The movie “Dan in Real Life” was on tv today. I love that movie. The storyline revolves around a family reunion much like the ones we had every summer when I was a kid. It got me thinking.

My dad’s family will be meeting up north for a ginormous family reunion in one week. This is a very special reunion for all of us. When I was a kid we used to go up north to my Grandma & Grandpa Selleck’s cottage. We would stay for a week every summer with all the cousins, aunts and uncles. We would eat cherries, assemble puzzles, search for petoskey stones on the beach, sing Raffi songs, jump on the beds. We had so much fun. But now all the cousins are grown. With jobs and bills to pay, we haven’t been back to the cottage in years. In fact, my Grandpa sold the cottage many years ago so even if we could all fit in there with our addition of spouses and kids we wouldn’t have the option.

So this year marks our first attempt at reliving some of those good times and creating a whole new set of memories for our children. I just can’t even describe to you how excited I am about this reunion. I absolutely love my extended family. They love games and food and being silly, and those are all things I love too. I just hope that after our spouses see how crazy we all can get, that we’ll still be married for years to come

I don’t usually spend too much time anticipating fun things. I kind of wait until the last minute to get excited, but this is one event I’m already giddy about. I know it because when I was in the basement earlier today I was standing near the wooden shelves and somehow it smelled like cedar, just like the cedar closet in the basement of my grandparents’ cottage, and my heart fluttered a bit. Because for me scents conjure up memories and that cottage held all sorts of good memories. Not only did I spend many a summer at that cottage, Mike and I also honeymooned there.

The smell of coffee also brings back warm memories for me. It often makes me think of my Grandma Selleck. She always seemed to have coffee around. I remember she had a plastic cup holder stuck to her car dashboard that held a travel Dunkin’ Donuts mug. Grandma Selleck was one of my favorite people in the world, and she passed away during my senior year of high school. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I love coffee so much. She felt like the glue that held our family together, and after 14 years she is still sorely missed. She was an amazing woman.

Here’s to reliving good times, remembering those who have gone before us, making new memories for our children, the smell of cedar, and to a good cup of coffee.

The movie “Dan in Real Life” was on tv today. I love that movie. The storyline revolves around a family reunion much like the ones we had every summer when I was a kid. It got me thinking.

My dad’s family will be meeting up north for a ginormous family reunion in one week. This is a very special reunion for all of us. When I was a kid we used to go up north to my Grandma & Grandpa Selleck’s cottage. We would stay for a week every summer with all the cousins, aunts and uncles. We would eat cherries, assemble puzzles, search for petoskey stones on the beach, sing Raffi songs, jump on the beds. We had so much fun. But now all the cousins are grown. With jobs and bills to pay, we haven’t been back to the cottage in years. In fact, my Grandpa sold the cottage many years ago so even if we could all fit in there with our addition of spouses and kids we wouldn’t have the option.

So this year marks our first attempt at reliving some of those good times and creating a whole new set of memories. I just can’t even describe to you how excited I am about this reunion. I absolutely love my extended family. They love games and food and being silly, and those are all things I love too. I just hope that after our spouses see how crazy we all can get, that we’ll still be married for years to come

I don’t usually spend too much time anticipating things like this. I kind of wait until the last minute to get excited, but this is one event I’m already giddy about. I know it because when I was in the basement earlier I was standing near the wooden shelves and somehow it smelled like cedar, just like the cedar closet in the basement of my grandparents’ cottage, and my heart fluttered a bit. Because for me scents conjure up memories and that cottage held all sorts of good memories. Not only did I spend many a summer at that cottage, Mike and I also honeymooned there.

The smell of coffee also brings back warm memories for me. It always makes me think of my Grandma Selleck. She always seemed to have coffee around. I remember she had a plastic cup holder stuck to her car dashboard that held a travel Dunkin’ Donuts mug. She was one of my favorite people in the world, and she passed away during my senior year of high school. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I love coffee so much. She felt like the glue that held our family together, and after 14 years she is still sorely missed.

Here’s to reliving good times, to remembering those who have gone before us, to making new memories for our children, to the smell of cedar, and a good cup of coffee.

I’m up at my dad’s house for the Memorial Day weekend and we are shedding tears of laughter as we read through all the letters and stories that we all wrote to my dad and stepmom throughout our childhoods. It’s no surprise that I started a blog in my adult years. I’ve been writing nonsense and crap for years. But always sprinkled with a bit of wisdom. I have improved a little on my grammar and use of commas, but only a touch. The following is a transcript of a letter I wrote to my dad and stepmom on their 2nd wedding anniversary.

Not just a marriage, a Marriage!

The first step in a marriage, doesn’t start at the end of the wedding, first you have to fall in love. Get used to that for awhile. And then sincerely ask God for His approval of the “so far” relationship.

When you think you’re really ready, you still have to double check, you might not have gotten God’s message just right.

Make sure your friends are happy with your “partner.” Also, most important, make sure your devoted to the choice.

When you’ve finally finished your decision, your ready to go. Start planning to wed! Don’t get too excited, though! Don’t go too fast!

The two of you together, will look the happiest of ever. After a few years of marriage, (If it’s your choice,) You might add on an ornary, crying portion of life to your small family. (Maybe more than one.)

(Remember, the man’s the head of the house, and Jesus is in the middle of it all. Or at least He should be for it to work out good.)

Aside from my excessive use of commas and the misspelling of “you’re”, it’s not a bad letter, right? They are still married after 20+ years, so they must have taken my advice! (My fondness for exclamation points has not changed.)

