Good Bye my Beautiful Aunt

Well, the time came this morning, for my beautiful Aunt Ellen to leave this world. My dad's baby sister has gone to heaven. There is such a sadness in my heart today. My only consolation is that she is finally free of the fear and the pain and the sickness. My grief is partly selfish that I got to know her so late in the game and didn't have the benefit of her presence in my life until I was all grown up. And then for such a short time. My grief is greatly for my dad, who loves her so much and will cry for his baby sis. It's greatly for Curtis, who loved her better than anyone ever could and will cry for his sweetie pie. It's for Ellen who lost her life so young and will not grow old with the love of her life. It's for the whole world, who whether they know it or not, has lost a precious treasure. One that gave love and compassion for everyone, and saw beauty in every day things. One that had magic in her words and got pleasure out of giving to others. She will always be in my heart, for evermore, and every good thing I ever do again will be in her name.

Summer Fun

Here are my two little sweeties at the skating rink.

I decided it would be nice to take the girls and have a little fun. I was pretty impressed at their abilities. I had Alicia skating since she was 2, but it's been a while and she still does pretty darn well. Anastasia has been a few times, but was really brave about letting go of the scooter (basically a walker on ice) and going it alone.

We managed to get out of there with very few injuries, which is a good thing, because the next day we went to Play land!!! This first one is on the scrambler. We tried to ham it up a titch whenever we spun close to Kelly, who was ready and waiting for the photo ops!

Here are our girls during the mini golf portion of our day. Fore!!!

Things started getting a little competitive at the golf course. Everybody wants to be Tiger Woods!Okay, you two...simmer down! LOL

Typical Dad ends up carrying everything. LOL I have the cutest little family!

Hey, how did I get roped into this!!!????!!!???

This one cracks me right up! This was on the big wooden coaster that has been at Playland for a few decades. I love it, obviously...

This one is on the last ride of the day...the log ride...should have been called the "sog ride" cuz you get soggy on it. It is basically a roller coaster in water...great for a hot day. Is it just me or is this picture hilarious!


We had so much fun we ended up staying for 7.5 hours! We played games and won stuffies, we ate warm mini donuts and burgers, we went on every ride we wanted to (for Kelly that was one ride and then he got queezy...snicker snicker)we played mini golf, and just had a really fun time.

this is one of my favorite pictures from our day at Playland. It was taken by a stranger that was behind us in the mini golf. He was all long black hair and piercings in his face, but the boy takes a great picture! I think I'll have this one framed. To me, it's the perfect picture from the perfect day.

I wrote this post when I first started my blog. My beautiful Aunt is so sick now, that she can't write in her blog anymore. She can't get out of bed without help. I know she's leaving us and sometimes I feel very logical about it, as though I've mentally prepared. But after reading Curtis' last two posts, I realize that there is no way to prepare. I sit here broken hearted, tears falling and just feel sick. I reread all about the crane project and cried my eyes out. So many people love this wonderful woman. She's an angel on Earth.

