This month we had a birthday bash for BreAnne. Krista is in Guam (or on her way to Hawaii from Guam) and so we'll catch her birthday at the next gathering. We have opted to leave our Father's Day celebration for a less emotionally volatile date.
Oh MAN did we stink singing "Happy, Happy Birthday to You" without Bre to lead us. Note Noah's expression...turned back from the house to see what in the world he was hearing. ::snort::
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| Bre - Noah in the background |
CoRielle's boys showed up first - Cory, Arielle and Ellie had a wedding to attend....so did Allie and Stacia.
Carrie and the girls showed up early - and they brought a kiddie pool with them! This was an immediate hit!
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| 📷by Carrie or Larissa |
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| Instant Water park!📷by Carrie or Larissa |
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| Josi & Carrie |
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| Benny |
We are loving the nice weather which allows for summer wardrobes!
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| Josi is stylin!📷by Carrie |
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| Such a sweet smile. 📷by Carrie |
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| Charles, Benny & Danny |
It wasn't too long before the uncles, aunts, cousins and Cory and Arielle arrived. It was a gorgeous summer day in the 70's. We grilled and ate out...enjoyed various kinds of water play and the company of one another. It was a great day!
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| Carrie/Josi & Arielle/Ellie |
This water yard twister is the perfect splashpad for the toddler and pre-school bunch.
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| Noah - 17months |
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| Fun for older kids too! |
Stacia's Chick-fil-a bottle turns out to be the best water weapon in the arsenal. I had bought squirt guns and planned to give them to the kids to take home. We switched gears and I kept them, so they'd be here for fun when the kids visit...and moms don't curse me when their darlings squirt them unexpectedly.
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| 📷by Carrie |
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| Pretty girls! Ellie & Josi 📷 by Carrie |
Michael worked out a sweet deal with Cory. He'd hold Ellie and Cory would grill. They both were happy with the arrangement...I found it funny when THIS happened.
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| Papa and Ellie 📷 by Carrie |
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| Manning the grill for 2nd month in a row. |
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| Childhood game - I don't know. |
What are Charles and Annie guarding? A big blue tote. The tote was filled with 500 water balloons. We were ready for our second annual water fight. Let the fun begin!
I especially LOVED how the older guys and Allie and Stacia joined in the fun. This is also the moment my heart broke again. Josiah was right in the middle of this last year. I can still hear his laughter - and I miss it so much! We avoided celebrating Father's Day at this gathering as we were worried about Liv. We planned only fun memory making activities...but right in the midst of making a great memory, past memories surfaced. I kept my thoughts to myself but later discovered I was not the only one struck with longing during the water fight...I was not the only one struck with the immensity of the loss - again. How Josiah loved being Liv's Dad. He would have been delighted to have two little gals.
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| Even Noah is in on the action. 📷by Larissa |
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| Such fun for the kids! 📷by Larissa |
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| 📷by Larissa |
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| 📷by Larissa |
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| 📷by Larissa |
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| LOVE Benny and Noah 📷by Larissa |
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| 📷by Larissa |
Larissa was the champ on the ground taking photos. I took my photos from up here. AND this is how the mamas, Alex and papa kept from getting wet. LOL
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| 📷by Larissa |
Liv has control of the coveted Chick Fil A water weapon.
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| 📷by Larissa |
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| Livie, Carrie, Josi, Arielle, Noah and Larissa 📷by Larissa |
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| 📷by Larissa |
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| Jared and Noah📷by Larissa |
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| 📷by Larissa |
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| 📷by Larissa |
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| 📷by Larissa |
Jamin flew his drone during the water fight. Danny saw it and yelled, "A bomb!" The drone managed to escape the threat of being pelted out of the sky by water balloons. However, it met with an unfortunate accident Sunday morning, and we will not be sharing video of the epic fight after all. LOL
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| Noah and GG 📷by Larissa |
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| Jared & Annie 📷by Larissa |
Danny loves this horse. Check out the banner we finally made for the yard...We've been calling it Bachan's park but that isn't fair as Papa does so much of the work to keep it nice for the kids. Bella called us Wibbly Wobbly Acres when she lived here...and so Wibbly Wobbly Park...
It was a great day to be together. It was fun to celebrate Bre's birthday. After most had gone home some of us continued talking. The comment was made all our therapists tells us we're dealing well with grief. It's HEALTHY to make space to hold joy and grief together...making new memories while mourning the old.... and then I said the thing no one says....
"If we're all doing so well, why does it hurt so stinkin bad?!"
...this is what it looks like to move forward... with grief.
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