Miss you, Spring Chicken (Memory Lane #19)

This is my Grandfather, Garold Wilde Campbell. (My Gman is named in his honor.) He's had cancer for a few years, and not for the first time. Al and I went to go see him at New Year's and we were so fortunate that for those few days, his pain meds were in perfect unison & he was the Grandpa I'd always known...arguing with me about who should do the dishes, puttering around in his workshop and carrying in wood to keep a fire burning all day. He always refered to himself as a Spring Chicken. Before every shower, he'd state "I already had my annual bath, why do I need another," and after he'd state "I feel like a new woman." He's hilarious, and sweet, and quick to call "bullshit".....of course he could recognize it so quickly because he was the best at it.

He passed away last month, but it's just been too hard to sit down and write. He lived in Washington, near the coast. Every time I visited there, I felt it was the grayest place on earth. He was the ray of sunshine that place needed, for it was almost always overcast. The sun came out that afternoon just before he died. Just for him.

He was the last living grandparent I had. And even in those last 2 weeks, when the inevitable was inevitable, as long as he was alive, I felt like the world was somehow OK. And now, no longer having him or any grandparents left, even with an amazing family and plethora of friends, I fear a small part of my heart will always feel very alone.

Al goes to Washington

Al and I went to see my grandfather in Washington. Had a great visit with him! He lives on the coast. I've taken a few trips there, but this was Al's first time in Washington.


We drove out to the shore on the one day that it wasn't raining there, but the wind still made it pretty cold. The tree in the background is actually GINORMOUS! It washed up on shore in a storm about 2 years ago.


Of course, with this being Al's first trip to Washington, it wouldn't be complete without spending a little time in Seattle seeing what it's most famous for (other than rain....which we saw P-L-E-N-T-Y of while at Grandpa's. We just happened to go site-seeing on the beautiful weather day.)

Pike's Place Public market. This is where a scene from Sleepless in Seattle was filmed.


The guys who are famous for throwing the fish.


The "first" Starbucks is at the Public Market. Although technically this one is not the first. The very first one was a few stores down, they had to move it because the building it was in was being torn down. So this one is really kind of the 4th Starbucks that's treated as if it were the first.
































And what's Seattle if you don't go to the Space Needle?

St. Judes helped keep me out of the kitchen

We did our part for the "Pepper of Hope".....We had dinner at Chili's this evening to benefit St. Jude's Children's Hospital.



Al has asked me why we don't have any good pictures of him.
I present Exhibit A:


Craig's mom is visiting us for a couple days, so whats a better way to further convince that I don't cook?

Where, oh where...

have I been? Haven't blogged in an eternity. We have been B.U.S.Y. I tell, ya!! July has just been a whirlwind. We've actually done several Take Off Tuesdays and other adventures that I haven't posted. I am having major camera issues.

July 4th weekend--Family Reunion in Tennessee. Had a fabulous time! Great to see everyone again!

July 7th--Take Off Tuesday was to the Cincinnati Zoo (one last trip before annual pass expired) to see the exhibits we missed on Mother's Day and revisit the favorite exhibits. Then on to vacation: Great Wolf Lodge.What a needlessly expensive odyssey that turned out to be. But the kids did have a great time on the water slides--they didn't want to stay as long as we figured, and they didn't like the special wolf-den/bunkbed room! Also, snuck in a visit to the Aquarium before that pass expired and did a fun Duck Boat ride on the Ohio River.

July 14th--Take Off Tuesday was to the Old Kentucky Chocolates factory here in town. I won't bore you with more pics since Andrea posted her's from when she came to visit us.

July 16th-- Alexander became a teen-ager. He asked, in lieu of a party, to take him and 3 friends to Six Flags (thanks to my Mom for coming and keeping my sanity in check!) I figured it would be a nightmare, but the day went EXCEPTIONALLY well! THe boys had a great time and were overall, very well behaved; turned the neighbor's son into a roller coaster junkie.

July 21st--Take Off Tuesday was to the Valley View Ferry again, but 4x better since 4/5ths of the Funaholics went too!

Had an amazing visit with the Funaholics on July 22 Part A and Part B, as well as July 23rd!

July 24th--Left on a jet plane for Vegas, Baby!!! Had lunch with 2 of my great-aunts. Craig & I met up with Laura & Ash for a joint celebration: Our 7th anniversary and Ash's birthday. Blue Man Group was my favorite activity, but I am DIEING for my Ferrari delivery!!! The gear shift fits PERFECTLY in my hand!

