Remembering Papa

Instead of my usual Friday Favorites post, I'm going to a do a post honoring Kevin's grandpa today.  

We called him Papa and since Kevin and I grew up together, he seemed like my Papa, too.  I've been going to his family functions for 20+ years and his family traditions feel like our family traditions.  We got the call on Valentine's Day that Papa had passed away with Nana by his side.  His health had been declining, but the news was still unexpected.

He was 87 and the kindest, nicest, most gentle man you could imagine.

He loved babies, kids and all his grandkids.  He'd talk to the littlest ones first, charmed all the smiles out of the babies and the feeling was mutual - the babies loved him.  He loved good food, family and always seemed happiest when his family was together.  Kevin and Papa are a lot alike.  They're both romantic guys who'd do anything for their girls.

Nana & Papa met on a blind date.  He loved to tell the story that he peeked in the window of the restaurant and saw Nana, his heart when "flutter, flutter, flutter" and it was love at first sight for both of them.  He was in the Navy and would road trip home as much as possible to see her.  He adored Nana.  They were the sweetest duo.  She loved to cook and he loved anything she cooked.  They were just happy being together.  They traveled, gardened, hosted Bible study, had couple friends and were very involved at their church.

A few of my favorite Papa stories...

Anytime you'd call their house he'd answer the phone with a "Hey, there Sugar!" and then both he and Nana would get on the phone at the same time to talk to you.  Birthday phone calls were always a treat for me.  They'd sing you Happy Birthday together and make sure you were having a great day. 

Papa told me when I was a teenager that the way to a man's heart was through his stomach.  He loved my chocolate chip cookies and always made sure to have a few at all of my parties.  

He told Kevin two very important words to keep your wife happy were "Yes, Dear." 

When we got married, Nana and Papa gave us a really nice set of luggage.  We were moving right to Utah and they knew we'd need some good luggage for all the traveling we'd be doing.  They were right.  That luggage has gone all over the country with us.  He was practical and always eager to help.

Nana and Papa always came to the kid's birthday parties since they were tiny.  I'd call to invite them and they'd say, "We wouldn't miss it for the world!" We loved celebrating the kids with them.  He'd help Nana pick out gifts - the perfect kid sized Nerf gun for Fletcher and dolls for Olive.

We got to see Papa at Christmas this past year and I am so thankful for that.  He was not feeling his best, but he was at home surrounded by the people he loved.  Kevin's Aunt Rhonda told me she saw Papa's face light up when Leo looked his way and started babbling.

We are all better for having Papa in our lives.

Let's go on a walk down memory lane: Our wedding 2004

Meeting Olive 2013:

Olive's 1st Birthday:

Olive's 2nd Birthday:

Meeting Fletcher 2016:

Fletcher's 1st Birthday:

Nana & Papa's 60th Wedding anniversary party:

Fletcher's 2nd Birthday Party:

Kevin's Birthday:

Sweet times at Nana & Papa's house:

Kevin's Birthday 2020:

Nana & Papa Meeting Leo:

 

Fletcher's 4th Birthday:

We were happy to be able to go to Papa's funeral last weekend in spite of all the snow and freezing temps we had all week.  Kevin did a reading at the funeral and the service was really nice.  

We are thankful to have so many sweet memories with Papa.

Olive said, "It's hard to smile when you feel sad."  It's true.

Fletcher said one day this week, "Mom, I think Papa just said hi to me FROM HEAVEN!!"  I wasn't sure what he meant so I asked him to explain.  He said, "I just got shocked and it was like SING!  IT seemed like Papa was saying hi to me FROM HEAVEN!  Isn't that crazy, Mom?!?"  

We all get shocked a lot so I think we'll always think of those little shocks as Papa saying hi from heaven.

