Remembering Grandma Mary

On March 18th, my paternal grandmother, Mary, was finally not tired any more.  This was the woman the DEFIED all odds.  She had multiple open heart surgeries (two within hours of one another), and she described a grapefruit sized aneurysm in her chest as "a little pressure".  When we were told she might have 3-6 months to live, she bounced back and fought right through that timeline.  She had a wonderful, dry sense of humor, and I always loved hearing her stories!  She could crochet at a lightening fast speed (and couldn't slow down...believe me she tried when I attempted to have her teach me), but she didn't like to knit.  On Sunday we celebrated her 91 years, and on Monday, we said our final goodbyes in the midst of a late March snow storm that could have only been created for Mary who was born during a blizzard!  I can't really put into words the sadness I feel, but I will always be thankful that not only Bret and I but also our two kids were able to know her and have a relationship.  And, as Evan said at the funeral to my dad, "Grandma Mary died.  But, she is in heaven now."

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circling flight.

I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

grandma mary with my sister, kate (standing) and I

at bret and i's wedding

holding evan for the first time

holding gracie for the first time

celebrating her 91st birthday

evan and gracie modeling two of the hats and scarves that grandma mary made throughout the years

Hawaii

Make no mistake, I am Ferguson Enterprises #1 Fan.  Every year, they have several customer appreciation/rewards trips, and this year, Bret was selected to go on two of the trips.  Lucky for me, they are couples trips, so I got to tag along!  Vacations are relaxing, but it takes it to a whole new level of relaxing and enjoyment when you aren't spending a dime of your own money the entire time ; )!  Our first trip was to Hawaii (Kona @ the Mauna Lani Resort), and our next one in a couple of weeks is to St Thomas!

the view from our amazing hotel room!

the pool by sunset

the world's fastest turtle.  when we walked past this pond on our way to dinner one night, bret and i thought that two sharks were making the giant wakes rippling through the pond.  i was wrong.  those speedy things zipping through the water were actually turtles.

the ferguson welcome dinner/party

which wouldn't have been complete without a ferguson surfboard...obviously.

whales!!!!  in the center is the mommy whale and at the left is the baby.  apparently this is one of the best times to visit hawaii because they come down to have their babies and they spend a lot of time breaching (jumping out of the water) and flipping their tails.  I only got a few pictures of these awesome creatures because the rest of the catamaran ride I spent either with my head between my legs battling waves of nausea or sipping on ginger ale

My what interesting outfits you have on

There comes a time in every child's life when they want to start making choices on what they wear. For Gracie, that means she ends up in her pink boots. For Evan, that means he is usually in all one color (it doesn't match if it isn't all the same color....duh). And for both, it always means they will eventually be naked.

Snow dumping

It snowed ALL day yesterday, but by 3pm it still wasn't snowing that hard and I was beginning to wonder if the weather people that called for 7" were waaaay off.  I actually thought to myself, if this is what it continues to snow like, it will take a month to accumulate 7".  WELL, fast forward to 6pm, and suddenly it is snowing and blowing so hard that you can't see more than a few feet and the ground is completely covered.  By 8pm, we had a good 5" inches, and by the next morning, we were buried under 10.5" of snow.  Luckily, Bret went out at 11pm (still snowing pretty hard at this point) to clear out a path for his car because it had drifted to over a foot tall for the first few feet from our garage.  In the morning, he only had to drive through a couple of inches rather than a wall!   In the morning, the kids went out to play in the snow, and I attempted to clear the reminder of the driveway.  The kids played successfully, but I was only successful at clearing the new snow from after Bret had shoveled plus four feet or so over so that I could get my car down too if necessary.  

this snow was much heavier and packed than we have had before.  so, when evan ran and leaped towards a snowdrift, he didn't really expect to be stopped in his tracks.  he was much more used to falling through the pile into a nice powdery snow cushion.

10.5" was a little deep for gracie, so she stuck to the driveway.  she made a few attempts to venture out into the yard, but she fell and got stuck in the snow every time.

making a break for it!

Evan's Star Day

Monday was Evan's star day at school.  He chose Daddy to come read the book (that doesn't mean that Gracie and I didn't show up too : ) ).  We made granola bars for his snack, and we made a poster with pictures of all his favorite things.

circle time. can you see who is front and center???  e's class (and teacher) were nice enough to let her participate in circle time.  i'm thinking she won't have any issues once she starts in the fall since she jumped in like she had been doing circle time her whole life.

loving big brother

e's class is the teddy bear class, so after circle time, they pass and love on a little teddy bear.

then it was Bret's turn to be the leader and read Three Little Dinosaurs...one of Evan's favorite books.

the kids were really into the book!  some could hardly sit down they were so excited to hear and see the book!

talking about his favorite things

and, in case any one would like to make evan's favorite snack, here is the recipe!

·   4 tablespoons butter

·   ¼ cup honey

·   ¼ cup brown sugar, packed

·   ¼ cup peanut butter

·   1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·   2 cups oats (I used old fashioned)

·   ¼ cup Wheaties (crushed)

·   ¼ cup wheat germ

·   Mini M & M’s, or mini chocolate chips, or raisins, or whatever other topping you are craving for your granola bars!

1.       In a nonstick pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter.

2.       Stir in the honey, brown sugar, and peanut butter.

3.       Bring to a very light simmer.

4.       Simmer for 2 minutes.

5.       Remove from heat.

6.       Stir in vanilla extract.

7.       Stir in oats, Wheaties and wheat germ until completely coated.

8.       Press mixture into a 8 x 8 inch pan lined with greased parchment paper or foil. Be sure to press down until the granola mixture is firm.

9.       Sprinkle the top with your topping of choice and press them into the mixture.  I typically use mini chocolate chips (they stick better!), but I didn’t have any on hand when making this batch.  If I were to use m&m’s again, I would probably either mix them into the batch or sprinkle them on before pressing the mixture into the pan.

10.   Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.

11.   Remove from pan and cut into bars with a sharp knife.

12.   Store in the fridge in an airtight container