Lunch Date, Fathers Day and Garden Goodies

Last weekend we had a lunch date with Auntie Man and Cousin Brailee. As the pictures show, there is lots of cousin-lovin' going around!

Of course Fathers Day was great. Brian is such a great dad to our kids - I couldn't ask for anything better. He is playing a lot of golf this summer, so we got him a new cart bag. Abs picked out a soft, red towel and Brayden picked him out a new driver cover - a buckin' bull. At school Abs made him a picture and Brayden made him a plate. So special!

I also want to say Happy Fathers Day to my dad. He has been there to celebrate the best times and also there during the hard times. Of course I am so blessed to have him as a grandparent to our kids. We are all very lucky to have him!

 This is our first summer in this house. The previous owners were huge gardeners. Luckily this year we were able to get some of their goodies. The other night we picked some blackberries, raspberries and plums. We should be getting these for the next couple of weeks. We also get to enjoy the beautiful hydrangeas! They bring some prettiness inside.

Finally, here is what Brayden wore to school today. He dressed himself - not me! He has his shirt on backwards, shorts look good but his panties are on backwards, and finally he is wearing 2 different shoes. He was so proud of himself that I couldn't dare ask him to change a thing! Sweet boy.

40 Years in 40 Days, Days 35, 36 & 37

Day 35 ... "Here is to having a ball for another 40 years".
The grandkids love them some bubble gum, so they got 40 gum balls.

 
Day 36 ... "EXTRA, EXTRA ... 40 words to ... Read all about it!"
We put an anniversary announcement in the Cushing paper. Of course the announcement had 40 words in it!

Day 37 ... "Your 40 year marriage is definitely NOT for the birds".
The birds LOVE to get into our parents pool house, which unfortunately messes up the pool. There is a running joke about shooting at the birds. So, we gave them 40 BBs. (Don't worry - there were no birds harmed!)

37 days down - only 3 more to go!

40 Years in 40 Days, Days 30, 31, 32 & 33

Wow - I cannot believe that in less than a week we will be finished with 40 Years in 40 Days! I think I am going to miss it!

Day 30 ... "There is no need to CHANGE things up the next 40 years".
My dad and Brian have this thing about change. I will NEVER forget the day my dad paid Brian IN CHANGE for his truck. Yes - it was several thousand dollars in change and yes - we were at the bank for OVER an hour while they fed all the change into the coin machine! So, Brian 'borrowed' $40 off my dad. When the $40 was repaid, it was given back to my dad is change. Ha! $10 pennies, $10 nickels, $10 dimes and $10 quarters. 

Day 31 ... "Being your cupcake for another 40 years".
Mandy made my parents 40 cupcakes. I had several and they were delicious!

Day 32 ... "The past 40 years have taken you down many roads".
We have this thing about backroading. So, we all got in the suburban and spent 40 minutes backroading - fun times! Koby had a baseball game, so him and Jason didn't make it.

Day 33 ... "Cockadoodledoo! We'll help you! ... 40 minutes that is!".
40 minutes of helping our parents in the yard. Unfortunately we weren't able to actually get the yard work done on Day 33, but we will get it done soon!

Day 34 ... "Here is to 40 more years of dancing!"
My parents love to dance. They used to host an annual summer party where we would dance for hours. These CDs of 40 songs brings back many memories of those summer nights we spent dancing!

34 days down ... only 6 more to go!

40 Years in 40 Days, Days 26, 27, 28 & 29

Day 26 ... "Finding a 40 year marriage like yours is like finding a needle in a haystack".
Obviously this one is a shout out to our mom. She is an AMAZING seamstress. We just had to find a way to incorporate her love of sewing!

Day 27 ... "You both picked a winner 40 years ago!".
No, we aren't talking about picking your nose! This one is for our dad - he has a weird obsession with toothpicks. So again, we had to incorporate this one for him.

Day 28 ... "Here is to another 40 years filled with Hugs & Kisses".
XOXO!

Day 29 ... "What will you be writing about in your 40th year of marriage?"
Another day to incorporate the grandkids ... grandparents can NEVER have to much sidewalk chalk, right?!?

29 days down - only 11 more to go!

40 Years in 40 Days, Days 24 & 25

Day 24 ... "The past 40 years have been pretty SWEET! Here is to another 40 sweet years!"
Our parents got 40 cookies.

Day 25 ... "Sticking together another 40 years!"
We got our parents 40 band-aids.

25 days down - only 15 more days!

Aunt Waunita

Waunita Faye Floyd
March 12, 1951 - June 3, 2013
http://www.countrysidefh.com/obituaries/Waunita-Floyd/#!/Obituary

On Monday morning, I got the dreaded call - a family member had passed. My very vibrant Aunt Waunita peacefully passed away Monday morning at her home at the young age of 62. This was a complete shock to the entire family. I last saw her at the Christmas dinner hosted by my Aunts. My parents saw her last month during the brothers/sisters reunion. She was just as bubbly and active as ever. Absolutely nobody saw this coming.

My heart completely breaks for my Uncle Gary. He has lost his best friend. I pray for strength as he starts living a life without her physically by his side. My cousin Jeremy has lost his mom. I cannot even begin to imagine what he is going through. Jeremy and Steffanie have 3 daughters who have lost an amazing grandma. Aunt Waunita recently became a great-grandma to baby Mason.

