Thank You

He fought in a war no one wanted.

He saw friend after friend die at the hands of the enemy.

He came home to a country that didn't appreciate his sacrifice.

He will live with the memories the rest of his life.

So that his granddaughters can live in a country that is free.

Thank you Dad. You are and will always be my hero.

30 Day Picture Challenge: Day 19

Day 19:

A picture and a letter

Dear Mom and Dad,

First of all, Mom, please do not hate me forever for posting a photo of your behind.  Its just really hard to find a great photo of you - you are always busy (and avoiding the camera).  Hmm...I wonder where I got that from?  But I treasure these photos because they are you - loving your grandbabies and cherishing moments with your treasures.

Happy Anniversary.  You two are the best example to me of love and commitment through everything.  Through good times.  Through bad times.  Through times where it sure looked easier to walk out, but commitment and love said otherwise. 

You have shown me what it means to be a family.  That family isn't always always blood, but heart.  That family is always there. 

You have loved us kids when we didn't deserve it, when we didn't want it, when we tried to avoid it.  You let us be ourselves, but always reminded us where we came from. 

And now that you are grandparents, I get to watch a completely different side of you.  Thank you for spoiling my children ( Am I really saying this?).  They know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are loved and adored.  Thank you for taking a step back when we have to be tough with them.  I know its hard, but it shows us that you respect us as parents.


When I was little, I could not imagine EVER being friends with my parents.  You were parents, not friends.  Now I understand.  And I love that we can be friends and family together.

I love you both.  Thanks for always being there, for being such great parents.


But please, please stop grabbing each others butts in front of me.  It is still gross.

30 Picture Challenge Day 2

If you missed what my 30 Picture Challenge is, go here.



Day 2:

A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

Obviously, I have been closest to my mom & dad the longest.  They have been, and continue to be, amazing influences on my life.  I am so grateful I can now call them friends.

True Story Tuesday...Faster Daddy!

Remember when Jerome and I went on our wonderful weekend getaway in July? 

Well, one stop we made was in Telluride.  Yes, Telluride, the playground of the rich and famous, summer residence to Oprah and Tom.  That Telluride. 

Home of the wonderful ski area as well.  See the run behind the house?

Well, a long time ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth I was a kid, Telluride was just like all the other little Colorado ski towns.  It hadn't been "discovered" by all the fur-coat wearers.  It was just a great place for locals to ski.  And it was cheap enough that a blended family with three daughters and one son could afford to go together.

I was a baby when I started "skiing".  My mom has photos of her, somewhere, skiing while pregnant with me.  She refuses to give them to me - something about a beehive and polyester.  Anywho, this particular ski trip took place when I was about 2.

Daddy skied down the mountain with me on his shoulders.  I know, he would probably get arrested for child endangerment these days.  But, back then, nobody worried about stuff like that.  We just went out and had fun.

So, we skied down the mountain.  And I discovered that it was great fun to put my hands over Daddy's eyes while we were skiing. 

He didn't think it was so funny.

Mom later wondered how I knew so many cuss words at such a young age.

We blamed it on Grandma.

Have a funny story to share?  A legend that lives on with every family reunion?  Then go visit Rachel & Mr Daddy for more True Story Tuesday!

Thankful Thursday: Veteran's Day

Image Courtesy Google

Today is Veteran's Day.

The day we honor those who have fought bravely to protect our country's freedoms.

Men like my buddy M.  He served his country honorably, and now teaches people to protect themselves. 

Men like my dad, who didn't ask to fight, but did anyways because it was the honorable thing to do.  And has faced the memories every day since.

Men, like my friend T, who is currently d*ployed somewhere in the world, performing tasks you and I will never know about in conditions we would not wish on anyone. 

Men like Billy.  Billy was always the big brother of my friend Michelle.  Billy enlisted to serve his country.  Billy graduated from Blackhawk training in August, and was so excited to fly his first mission.  But, then they discovered cancer.  In his stomach.  And now Billy is in the fight of his life. 

To the men and women of our armed forces:

Thank you.  Thank you for choosing to fight for our country.  Thank you for willingly putting yourself in danger, to keep my family out of it.  Thank you for missing holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, funerals, life, so that my family may enjoy ours without fear. 

Thank you.

True Story Tuesday: Lake Powell or Bust!

We're back!  We had such an amazing time this weekend.  Even though I came home with a cold.  Apparently my immune system did not appreciate going from Colorado Indian Summer (70 high/45 low) to Utah still-summer (95 high/70 low). 

We left after work on Friday.  The trip from Durango to Halls Crossing should take 3 1/2 hours.  Ours took four.  I took a wrong turn in the dark and tried to take us to Mexican Hat.  Never heard of Mexican Hat?  No worries - you're not missing much.  About 5 miles down the road I figured we were going the wrong way (had to be a God whisper, because it was DARK).  We turned around and got back on track.  So what is a weekend at Powell like?  Well, since this is True Story Tuesday, ...

 

It is true...

...that my dad bought snacks at Sam's Club

... which delighted the bottomless pits.

It is true...

... that we rocked the boat shoes all weekend

... that Madison completely enjoyed her role as navigator.