July 27th--Al, Craig and I got to see the International Space Station fly by at 9:50pm!

Happy Father's Day

Here's 3 awesome guys to celebrate on Father's Day! In order of being able to find a picture of them in my phone:

Craig, who is an amazing hubby & dad who refuses to smile for pictures!


My Grandpa who is here visiting us from Washington! He's such a funny smart-alec! Where'd you think my brother, my dad and I get it from?


And my dad, he's awesome!

Raw Talent

My father is an amazing handyman. Over the course of his life, he has held jobs that involved fixing cars, building houses, fixing/building helicopters. I don't think there's much of anything he couldn't fix. I enjoyed working with him on various projects while growing up (except the aforementioned repairs on Red Fred.)

My mom is quite the seamstress. She sanity checks me on projects that I'm doing from scratch. She is my go-to-person on sewing questions, especially for the directions that come in patterns, because those things are written in a language only Lilliputians can decipher, and I don't know any Lilliputians.

Due to these great skills & knowledge bases my parents have passed on to me, I generally label myself as moderately crafty and an okay "handyman". My mathematical & logic-thinking brain has served me well in tackling new projects, at the very least enabling me to be able to figure out what questions to ask. And I do have the common sense to know when a project has gotten over my head (And I don't do anything with electricity or plumbing, but I know to turn them off if there's work to be done.) I think I generally fair well on projects. My errors usually come from getting in a hurry or something that wasn't foreseeable.

Several years ago, my dad taught me how to hang drywall. He reminded me of the old adage "Measure twice, cut once." Perhaps he should've told me: "Measure twice, remove measurement device, cut once."

Happy Birthday, Dad!

As my mom eluded to in her comment to the picture of my Aunt Rae shoveling the sidewalk, we had a surprise 60th birthday party for my dad on Sunday.

Today is his actual birthday!
My dad is one of the funniest & smartest guys I have ever known. He's a great Dad and grandfather. As my mom will attest, he also set the "husband bar" pretty high. (I had to look for a very long time to find someone for myself who could clear that bar.)

This picture is from about 20 years ago. He and my mom were dressed in 1950's attire, I think for a Halloween party.

Never say "Never Again"

Poor Aunt Rae never thought she'd be doing this again!

Giving Thanks

There are so many people and things to be thankful for this year. Our family has had hard times in the last 2 months with the passing of 2 truly great people. I think that makes me want to cherish what we have all the more. I am so very thankful for all the family, friends, neighbors and some near strangers who helped us thru those first weeks. I honestly don't know how we would have made it without each and every one of them. Some how, everyone knew what we would need and when we would need it...from big things like babysitting at the funerals, all the way down to the loaf of bread that I forgot to pick up at the grocery, & not yet an hour later there one was...just handed to me from the blue along with dinner, without my even saying I had forgotten it. Or just letting me privately vent via some incredibly long text messages (and amusingly disturbing ones at that).

I am thankful for my parents. They provide so much love and support and friendship.
I am thankful for my children. Even with all their quirks, attitudes and sometimes overwhelming issues, they are my everything. I live and breathe for them.
And I am thankful for all those who remain quietly in the background, but they're there if I need them.
But ever in the forefront is Craig. Always providing whatever our family needs. Whatever I need. Holding my hand, sometimes to pull me forward, sometimes to reel me back in. Loving me even when I don't listen, thinking "I told you so" but almost never saying it. I cannot imagine life without him. I hope I never have to.

Pa

Almost every mental image I have of my father-in-law is of him with one of the kids. Showing Al the "pond"--does 3 inches deep the size of a bed count as a pond? Climbing in & out of a 3 ft by 5 ft Strawberry Shortcake play tent with Princess for hours--he even fell asleep in it once. Turning on the spigot just so a 3-yr old little boy could spray the garden hose, who cares if it's a chilly fall day and the trees are already dormant, right? He loved to take them all fishing or down to see the beaver that built a dam not far from the house. If he was sitting, at least one of them was at his side. Or just shrugging and grinning when I caught him sneaking Oreos to the kids, after I caught my mother-in-law sneaking them some cake, after they'd already had dessert. My father-in-law was a quiet person. He was a loving grandfather & not just to his grandchildren, but to any child in his presence. He was uncomplicated. He was a gentleman as well as a gentle man. He is gone far too soon.