May felt like one heck of a long month. Fun but also exhausting. Especially by the end of the month...so much emotional exhaustion. I was glad to see May go.
The weather finally took a turn for the better and we hit 80 plus degrees for a couple of days and broke out the popsicles.
The month started off on a super high note with Tyler and I celebrating our 22nd anniversary:
Once the weather started to warm up, our very late spring finally arrived, and with it my flowers. I love it when my yard comes back to life and my flowers start blooming again.
The first up were my daffodils and my lily of the valley. I have tons of lily of the valley and I love to pick it and have it all around the house. It smells so divine. Then my tulips started blooming and the trees started blossoming. Then I waited and waited for my lilacs to bloom. They took forever this year but were worth the wait!
My favorites!
Kameron's best friend Jonathan performed in the musical Footloose so Tyler, Kam, and I went to watch him. He was AWESOME!! Jonathan and Kameron have been best friends since 1st grade and are like brothers. We love Jonathan's family and love the influence that they have in Kameron's life. We had a great time together watching Jonathan in the role of Willard and spending time with his family who have become dear friends.
This kid is not a fan of public picture taking!!
Bryn started another round of swimming. Love the fogged up goggles.
Then it was Bryn's baptism and Reilly came to town and Tyler's mom and step-dad and all of that that jazz. While Reilly was in town Bryn had her 2nd grade music program and was so excited that Reilly could be there for that. She was fantastic!!
Brynnie and some of her good friends: Berkley and Ayleah.
Bryn and Elle singing away. They narrowly missed being thrown up on by the girl on the back row!
While Reilly was home Tyler took a few days off of work so that the three of us could hang out together while the kids were at school. We did some hiking, shopping, and eating out. It was nice to have some time alone time with Reilly.
Hiking one of our favorite nearby trails. Tyler dispensing lots of fatherly advice along the way...
Sushi lunch at Ginger.
Just a typical day hanging out with Reilly! Ha ha!
Then it was Mother's Day and all of that hoopla that I already talked about. Then our five fun days together as a family were over and Reilly flew back to Utah. She had only been home for a few days when we got the news that my Grandma Ellersick had passed away.
Granny out on the boat enjoying the lake.
She leaves a giant hole in our family and collateral damage. The ramifications of her death and all that transpired afterward are what literally took such an emotional toll. It was a super difficult time for so many reasons. It still is. Unfortunate family dynamics...the lake house...disappointments...feelings. It all got very very difficult. I am still processing things that transpired and trying to come terms with all of that in addition to the loss of my grandmother. Hard stuff.
The day that we got the news of my grandma's death Kameron marched in the Lilac Festival Torch Light Parade with his high school marching band that night. This parade is such a big part of my family history. So many family members have participated in this parade over the decades. Kameron marched with Mike Ellersick written in sharpie on one arm and Frank and Loreen Ellersick on the other arm and marched in their memories. So proud of that young man.
Waiting for Kameron to go marching by!
(Poor Ailey missed out on marching with her middle school drill team in the Junior Lilac Parade because it was at the exact same time as Bryn's baptism. Bummer. She was a trooper about it though.)
The next day we planned to meet up with some family that afternoon to mourn my grandma and spend time together. That morning we had the opportunity to go to our local air field and tour a B-17 bomber like the one my Grandpa Ellersick (Granny's husband) flew in WWII. The day that my grandma died... just an hour or two before she passed away... Tyler and I had a B-17 fly right over us and circle around. You don't see those every day and we pulled over as fast as we could to watch it soar. I literally said to Tyler "Maybe that's a sign that Gramps is looking out for us" not long afterward we learned that my grandma had passed away. Ironic.
 |
| Handsome Devil!! |
The plane that we toured was in fact the one that flew over us and it was such a neat experience to think about my grandpa and my grandma and tour this unbelievable plane. My grandpa was the pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress called Goin' Jessie (that phrase was used to describe someone who had lost his marbles--ha ha!)
I have heard many stories over the years about my grandpa's experiences and his service in the war. I have also read books and watched movies about B-17 planes and crews but it was nothing like seeing and touring a B-17 in person. Wow.
My Grandpa and Tyler were great pals and used to spend a lot of time talking together. Tyler had a great interest in my Grandpa's WWII experiences and my Grandpa shared a lot with him. Much more than with me. Tyler is such a great wealth of information and was telling us all kinds of things about my grandpa and his experiences while we toured the plane. Another great blessing of being the oldest grandchild is that Tyler has known and loved all of my grandparents.
 |
| Tyler up inside the plane taking pictures |
 |
| Ailey's turn. |
 |
| The cockpit |
Where my Gramps sat.
Going the other way you had to crawl to this point and then you could stand up and walk on this very narrow metal strip. When the doors were open in flight there would have been nothing below you but the sky and the ground far below except for this narrow strip of metal that you could stand on. It really brought it home to me what it would have been like when those bombs would jam and the guys would have to kick them free. Not for the faint of heart. Scary stuff. The planes were unheated and freezing cold. It wasn't pleasant flying one of those in the winter and we were told that missions were often 12 hours long.
