Fancy Smancy

Wow.

Do I feel spoiled?

Y.E.S.

My in-laws invited us to spend a few days at a time share with them. We got here yesterday after the girls got out of school and spent the remainder of the day exploring and swimming.

I can't believe how family friendly this hotel is. Beside all 5 hot hubs, the huge pool, and a giant sized checkers/chess board they also have different 'club houses' for kids that are tailored to their ages....with crafts and activities that they can sign up for.

Well, after a good nights rest we spent the next day playing.

We swam in the hot tubs (and pool).

We splurged and got some passes for some of the other outdoor activities that were there. (They were fun, but honestly, they were a rip off for how much they cost.)

Some of the funner ones were ones that raced down the mountain side. The first one was like a roller coaster. You had your own little car but you got to decide how fast or slow you went on the way down. It was tons of fun.

This other one was a little scarier.....first off Baby Rootbeer and I were terrified the whole way up to the top. You had to ride the ski lift up. Which wouldn't have been a big deal if they remembered to put the safety bar down for us and IF both of us weren't scared of heights.

Let me just say panic attack the whole way up. It.was.not.fun.period.

The ride down sounded a little scary too.

Think about zipping down a mountain side on a little car that is riding on a cement track that you can flip out of. (I was watching people go down and one of the guys said that he had fallen off his car going around a corner too fast...yikes)

I must say that I am grateful you can control your speed on that one too. =)

And it turned out to be fun.....except I kept getting hit in the face with grasshoppers that would try to jump out of my way. Kinda gross and some of them hurt a little.

As the sun started setting it got a little chilly so we headed in for the night.

But then we found out that there was a 'dive-in-movie' so when it got dark we put our suits back on and headed down to the pool to watch Toy Story 3 on the big screen while we swam and lounged in the hot tubs.

Good times. Good times.

In memory

It really makes you think about what is important in life with the lose of a family member. Makes you think about what really matters and how life is too short to not enjoy every moment of it.

It has been a hard past 3 weeks for family around here.

And we have all had a lot to think about with the lose of a grandfather, a grandmother, and a cousins son.

I am grateful for the many ways that these 3 have touched those around them and how their memory and legacy lives on with their loved ones.

Picnic

My mom wanted to make a stop by the cemetery before she had to go home. And we were running out of days before she left so we headed there today. The kids were all starving by the time we got there so we decided to have a picnic there. A picnic with my dad and Grandparents I guess you could say.

I am thankful for nice weather.

Wreaths and trees

We are later in the month getting down here than I like, but Little A and I finally made it down to the cemetery to leave wreaths and little mini trees (that the girls insist on bringing) on my dad and grandparents graves.

I am grateful for happy feelings while I was there.

A day of tears

I am thankful for the many people who offered me their shoulder to cry on.

I don't think that you can ever prepare yourself.

My Grandfather passed away today. I have been trying to prepare myself for the inevitable, but I don't think that you can ever truly be prepared for the feeling of loss that comes with it.

He was a great man.....and will be greatly missed.

The two men in this photo have been my heros for as long as I can remember. Both have left this world for better things. And after 2 years, now they have been reunited...father and son.

I dearly love them both and miss them so so much. But I am grateful and feel honored to have been blessed with such a wonderful dad and grandfather.

Too many similarities.

Fall in general has been a hard time of year for me the past 2 years. Yes it is beautiful and I love the cooler, crisp air and the changing of the leaves and the excitment of Halloween. But at the same time all of things are reminders of the passing of my dad. A dear friend of mine called the day her daughter died her angel day....so I have adopted that name for my dad's day. Today is my dad's 'Angel Day.' I think this year is the first time where I haven't dreaded fall. Where I haven't actually hated the colors of the changing leaves and the fall smells in the air.

Today I woke up feeling pretty good until I remembered the text I got yesterday about my grandfather (my dad's dad). He was rushed to the hospital and wasn't doing too good. Some of the things he had were the same as things that my dad had. It was too much. Too many similarities as what happened to my dad and at the same time of year. And I broke down crying. Weston and I decided to go visit him. I don't know if I could have made the drive without him. I seriously was a nervous wreck. It was so good to see him and I had prayed for strength to be able to hold my emotions together. He seemed to be in good spirits and was joking with the nurses and it was fun chatting with him. We were there for about 2 hours before we had to leave and get home before the girls got home from school. But when it was time to say goodbye. I hugged him and told him how much I love him. And then I started to leave the room and he said goodbye again and I couldn't talk or else I would start blubbering so I just waved and left before he could see the tears. He is sick and I knew that it might be the last time I would see him. Hard times and a hard time of the year for me already.

Life sure throws some curve balls when we least expect it, but I am so very thankful that I have the love and support of my family and friends to help me through anything.