Spring has blasted by quickly this year with April long gone and May ending! Zip zip zip!
I love spring weather. It is always so welcome after the cold so I have really enjoyed these last two months of peeling off the sweaters and socks and finding the capris and flip flops.
You know as you age something happens to your brain. Really -- I'm not kidding. Okay so you already know that, but I am sitting here trying to remember what we did in April. It hasn't been that long ago. I'm sure there was something worth reporting to my journal / blog. Okay then, I'm checking the phone for some pictures. Thank goodness for my iPhone.
April
Okay, here we go. Pictures have jogged my memory. We had a play date with Audrey and Jocelyn. We started at McDonalds for lunch and then headed to the park. These girls are fun...........................
Gabe and Charlotte
Grammie and Charlotte
Matthew, Charlotte, Nathan, Grammie and Grandpa! Gabe took the picture. Look at Lottie's long legs. Just like her momma's. Charlotte is now six and Nathan is three.
We sang Happy Birthday and Nathan starting blowing out the candles before we finished singing. He is a great helper. Audrey, Jocelyn, on Rich's lap, Rich and helper Nathan!
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This is Tricia again (Ken's wife) with Nathan peeking around the chair. Gabe and Jocelyn are in the background.
We were looking through some of the old movies and Ross found these of Jack and Julie when Julie lived with us for about a year and Jack was in the Marines. Jack and Julie were probably about 19 or 20. The pictures are pretty blurry, but you can get the idea. Then they both ended up marrying other people and divorcing and marrying each other about 15 years later. Ross was so delighted to find these pictures -- especially to see his dad walking like a Marine and in the crazy white belt.
We are at the Iwo Jima Memorial sometime in the 1970's.
Ross, Nathan, and Rich. Nathan loves his Grandpa.
Gabe and Nathan - so blurry
Moon coming up over the stadium.
Our view of the Capitol from our seats. Beautiful
Andrea and her boy Matthew
The next day we went to Ken's cabin at the lake for dinner and the lake was a big draw. Here is Ross with Nathan. You can see what a good sport Ross is.
Charlotte
What a happy little guy.
Lots of the gang went out the boat for a tour around Lake Anna. It is a very large lake.
We had a wonderful afternoon and got Ross back to the base on time. He spent lots of time catching up on his sleep over the weekend. We hope to get him back he before they move him away.
Just before May ended Charlotte and Nathan came by for a couple of hours. Here is Charlotte making cookies all by herself with her able tasting assistant Nathan. She only smashed one egg on the counter. Not bad! And the cookies were great.
So that was May -- fun and eventful. We are still trying to catch our breath. Spring has been very nice and very pleasant here in the East. Started out a little cold and has bounced back and forth from chilly to hot.
I also have to mention -- our family lost a dear friend and cousin. My sweet cousin, Ann Lewis passed away the last part of April. She was my first best friend growing up. I spoke with her on Friday before she passed away on Tuesday and she was happy and laughing about life and the possibility of the doctors not being able to solve her health problem which came on suddenly. Her death left me profoundly saddened, but I have to remember her wonderful life. She raised ten children through lots of adversity. She taught all of us how to be and how to face life's challenges. I miss Ann.
Working on a California trip for June! Hope to see the Fresnos.
I love spring weather. It is always so welcome after the cold so I have really enjoyed these last two months of peeling off the sweaters and socks and finding the capris and flip flops.
You know as you age something happens to your brain. Really -- I'm not kidding. Okay so you already know that, but I am sitting here trying to remember what we did in April. It hasn't been that long ago. I'm sure there was something worth reporting to my journal / blog. Okay then, I'm checking the phone for some pictures. Thank goodness for my iPhone.
April
Okay, here we go. Pictures have jogged my memory. We had a play date with Audrey and Jocelyn. We started at McDonalds for lunch and then headed to the park. These girls are fun...........................
Audrey will be five in June and Jocelyn turned three in April.
These are happy happy girls!
Audrey
More Jocelyn
Higher Grammie Higher! Audrey waiting for the big swing!
Audrey's turn -- she let us know that she didn't need help!
A fun volleyball pit / sandbox
Now for some of the beautiful flowers!
First came the forsythia way down in the back of our yard. They are a welcome sight as the first flowers of spring. There's our Nathan.
The cherry tree in the front yard is coming along. This tree is like the blossoms around the Tidal Basin in DC.
Here are the bridal wreath bushes. We had these bushes at our home when I was growing up in Idaho so I had to plant some here in Virginia.
Nathan is modeling his Grandpa Crowley's sailor suit. Okay, he is not modeling, but trying to escape.
This same day Charlotte wanted to play dress up and found this wonderful outfit! Yes, it's a little cheesey!
Now on to Jocelyn's Birthday!
Jocelyn is so happy to finally be 3 yrs old. She had a little family party at Chick Fil a. The kids played and played. Then it was home for the cake and fun.
Here is her princess cake Melanie made.
Make a wish and blow out the candles!
And last but not least at the end of April we picked up Ross, my sister Julie's youngest son, for his 24 hour leave. As a new Marine, he was recently assigned to Fort Lee, VA which is just south of Richmond. This was a quick visit, but it was so good to see him and have him in our home. We sure love him and now he has gotten to know our family in Virginia. He was only six when Julie passed away. She would be so proud of him. He is so handsome, so smart, and so capable. The Marines are lucky to have him. His Dad Jack Selders was also a Marine.
Charlotte has a big crush on Ross. That is her with her arm around his shoulders. Audrey and Jocelyn are on the other side and Nathan trying to sneak out of the picture.
