Happy Birthday America!!!

We are celebrating the 4th of July and even though it is a bit soggy we've had a fun time. Started with a fun family celebration on Sunday, then a day of running around visiting and then back at it celebrating today with a parade! Now everyone is heading home.

Our little FIRECRACKER!

O.N.E.

Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild. ~Welsh Proverb

Can you believe she is ONE? Me neither...it has been a whirlwind. She is an incredible "little person". She LOVES being outside with the wind blowing in her face. She enjoys her pup dog (though there are battles brewing). She is loving and lovable. She is intensely inquisitive and quite the quick learner, she gets focused and must be re-directed to keep her out of "trouble". She is vocal. She has blue eyes. She's serious. She love, love, loves Peek-a-boo. She is walking, she is crawling, she is trying to run. She eats sweet potatoes, butternut squash and acorn squash; however, she loves "boob" the most! She is the bombdiggity and we feel incredibly blessed beyond measure to be called La and Be.

She was certainly interested in that cupcake! Momma did let her have an itty bitty taste of the frosting which she did not seem all that excited about.

Her momma had these words to say...

Without a doubt, this past year has been the best year of my life. 
Because of you, I am a mom. Something I have always dreamed of being.
Because of you, I know the deepest meaning of love.
Because of you, I strive to be the best I can be.
Because of you, I feel complete.
my daughter, have changed my life in the absolute best way possible.
I read somewhere that having a child is like letting your heart walk around outside of your body.
That couldn’t be more true.
It’s amazing to see how much you have changed over the past year.
You went from an ittty bitty 6lb baby to a walking and talking one year old.
You went from sleeping away the day snuggled in my arms to climbing on me like I’m a jungle gym.
You went from reaching at objects on your play mat to learning how to wavy bye bye and give high fives.
You went from baby cooes to babbling to your first words, dada and mama.
You went from rolling, to crawling to walking!
You went from being a baby to being considered a toddler (even though you will always be my baby).

Holiday Happiness

It was fast and furious and foggy but we made it. The SuperTrooper got off in the wee early morning hours so MiRV drove us on the first leg. I'm not sure anyone got any sleep. There might have been some dozing though. Once we reached I-29 the fog was better but still lingering. Long about Kansas City we changed drivers and finally pulled into the Grands about 9 a.m. Quick snack and then naps all around. Once we had a little rest it was then off to the Christmas Day celebration at Aunt Turtles.

I do believe Trigger had quite an exciting First Christmas with her Missouri cousins. She was very social and did pretty awesome all the way around! She took a great nap before presents were opened so she was all into ripping that paper. Though putting the paper in her mouth and playing with the boxes was way more fun than any gifts she got. Of course, that always seems to be the way it is with little ones this age. It was a quick turn and burn as we spent the day after visiting the farm Grands, having a quick Grill burger lunch then on to an evening with just the Littles and a pizza party before heading off to the North. So glad that we were all able to be home for Christmas we had not all been home together since 2007. Wow! We will take off later this week for a quick southern jaunt and unfortunately it doesn't seem like it will be warmer this time.

TurkeyTrot 2016

It WAS early, too early, cold, too cold but we loaded up and off we went with a thermos full of hot chocolate and LOTS of layers headed to Joplin for the Turkey Trot  2016 5K. The weather was really not that bad, temps were rising, however, the wind was just a bit too breezy whipping down Main Street like a banshee.

The Littles did the 1 mile fun run at 7:30 a.m. then the rest of the runners ran at 8:00. I was the designated baby holder. And hold I did; we kept each other warm. Thankfully, City Hall was open so we hung out in there until the first runners from our group were almost to the finish line. Went out to see them, then back into the warmth waiting for the next finishers. It was a full house. Over 1500 registered. They reopened registration not once but twice. Craziness. 

The 5K runners...pre race

The non 5K runners...see Trigger there all snuggled up? We were cozy!

First wave of finishers...

MiRV went back to run with each of the girls to encourage them to the end!

Our crew with our pirate patches!

Once everyone finished some had more coffee, hot chocolate and or KrispyKreme Donuts; some opted for just water then we loaded back up and headed north. Turkey Day dinner would soon be ready. We headed to the Grands to get cleaned up and then headed to the table and all was good!

Happy Thanksgiving! It is really the best holiday...lots to be thankful for and no gifts to buy.

MooMoos, OinkOinks and Baaas

There was so much to look at and her little head was like a swivel trying to take it all in. It was hot, very hot. We were encroaching on her bedtime but I think her visit to the county fair barns was a success and fun. She will not remember it at all but we shall tell her about it... First, we watched the bucket calves being shown in the main arena. Then we headed out to the various livestock barns. Very well kept grounds and nicely maintained facilities for sure.

