It has been a month since the last post. So much has happened in that month that just seemed to encompass all that we did. I barely took pictures in all that time. But I wanted to post today. Especially today.  Going back….

I have some pix from the CousinPalooza week. It turns out that Ashley’s back walking skills are appreciated by more than Daddy. Uncle Bill took a turn under her skilled feet (I would say “little feet”, but since she wears the same size shoe as Kayla I would be lying).

After such treatment, Uncle Bill needed to kick back and relax. I think he needs a bigger chair…

All of that stomping and reclining makes the men hungry. Hmmm……pulled pork…aaahhhh….

During this last month, we also discovered a new visitor to our yard. We have a large drain tile attached to a downspout to divert the water away from the house. Since we had a fairly long dry spell, it seemed the tile served another purpose.

Every morning for a couple of weeks I saw this bunny sitting at the end of the tile. Later in the day, we would find brown grass and piles of raisins. I looked into the end one day and saw a bunny butt inside. The girls named it CinnaBunny.

One morning, we woke up to find the tile knocked off and disturbed. We didn’t see CinnaBunny for a while. But then I walked out this morning in the pre-dawn hours and saw a larger CinnaBunny dart away from the tile into the neighbor’s yard. Not sure how long he will try to fit inside of that thing. We are also going to get some serious heavy rain tonight, so I hope CinnaBunny has good flood insurance on the place…

Last week Wednesday, Kayla endured one of the many teen rights of passage.

Before….

After…..

So begins about 12-14 months of metal fun for Kayla. She has been a trooper about the whole thing, even when her teeth are still a little sore today.

And so we come to today, the day we said our goodbyes to Great-Grandma. The girls did such a nice job with all that was asked of them. Ashley practiced her “Over the Rainbow” song so many times, running through it at least 7 times just this morning, so that she could play it well for the service. She did and it was lovely. Kayla read Psalm 23 for all of us. She did it with poise and grace, although she did stand in her “flamingo pose” – her right foot up on her left knee. Kevin read aloud their letter to Great-Grandma. The girls composed this together. I typed it up for them, but I didn’t help them or change their words in any way. This came from the two of them together. I will copy it here for those who would like to see it:

Dear Great-Grandma,

You were sweet, loving, and every time we saw you, you would do something nice for us like sneak us some Raisinets or Mint Oreos. We will remember playing the marble game. All of us have played, except for Rhys. It was nice going over to your house, because every time we went over you asked if we had been on any trips, how school was going, did we like our last concerts, were we feeling ok. You were one of the nicest people because you always were willing to listen. We are very lucky that we got to know you unlike other kids who did not get to meet their great-grandmas. The 5 little boys may not remember you, but they at least got to meet you and will get to see pictures and hear stories. We wish your 3 great-grandchildren in Florida who never knew you would have gotten to know you, because you were such a nice and loving great-grandma.

We’re glad every one of your great-grandchildren got to meet you because you loved us all dearly. We’re sad that you’re gone and we will miss you.

Love,

Kayla & Ashley

The weather was beautiful, the service was lovely, and seeing all of the family and friends who came out was very uplifting. I realized how lucky we are, having all of this family and the people who helped us just because we asked (THANK YOU Kim and Patricia!). I echo the girls in saying that we will miss you Great-Grandma, so much. Thanks to Shannon, here is a picture that I had to re-post.

Great-Grandma and her two “things”:

Finally, even in a day filled with sadness, there can be bright spots. Apparently, Ashley was really hungry by the time we got to the luncheon. While she waited for her food, she was doodling on the table paper.

It worked!