Together time

The Kelly clan spent the weekend together at Camp Davey. It was time for the cousins to be together, and for Jeff to be surrounded by a family that loves him dearly. I know it had to be hard for him. Nancy's touch can be seen in every corner of every room at Davey.  It was tough for me- so I can't imagine.

Friday night after unloading and unpacking, I took the kids outside to wonder and build a fort. When we came back in for dinner, I half expected Nancy to be in the kitchen with her apron on, telling the children to wash up. But she wasn't. She wasn't there to chat after dinner. Or to read a book to Evie or to play games with the older kids. She wasn't there to wash off Evie prints from the windows or glass tops. She wasn't there to send the dogs outside when they got playful. She wasn't there to share a glass of wine with or reminisce about old family stories.

I missed her. We all miss her so much.  Kwynn confided that Davey just wasn't the same.  I agreed.

Last night as I thought about our weekend at Davey and how strange it felt. I realized that we are still grieving her loss. And that even though right now Davey doesn't feel right, it will. And we will find comfort in all the little things of Nancy that make up Davey. Her books, furniture pieces we found together at garage sales, rugs she picked out, little fabric bunnies selected for the girls' room, her aprons in kitchen drawer...

She is everywhere at Davey. Our children have 12 years of memories with her out there. From watching the cows come in from the pasture at night, to cuddling on the bed reading Donkey Donkey,  playing board games after dinner and learning Mexican Train. Birthday parties, family holidays and get togethers. She loved her family there, cooked meals for us there, was our mom and grandma there.

She will always be with us at Davey. 

Refusing to say goodbye

My children have been extremely blessed! They were born with 5 grandmas! Five remarkably wonderful strong women that have set such great examples for the girls. In 2012 we lost two, my great grandma Corinne at 100 and John's grandma Tillie at 96. And even though they are gone, we've never said goodbye. They are still with us in our thoughts, our memories, our stories. We reminisce about them and smile. Our hearts are warmed with a feeling of peace. Yes, we're sad they are gone, but peacefully content knowing they are watching over us. I see traits of my grandma and Tillie in the girls and I love it. I love knowing that in the short amount of time they were together, a bond was made. Evie is being raised on memories and stories of her grandmas. She identifies them in pictures. It's important she knows where she comes from and those guiding her.

I mentioned last year that my mother in law is battling breast cancer for a third time. It's a horrible disease and to win the fight once is amazing, but twice!? Miraculous! We have no way of knowing what this time will bring. When we found out her odds weren't good, our hearts broke. She is the backbone and glue of the Kelly family. We pray for her daily and hope for a miracle. But no matter what happens, we won't say good bye. She will be with us always. I look around our home and so many things are tied to memories of her. Our kitchen table and chairs where she fed her family for years, a bench on the front porch where she sat giggling and talking with the twins last fourth of July, a photo of her and Evie from the family photos we had taken a few years ago. This blog (some days I wrote just for her).

I love you, Nancy. I want you to know that. I want you know that you are an amazing example to me. Showing me how to be a wife, a mother, a friend, and how to be generous and giving. You are more skilled in the kitchen than I will ever be, but you've taught me so much. You are an amazing grandma. Making holidays, birthdays and family functions so special. The deviled egg debacle, Christmas dinner with cinnamon icecream, burnt Thanksgiving dressing because the oven went bonkers, Easter egg hunts, personalized pillowcases for the kids, tea parties with the girls, driving to Rochester and almost wrecking, being there for Corynn's surgery, clothes shopping with the twins for birthdays, taking them shoe shopping when they were 2 and vowing to NEVER do that again, picking out homecoming dresses....so many many great memories!

We love you, pretty lady! Forever and always!

Arizona Sun

John and I took Corynn to Arizona last week over spring break. My oldest and dearest friend moved down there last fall and I miss her lots! Corynn is friends with one of her sons so we thought they would enjoy the time together as well. John tagged along to check out AZ (neither of us had been there) and a little vacay is always nice!

Arizona is not the state for me. I'd miss my trees, green grass, yards, non-lethal bugs etc. But I can appreciate its finer qualities like the early spring, amazing March temperatures, lovely sunsets and history.

Here are some photos of our trip:

this is a 150 year old cottonwood...amazing! So much bigger than the 'old' cottonwoods on our acreage.

We stopped at a bird and nature preserve to walk a bit.

 Checked out Tombstone and watched a shoot out! 

Stopped at a 450 year old mission built by Spanish Conquistadors in 1500s. It went through some major restorations in 1997 and is still a working mission and school today. Very cool!!

I'm sure to some people it may seem weird that we only took part of our family on this trip, but actually it was really nice! Some one on one time with your children is awesome and allowed us to do some things we might not have been able to with all the kids. We have quite the span between our children...so finding activities that work for everyone isn't easy. This was nice. My mom and I took the twins to D.C last summer and having that time together is really great! You really have to treasure the time you have them- it passes so quickly!

Yeehaw

We have a little cowgirl in the house! Cowboy- if you ask her. She has a new favorite cartoon, Sheriff Callie. A cowgirl sheriff that loves to sing karaoke with her cactus sidekick, Toby. Who wouldn't love that show!?

Evie rounded up her zebras horses and now rides around the family room in her sister's cowgirl hat. Can't wait to find the little cowpoke some boots! I might go into sugar shock from all the sweetness and cuteness involved! And I might just make her some chaps...because what good is a cowgirl without some leather fringe!?

Corynn's project

Corynn presented her project for the 5th grade Science Fair last week. She did a great job and scored a 93%! Pretty impressive! Her topic was taste perception and how color influences how we perceive flavors. She used tap water and colored it red, yellow and green to see if her test subjects would perceive a flavor when drinking it. She tested 20 people (peers and adults) and her results were interesting. 45% perceived flavor! CRAZY!

It was a fun project and she had fun!

One more thing crossed of the elementary school to do list! 9 more weeks and we'll have a middle schooler! wowzers!