 

MooMoos

 OinkOinks

 This young exhibitor even let her touch his ewe! She was nonplussed!

 



She fell asleep before we made it to the horse barn, so we took in some of the other exhibit buildings while she napped and then headed back over to the neigh neighs after she woke up. She didn't seem too interested or impressed; much to her mother's dismay. The first time we walked through the horse barn the horses were quite noisy and their whinnying startled her a bit but she just laid her head back down and kept snoozing! Not much gets in between this child and her bedtime.

Snoozing!

 



Hay Minions even made it!

Our own little horse girl!

 

Just the girls!

We enjoyed the sights and sounds of the Gage County Fair and maybe someday we will watch our little Trigger as an exhibitor, I think her mother definitely plans on that in the future! We look forward to it. Love those girls so very much!

JULY + MO = H.O.T

Oh good Lord it's warm, okay HOT, really HOT like heat index in triple digits. I don't really care for this kind of heat.. So remind me why are we here in Missouri again in July. Ugh, oh yeah, commitments. Well, next time let's work on NOT having them in July. Anyway, this month is just half over and we've been keeping busy. We brought in the 4th without a bang, went to T-town to meet friends, have made a couple trips to KC and have been keeping the yards mowed. It's never dull around here for sure. Being here has let us catch up on some mail ordering since we can easily get our mail so that's a perk I suppose we should be thankful for even in the extreme heat!

I am also thankful for AC! Though it's gotta be tough on the unit to be running so much just glad it does cool down and pretty quickly. We have had our needed oil change and service B on ROADA so we are ready to roll, well, after we get some new front shoes. Yes, ROADA needs new front tires. We are trying to make that happen now. Thought we had it worked out when we were in for our service appointment but it ended up being a no go. We are also replacing our non-working TV antenna, fashioning a new door screen and working on improving our window coverings as well as looking into better insulation in the door and a few other areas. Continuous improvement is the name of the game for ROADA. Always looking at how to make her the most functional for the way we live.

We will hopefully be wrapping up MO business and move on out sometime in August but it could very well be September. We are flexible like that. However, we do hope to be in NM in October for the Balloon Fiesta and then continue westward for the winter. Cali or bust :) finally, Lord willing. Course we have a stronger pull back to the Midwest with Trigger, who is growing like a weed and we can't wait to see her again next week. She is 5 months old today.

Can't believe it's already been 5 months! We love you Trigger!

Red Birds and Water

So the Daughter came to MO to see the Red Birds! What fun and Trigger attended her first MLB game in KC just like her mamma did! They were nearly the same age, though her mamma was a just a bit older. But it was a fun time. We had awesome seats! Trigger's head was swiveling with all the new sights and sounds. She slept through several innings and was awake for the loud win. She didn't care so much for all that noise but she did great!

 

Seeing the Royals play the Cardinals was pretty slick. Last year Daughter and hubby went to STL to see the Cards play about this same time. They won, they won last night, too. Maybe this will become a new family tradition for them...Kaufman Stadium was awesome. I have always enjoyed the K though it's been a long while since I have been at a game; it is always entertaining. It is a first class venue for sure We visited the new Hall of Fame building, nicely done, saw both World series trophies that the Royals have.

Honestly, we usually cheer Royals but tonight we were sporting the Red with Daughter. Trigger was a good little fan, really only fussed twice. She did have a bit of a tough time with the drive over and back from the hotel but I think she was tired of car riding for the day! And KC traffic was a bit slow and backed up as it often is around 5 p.m. especially on a game day it made it challenging to get across town in a timely fashion. However, we all survived!

 

This morning Trigger took her first dip in a real pool. She thought it was all right. She loved bath time already so she probably thought she was in the biggest bathtub ever since the water was really warm. After a nice playtime, she had bath time and we made tracks south.

Everyone is settled in and ready for a booming 4th with the famdamily this weekend!

Door County

What a good day to spend in such a beautiful area. Lots of lighthouses and the drive while not as lush as MI was still a nice one. The best part of course was the stop at Wood Orchard. It was cherry EVERYTHING. We sampled lots of yummy things and ended up with tasty apples, cherry donuts and strudel. Prior to this stop we popped in the Renard's Cheese and loaded up with curds, block cheese and cherry wine. In fact, we just went ahead and had cheese for lunch right there in their parking lot! What I especially liked about both these establishments was that they are family owned. So friendly, had pride in their business and offered plenty of samples so you knew what you were getting. Prices were fair and taste was delicious. However, cherry wine will be a no go for me. It's just hard to find good wine when you have lived in wine country...

