We miss Grandad terribly; he was such a huge part of our day-to-day life. I find myself stopping outside his door to tell him about the latest cute thing that D can do (he is picking up sign language so fast!) or, when the cousins were here, how much fun the kids just had doing... well, I can just show you ten days worth of pictures. That will tell you the story of our vacation!
The Pond
The afternoon of August 8, I took the kids down to the pond. Grandad's passing didn't effect the kids as heavily as it effected the adults. I felt like I was in some surreal world sitting down there at the pond, watching the kids splash around like nothing tragic had happened that morning.
Cousins M and K, my 13 and 11 year old nieces, got to swing off the rope swing, paddle on the boards, and spend time hanging out with the cousins they haven't seen since 2008!
Isn't this strange how this picture turned out? IJ was the most impacted, although he keeps reminding us that Grandad has been freed from his body's prison and has been reunited with his wife. He tells me he feels their spirits.
Time With Uncle Opie
Uncle Opie and I took the seven kids to the beach while M and his sister took care of business.
IJ was missing his dad, but he found great company with his uncle. Here they are watching deer in the pasture with binoculars!
One of the greatest things he did while visiting, was take care of a little over-population problem I have...
He taught IJ how to hypnotize a chicken so she will stay still...
...long enough to chop her head... Grandad always stressed the importance of teaching the kids how to kill and butcher a chicken.
IJ said, "I don't really like killing chickens. I did it for Grandad. I don't mind butchering though." I'm sure Grandad watched from heaven and was proud of him.
And I hope he was proud of me! I killed and butchered this turkey (almost) all by myself! It weighed out at 30 pounds, dressed! The males were so large I would never be able to fit them in the oven! So, into the freezer quartered they went.
General Fun
How can you have summer visitors without a campfire and marshmallows? You can't!
Lovely Cousin K had a great time being the older sister, for once.
And my little girls absolutely loved their cousins too! They already miss them! M and K were so patient with the little girls, who often forgot their bedroom wasn't theirs anymore.
Mealtimes were a blast with seven kids wrapped around the counter (in age order-to keep things simple). The only problem? We were one chair short, so whoever was last to the counter had to stand.
The Service
At one time, Grandad was the last D family member...and now look at his descendents!
His nine grandchildren.
It was strange to be taking pictures at the service. I recorded the military honors, but I also tried to capture some tender moments between family members. Can you imagine if I would have missed capturing...
...these sweet moments between people who love each other dearly?
