Well, after a very short couple of weeks home, Randy is off again "into the wild blue yonder"..... I know I say it all the time, but boy do we hate it when he has to be away from us. There is a certain kind of quiet that takes residence in our home when Randy is not here. Notice I said a certain kind of quietness. Believe me, our house is not quiet. If it's not Connor babbling his Ma Ma Ma's or Dad Dad Da's or Bop Bop Bop's it's Mackenzie crying or starting to coo. There isn't a dull moment around here let me tell you!!! Anyway, see you soon Daddy. We can't wait for you to come home so we can enjoy the sunshine and afternoon walks together.
We have been so busy over the past couple of weeks. We packed the kids up and headed for Ferndale for 6 days. It was interesting traveling with 2 kiddo's and ALL their gear. Who would have known that we would barely have enough room to pack our own bags, in a mini van no less!!! Between the pack and play, the jumperoo, the bouncy seat, the bumbo, the toy bar, the bags of clothes, the diapers, the dog.....we were packed to the hilt!!!! I felt a little like The Clampet's driving down I5. Good thing we didn't have Grandma in a rocking chair on the roof!!! Hee Hee!!!
We had a fantastic and busy few days up North. Visiting family and friends is always a highlight for us. The kids were great travelers and no one got sick!!! The reason for the trip centered around Connor being chosen to be in a calendar for Down Syndrome Awareness in Whatcom County. We were all so excited about this for Little Bug. We got his first real haircut and got him some fancy new duds so he would be polished for his photo shoot. What fun it was to watch him being a star. The first few minutes of the shoot he wouldn't smile for anything. You should have seen us. We were working very hard to get him to crack a smile, but he just looked at us like we were fools. Then, finally, Randy started to do the airplane game with him and he started pumping those chubby little legs like Rudolph on Christmas Eve and we saw some smiles. The photographer was GREAT!!! She got down flat on her back and let Randy do the airplane game right over her so she could get Connor's smiles close up. She was able to snap some fantastic shots and we can't wait for the calendar to be revealed at the end of summer. We will keep you all posted on the progress of the calendar and many have already asked how they can get one once they come out. It is my understanding that you can purchase them through us or through the Whatcom County Down Syndrome Awareness website. I am waiting for word back from the coordinator on how best to accommodate requests for the calendar. Stay posted and I will let you know how you can get one if that's your desire.
After the photo shoot we walked around Cornwall Park and took some pictures of our own. We realized that we didn't have any pictures of the 4 of us, so this was a perfect and fun opportunity to take some family pictures.
We hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day and we hope you have the opportunity to pay respect to all the men and women who have fought so bravely for our dear country and lost their lives. I personally say thank you to all the brave soldiers that have been dedicated, even to death, to spare the lives of those of us living in our great USA. I found a little bit of history that I thought was interesting.
In 1915, inspired by the poem
"In Flanders Fields," Moina Michael replied with her own poem:
We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
She conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need.
So, if you see a red poppy over the weekend you will be reminded that the "blood of our heroes never dies!!!" Happy Memorial Day!!
Lovebug Hugs,
Lori
