimming, watching movies, making shapes from play-dough, building towers, playing video games, and putting puzzles together.

I'm sure we'll be inviting him over for a sleep-over in the near future.

Grieving & Laughing

Last night while we were having dinner I was talking to Vince about my Grandma and suddenly a big cry came on. Grafton looked at me and asked what was wrong. I told him I was okay but that I missed my Grandma. What he said next was the sweetest thing and actually made me laugh.

His reply was, "Mom, I wish I were a Super Hero so that you could ride on my back and I could take you up there and you could see Grandma anytime you want."

I don't think there could have been a better response out there!

A Time to Mourn

My blogging has been in hiatus the last couple of weeks. Mostly because we were in Minnesota from July 1-10th. The morning that we were getting ready to fly home my Mom called and said that my Grandma (my Step-Dad's Mom) had a stroke in the middle of the night, but we didn't know how serious it was. By the time our plane landed her condition had worsened and the doctors said there was nothing that could be done.

A few minutes after arriving home my sister (Rachel), brother-in-law, and myself headed to the hospital and were able to pray over her, read her Psalms 121 (her favorite chapter from the Bible), sing, and talk to her for a while. She was hooked to a breathing tube and looked very pitiful, but did squeeze our hands and even opened her eyes a little a few times.

We thanked her for never treating us like "step-grandchildren" and let her know how much we appreciated her always showing up at school performances, church programs, and birthday parties. I didn't actually tell her good-bye because I was still hopeful for a miracle, but she went home to be with Jesus the next morning after I saw her.

My Grandma has been an inspiration to me because she raised 5 boys with such grace and ease. Her cooking was second to none and I'll never forget her potato salad at Easter, homemade pies at Thanksgiving, and chocolate fudge at Christmas. Her faith in God was solid and never unwavering.

Yesterday was her memorial service and many stories were shared of my Grandma's generosity, beautiful spirit, and love of her family. All of the granddaughters were able to pick out one of her scarves and I'm still trying to decide how I want to display mine and honor the elegant woman she was.

Today we had a service at the grave-site and my Step-Dad and Uncle Tim shared some words about her and my sister, Hannah, played the guitar and sang a song she wrote for Grandma while wearing one of her scarves.

Although my heart is filled with sadness, and I wonder how my Grandpa will recover after losing his spouse of 59 years, I take comfort in the fact that we will be reunited in Heaven someday.

Until then Grandma, I will remember and love you always.