Spring Break ~ Richland

We had a very fun Spring Break!  Katie and I drove back tonight while Matthew and Andrew stayed one more night with Grammie and Grandpa.  They will ride the train home tomorrow with Grammie. 

We had a great time in Richland though.  It had been way too long since we had been there.

Some of the highlights of our trip:

We made our stop off at the cemetery on our way into town.


My kids are really comfortable at the cemetery. When we pull up and open the doors they hop out and run to Dad's grave. They know exactly where it's at and run there as fast as they can.



We were at a nursery (as in plants, not babies) right before the cemetery and Katie picked up a fallen bloom and said it was "a flower surprise for Grandpapa!" She carried there and sweetly left it, "This is for you Grandpapa!" She talks to him while we're there now and it's absolutely precious.

Mom brought some cheerful yellow tulips and daffodils.  The kids very carefully decorated Dad's marker. 



I know everyone feels differently about cemeteries. For me, this is a sacred place. It's a place that I like to share with my kids because it's an opportunity to still include Dad's memory in our life...and honor the important role he played in ours. It always prompts questions and conversations with the kids and I welcome those.



In the fog of grief after losing Dad ~ literally 2 days after he passed, when we were figuring out Dad's headstone ~ which is a classic Vetran's Headstone ~ we forgot to include "Grandfather" in the "Beloved Husband, Father...."  This oversight bothered Matthew this trip.  "Why doesn't it say 'Grandfather?'"  :(  I wish it did...that was an important role to him and he was definitely was beloved in it.   None of us really had our usual senses about us and it was sadly forgotten.  It's on my short list of "regrets."  I can usually put a positive spin on things.  But on that one, I can't.

However, didn't the children do a lovely job "decorating" Dad's headstone? :)  Katie insisted the silk purple flowers from winter stay there.  Matthew was head Daffodil arranger while Andrew stood and nursed his second bloody nose of the day. The first one was in the van on the way to Richland ~ what a mess. It was one of the worst he's had. Isn't that the classic sort of timing? As you're going 70mph down the freeway with nowhere to pullover and he's 2 rows back? That's motherhood.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The kids played outside for a while on Monday morning.







Seeing this in Mom's garden made me smile. I still vividly remember standing in our kitchen in our first home with Dan holding Matthew and me trying to keep his little feet in the cement STILL and in there long enough for it to set a little only to have the wet cement cave back in when we'd pull his little feet out. My "easy" little project was a nightmare! That is why this tradition started and stopped with Matthew. :)

Look how bitty his feet were!

Sigh.

On Monday we picked up Grammie and went to see a matinee.  We took the children to see "Hop" which was cute.  Unfortunately, I was really tired and low on patience, and so Monday I was pretty grouchy with the kids.   Thanks to Grammie for putting up with me.



We rallied on Tuesday though.

Tuesday morning we met Shannon and her girls at the park, which was really fun.  The kids had a BALL.  Despite living 3 minutes apart, it's rare with everyone's schedule that we can get all of the kids together, so it was really nice to have the time together.

It was really windy, but at least the sun was out!  So the kids played and played and then we went for lunch and cupcakes before returning home for a bit.  I took a LOT of photos.  Here are some of my favorites:















We tried a group photo and this was the best we could do.



I had fun taking photos of Matthew and Hannah jumping off the climbing rock.



(Don't worry ~ they didn't jump from the top and I was on the ground to make it all look more impressive than it was. :) )



Look at that blue sky!

I miss it already.

Sigh.



Andrew found a rock to jump from too. :) Love the tree behind him in the background.



Anyone who grew up in Richland will know this slide. While the play structures at the park have changed, I too played here as a child and slid down this elephant slide. Andrew sweetly cooperated for a photo.



Oh, and look at this cute girl!

Love her.



And her.



And her too.



Andrew picked some Dandelions and wanted to take them to Grandpapa.



So we did.



Matthew couldn't keep himself from telling Andrew,

"They're weeds!"

What are big brothers for?

Turkey.

Mom came home early and Winnie graciously took the kids so we could run around a bit!  It was really nice.  We had dinner and did some shopping and then met Shannon and her Mom at "Hobby Lobby."  We were SO excited to go there, and oh my goodness, it didn't disappoint!

We spent two HOURS there and still didn't make it through the whole store!  It was crazy!  We had so much fun though and would have stayed longer. But they were starting to turn out lights and we know how to take a hint.

We returned to get the kids and heard about Matthew and Andrew locking themselves in the trailer in the backyard.  Winnie and Carl were getting dinner ready and then heard screaming.   Apparently they were pretty hysterical.  Matthew did NOT understand why I thought that story was funny.  I told him when he was a grown up he'd think it was funny too.  Or perhaps I'm just insensitive and find humor in things I shouldn't.  He can choose that option too. :)

If anyone has made it this far ~ I'm impressed! I'll have to catch up with the rest of the week later ~ it's bedtime!