Since I found out, I have felt like this is just a mean, cruel joke. This isn't supposed to happen to somebody we love. This isn't supposed to happen to Uncle Gary, one of the most loving and caring people I know. I feel like if we just ignore it, things will go away and she will be back with us.

The next couple of days are going to be hard as we say our final goodbyes to Aunt Waunita. I pray that all the family coming to be with Uncle Gary will have safe travels. I pray that my dad's brothers and sisters can provide the extra support to Gary as he says goodbye and starts waking up without his wife. I pray for Jeremy as he tries to support his dad and his girls during this trying time.

Aunt Waunita - we love you and already miss you so much!

Jeremy, Steffanie, Cortney, Zandra, Rachel, Aunt Waunita, Uncle Gary
Floyd Family Reunion - September 2012

40 Years in 40 Days, Days 20, 21, 22 & 23

Day 20 … “Wonder if 40 cans is for $0.40?”

Our parents keep their cans and then let the grandkids take turns recycling them for cash. We provided them with 40 cans to add to their loot!

Day 21 … “40 more reason to keep chillin’!”

Of course the grandkids LOVE popsicles! These won’t last long. J

 

Day 22 … “Here is to TEEing it up for another 40 years!”
One of the activities our parents love doing together is playing golf. And, the grandkids love to go to their house and hit golf balls into the pasture. Hmmm … another grandkids idea – think their life revolves around those 4 precious kiddos?!?

 

Day 23 … “40 RUBY places to visit in your 40^th year of marriage”

The 40^th anniversary is also referred to as the Ruby anniversary. We found 40 places in the US that they can visit. A couple of them revolve around places they are visiting in the coming months – hopefully they will actually check them out. Here are a few of my favorites …

• Ruby Inez Baker Littlepage, Peru Cemetery.  Ruby was my mom’s mom. We loved her so much and she left us WAY too early. There are times that my mom & I will say how proud mame’ would be if she was here. I can only imagine what she would say about my parents celebrating this milestone. 
• Ruby Hill Quilting, Yellville, AR.  My mom has a quilt shop book that she would take with her when they traveled in their RV. She would convince my dad that they needed to stop at these shops. It was only fitting that we put a “Ruby” quilt shop on their list. (Actually, I found a couple of quilt stores … sorry dad!)
• Ruby Cemetery, North Street, MI. Being raised in the funeral home, it is not uncommon for us to talk about funeral homes and cemeteries. In fact, my dad has told us before that if we are ever in a town and need help to stop by the local funeral home.  I couldn’t find a “Ruby” funeral home, so I thought a “Ruby” cemetery would be just as good.

 23 days down – only 17 more to go!

Summer is here!

Summer is finally here!

A couple of weeks ago we went to my parent’s house to help them move the kids playhouse. It is now being used as a chicken coop … don’t ask! The kiddos thought the tractor was very cool!

We made a visit to the kid’s museum. It was pretty cool. They had a room with cardboard and packing tape. Can you believe the playground was all made of packing tape?!?

The kids laid on a bed of nails, which they thought was pretty cool!

This past Saturday we took the kids to their first drive-in movie. It was a complete hit! We will definitely be going there again.

I’ll end with some pictures of Coal. Even though he is bigger than the bed and chair, I think they are both just his size! 

40 Years in 40 Days, Days 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19

So, I have definitely been MIA on the 40 Years in 40 Days activities. This is going to be another long post so you need to grab a drink and snack and then come back!

Day 12 … “You wouldn’t be celebrating 40 years of marriage without turning to God’s Word. Here are 40 scriptures from His Word for love, marriage and family.”

Day 13 … “Enjoy a little rest and relaxation while your house is cleaned for40 minutes!”

My sister and I were going to clean my parents house for 40 minutes, but she ended up being out of town. It ended up being me, Brian and Jason cleaning out the pool house … they got a little more than 40 minutes. J

 

Day 14 … “"Nothing like riding the waves to 40 classic lake songs".

Brian made them a CD of 40 songs perfect for boating. And yes, the “Pontoon” by Little Big Town made the list.

 

Day 15 ... “A penny on heads is good luck. A penny from each of the past 40 years must be EXTREMELY good luck!"

Mandy was able to get a penny from every year, starting in 1973. She then framed them into the number 40. Love how this turned out!

 

Day 16 ... “You won the lottery 40 years ago, is the lottery in your future again?”
When they married 40 years ago, I bet they felt like they had won the lottery. We thought it would be fun to give them 40 scratch off tickets. Wonder how they did ...

 

Day 17 ... A yearbook from 1973, a time capsule of moments & events from 1973.

 

Day 18 ... “40 Years of marriage sure is Cool”.

My parents are ALWAYS in need of ice at their house. We got them 40 pounds of ice – ha!

 

Day 19 ... “The past 40 years have been supported by family and friends”.
This is another one of my favorite things we did for our parents. We contacted family and friends and asked them to write a note to my parents. It was so nice to see so many people respond. It shows just how lucky they are to be surrounds by such great family and friends.

Now you should be caught up!

19 days down – 21 more to go!