Happy 5th Birthday, Mister!

In my last post I wrote about our upcoming trip to Texas.  Blaine's 5th birthday came and went, as did our trip back to Austin and thank goodness I had just stocked up on Kleenex at Costco, because I needed them!  What a wonderful time for our Mister and our family really.  I would love to sit here and recount the whole weekend in Austin but my BF, Kari, did a fabulous job already, so I'll just direct you to her blog.  (Thanks for doing the dirty work, Kari :)  I'm just here to add in pictures and my own two cents.

We arrived in Dallas early (like 1:00 am early) on Saturday and schlepped over to Mimi and Pops for some rest and special family time.  We spent the morning eating one of Mimi's excellent meals, talking and hanging out.  Blaine (after a year of asking) received a remote control helicopter from Mimi and Pops so he was super pumped about that.  We left around noon for our reunion with our long lost BF's: The Pembertons.

Opening his helicopter.

Do you see these faces?

Seriously, does it get any better than that?  The smiles on our kids' faces (pre-little brother and sister) are filled with pure joy!  I think Blaine remembers this joy deep down in his soul when he thinks of Siri.  The only person he calls "friend" she has become such a special little girl to us - I'm so grateful for the friendship Blaine has with his BF today.  Not to mention we really, really love the rest of the Pemberton clan and can't get enough of them.

Here are the kids nearly 4 years later in Austin where Kari (party-planner-extraordinaire, et al.) threw a great party for Blaine.

Making pizza for Blaine's birthday dinner.

I was taking a picture at the same time that Elliot was
so there is a weird light, but look how happy Mister is!

My tears began to flow before we even arrived at their house because Kari's friend had made the most amazing Spider-Man cake ever.  This was extra special because I had failed to call the GF bakery in time and they could not make a GF cake for Saturday's festivities and when I told Mister this he very sadly reported that, "It's fine Mama, the only thing I ever wanted was a Spider-Man cake."  And when I asked if cupcakes would be ok he said, "Mama, it's called a 'Birthday Cake' not 'Birthday CUP-cakes!'"  Talk about a major mom-fail!  Kari came to the rescue with the awesome talent of her friend and Blaine said it was one of his favorite surprises!

Then when we arrived we saw these amazing decorations, complete with a stuffed Spider-Man and goodie bags for each of the kids.  Homemade pizza, cake, laughter, decorations and the sweetness of a much-needed reunion made the night perfect.  As Kari mentioned, the kids did not skip a beat.  Blaine hugged Siri when we arrived and then they ran off to "catch up."

As is tradition (well, 4 years) Blaine and Siri blow
out candles together.

Sunday morning we enjoyed fishing and canoeing at Zilker Park.  Man, this trip made me miss Austin.

This is what HG did during the canoe-trip.
Super tired girl.

And then there was Chuy's.  One of HG's favorite
places to sit: on Kari's lap.

We asked if these two could kiss and HG
was all about it until William went in for
another and then the next picture happened...

HG not quite ready for the love.  We were
cracking up.

Sunday night ended with a bang.  The bounce house in the backyard, a fire to roast marshmallows and I may or may not have eaten the rest of the cake... :)  Monday morning came too quickly when we had to say our goodbyes.  We left for Dallas full of many more good memories and (for me) too many extra calories.  But hey, who am I to turn down good food!  We were able to see Mimi and Pops for a quick lunch before boarding a plane for Colorado.

I think this is probably the best birthday Blaine has ever had.  He was surrounded by people that love and cherish him and he spent a lot of time just being.  Playing.  Enjoying.  Having Fun.  What an awesome sight for David and me.  And what a blessing for our family to have such great friends.

We've spent the last week recovering from our trip.  Actually, both kids and I have bad colds so we've been laying low all week which is fine with me given how busy February was.  I'll post in a separate blog about Blaine's 5th year and how special of a son he is to us.  For now, I'll leave you with pictures of my silly and sweet 5 year old.

He is dancing in the backseat because Aunt Marcia
and Uncle Jack sent him a birthday card.

Hannah has spent the last week "not tired."
Trips can exhaust a princess.

Friends

Hotel Lyon just said goodbye to its last guests (for the time being.)  The Pembertons came back from their fun vacation in Aspen to stay with us for a few days before heading back to Austin.  We had an absolute blast with our dear friends.  My heart was filled with gratitude and joy all weekend - what a blessing to have such wonderful (crazy-like-us-in-a-good-way) people around :)  Our kids love playing together and we adults manage to find new things to laugh about all the time.

The day they arrived we wowed them with our recreation center equipped with a pool that has two slides, a lazy river, and other fun water features.  Friday night was fun (and filling) for all because we did fondue.  Blaine happens to be an expert fondue-er and set us all straight on how to properly cook our meats and vegetables.  Dessert was tasty too - we dipped a variety of foods into melted chocolate.  William agrees that dessert was the best!