Where the ball gunner sat from inside the plane.
From the outside
Ball Gunner's seat...such a tiny cramped area.
Whoa. That guy had to be crazy brave and small and not be claustrophobic. That is the smallest most cramped area that I have ever seen. I could barely breath just looking into it. They had to totally contort themselves to get inside that ball. The ball gunner was in the most danger of all the crew.
Nose gunner.
Check out all that ammo. We learned the origin of the phrase "give 'em the whole 9 yards". In WWII the aircraft machine gun belts were 9 yards long.
My grandpa was stationed in England and flew bombing missions over Germany. That had to have been very difficult for him since his family was German and his grandparents had immigrated from Germany. It made me so appreciative of those who have served our country and who are currently serving. For these B-17 crews they only had a 1 in 4 chance of completing their tour of duty. The average life expectancy of a B-17 crew member was 12-14 missions. My grandpa flew 30 missions and didn't lose any of his crew.. You had about an 8% chance of surviving 30 missions. Pretty miraculous.
 |
| Grandpa and Dupe |
This was such an amazing experience for our family. It made me feel so close to my grandpa. My grandparents met in college. They got engaged and then he went off to war and my grandma waited five long years for him to return to her. She said that it was terrible and that he was a horrible letter writer. He probably didn't want to worry and scare her to death with what he was doing. This time she waited sixteen long years to be together with him again. I am so happy that they are together now and never to be parted again.
Their wedding day.
(My grandma's wedding suit was turquoise with rhinestone buttons...fabulous.)
(My grandma's wedding suit was turquoise with rhinestone buttons...fabulous.)
My Aunt Bonnie was watching my cousin Justin and his wife Hannah's kids while they were out of town and we all met up at a park to have a picnic and to enjoy one another's company.
 |
| I love these people. |
We ate KFC and drank Squirt and rootbeer in my Grandma's honor (her favorites) and ate E.L. Fudge cookies like she used to stock in her multiple cookie jars...and talked and laughed and cried. We played competitive games and talked a lot of smack...a family tradition...and enjoyed one another. It took the edge off of the grief and apprehension that we were all feeling.
These are some of the very best kids around. My kids adore their cousins and love spending time with them. I love that Gavin his hugging the Squirt bottle. Ha ha!
We played our new game Kubb that Grandpa Joel made for us. So much fun. He was the one who got us hooked on Corn Hole too. He knows his lawn games. :)
The winners!!
The Not Winners :)
This team is too cute to call them "losers". Gavin took the loss to heart. Ha ha! That kid cracks me up. Love him.
Then we played some other disgusting yet hilarious games but I won't embarrass all the participants who are nothing but classy... but video and photos do exist. Ha ha!! And...all of us participated and had no shame. Sorry Spokane park people. NO.SHAME. We were in it to win it.
Two of my favorite peeps right here. These girls rock! Haylee and Grace, we are SO related!!
Justin and Hannah got home from being out of town and met all of us at the park. It was nice to see them too. All in all, it was a much needed time of family togetherness. I watched my kids playing with my cousin's children and all of us laughing and loving one another...only a tiny portion of my grandparents great-grandchildren and saw my grandparents true legacy...the love that my children have for my aunts and uncles, my cousins, and my cousin's children. It is enormous. It is everything.
The next day Kameron headed to San Francisco on his school trip. Lucky kid!! He had been waiting all year for this trip. We were worried that he was going to miss my grandma's memorial but he made it back just in the nick of time. Whew. I was hoping that Kameron would keep us posted about all of his fun activities in San Fran...um no... I got a nightly text to say that he was going to bed and I guess that was also his way of saying that he was still alive and then he snapchatted occasionally so here is what I got to document a trip that he worked and looked forward to for an entire year.
Kameron and one of his best buddy Nick.
Suffice it to say...he had a great time!! Even if I had to pry all of the details out of him over the course of a week and longer!!
Bryn had a "Dress Like Your Favorite Storybook Character" day at school. She was Alice in Wonderland...obviously. :)
Meanwhile all month long I was madly preparing for Farm Chicks. Finishing projects, painting, planning, cleaning, tagging, packing, and loading the trailer. All.month.long. in addition to everything else that was going on. Can we say stressful?!
We also had a bunch of birthday parties for the kids' friends, for our friends, church activities, service projects, marching band practice, swimming, school activities, school volunteering, and end of the school year projects. Bryn's Bloomsday Training ended and Ailey's drill team ended. Kameron had his big end of the year music department awards concert, a jazz night, and a jazz gig. We had all kinds of stuff going on.
Then family started arriving in town for my grandma's memorial. Reilly caught a ride with my brother and his family and ended up back in town again for a few more days.
Things in May were just a little crazy...
0 comments:
Post a Comment