Spamdrew's Birthday

Angie spends a little time with her Daddy for his Birthday.

We Finally Saw Toy Story 3

We finally had a day to go and see Toy Story 3. We saw it in 3D and all enjoyed it. Angie made it about 2/3 of the way through it before she was wiggling all over the place. Thankfully the movie had been out long enough the theater was fairly empty.

Pull Out Your Pocketbook

I think we are in trouble, Angie likes to shop.

Saying Goodbye to Company :(

I again really wish I took more pictures. We had a great time with family visiting and will miss being able to visit them by just taking a car trip. Now it will have to be via airplane. As soon as they arrived it seemed it was time for them to leave :(

Before they left we played at a friends house in Mission Viejo. Just before we were going to leave Angie played on their computer for 30 seconds and somehow flipped the screen. It took me a while with Andy's help to change it back. Angie kept looking for her cousins after they left. She really loved having them here to play with.

Welcome Home to Company :)

Andy's sister Karen and her family will be moving from Arizona to Illinois in a few weeks and had planned on visiting before moving so far away. We decided to proceed with those plans even though they would arrive at our house the day before we returned from our unexpected trip to Washington.

Here are Renee, Kaylee, Angie and Ryan. Just a coincidence that all three girls had gotten hand me downs of the same dress from different sources. We went to Chuck E Cheese for some lunch and some fun.

All of Angie's cousins were so nice to Angie. She loved playing with them.

Kaylee and Angie going for a ride.

Cashing in the tickets.

Studying their surgical skills.

The prizes!

Andy enjoys some relaxation after a long days work.

Bedtime was some organized chaos but I loved being able to interact with my nieces and nephew. I also love that Angie got to interact with her Aunt Karen. I love Angie's smiling face in this picture.

Angie also got some snuggles with Grandma Kathy.

Andy helped rock the twins.

Snuggled all together in Angie's crib. Angie was nice enough to sleep in the pack and play. It was really nice to have everyone stay with us so we got a little extra time together.

Our Flight Home

Angie then got on her second airplane ride. She was a perfect little traveler. She read some books while comfy in her car-seat with her blanket and Mrs Bear.

She also took a nap right on schedule. How luck were we!

On the last leg she watched some Finding Nemo.

Flying into Long Beach airport is kind of like going back in time. It made it possible to get this picture :) Lets just say I will be happy to be sleeping in my own bed. Home Sweet Home!

Visiting friends in Washington

The day after the funeral I got to hang out with my old roommate Audra and her little girl Aisling. We had fun talking, making banana bread, making homemade freezer raspberry jam and just spending time together while our girls played together. I lament the fact that my camera had stopped working and I have no pictures of this time together. It was so nice to catch up.

Later that evening we had dinner with our neighbors that had moved to Washington. Angie was so happy to play with her friends Ava and Jessica again, Cameron had fun too. Andy and I were happy to catch up with Kyle and Kristy. We miss having them in our neighborhood.

All the girls.

Kristy and I.

Angie was fascinated with the bug vacuum they had. She looks quite dangerous, don't you think?

These two had a great time. So glad we could spend time together.

Burial in Arlington, WA

It has been a very long time since I have been in Arlington Washington where my Mother grew up. Here is my Grandparent's headstone. The weather was beautiful and as usual there were so many beautiful tall trees.

Here is my Great Grandparent's headstone. Next to them is my Great Aunt Amy Joyce and my Mother is being buried right next to her.

I was so grateful that my dear friend Audra from college came to give me support.

Here the men bring Mom to her grave. Cameron wanted the experience to be a pall bearer, I am glad that he got the chance. It was a very simple graveside service. Andy conducted, there was open time for people to get up and tell their thoughts and memories, we sang I am a Child of God, Andy dedicated the grave, I gave a closing prayer and a bugler played taps while the casket was lowered.

More juice please!

Some of the family went to lunch. It was nice especially since much of the family there I never remember ever meeting! It was nice to get to know people. Some came as far as from Idaho and Oregon.

A picture of my Aunt Susan, Me, my brother Cameron, my sister Darby and my Aunt Barbara.

Next we took a little tour of Arlington. This was my Grandparent's home on Becky Ave. My Mother grew up in this home and this is the home that my Grandparents lived in until my Grandmothers death. I have many memories of having lots of fun here as a child when we visited.

Such a beautiful home, the only house on the street. It had a circular driveway, the view from the backyard was spectacular. There is a cliff in the backyard with a river at the bottom.

This was my Great Grandparent's home. I also remember visiting this home as a child. My Great Grandfather died when I was 7 years old. Both my Grandfather and Great Grandfather were professional photographers and you can still find their postcards being sold in Seattle.

This is the monkey tail tree in front of the home my Mother lived in when she was a younger child.

This is the house my Mother lived in as a young child. My Great Grandparents built it and my Grandparents ended up buying it from them. It was right next to the previous pictured home that my Great Grandparent's lived in and on the other side was a park. What a great location to raise a young family!

Here is the park next to my Grandparents home. Look at those trees!

I spent some time with my friend Audra in the afternoon while everyone else went back to the hotel for naps and relaxation. Later in the evening we met up to eat a delicious dinner at the Metropolitan.

Angie's First Plane Ride

My Mother's parents were buried in Washington so we made arrangements for her to be buried by them there. Washington is too far to drive with a toddler so we took Angie on her first plane ride. Angie does better when you explain things to her so we watched the planes and explained to her that we would go on a plane, it would be noisy and go fast. It was nice that her car seat was airplane approved so she could have her own seat in something she was used to. She then did great! She would say "weeeee" during take off and landing.

She had her blanket, Mrs Bear and some books to keep her company. We took a chance and made the flight for during nap time and we lucked out, she napped! It was nice to have a direct flight from Long Beach to Seatac, only 3 hours.

Here we are together. Uncle Cameron was just in the isle next to me. Nice to be safe in Washington.

Corn on the cob

It took a while but Angie will now finally eat corn on the cob. Let summer begin!

Nap Time

We sleep trained Angie so well that she rarely will fall asleep while being held. This is one of the few exceptions as she takes a nap with her Uncle Cameron.

My Mother's Funeral

I have never had to arrange a funeral before. I am so grateful for O'Connor Mortuary, they made everything go so smoothly. My Mother's friends from church were also a great help with arranging the building, flowers, program and luncheon. My dear Husband printed the programs and made a sideshow of pictures for display.

In preparation for the funeral my Aunt Susan, my Mother's good friend Leanne and myself went the day before to dress my Mother and do her makeup and hair. I was not sure how I was going to feel about doing this. It really ended up being a healing and sacred experience and I am glad that I decided to participate.

My brother Cameron and my Dad sitting during the viewing.

We brought some picture and my Mom's church friends made beautiful displays.

The service was nice. My Mom's twin sister Susan gave the eulogy. I heard many stories that I had never heard before. After the service the wonderful people at church served us a luncheon.

Angela sporting an attitude. She of course has her "eyes" aka sunglasses, juice, gold fish and fruit snacks. We tried to be prepared but Andy still had to spend time walking around in the foyer with Angie during the service.

A little out of focus but we actually got a picture of Darby's boyfriend Stephen smiling.

Me and my sister Darby.

This is Alfonzo and his wife. They ran the board and care home that Mom was in much of the time. They even had her living with them in their own home for a time.

Angie and her Uncle Cameron at home after the funeral.

I love Angie's snicker face in this picture. Later in the evening we went to dinner at the Soup Plantation. This was my Mother's favorite restaurant.