... that Katrina is now addicted to the bumpy front seats.

... that this is not my parents' boat.  What happened to their boat, and whose boat is this? 

Stay tuned...

It is true...

... that our kids hiked a mile to see the famous Rainbow Bridge

... the same bridge I remember swimming under as a kid.  The lake levels have dropped that much.

It is true...

... that Violet had a grand time making mud pies

... and Madi learned proper sand castle construction.

... that Grandpa is a great splashing teacher

... and a worthy water fight opponent.

It is true...

... that Violet can sleep anywhere

... that Madi started to overcome her nervousness around water

... and Katrina left her mark.

It is true...

... that my parents' boat spent all weekend trailered at the little trailer we "camped" in

... because the boat shop that was supposed to get it all ready for this weekend failed to put oil in the outtake (no, not a clue what that means.  I only know it's bad.) and completely tore apart the engine.  We're talking over $3,000 worth of repairs.  Mom and Dad have an appointment with the boat shop tomorrow.

The boat in the photos above?  A rental.  Our boat broke literally minutes outside the marina, the first day Mom & Dad were there.  They spent that entire day (Wednesday) trying to figure out what was wrong with the boat.  Thursday, they hung out on the shore near the marina, but apparently Dad was grumpy because he was at the lake, not on the lake.  So Friday, they rented the boat, in time for the grandbabies.

It is true...

... that Katrina got to open her birthday presents at the lake in the sweet trailer we "camped" in (much better than a tent)

... that we made use of the new "facilities" on the lake

Yes, that is a floating porta-potty.  Totally rocks, if you ask me.

... that I think I found our Christmas card photo for this year

... that I was in awe over the majesty of God's creation

Can you see the boat in this photo?

It is true...

... that this houseboat costs more than my house

and about $1500 to fill up with fuel.

It is true...

... that we got to ride the ferry that goes from Bullfrog Marina to Halls Crossing Marina for the first time

... that we kept all the kids from getting sunburned right up until the last minutes

... that the only time my over-protective Mommy instincts kicked in was when the littles were looking out the porthole on the ferry

... that we had an amazing weekend. 

True Story Tuesday - Hit the Deck!

C'mon people!  You know you have those family legends just dying to get out!  Go on over to Rachel & Mr. Daddy's Once Upon A Miracle for more unbelievably true stories.


I know - I have a whole backload of promised TST posts for y'all (that's my OK roots shinin' through).  Like the one with the homeless guy I talked about last week.  Or when I made a comment on Rachel's Letter of Intent about how cool the Blue Angels are, and how I got to hang out with the pilots a couple of times in the planes.  I had no idea the email firestorm that comment would create!  I promise, Rachel, I will tell that story.  And I found the photos of me in front of the plane.  But the photo of me in the plane is somewhere in the depths of my mom's photo albums.  I will find it and post all about it, I promise.  I plan on going to her house, maybe, this weekend to look for it.  If you don't hear from me by next Tuesday, please call someone.  There are a lot of albums to look through.


Anyways, Rachel's story made me remember a great one about my dad.  Daddy is a Vietnam vet, although he very rarely talks about it.  He drove a tank and was a sniper, amongst other duties.  I always knew he had fought, but the memories/nightmares were still too raw for him when I was little, so I didn't ever hear the stories. 


Our little tiny airport was lucky enough to host an air show for a few years.  It was really, really cool.  Especially for the airplane-junkie child I was.  Dad took me every year, and made sure we were there early so I could talk to the pilots and get close to the planes. 


One year, they had a huge gathering of WWII-era aircraft.  German, Japanese, American, and European aircraft were all on display.  Then, the pilots of these awesome aircraft took to the skies for a demonstration of WWII air battle tactics and capabilities. 


We were in awe, watching these ancient (in my mind) aircraft performing stunning displays.  One American bomber lined up to make a low pass over the runway & concourse area, to demonstrate how the bombing runs were done.  We watched him circle far above and south of the airport, line himself up, then drop in a beeline towards the ground.  We knew (from being there way in advance & talking to the pilot) that the guns were functional, and loaded with blanks for the display.  Dad and I watched the plane drop closer to us and the earth, eagerly anticipating the rat-a-tat-tat of the guns.


And then the runway exploded.


We had no idea they had rigged a pyrotechnics display to coordinate with the bombing run, so that when the guns blasted, a corresponding explosion would occur on the ground.  I jumped about a mile high, then quickly looked over at my dad for reassurance.


He was face-first, belly flat on the ground.


At the first explosion, all those years of war training kicked in, and his instincts told him to "Hit the deck!"  So he did. 


Surrounded by hundreds of spectators.


At first Mom and I thought he had hurt himself, so we quickly got down to see if we could help.  The only thing hurt on that man was his pride.


As he rose to his feet, he wiped himself off with a laugh.  We still like to tease him about his instincts. 

True Story Tuesday - Is it Raining?

