BodyStep 80

I was amazed and totally in love with the outfits that turned up at our BodyStep 80s party (and the people wearing them :)

Remembering Adam

Yesterday started out very emotional, but ended up being a wonderful day of remembrance for a fun friend. In the evening one of his friends planned a bonfire at Golden Gardens, one of Adam's (and all of Seattle's) favorite places. On the way we went to dinner at Dick's. So did all the other bonfire friends (we all knew what Adam would have wanted to eat on the way to a bonfire.) Heather was there, Adam's widow. She came over to say hi. Libby was very excited to see her. But Libby has a great memory for people and the other people they go with.
Here is how the conversation went.
Libby: "Hi Heather. Where is your guy?"
Mom, Heather, Derek, Clark--exchange glances...hoping she will just let it go.
Libby: "Heather, where is your guy?"
Mommy: "He isn't here tonight."
Libby: "Well where is he?"
Mommy(tearing up): "He went home to Heavenly Father."
Libby: "Why?"
Mommy: "We don't know."
Libby: "Mommy, why are you crying?"

Heather kept her cool during the exchange, but it made her loss very real for me. If even Libby put the two of them together after being with them only once that she remembers--it is going to be difficult for her to get used to being alone. But I am glad I knew the answers to most of her questions. And I know that eventually I will know the WHY? part too. Adam had another work to do.

 

Tribute to a Friend

Tomorrow we have a funeral that seems about 50 years (at least) too early. One of Derek's best friends Adam Hansen died last week. My first date with Derek was actually with Derek and Adam. He called me the ICE Queen. I broke up their perfect existence of going to the gym, eating at Subway and going to movies. He was one of the Best Men at our wedding. He got married two years ago to an amazing girl. They ate dinner at our house just a couple of weeks ago. He read stories to our girls. And now he is gone. Unbelievable. We haven't heard the offical cause of death yet, probably a heart attack. They know it happened fast. How quickly our lives and our perspectives can change. We are not invincible. Hug the ones you love. Tell them you love them.

Happy 4th of July

We celebrated Aunt Maren's birthday on Sunday morning with a waffle breakfast. It was fast Sunday, but we gave in to the chance to spend some time with two of our favorite Aunts at the same time. I made festive flag waffles. Yummy!

 

Here is a video of our fireworks party. It was just me with the girls, since Derek got called in to work. Two things I love about this video. You get to see Libby being sort of obedient (not leaving the blanket) and you can see Sarah's talking skills (and snap throwing skills).

Happy Early Birthday Libby

We had an impromtu early birthday party for Libby with my parents and Rachel. Cupcakes and presents, that is all a kid really needs, right? She got a princess outfit--complete with shoes (which she refuses to wear because they have the thing between the toes), earrings (which she was a little spooked out by), a crown and dress that she LOVES. The dress is a little big, but that never bothers Libby.
(P.S. I sent my mom and Dave to the store to come up with something to be the flame on my fake candles on the cupcakes. Dave's genius idea--fruit snacks.)

 

 

 

Old New Pool

This pool is old--seriously--we got it for Easter--and in kid time, that's like forever ago. Anyway, it was FINALLY warm enough to fill it! (Sort of--my mom's rule was 85 degrees and I don't think it was quite that, but I gave in.) They LOVED it. They refused to get out. Libby finally got out because she was shaking so hard she could no longer play. Sarah has more body fat, so she lasted a bit longer. She got out and ate, then got back in. I finally dragged out pans of hot water from the house to warm it up a bit so they wouldn't be shaking so badly. It is going to be a fun summer!

 

 

 

Auntie Ray Ray Teaches Style

My sister Rachel came to visit the day before my parents left. It was so fun. We went shopping, ate delicious frozen yogurt, stiffed a jerky MAC salesman, and played with the girls. I think she read more stories to Sarah over the weekend than I have in a month. Sarah also LOVED having Rachel do "1 for the money" and throw her onto the air mattress. She would say "I wanna do Money!" about 10 times a day at least. Today walking by the living room, Sarah asked, "Where is Ray Ray?" It was so cute! Anyway, Rachel is teaching them some great style skills.