Driving through Door County was quite an experience. it was diverse and very rural, lots and lots of crop land and lots and lots of orchards, apple and cherry! The little towns each had their own flavor and while we did not stop at everyone we did note how clean and well kept they were. Most had a very welcoming feel. Some also leaned toward the tourist, others catered toward the artsy-fartsy crowd, all were fun to explore I'm sure. At the very end of the peninsula known as Door County there is a ferry to Washington Island and then you can take another ferry to Rock Island which is just beyond Washington Island. I think we need to go again and plan a day just to hop on over to these two islands. I understand there are lighthouses, fields of lavender and it's perfect for biking.

Anyway, it was a full day of taking in the sights, sounds and taste of Door County. It was a beautiful day for travel and we had one of the best fish dinners we've had on the whole trip. It was super good, fresh and friend just right. Generous portions, good fries and a nice piece of Rye bread made it a complete meal. You cannot go wrong eating at Red's Pub & Grill in Algoma, Wisconsin. The lake view is pretty sweet and if the weather is nice they even have outdoor seating.

YUM!!!

 

The after dinner walk was to this lighthouse, another awesome day of living the dream and knowing how truly blessed we are. Now it's off to Iowa! I know we are about to encounter the dreaded Midwest heat :/ Seeing Trigger will take some of the burn away, but I am not looking forward to the heat at all, only seeing her takes some of the sting away.

Mile Marker Thirty as in 3 - 0!

Another milestone...

 St Mark's Lighthouse - Florida...March 2015

MiRV and I started our journey over thirty years ago...we met in 1982. We weren't even friends. In 1983 that changed, in 1984 we were engaged and in 1986 married. And as they say the rest is history.  So here we are and it's 30 years later since that day. Can you say W-O-W?

I won't say I didn't think this day would come but really you don't give much thought to these milestones when you are saying "I do". Of course, I firmly believe in the "until death do us part" part. And certainly we have had our ups and downs, happiness and sadness, rewards and disappointments, we have had to work through issues, we still work hard at our marriage...every day. It is ongoing; it is a choice.  Marriage is not maintenance free, there is definitely upkeep, everyday really. If you do not keep up your marriage, I can promise you it will get away from you and there could be serious suffering.

I will be the first to tell you we are not always living the dream (GASP) or the happily ever after that you might think. Some would say that we tend to present that image. I would argue that you see what you choose to see. I also think we make a conscious choice to NOT air our dirty laundry so to speak. Have we discussed, in limited talk, our marriage with others? Sure, but I think we wisely guard our words. We were given good advice early on that spewing words of anger or disappointment to others is not something you should do with others...unless of course you rented their ears (professional counseling). Therefore, there are very, VERY few people you can or should confide in who will be able to let go of what you say when things have righted in your world. That person who you shared your moment of anger with just doesn't forget what you told them and sometimes there can be tension in the aftermath. It's just not a good idea to abundantly "share" about the your marital life so be careful who you chat with when you are spun up. For certain there might be a very good friend who can handle it but I still would be cautious and hesitant to recommend it.

 MiRVs first look at our daughter - OKC...March 1991

Our greatest joy and challenge has been the birth and rearing of the Daughter. She holds our heart; she is amazing. She has blessed us with another incredible chapter in our lives as she became a mother earlier this year and gave us a granddaughter. This my friends is beyond words...we have never loved so deeply. We are in love with her and relish being BeBe and LaLa. There are just not enough words for our newest love. What an indescribable joy we are experiencing...

 Our first look at our granddaughter - NE...March 2016

It is good that our lives our enriched with additions. We are thrilled to have so many family and friends who play such a crucial role in our lives. We know it is much better living life with others and we have a wonderful groups of "others" who love and inspire us, who hold us accountable, who encourage and love on us. We are blessed no doubt. We pray that our daughter continues to grow roots in her community and finds those others to do and enjoy life with to team up with to make memories to get through the good, the bad and the ugly.

This child...

The other crucial KEY factor in reaching this mark, I believe, is our faith. I won't even be so bold as to say our "strong" faith because there were (still are) days we felt our faith waiver. We have had our moments of crisis (still do). However, if we would not have had what I call a solid foundation and relationship with Jesus I feel we could have been in trouble. He has sustained and encouraged us in hard times, sad times. He is faithful, even when we are not. We are Christ followers and know without a doubt this is an integral part of any part of our successful marriage. I would not even want to speculate where we would be without Jesus.  I am thrilled to have done life with MiRV these last 30 years and look forward to many more years together. Life is good, not easy, not perfect, not without struggles but it IS good!