We took the kids to the visitation and stayed at the funeral as long as we could.  I brought the kids to my parent's house for a little break.  It was a nice distraction :)  My Mom spent the entire day prior making a GIANT meal for the after funeral lunch.  It was so nice of her - they dropped it off at Nana's house and we all enjoyed just showing up for a delicious lunch together.  We headed back to meet up with everyone after they left the cemetery.  I'm glad we brought the kids to say goodbye and be around all the people they love.

  Go hug or call all the people you love this weekend :)

What's Up Wednesday

Hey Friends!  Let's chat about all the things that are going on here these days.  If we were sitting down for coffee - I'd order a caramel latte and fill you in on everything. What would you order?

 

1. What We're Eating this Week

Homemade Easy Vegetable Soup

French Dip Sandwiches

Breakfast for Dinner

& BIG Salads for lunch every day.

I added this Marketside Super Blend salad mix on a whim to my Walmart grocery pick up order this week.  It's SO good and packed full of goodness - brussels sprouts, cabbage, kohirabi, broccoli, carrots and kale.  It beefs up any salad instantly.  

Kevin's also been on a roll making Butterfinger Blizzards for us for dessert after the kids go to bed.

2. What I'm Reminiscing About

A friend planned the most fun MNO last weekend!  We rented out an entire movie theater just for the 6 of us.  We got movie snacks, wore masks until we were in our seats and spread out in the theater.  It was so fun.  We saw Crazy Rich Asians and we all loved it.  Have you seen it?  I can't wait to do this again!  One of my friends showed up with a special snack for everyone - The Perfect Man - made out of chocolate :)

3. What I'm Loving

SNOW!  We got a foot of snow last week and had the best time playing in snow for a week.  School was moved to elearning and we were home together.  The kids built tunnels, went sledding and we enjoyed the snowy days.  I'm not going to say we're done with snow just yet.  We've been known to get a March or April snow here and there.

 

4. What We've Been Up To

We headed out of town on Saturday to attend a family funeral.  It was sad and sweet and nice to see family.  I've got a post featuring all the wonderful things about Kevin's Papa later this week.  It was fun to see my parents in the midst of the funeral sadness surrounding the trip.

5. What I'm Dreading

Not that much.  Some days I dread dropping Fletcher off at school.  He gets teary eyed or cries at drop off from time to time and that makes me so sad.  I hate dropping him off that way, but his teachers assure me he is fine once the day starts.  And every time I pick him  up from school, he says I HAD A REALLY GREAT DAY!  He's learning a ton so we just keep going.  One day drop off will be a total breeze - right!?!

 

 6. What I'm Working On

I'm trying to put some fun outdoor, family friendly, kid friendly activities and events for my local mom's group.  I feel like there are more options of things to do popping up every day now that we are getting closer to Spring.  Yay!

7. What I'm Excited About

I'm excited for Spring.  All of my kids have Spring birthdays - March, April & May.  I can't wait to plan fun birthday parties for each of them.  I'll give you hints - army guys, jungle & cats.  I can't believe the kids will be 8, 5 and 1.

8. What I'm Watching/Reading

I recently wrapped up watching Anne with an E.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  It was sweet, romantic, silly and heart breaking all at the same time.  I'd highly recommend it.  It's one of the first shows that I really missed when it was over.  I wanted more!

I'm currently watching Call the Midwife.  I wasn't so sure about it after the first episode or two, but now I'm hooked.  I just love the characters, the story and the drama.

My kids just watched all the How to Train Your Dragon Movies 1-3 and loved them. My sister recommended them and we had plenty of time to sit and watch movies last week when we had a foot of snow on the ground.  We paid to rent the first one, streamed the 2nd one from Netflix and then rented the 3rd.  Once we knew they liked them all, we bought the DVD set.  We've made the mistake before of buying a new movie only to find out the kids didn't really care for it.  I was okay to spend $20 on all three DVDs since I knew we'd be adding 3 movies to our collection that both kids liked.

 

9. What I'm Listening To

Kid noise 24/7 :)  I have a Spotify playlist with all my current favorite songs.  I listen to that when I'm working out or when I'm working on my computer.  Otherwise, I've always got my ears open to hear what the kids are up to.  Maybe one day I'll be able to listen to podcasts, but I just can't find that much quiet time without kids to make it happen.