This is my beautiful Aunt Ellen, who has inspired me to start blogging. My first recollection of her was at her first wedding when I was about 7 years old. After that, I didn't see her again until last summer when she came to visit us in BC.
My Aunt Ellen has an energy about her that just makes me want to stop and smell the roses. I read her blogs daily to keep up with her thoughts and feelings, and she just makes me wish I could be near her. It's funny how you can see some relatives and wonder where the heck the genetic connection is. With her, I instantly felt a kinship. I felt like I was talking to a long lost sister rather than an aunt. This picture was taken the day she left BC. I had said my goodbyes the night before, but ran back over to my parents' house the next morning to catch her before she and her wonderful husband Curtis left. The reason, to get this picture.
As I mentioned in my last entry, my sis, my daughter and I made a calendar for my dad last year for Fathers Day. The calendar featured my dog Frisky in various costumes representing a significant event or holiday for each month. I figured, what could be more significant for that month than her visit with us?
My Aunt has been suffering with some pretty heavy medical issues in the last couple of years. Cancer is so cruel. It can take away so much, and yet she always seems to have time, energy, and concern for others. Just reading her blogs shows me that. Seeing the concern and love that pours onto her from former students, fellow bloggers, and friends is a direct indication of how many lives she has touched and continues to touch each day. She's a truly lovely person with an obvious passion (and skill) for writing stories of her childhood, and of daily events that can make you smile to yourself, or well up with tears.
We were all lucky enough to meet and get to know her husband Curtis as well. I rarely see a couple so much in love. It shows in the way they look at each other, talk to each other, and take care of each other. Truly inspiring to those of us who haven't found Mr. or Mrs. right just yet.
I was reading Curtis' blog the other day and my heart swelled so much I thought it would burst. He was talking about how happy it made him to see my Aunt happy, and I just thought it was the sweetest, most genuine sentiment. So heartfelt I sat there grinning from ear to ear while at the same time tears stung my eyes. Of course, I can't even get through an episode of Little house on the prairie without bawling, but still!
Anyway, I've only laid eyes on Curtis and Aunt Ellen a handful of times, but I love them both. Somehow, they move me, sap that I am.

The Vancouver Zoo

Warning! Dangerous animal! Do not tease or touch!





Well yesterday was pretty overcast, so there was no beach for me! I took most of the week off to hang out with Anastasia while Kelly was at work. She's with us for about ten days, so we thought we'd do some fun, adventurous things. Yesterday we went to the Vancouver Zoo. It's about an hour and fifteen minutes from my house, but it's well worth it. The place is huge and is constantly being improved. A couple of years ago I was there with a friend and, as we walked by the hippo enclosure, we marveled at the bravery of two zoo workers who were getting dangerously close to a hippo that was soaking in a pool of water. The next day in the news, it was reported that one of the hippos had died. That explained the bravery. Anyway, after an investigation, it came out that the conditions that the hippos were living in bordered on abusive and were most certainly neglectful.

Well, after all the finger pointing and threats to the zoo, there has been massive improvements that are ongoing and the hippo's enclosure is now a haven for these guys.

Here's the little lioness sunning herself with the girls.



It's hard to see in this pic, but I think these were the baboons. I just liked the pic cuz it's a nice one of this rare "blue haired booger nugget."

So for today's' adventure Alicia, Anastasia, and I will be off to the arena to go ice skating. Stay tuned for the riveting photographic evidence of our day! LOL

Summer Rocks!

One chilly evening at the beach, we asked a passer by to snap a picture of us. We laughed and laughed when we viewed the pic because it looks like it was taken from three miles away and it may or may not actually be us.



Since Kelly has freakishly long arms, he's able to take pics of us himself. lol.


It's such a nice beach and less than a half hour drive, so we love going as often as possible. As the sun goes down, the sky looks so pretty. It is a little vacation for us every time we go.


Tonight, Anastasia comes to stay with us for the week, and I'm taking most of the week off, so I'm hoping for great weather so I can take her and Alicia to the beach. I love Summer.

I love summer!

Ok, clearly I'm going to suck this summer for blogging. Kelly and I have been hangin out on the beach every day this week after work. There's just no time! I'm so behind on keeping up with my reading, too, I can only hope everyone is slowing down right now. I've got some pictures we took on Kelly's phone that haven't made it onto the computer yet, but when they do, I'll post them. we are so incredibly lucky to live in a place where a 25 minute drive gets you to a sandy, sunny beach. Anyway, between our summer outings and preparing to move, there are just not enough hours in the day. I'm gonna write my M.P. and ask if we can't maybe tack a few extra hours onto the end of each day. LOL! If only it was that easy. Anyway, sorry I suck so bad at posting. I'm sure after the summer when it's gray and rainy I'll get my game on. Take care all!