Ugh

I so so so cannot believe that I haven't updated this bad boy in more than 3 months! I am the epitome of a slacker. This post, I guess, is mostly to catch up. Then next post(s) will be chock full o' pictures.

In mid-April our family got news that my great-grandfather (my kids' great-great grandfather) had terminal cancer and the doctors said that he'd pass in about a month. My mom and her siblings immediately took a trip up to Utah to visit their grandfather. They had a really nice visit, but the night before they made the trip back here to Arizona my grandfather slipped into a coma shortly after speaking to the one grandchild he had yet to. So, we made the trip up to Utah for the funeral. It was so odd to be at my grandmothers house and not hear my gramps hollering at one of the kids to stop running and to see his chair empty was sad. There was a viewing, the first I'd ever been to, and it was horrible. You go in thinking that you'll be able to control your emotions, that you'll be okay. But when you turn that corner and see that casket all bets are off. You crumple into a big heap of tears, snot and heartbreak. The next morning was the funeral. It was held at the same Catholic church that my great-grandparents had been going to for 50+ years. It's a bit surreal to walk into that church and have all eyes, seemingly, on you. When I think of the phrase "walking down the aisle" this isn't what comes to mind. The funeral mass was lovely and my grandfather would have liked it. After mass we went to the mortuary for the burial service. I've been to one of these. I've heard the weeping of a family as they say their last goodbyes to their loved one. My grandfather was a WWII vet. He served proudly in the Navy and he was in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1o941, where the ship he was on was sunk and he was lost at sea for 3 days. So, he had military honors given to him. The "21 gun salute" felt like a gaping hole was where my heart was supposed to be. The part that I will never ever forget is my cousin, who graduated from the Naval Academy, in his dress whites, handing my grandmother the American flag.

Since then, I really haven't been motivated to do much. Hence, no blog updates. But, life doesn't cease to exist just because you don't blog it, and kids make that much more apparent.

Chase is almost 2 1/2 and he is getting so big! He knows most colors, he can count to 14 backwards and forwards, he knows shapes and he is talking more and more each day.

Roxy is such a happy girl, except when you ignore her. She is due for her 6 month checkup, so I'm anxious to see where she is stats-wise and developmentally. She's getting on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth, but when she tries to move forward she end up faceplanting!

Ian is working as hard as ever. I don't think that I tell him how much I appreciate how hard he works to support our family.

Next post will have pics!