Grandma Great turns 90!

Last weekend the kids and I went back home to celebrate my Grandma Laura's 90th Birthday.  This is the grandma that the kids call Grandma Great. :)  We threw an 80th birthday party for her, but a lot a changed since then.  A few of her grandkids got married, a great grandson of hers was taken way too early from cancer, she's moved to the nursing home, lost most of her vision, and been diagnosed with Alzheimers.  We decided it was only fitting to throw a 90th birthday party too. Cheers to you Grandma.  We love you and all that you've done for our family.

Our Weekend in Denver

The kids and I spent last weekend at my parents house.  Adam was going to join, but he had a late work event on Friday and didn't want to catch croup from Cullyn {he has a band gig coming up}so he ended up staying home at working on some projects {hung some things, did yard work, and redid the back deck off our room--yay!!}  

You should see all of my mom's fall decor!

Cullyn stayed home from school Thursday and Friday, so we grabbed Jordyn after school and headed straight to Denver.  Friday night we ordered pizza in and chatted.  Saturday morning we went to see my grandma in the nursing home {Grandma Laura/Grandma Great}.  Sadly she has Alzheimer's and didn't recognize me. :( It's tough to watch, but I'm happy to visit her when I go back. We used to spend so much time with her, so I have tons of great memories!

After that we grabbed a quick lunch and I headed out to take engagement photos for one of my bride & grooms next year.  Afterwards, I met up with my everyone at Phelps Youth Pavillion.  They're a little older now and loved it even more than before!  We played there for hours before heading home for dinner and several games of Uno and Skip-o.

Sunday we went on a little hike around Hartman Reserve.  Then we went to lunch and the kids and I headed for home.  It had been so long since we spent a weekend in Denver, so it felt great to be back!  Next time we're home will likely be for Christmas!  

A Visit to See Grandma Great

After spending almost a week in the hospital in February, my grandma was released into a nursing home with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's.  While it didn't come as a complete surprise, I think were were all in total shock at how fast it progressed  I spent a lot of time with my Grandma Laura {Grandma Great to the kids} when I was a child, so it hasn't been fun processing this news.  Once she settled into her new home, we wanted to go visit her.  I will say the trip was refreshing.  She loved having the kids visit her {she loves all visitors!} and is really enjoying the socialization of her group home. 

Thanksgiving 2015

I'll be honest…Thanksgiving 2015 sucked.  However, we did have a few highlights.

On Wednesday night, we went over to a friends house for Friendsgiving, which was a good time.  I took these photos before we left.

Thursday morning we all slept in a bit and then got ready and left for my parents house to join them for the weekend.  My grandparents surprised us all by joining us for lunch and staying for a few games of BINGO.

℅ PinkPineappleCouture

℅ PinkPineappleCouture

Doesn't he look like an infant again?!

That night Murdock got sick and the following morning Adam and I had to go to the vet to put him down {the rest of my family took the kids to pick out a Christmas Tree}.  Adam and I debated about coming home and hibernating, but ultimately decided we just wanted to be with family to help keep our mind off everything, so we went back to my parents and helped her decorate for Christmas. 

That night we played cards with the neighbors.  They taught us Canadian Salad which was a great time!

On Saturday, us girls went shopping and then had the neighbors over for games again.  We had intended to leave fairly early on Sunday to get settled for the week, but neither one of us was in a hurry to get home {& be reminded of Murdock more} so we stayed at my parents until after the Viking's game and ended up getting back to the lake around 5p.