I can’t think of anything I’m motivated to blog about (for some reason I’m losing my taste for the internet, gah!) but I can’t just leave the last post as the first one you come to. Let’s leave on a happy note. Not to say that I’m leaving, just that I don’t know when I’ll be back in the swing of blogging.

Anyhoo. We’ve been having a lot of fun lately. It’s a good life.

Luke got soaking wet playing water guns with Grandpa and LOVED it.

Then many days later (today, in fact) he thoroughly enjoyed some french toast with Opa.

We actually let him draw in his pajamas, but only because Oma did it first

Natalie practiced her flying.

We’re still hanging out at my Dad and Stepmom’s house until Memorial Day. My sister and her whole fam damily are here and we’re all just having a good time!

Kids really do say some funny stuff. And if you don’t document it somewhere (like a blog perhaps?) they’ll grow up and you’ll forget it. At their high school graduation you’ll be asking yourself, “what was that he used to say?”. Well Luke makes us laugh on a daily basis with the stuff he says. And I certainly don’t want to forget it.

I love it when you ask him what he is doing and he replies, “What do you fink I’m doing?”

I also love it when he says “When I get big, I can reach the movies, play darts, drive, play baseball, use a knife, make food…” The list just keeps getting longer.

Or when he hears you pass gas and asks “You farp? You tinky, you need a shower!”

I DO NOT like it when he says “I waaant sumping!” or “I want fruit snacks, Mommy” over and over and over, but then he throws out his made-up word, “shrada-shray!” or tells us a story about That Farmer Guy and you just can’t help but smile a little.

Natalie is finally starting to offer some entertainment. She is six months old. She is still super tall (unlike her momma) and she is starting to do a lot more rolling and some scooting. She smiles a lot. If you give her even the slightest eye contact she returns it with a bright smile that lights up the room. You could say Joy is her middle name. Well, cuz it is.

I passed a big test today. It’s a huge load off my shoulders. I still have another test I’ll have to take to complete my goal of becoming an Enrolled Agent, but for now I can relax for a little while. It’s really nice to be able to come home from work and just spend some time with the kids without a task like studying looming over my head. And I am having so much fun spending time with them. Even with the standard age-2-boundary-testing Luke surprises me with how well he behaves most of the time. I don’t deserve for it to be this easy. Of course you’ll have to remind me I said that the next time I blow a gasket because he won’t shut up about the fruit snacks.

I have so many fond memories of building forts with my brother and sister when I was a kid. So when Luke started acting kind of bored this lazy Sunday morning, I had an idea. We need to teach this kid how to build a fort! We pulled the cushions off the couch, dragged out the sheets and kitchen chairs, and in minutes had a cozy little hideout. This fort kept Luke occupied and engaged for a full hour. That’s a miracle if you ask me. Yup. We spent an hour hiding out in the fort, only coming out for a potty break and to check on the sleeping bear nearby (Daddy). Luke made food for us in the kitchen, we took a bath in the tub, we even took a couple of naps.

I love that Luke is at that age where his imagination is coming alive. He loves to pretend and make up stories. He has been telling us all day about some “farmer guy” who yells, “I don’t wanna eat pancakes!” and some dog that pants and runs outside. We have no idea where any of this came from. It doesn’t sound like any movie we’ve watched with him and we’ve certainly never introduced him to any farmers. I wonder if he dreamt it all last night. A few weeks back he spent a day telling me all about the dinosaurs that were chasing him. Little boy dreams are fun.

Is this the picture of a mom reunited with her children? Yes it is. I had not seen Luke since Tuesday night but was reunited with him on Saturday. He spent a few days at my sister’s house with her three children (Thank you Kari! That was a huge sacrifice and helped us out so much!). Friday night felt like a sort of reunion for me and Natalie too. While I’ve still been with her for the past week, until the steroids kicked in I was not able to pick her up and walk with her. I felt so useless having to have Mike bring her to me any time I wanted to spend time with her or feed her. So this picture is definitely a picture of a mom reunited with her children. And thankful to have them in my life! I spent seven years hoping and praying to have children of my own but I had no idea what indescribable joy they could bring to our lives.

And we bought the girl a new toy:

Needless to say, we’ve been having a lot of fun here at the Richmond house.

About a week or two ago my two-year old son (almost three!) told me he wanted more snow. The little bit of snow that we had at the time had mostly melted and there wasn’t enough to make snowmen or even have a snowball fight. I do have control over some things, juice and crayons and whatnot, but precipitation I cannot provide. I told Luke that he would have to take that one up with God. Surprisingly, he took that as an acceptable answer and went on his way.

This morning Luke got up while I was getting ready for work. He came into the bathroom (I’ve gotta teach him about knocking) and told me matter-of-factly that he talked to Jesus. Yes, they had a talk. Luke and Jesus had a talk and Luke asked Jesus for more snow. Now how he knows that Jesus and God are one in the same, I have no idea. We’ve never really explained that to him, but he must have picked up on it somehow.

Twice today I’ve heard Luke repeat phrases that he could have only heard from his dad.

He was unzipping his sister’s diaper bag and I asked him “What are you doing?”
And he answered,”What do you think I’m doing?”

Then later he was boxing with Mike. They use boxing gloves and Luke takes his shirt off, just like the professionals. They even have a rule about shouting “ding! ding!” before they start a round. Mike must have started fighting too early at one point because I heard Luke shout,
“I didn’t hear a bell!”

Now if I ever hear Luke say “This cost $10 bucks, shipped!” I’ll start to get really worried.