 

Union Covered Bridge - Missouri back road...May 2016

#30yesreally30yearsofmarriage
#sustaininglove

Mother's Day

 

This year our daughter will enjoy her first Mother's Day. Her journey has not been long as a mother but what a challenge it has been...she has already proven she is up for the task. She is meeting each challenge and overcoming. Every day, sometimes minute by minute as is often the case with a newborn there are struggles and hers are real. Someday she will, as most seasoned moms do, look back and realize it was such a small blip in her child's life but right now she is living and breathing the harder part of parenting. Well, that is until the teen or tween years begin...

And thank you for making me a grandmother, it is AWESOMENESS!

Shaken NOT Stirred

We are back with Trigger for a few days and it's funny how you get to know her current likes and dislikes. This girl likes movement. She is definitely taking after her mamma in that respect. She loves to be in motion, so we find ourselves shaking her so to speak and she is very satisfied with that! If she's happy we're happy. She is so full of smile especially when getting a new diaper!

 

This girl enjoys her nap time and LaLa and I have been enjoying them with her!

Love that girl!

Trigger Days!

Oh good heavens I can't get enough of this little one! Since it had been just over two weeks since we had seen our girl we decided a road trip was in order. Life is good when you are holding a sweet baby girl! Love her cute smiles!

 She has been with us for TWO months...doesn't seem possible.

Love, loved, loved our time with her. A few appointments in the City plus a little apartment sitting gig has us tied up for a few weeks but we will see her again soon when she comes to the City in just a few more days.

Happy Easter!

What a fun day...actually, we did something a little different this year. We had our Easter family dinner yesterday. Little nontraditional but it seemed to work for everyone; so, whynot? The food this year was also not our normal fare, not sure I can buy off on that next year...I mean I like fried chicken and potato salad (traditional and loaded), mac n cheese, and orzo salad, I'm just not quite certain they are my choice for Easter. Can you say, HAM? Next year if I am here there WILL BE ham!

When her LaLa made a trip to Lincoln last month he came home with this little outfit. This could be proof that we really should not allow him to shop for her unsupervised, this is only one of several things that made its way home with him that day...

 

 There was even a bunny tail on the bum! Her mamma made the tutu and hair bow. It didn't phase her to be posed in the eggs...

Happy Easter!!!

This morning our little Trigger made it to her first church service...she slept through it just as her mother did some 25 years ago. We then enjoyed BBQ for lunch and an afternoon of basketball watching. She had the most awake time ever today. She also fought sleep afterwards.

 

Meeting church folks.

Wearing her Easter dress and relaxing with G-Pa while mamma and daddy napped.

#Trigger

CELEBRATE Trigger!

What a sweet time we had with kinsfolk as we celebrated Trigger joining our family. So many took time to come and welcome her it was a totally wonderful morning of making memories.

 

In the que to hold Trigger

She was not a party animal at all, in fact, she slept through most of the commotion,  and excitement. She was quite the laid back party honoree...

 Hostesses with the mostest!

Thankful for such abundant love showed this precious little one. She will not be lacking for clothing, nor bibs or toys for several months! And what she might be lacking her mamma has some great gift cards to spend! What a blessing this gathering was with lots of laughter, yummy cake and baby holding!

Trigger meets some of the famdamily!

A few weeks ago there was an opportunity to see family so we took a little road trip. This was a full day but a neat day for Trigger. She got to meet aunts, cousins and her GiGi. Lunch at her mamma's current favorite restaurant was a bonus.

 With GiGi

 With her Auntie and theLittles

The others were just as taken with her and everyone enjoyed meeting her. All the great aunts from her mamma's side were there as well. It was just a really beautiful day and lots of lovin' went on with this little girl. She certainly had a big welcome to the family and came home with a whole new Spring/Summer wardrobe along with a few other things that will be fun to have as she grows.

She was an excellent traveler. Having ROADA to hang out in was very nice and provided plenty of space for her to stretch out, gave her mamma a place to to nurse her and others to come in and visit with her. She got her first state on this trip! Iowa has been checked off.

She made another trip just a few days ago traveling all the way to Missouri. She also added two additional states on this journey; Kansas as well as Missouri are now checked off. She was an excellent traveler once again her mamma said.

This trip allowed her to meet the rest of her GreatGrands. Talk about some very proud and excited folks, the smiles were big and wide as this meetin' and greetin' took place. She is certainly loved that is no doubt.

 Meeting Great Grandad and Great Grandma M

She also got to spend time with G-Pa and has been dubbed his Sweet Pea.

 

Lots of talking going on here.

In between meeting all her GreatGrands in the last 24 hours she had time to make her first trip to Grill! She slept through the whole experience...this kid is racking up experiences she will never remember but the rest of us will. We will tell her these stories over and over in the years to come, she is so little and so much fun to love. It's awesomeness.

White Grill

It was a great time and Trigger is being loved on from everyone. There is so much more in store this weekend, stay tuned.