On Friday morning Blaine had school and a doctors appointment so I managed to convince the Pembertons to watch HG for a little while.  (HG is a handful, you know! :)  They went back to the recreation center for more swimming and came home with a carload of very tired kiddos.  After lunch we headed into Boulder for an afternoon of excitement.

Between Fall Fest (on Pearl Street in downtown Boulder), visiting Chautauqua National Park (also in Boulder), and taking the Jeep off road I can't believe only one of us fell asleep on the way home!  We met up with David after work and had some dinner and then our crew split up.  The "little ones," William and Hannah Grace, went with David and Elliot into the mountains to have some off-road fun in the Jeep.  The match-made-in-heaven duo (Siri and Blaine) decided that the kiddie amusement park (part of the festival on Pearl Street) would be more fun so Kari and I escorted them to the festival.  The fantastic HG and William bounced around in the back of the Jeep and apparently spent most of the time cracking each other up with funny sayings and faces.  Siri and Blaine spent the evening riding every ride (some twice), holding hands, and discussing what movies they enjoy.  Kari and I were exhausted from just watching them have fun.

I'll post a link to Kari's pictures once she posts them (no pressure, Kari ;)  I know she got some cute ones of the kids holding hands and riding the other rides.

Saturday morning was pretty lazy.  We had breakfast and the kids played up until it was time for our friends to head to the airport.  Blaine's mood shifted about a thirty minutes before they left and he didn't want to play with anyone anymore and then he refused to give goodbye hugs.  After tearful goodbyes Blaine buried his head into David's shoulder.  Then after about 15 minutes of a quivering lip, the emotions could be contained no more.  Mister was so sad that Siri had left and he was mad at us for leaving Texas!  We're not sure when we will see them next but for young love's sake, I hope it's sooner rather than later ;)  Blaine has also announced that he only wants Siri at his 5th birthday party and he doesn't care about the distance so I better get working on planning that one :)

Hannah will miss her friend, William, too.  I don't know who she will laugh with now...

Book now!  Hotel Lyon is bound to fill up fast for the holidays :)

Andrea's First Post

Tomorrow (July 22nd) marks six months since Keith has gone on to a more glorious place.  I think about him everyday - missing his sense of humor, kindness, love, care, and wisdom. 

Andrea has posted her first blog post and I think it is wonderful!  Keith loved writing on his blog and every week when someone would respond with kind words or questions he would say, "I can't believe people actually read that!?!"  He was so humble and grateful for the gifts God had given him.

I am delighted that Andrea will continue to post some of Keith's work and more importantly write about her own experiences - it is just what Keith encouraged us all to do: write! 

A Guest Post... Sort of

Since I haven't had my computer out in a week I haven't put anything here but our BFF posted something that is definitely worth reading.  Click here to read one of the greatest posts I've ever read. 

Leaving Austin was so hard.  We spent our last night with the Pembertons which was just perfect.  They made us another wonderful dinner and we did the usual - there was lots of laughing and listening to our kids play for hours.  I was fine until minutes before we were about to leave on Monday morning.  I had hugged Siri once and then when I went to hug her again I totally lost it.  Siri was Blaine's first, and really only, friend.  He loved her from the day he met her at the Wells Branch pool in the summer of 2009.  And even through all of Blaine's challenges she stuck by him and loved our sweet boy.  Blaine has told us multiple times that he never wants to go to school in Colorado because Siri won't be there and there won't be anyone like her.  We've told him that he can make new friends but he just can't conceive of that right now.  I am sure their hearts and souls are connected forever now.

I know that good times are ahead and I cherish these last several years with our friends but I'm still sad.  I love you guys - we already miss you.

 Here are a few of my pictures, in addition to the one's Kari posted.

This was taken at Waterloo Ice House.  Our first "Family Date" when the kids were just 18-19 months old.

This was taken in February of 2012 at Blaine's 4th birthday party.  On his guest list: Siri and William Pemberton.

One Last Time

The kids and I flew back to Austin on what will probably be our last airplane trip back to this home.  We had a fantastic time back in Michigan with the family and a few friends and I hated to leave but I really missed my own bed! 

