Two Weddings and a Broken Window

Playing just a BIT of catch up... yikes. two weeks worth!

Meri's last day of her day care consisted of her and me taking her remaining littles to a local arcade/pizza joint for lunch.  They were so sweet and got lots of junk for the billions of tickets they won.

The clematis and lilacs were in bloom by that weekend!  And the clematis FINALLY behaved like I thought it should have for all those years.

and the lilacs gave off the heavy perfume that Robb hated and I could inhale lovingly.

mmmmmmmmmmmm.....

and the baby birds hatched!!!  They've flown the coop since so maybe I can wash out those nests...

In my prepping for that weekend, I cleaned up and moved out the rest of my MIL's things from the basement and that included a little bedside stand that had been the girl's.  I found this under the drawer!

Maddy was surprised and I forgot to give it to her when she was here.  DARN!  And now I'm wondering if I know where I put it...  I'll find it.

I also forgot to give Matthew the cans of Haggis I had bought for him.  shoot.

Maddy, Matthew and their pups arrived that Friday of Memorial Day weekend.  I didn't see them until the next morning as they arrived very late that Friday.  But they and my SIL, Cathy, came over early and we got to work painting the formerly known as MIL's living room.  It is now Ryan, Jen's and Leon's.

Jen had already painted the bedroom. The living room and hall needed a fresh coat very similar to what it had already.  Worked out great and the room is very nice.  I haven't gotten a pic yet of that.  Maybe this week.

Leon's room got painted that next week but I'll blog about that another day.  It's got a bit more tweaking to do before it's the way he wants it anyway.

After we scraped off all the paint that got under our fingernails that Saturday, we headed to my MIL's independent living apartment for a dog show/win some stuff - mostly chocolate.  We didn't realize we'd be in the sun so much or we'd have worn sun screen.  While it doesn't bother me, Matthew has much fairer skin and was miserable with a bad sun burn the next 2 days.  He and I had played a game of baseball via corn holes with some of the residents and were in the sun a lot...

Grandma was happy to see everyone there.  As long as you'd been vaccinated, you could attend and we all had been.

On Sunday, we visited with my bestie, filled up her husband's tivo (actually that might have been another day...)(the days are a blur and it's been 2 weeks ago..) , hung out at home.

On Monday, Memorial Day, we made the traditional pork and peach kebabs as well as brat kebabs.  And even though I'd cleaned the grill and gotten a full tank of propane for it, it wasn't cooking the food...  SIGH...  

I've fixed that since.

And since our oven was still having problems (will ck later and see if I told you about IT) I couldn't just broil them.  shoot.  Meri had loaned us a toaster oven she'd picked up during one of her "drive through campus town and see what the silly college kids put on the curb after they moved out of the dorm" finds.  She does that every year with her close friends.  And what a find!!!  The toaster oven got restarted about 6 times as well as my George Forman grill to finish off all the kebabs in time to eat.

We also made Drunken Peach Cobbler that Robb loved to make for Memorial Day. YUM...

We all went out to the cemetery and got a family picture.  We should have brought someone with us to take the pic but in this one, Matthew did.  I took another of just the kids.

We had walked out to the stone the previous day also and Leon stayed behind to "talk" to Grandpa.  We were a ways away before we noticed that he was talking to him.

I burst into tears for any reason anymore.

Like now for example.

He did it again that Monday also just a little so we couldn't hear him.

Since then I have canned more food, with the help of others, got Leon moved downstairs and I'm working on getting Robb's office things moved up to Leon's old room, temporarily.  Not sure where all that stuff is going to land yet but that's as good a spot as anywhere else.

I also took the opportunity to rearrange the living room.  It'll be shifted many, MANY more times until I'm happy with it.  But for now it's this way.  And the vacuum is in exactly the same place as that week.   It's been more than 2 days so I guess that's where it will always be.

Also since then, I attended my nephew's wedding last Wednesday!  Who gets married "mid-week"!!!?!

Alex.

It was a beautiful wedding and they hired an ice cream truck for the reception. PERFECT!

Here are my sister's feet.

That same day was Maddy and Matthew's 4th wedding anniversary!  We celebrated by attending the wedding and drinking White Claw at a hotel room and playing card games.  One was Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza.  Don't play that one if you're REALLY low on sleep.  Your reflexes will be drastically lower than you would guess.  But it was a lot of fun. I lost.

Maddy discovered a new app that makes you a cartoon/artwork. Here I am.  I kind of like it!  I'm sure you saw all the craze of that blew through FB...

It's been one thing after another.  I also attended another wedding 3 days later for my cousin's son in Nebraska.  It was outside and quite beautiful also.  I cried.  again.

Spent some time with my bro, Mark!  And I like this photo as I look slender.  For the record, I'm not.  

Between the wedding and the reception, he, his gf and I went garage sailing.  We transferred the gobs of stuff to my car when we got back.    Whew!  That was a good one!

I also got to visit with my Aunt Rosemary and cousin, Matt and met his newly adopted daughter Sarah.  What a cutie!  She slid back into a chair and got stuck. Twice.  The second time was on purpose so Mark could get a picture of it.

I got back home that night super late around 11:30 and after I texted Meri that I was home so she could get to sleep, I realized that Ryan had locked the doors when he left earlier that day for a surprise party 3 hours away.

SURPRISE!!!  I hadn't brought the house key with me.  When was the last time Ryan had ever locked the house up tight?!!!  NEXT to never, but he sure did then.

And as luck would have it, Meri went to sleep immediately after I had texted her and wouldn't answer her phone at all.  I wasn't sure if she had a spare key.

Ryan called me and apologized and gave me various bits of advice.  I thought I'd just sleep in the car but after another hour of that, I thought, "I'm SO close to my own bed!  I want my OWN bed!!!"  So I broke a window.  It was NOT easy...  Those movies make it seem so easy.  Throw a chair, BAM, it's broken.  NOPE it's not.  Took me another 30 minutes but I was determined and paying for it now.  I got my 3.5 hours of sleep, gosh darn it.

I found out the next morning that Meri had a spare key. 

If you ever need your house broken into, do NOT call me.  

It is beyond me HOW people do this for a living...

I found a Taco Cat bag at Aldi this weekend and sprinkled a little cat nip inside for Frank.

Oh my goodness he's in love!!!!

Ryan asked how is it that it's legal for cats to get high?

And I answered, because they don't drive heavy machinery.

Snacking this morning on Jen's leftover surprise birthday cake.  I may NEVER lose this weight...