Now we move on to May! Luckily I can still remember May -- especially the last day of May. Okay that was only two days ago so it's not very much of a challenge. Maybe the brain is improving.
May
Our rhododendron is not very big yet, but the blossoms were big and beautiful. I didn't brag about my iris beds this year because I carried on so much about them last year. They were beautiful and loaded with blooms.
Mother's Day
We went to our favorite eatery in Culpeper for a Mother's Day celebration.
Here are Matthew, Gabe, Charlotte and Nathan hiding his head. This is a fabulous place to eat if you are ever in Culpeper. LUCIOS!
Gabe and Charlotte
Grammie and Charlotte
Matthew, Charlotte, Nathan, Grammie and Grandpa! Gabe took the picture. Look at Lottie's long legs. Just like her momma's. Charlotte is now six and Nathan is three.
Rich's Birthday Celebration
Early in the month I caught this picture of Rich in the flowers. He was checking out the flowers for taking pictures of the little girls. That didn't happen so I'm glad I got this one. He will be surprised when he sees it!
The celebration for Rich was actually on his birthday. He hit the big 69! I never thought I would be married to someone of that age. Not that we are old, (ha ha) but we have logged lots of years together. Rich has always been a fun guy to be married to................he keeps me laughing because he is just so crazy. I have always said the only thing predictable about Rich is that he is unpredictable. And that is really true. Having said that, he is predictable in his cake habits. He has had an angel food cake for his birthday every year since I met him. He loves angel food cake. Nanny Crowley, Rich's Grandmother, started the angel food cake tradition in the Crowley Family. So we had a Crowley family get-together for the event -- angel food cake and all. Fluffy white frosting of course. Here are the pictures.
Andrew lighting the candles!
We sang Happy Birthday and Nathan starting blowing out the candles before we finished singing. He is a great helper. Audrey, Jocelyn, on Rich's lap, Rich and helper Nathan!
Melanie made cupcakes for the kids! And they couldn't wait. That's Gabe, Jocelyn and Audrey. That's not to say Gabe is a kid -- well she is lots younger than her father-in-law!
Here's Tricia with her granddaughter Hailey. Matthew in the background.
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Harper is ready for the cake! That's our niece, Jordan and Ken, Rich's brother in the background. Funny huh, we both have brothers named Ken.
Melanie keeping the troups out of the cake.
This is Tricia again (Ken's wife) with Nathan peeking around the chair. Gabe and Jocelyn are in the background.
Here's a better picture of Ken, Jordan and adorable Hailey.
And here's Matthew
Here's Harper from under the table. We removed the glass and she loved the view!
Someone is crazy about Grandpa!
Planting Flowers
We spent a couple of days planting flowers in the yard. They already look so beautiful and the day lilies are loaded with blossoms. The yard is looking great.
Nathan went with us on a trip to the greenhouse. He played with an injured bumblebee for about 15 minutes. This little guy was not a bit interested in the flowers but he loved the bugs and rocks. And of course he was trying to figure out how to turn on every hose he found.
I got him to sing a little song while he was waiting for Grandpa.
Okay, I will stop about the flowers, but there are lots more. Just so you know.
Memorial Weekend
Then march on to Memorial Day weekend. It was super fun and busy. Ross sent me a text me to let me know he could come for four days so we picked him up on Thursday evening and he didn't have to be back until Monday evening. Great weekend!
Look at this handsome young Marine. My sister would be so proud of him.
We were looking through some of the old movies and Ross found these of Jack and Julie when Julie lived with us for about a year and Jack was in the Marines. Jack and Julie were probably about 19 or 20. The pictures are pretty blurry, but you can get the idea. Then they both ended up marrying other people and divorcing and marrying each other about 15 years later. Ross was so delighted to find these pictures -- especially to see his dad walking like a Marine and in the crazy white belt.
We are at the Iwo Jima Memorial sometime in the 1970's.
We made it to a Nats game with Ross. This was our first Nats game and it was a fun adventure. Matt, Gabe and family went also. They love the Nats and go whenever they can.
Ross, Nathan, and Rich. Nathan loves his Grandpa.
Gabe and Nathan - so blurry
Grammie and Charlotte
Moon coming up over the stadium.
Yes, our Nathan is a corker!
Andrea and her boy Matthew
Charlotte walked all the way to the car hand in hand with Ross. She is really crazy about him. Then after we dropped her off at her house and came home, she called Ross to tell him good night because she forgot. Cute huh!
Charlotte
What a happy little guy.
We had a wonderful afternoon and got Ross back to the base on time. He spent lots of time catching up on his sleep over the weekend. We hope to get him back he before they move him away.
Just before May ended Charlotte and Nathan came by for a couple of hours. Here is Charlotte making cookies all by herself with her able tasting assistant Nathan. She only smashed one egg on the counter. Not bad! And the cookies were great.
I thought this picture of Nathan was a good ending . He said the cookie dough was really good.
So that was May -- fun and eventful. We are still trying to catch our breath. Spring has been very nice and very pleasant here in the East. Started out a little cold and has bounced back and forth from chilly to hot.
I also have to mention -- our family lost a dear friend and cousin. My sweet cousin, Ann Lewis passed away the last part of April. She was my first best friend growing up. I spoke with her on Friday before she passed away on Tuesday and she was happy and laughing about life and the possibility of the doctors not being able to solve her health problem which came on suddenly. Her death left me profoundly saddened, but I have to remember her wonderful life. She raised ten children through lots of adversity. She taught all of us how to be and how to face life's challenges. I miss Ann.
Working on a California trip for June! Hope to see the Fresnos.