I'm surprised I survived the trip home actually.  My dad started driving me and the kids to the Detroit airport around 8:41 am on Wednesday morning.  We had plans to stop at Whole Foods in Ann Arbor for a bite and to stretch our legs before our 12:30 pm flight.  About an hour into our drive I get a call from Southwest saying that our flight was delayed until 2:40!  (Um, apparently they had no idea we were driving two and a half hours to get to the airport and that I was traveling with two small children by myself!)  I quickly realized that we were going to miss our connection in Chicago so I called and after pleading with the women to find me a better flight than the options she gave me (I know, I know... like she had any control) ended up with a horrible flight option.  I was so frazzled I couldn't think and immediately upon hanging up realized that I had made a poor choice.  My sweet dad said he would hang out with us all day, as long as it took, if we could avoid a long layover or multiple stops home.  I called back within seconds and was told that I would have to PAY for another fare because my flight had already been changed once.  (At this point I freaked out and the lady realized that I was a desperate mother traveling alone and I needed some help.)  She ended up, somehow, getting me new tickets on a 5:40 pm flight and didn't charge us.  Southwest customer service lady was Angel #1. 

Angel #2 was my dad for cancelling his appointments and spending the WHOLE day with us.  Our first stop was in fact Ann Arbor where my heart skipped beats - I just love being there.  We filled our cart with picnic foods and headed to a park so the kids could run wild.  We stretched out in the back of the truck, ate and played.  Before we left Ann Arbor we had to stop at Kohls.  I realized halfway to the airport that I had forgotten the one thing I needed: Hannah's "babeek" (blanket).  Luckily they still carry the same blanket.  When I gave it to her she felt it and asked, "Hannah's babeek?"  I think she knew it was a replacement but she didn't care, she rubbed that soft babeek all over her face and fell fast asleep.  We ended our day-o-fun with a stop at Cabelas and then I tortured my Dad a bit longer by having him escort us back to our gate.  All that airport security fun and he didn't even get to go anywhere :)  Thanks Papa!

Angel #3 made himself known on the plane from Chicago to Austin.  We finally left Detroit around 5:45 pm (Blaine crying halfway to Chicago because he missed his Papa) and then had a three hour layover (we didn't depart Chicago until after 9:00pm which I might add is one hour after bedtime!)  We spent a lot of time riding the moving walkways, eating, and using the restroom.  Finally we were boarded and I knew we were in the home stretch.  Blaine happily watched his movie and Hannah started cocking a major attitude which I attribute to her exhaustion and well, she's HG.  After an hour of battling her she finally fell asleep and Blaine's DVD player ran out of battery power and he said he was ready to sleep.  (Hallelujah, is all I can say.)  With two sleeping babes next to me I suddenly realized that not only did I have two children, two carry on bags, and blankets but waiting for me at baggage claim were two 50-pound bags and a backpack!  Lord, help!  Then Angel Ed came to the rescue.  From behind I heard: "Ma'am, are you traveling alone?" (No, my hair and face always look like this.) "Can I help you get off the plane?  We can wait until everyone gets off and then get your kids and stuff off."  Thank you Lord and thank you Ed!  Ed ended up helping us all the way down to baggage claim and then out to our shuttle.  Wow!

We finally pulled in the driveway around 1:00 am.  After getting kids and luggage in the house I collapsed into our bed around 2:00.  Some sort of honor should be given to parents traveling alone with little munchkins. :)

We have spent the last few days getting things in order and counting down the time until we get to be with David again.  It seems like both Hannah and Blaine have changed so much in the last month.  Perhaps we've been so busy that keeping track has been more difficult.  Hannah's 2nd birthday is this coming week (6/7) and Blaine is mentally and physically preparing to be a mountain man.  He spent the last three weeks barefoot in Michigan playing with bunnies, snakes, frogs, fish, crabs, and seeing if it were possible to stain his feet permanently black!  Hannah continues to be a jokster.  One new thing that she is saying is "Thank-you-you're-welcome."  When we give her something not only does she say "Thank you" she also throws in the "You're welcome" too.  I guess because we respond with "You're welcome" after she said "thank you" she thought we were correcting her and so now she thinks it's just what you say!  So cute.

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Blaine helping Papa with his welding job

Courtesy of Blaine Miller

Accident.  No change of clothes.  Blaine's t-shirt upside down. 
Stylin'.

Blaine on one of his many rides with cousin Mitchell.

The art of cleaning a fish, by: Big Papa.  And it tasted soooo good!

Ready for the woods.

The "Lost Lake" at Lost Lake Woods Club

"Mama, I jus ate s'more...Mmmm."

Her smiling face.

Blaine and Hannah made new friends up north.

A little birthday party for Boo.

Headed out to the woods.

Bouncy rides make Boo tired.

Looking for everyone in our group.  My little outdoorsman :)

The hunt for snapping turtle eggs.

Uncle Matt and HG

Blaine's snake.

Hannah's new friend.

The "spaceship" at my old elementary school.

Eating Papa's famous popcorn.  GG thinks Blaine
looks like Macauley Culkin here.

Geese crossing road in AA.

Cabelas.