10. What I'm Wearing

I found some REALLY cute things at Walmart lately.  I need to take to the time to actually photograph some outfits for the blog, but really I'm doing good to put together a cute outfit and get out the door.  Stay tuned for a cute outfit post maybe next week - stripes, sweater dresses, zebra stripes and leopard!  Here's a sneak peek.  This striped turtleneck is so warm and cozy.  It was on clearance for $9 at my store and comes in several colors.

 

11. What I'm Doing This Weekend

The kids are super excited to go to a Magic Show Brunch on Saturday!  I'm excited for the waffle bar :)  We've never been to a magic show before so we're all excited.

 

12. What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month

Spring break and Fletcher turning 5.  He has requested an army guy party so stay tuned for all the camo/army guy things I can pull off.  We are also starting to talk about our plans for Spring planting - flowers, veggies and more. 

13. What Else is New

My van battery died unexpectedly on Friday night.  I had to call Honda Roadside to come jump my car and then we replaced the battery on Monday.  Everything was covered under our warranty - hooray!!  We shared a car for the weekend and I really missed the conveniences of sliding seats, sliding doors and remote control everything with my van.  I almost hugged her when I got her back.

 

What's new with YOU??

Linking up with Shay at Mix and Match Mama

Leo 7-9 Months

Our sweet Leo is busier than ever these days.  The months are flying by and his first birthday will be here in no time.  We remind him often that there is no need to rush all these milestones and that he is still a baby.  He seems more determined than ever to keep up with the big kids.

Leo // 7 Months

You love anything on wheels, any food you can get your hands on and all fruit purees.  You army crawl all over the house and pull up on things.  You figured out how to use our scoot boards after watching Olive and Fletcher.  You climb on and scoot all over the house.  It's impressive.  We often find you "stuck" under chairs or tables not able to get yourself out.  Tears shoot out of your eyes and flood your face any time you are sad.  We've never seen waterworks like yours.

We fish tiny toys out of your mouth all day long.  Being the baby of the family means lots of little pieces everywhere.  You get mad when we take them away.  You had several teeth pop through this month.   Your hair is coming in dark and people always comment on your handsome dark eyes.

You weigh 23lbs and love to play with toys.  Bath time is the best time. 

 

Leo // 8 Months

You are captain chaos.  Nothing makes you happier than destroying something Olive & Fletcher are working very hard on building.  They often ask me for help containing you.  You always have lots to talk about babbling the day away.  You have a sleeping song that you sing when you get tired.  You've turned into a belly sleeper and have fangs!  You have three bottom teeth and two fangs on top.  Your front teeth have yet to make their debut.

You love the kittens and love chasing them.  You're taking two naps a day  and are very fast.  You love a tray full of finger foods and are happy to sit and eat for a long time.

You got to meet Santa, visit family for Christmas and meet some family for the first time.  You preferred playing with the wrapping paper on your gifts over opening your gifts.

 

Leo // 9 Months

You ended up with 7 teeth this month.  When you are really happy, you smile very big and show your bottom three teeth.  You love to climb on anyone that sits on the ground, open and close cabinet doors, pull up on everything and like when we sing to you.  We caught you playing in the toilet several times this month.  You were very pleased with yourself.

You've learned to wave bye bye, give kisses, play peek a boo and say Da-Da this month.  You went sledding and enjoyed playing in the snow!  You are a little snow bunny.  You love to dump everything and we still call you Captain Chaos.

Olive and Fletcher have decided that you have the best name because it's short and sweet.  Swaddle blankets are still your favorite and pacis are only for chewing on it seems.  You are weighing in at 25lbs and topping all the charts.  We bundled you up all month long and kept heading outside.  You didn't seem to mind as long as your belly was full and you were warm.  

 

I cannot believe I only have one more monthly Leo post to write.  The time sure does fly :)