It is what it is...

That seems to be the phrase of the decade.

It has been almost two years since my dad passed away. Next Monday Oct. 4 will be two years. I miss my dad terribly and find myself thinking of him all of the time, especially when we are up north, a place he loved more than any other.

Some people would be surprised that I miss him so much. He was a complicated man. In the latter part of his life, he was distant-pretty much a self-imposed loner, and could be down right mean. He did not want to talk to me or spend time with his awesome Grandsons. Yet still, I am brought to tears when I think of him. I remember the man he was and could at times be. That is the man I mourn.

So it is with that in mind that I came to this conclusion...In life "you are who you are" and in death "they can be who you want them to be". For me, the bad parts have disappeared, the heart is heavy for the dad I loved...and so far, it hasn't gotten any easier.

Et all

Blog worthy happenings that I have been putting off.

Auntie had her birthday in August. She spent it with us at Pawtuckaway State Park. Jonathan, Nick and Karina joined us as well. Everyone had a great time. The weather was nice, not sunburns to report.

Down below the backyard we have some water running through. It is a little stream that always entices the boys. They are usually good about staying away, but when I give them an inch...they always take a mile. Usually it results in muddy boys or toys being thrown in. Sometimes Daddy goes down with them and they discover frogs, salamanders and most recently crawfish. One day Auntie went to check them out with them and they found one this big.Auntie wanted me to post this picture to show his blue claws.We've started having some turkeys visit our yard. I had never seen a wild turkey before moving to Merrimack and started seeing them on the side of a major road here, but now they are a little closer to home. They were accompanied by about a dozen little ones too.We've spent lots of time up at the camp. Jim also invited his boss and his boys for a couple of weekends. I really enjoy watching people enjoy what we are so lucky to enjoy because of my Grandmother. Baileigh got to come a couple of times as well and held her own with all of the boys. Fishing was a big hit. Rain, cold nor fog slowed them down.We went through lots and lots of worms and lots of hooks.

This was a new one for me. I had never seen this. It looked like a go cart with a parachute. Not to mention it flew right over the water and gave a little show when the boys waved.

The wood finally dried from all of the early summer rain to enjoy a fire with smores...no microwave ones this time. Jeffrey joined us which didn't happen too much this summer.

Auntie has a new obsession that has replace her Facebook obsession and it is called Mario Brothers on Nintendo DS. She and Joshua take turns and some days she can't wait for him to go to bed so she can play alone :)

Jacob turns 6

Some fun facts about Jacob.

1. He was 8 lbs 10 oz when he was born. After having a 10 lb 4 oz baby, I was not surprised when he was born and the nurses said, "If he's not 10 lbs then we don't know what he is!". I was so excited when the call came in from the nursery he was was in the 8's. He was in the normal range. He usually measures in at the 50-75%. Joshua has always been off the charts.
   
2. He was my binkie boy and loved taggies. He used to hold them and rub them when he fell asleep. I remember going into his room to retrieve his binkie and tell him, "here's your taggie". I love those memories. Joshua had a bear bear that he loved. Jacob had the same thing, but it was dog dog, but he mostly used the satiny edge.


3. He started riding a bike without training wheels when he was three. He has been doing amazing tricks on it since then. He gives Auntie and me a heart attack and makes his dad proud. There is no jump too high and no such thing as too fast.
   
4. He is the candy man! He loves candy and has had more candy in his short life than Joshua ever has. Bad Mommy!


5. He is a great drawer. He loves to sit at the table and draw trucks and four wheelers. He will sit for long periods of time and really does a great job.


6. He has always been my baby and is so laid back. I didn't really work much with him academically like I did with Joshua and he didn't go to preschool. When he started Kindergarten he was considered to be in the at-risk category for reading because of his lack of exposure. By December he had already met most of the end of the year benchmark for kindergarten. He is an observer, tends to go with the flow, but he is going to be one smart boy!

PS- I will update with more pictures when Auntie emails them to me.

New Pocketbook, purse, hand bag...you choose

The other day Jim was looking through our pictures and asked me, "Why did you takes pictures of your blah blah blah?". To which I answered, "For my blog, of course".

So anyway, back to the point. I got me a new purse. I think it's me.

Buying a new purse means emptying out the old one. Which is where I kept my back up lipsticks. Now you know why you don't ever see me without lipstick.I did throw three of them away. Every one was the same shade by the way. I rarely stray :)