Our week was/is insane.  Just to prove the point, here's the evening schedule:

Saturday: birthday party
Sunday: Mother's Day
Monday: Girl's Book Club (alternatively titled: Dads' Night to Solo Parent)
Tuesday: 1st Men's Softball Game
Wednesday:  Katrina's First T-Ball Game (woohoo!)
Thursday:  T-Ball Fundraiser Spagetti Dinner (can't forget to make the pies...)
Friday: Home Group @ our house - Game night
Saturday:  uhh...do we really have a free night?


All that to say, my posts may be few and far between this week, but I finally remembered a great story from my past that I could not pass up for today.





Join Rachel & Mr. Daddy over at Once Upon A Miracle for more *mostly* true stories!

When I was about 13, my parents and I took a trip to Niagara Falls.  Well, actually, my dad won a trip to Montreal through work.  We decided to take a side trip to Niagara because, well, we were on that side of the country anyways! 


We stayed at this amazing hotel that was right on the falls.  Literally.  You could feel the mist when you walked out onto the balcony, and hear the roar of the water throughout the night. 


Needless to say, Dad and I spent a lot of time on that balcony watching the water.  Mainly because we were impatiently waiting for Mom to get herself ready, but that's another story.

Why put on makeup when you are going to a giant waterfall and all the makeup is going to disappear anyways?

Ahem.  I digress.


Anyways, one morning, we noticed that the row of newspaper boxes was directly underneath our balcony.  And, being the good little rednecks that we are, we made a game.  It was a really fun game.  Want to know what it was called?


Who can spit on the newspaper box?

Remember, I was, and still am, Daddy's girl.  I set out to do anything Dad could.  Other than the peeing while standing.  Still haven't been able to figure that one out...


Ahem.  Again.


So, we are happily spitting and giggling, admiring our launches of bodily fluids as they dropped to the earth.  For those of you who would like to know, the US News box was worth 5 points.  The local paper was worth 3.  And the local version of the Thrifty Nickel was worth 1.  In case you want to play later.


Dad was ahead in the count, of course, but I was determined to stage the comeback to end all comebacks and earn the championship.  Seriously, we are that competitive about everything.  Even spit.  So I dug as deep into my little 13 year old flem-producing regions would allow, and hocked the loogie to end all loogies.  It floated perfectly through the air.  Right on target.  The wind died miraculously just as I spit, allowing my flem to travel in the God-given straight path direct toward victory.


And then we saw the hand.


And then the arm.


And then this fabulously bald head, creeping towards the box.


You know those really horrible wrecks you drive by, or the disasters you see on TV?  The ones so horrific that you just can't turn away?  Yup, that was Dad & I.  Choking back laughs and hitting each other and trying to stay silent as the flem projectile locked in on its target.


And nailed that fabulously bald head.


We avoided eye contact with any bald man we saw for the rest of the trip. 


Mom was so horrified she didn't talk to us for at least two hours.


But I won.

Parades, Fireworks, and Birthday Cakes!

WARNING: LOTS AND LOTS OF PICTURES!!!!

I love the 4th of July! It is, I think, the only holiday where you get to spend the entire day as a family, just having fun. You don't have to worry or stress about all the other stuff that goes along with the other holidays. And, it's my mom's birthday. Double bonus!

Every year, we do the same thing for the 4th. I know, I know. Boring to you. But so fun for us!

We got the girls up and dressed in their special shirts and had breakfast before leaving the house. Daddy also bought the girls new sunglasses, so we had to try them out.












After breakfast, we loaded up the minivan and headed to Bayfield. It's a little town outside of Durango, and filled with patriotic spirit. Every year they have a pet parade, parade, town fair, and fireworks show. We got to Bayfield by 8:15. The parade didn't start till 10 - but we had to make sure we got our good spots!

Kate (our friends' Mark & Jill's daughter) and Madison entertained themselves quite well waiting for the parade. I walked down the street and bought homemade strawberry & rhubarb jam from one of the church's women's groups. Yum!







We always sit in front of the Pine River Valley Times office, the local newspaper. This year, they gave all the kids free cookies! Oh happy day! This is, from left to right, Celine (Jerome's sister), Katrina, our niece Vanessa, and Madi.







Apparently, Madison took the parade very seriously this year.







Violet didn't really care much for the parade. Once she was shot with a water cannon, she was pretty much grumpy for the rest of the time.







After the parade we walked down to the fair. I find it entertaining that Celine, age 15, and Vanessa, age 8, are the same height.







Madison insisted upon walking with Papa, which I didn't mind because it made a cute picture. He is a Shriner, and every year they ride their little trucks, the Tin Lizzies, in the parade. This year, they all lined up in front of Mom DURING THE PARADE, stopped, and sang her Happy Birthday in front of everyone. She acted embarrassed, but I think she secretly enjoyed it.







While at the fair we bought a whole herd of snow cones for some very hot and tired girls...







then went back to my folks house for some ribs...






...and brownie cupcakes.




















The granddaughters "helped" Grandma open her presents...






Then we headed to the high school to watch the fireworks. But what fireworks display would be complete without a trip to the bathroom...






...glowsticks...






... and a little snack?

"Goldfish? What Goldfish?"

Hope you and yours had a safe and fun 4th of July. God bless America!