Twelve Months
It's been about that long since posting!
Five Trips
Since leaving the comfort zone of my parents' house in 1999, I have been lucky to be able see my family at least twice a year. Usually one trip to Albuquerque and then a visit (or two) from family to see me. Not too shabby for almost 1000 miles of separation. Last year, I set a record for five plane trips to the Land of Enchantment.
- February - had a crazy, pregnant five days home with my brother, David. I haven't seen him in years and it was wonderful to catch up. We spent some quality time with my grandparents, each other, and our parents. I think I managed to blog about that one.
- June - this was a solo trip with just Spencer. Turns out you get lots of attention in the airport when flying with a 3-week-old!
- July - all five of us got on the Southwest plane and flew south. Chadwick was able to stay for almost a week and got the opportunity to take Morgan and Mallorie to Mark's cabin in the Pecos. I stayed an extra week with all the kiddos to help my mom and Nana.
- December - a little break in the travel schedule, but the first of two trips for the month. Spencer was diagnosed with an ear infection two days prior to this plane trip and I was more than a little nervous for him to be flying. Not only do ear infections cause pain and wailing during take off and landing, the antibiotics tend to cause diarrhea, and I wasn't planning to pack his entire collection of onesies. He was a trooper and we didn't have any major explosions from the bum end. The second trip to ABQ for the month was again with the whole family for Christmas. We were lucky to see Sean, Beth, and their new baby Collin. It was crazy busy, as usual, especially since we flew down on Christmas Eve. What a year.
Four Goodbyes
The first of our goodbyes was to Grandma Dove, Chadwick's maternal grandmother. She had been sick and declining for many months and it was a blessing to see her pass from this world into the arms of her husband in the next world. She passed away on her 94th birthday. The funeral services were held the weekend that Chadwick was in Alaska vetting the Iditarod. My mom came up for a visit and to help me with the girls. Instead of playing, we attended a funeral and reception where Mom met more Fifes than she knew existed, watched Mallorie while I attended a baptism for Chadwick's niece Diana, and ate at a Hunt immediate family picnic in the park. She was such a good sport to support my little family during this time.
Goodbye number two came as an unpleasant shock. On April 20, my sweet Bop-bop was diagnosed with a brain tumor, a grade 4 glioblastoma. The worst kind you can have. Inoperable. He didn't last long - he passed quickly about 2 months later on June 7. I vividly remember both phone calls from my mom - one to say he was sick and the other to say he passed. I was so grateful to have spent that time with him in February. And hurting because I didn't have the chance to speak with him from the time he went into the hospital to his death. I still miss him terribly.
The third was Grandma Nana, Chadwick's paternal grandmother. Feisty and petite, I knew her better than Grandma Dove. She frequently accompanied the family to dinners, the cabin, and any event we could talk her into attending. It was harder toward the end to get her to accept any invitation. Chadwick called her religiously once a week and used to have lunch with her routinely while attending BSU. We said goodbye to her in November.
My fourth goodbye, like the second, was unexpected. My Nana left to join Bop-bop the week of Thanksgiving. They had been married for over 60 years - and with her passing, they never missed an anniversary together. It took me months to delete their number off my "favorites" list on the cell phone. The rest of their contact info was deleted with difficulty yesterday.
Two Adventures
Have you ever found a bug in your child's hair? Normally, said bugs are transient, passengers hitching a ride from a bush to wherever they fall off as said child is running around. However, when the bug number is greater than two and are setting up permanent residence in the brown and golden locks of your girls, the gross factor is immediately cranked up. Two words: head lice. Morgan brought them home, compliments of attending school, I guess, and quickly spread them to Mallorie. Compliments of shared brushes, head bands, hair ties, and proximity while watching a movie on the couch. Out comes the Nix, a nasty smelling shampoo which singes the nose hairs as soon as the bottle is opened. Out comes the fine tooth comb to go through wet hair with each washing. And on comes the washing machine....it took a couple of months to finally get rid of the little pests. I've never done so much laundry in my life! Just when I thought things were under control, I'd find another one darting between the strands of hair. We called the Nix the "stinky shampoo" and Mallorie, especially, detested the use of the stuff. Your scalp feels....chemicalized....after you're done.
Adventure two actually began in September of 2014 when we rented out the duplex to a couple who turned out to be less-than-stellar tenants. Missed rent, late rent, no rent, excuses, lies, and eventual eviction was the sob story for at least 10 months of our landlord story. The morning we arrived to clean and prepare for another tenant, we entered our cute little house to find the most amazing amount of filth I have ever beheld. We walked around the small place, mouths open, for a good 15 minutes, minds attempting to comprehend the landfill before our eyes. We spent the next month tossing, cleaning, washing, cleaning, scraping, painting, replacing carpet, and cleaning. In fact, several months after we were done, Mallorie came into the kitchen one afternoon and announced that she was heading to the duplex to paint. Shows just how much time the kids and I put into the place. We paid for my dad to fly up from Albuquerque to provide painting assistance and have since found amazing tenants who care for the home as well as we would ourselves. What a mess. The whole unit is up for sale now. =)
One Hello
Between the tears, work, and chaos of life came our sweet little boy, Spencer. Arriving one week after his due date, he has filled our lives with activity, gigantic smiles and a contagious belly laugh.
Two Adventures
Have you ever found a bug in your child's hair? Normally, said bugs are transient, passengers hitching a ride from a bush to wherever they fall off as said child is running around. However, when the bug number is greater than two and are setting up permanent residence in the brown and golden locks of your girls, the gross factor is immediately cranked up. Two words: head lice. Morgan brought them home, compliments of attending school, I guess, and quickly spread them to Mallorie. Compliments of shared brushes, head bands, hair ties, and proximity while watching a movie on the couch. Out comes the Nix, a nasty smelling shampoo which singes the nose hairs as soon as the bottle is opened. Out comes the fine tooth comb to go through wet hair with each washing. And on comes the washing machine....it took a couple of months to finally get rid of the little pests. I've never done so much laundry in my life! Just when I thought things were under control, I'd find another one darting between the strands of hair. We called the Nix the "stinky shampoo" and Mallorie, especially, detested the use of the stuff. Your scalp feels....chemicalized....after you're done.
Adventure two actually began in September of 2014 when we rented out the duplex to a couple who turned out to be less-than-stellar tenants. Missed rent, late rent, no rent, excuses, lies, and eventual eviction was the sob story for at least 10 months of our landlord story. The morning we arrived to clean and prepare for another tenant, we entered our cute little house to find the most amazing amount of filth I have ever beheld. We walked around the small place, mouths open, for a good 15 minutes, minds attempting to comprehend the landfill before our eyes. We spent the next month tossing, cleaning, washing, cleaning, scraping, painting, replacing carpet, and cleaning. In fact, several months after we were done, Mallorie came into the kitchen one afternoon and announced that she was heading to the duplex to paint. Shows just how much time the kids and I put into the place. We paid for my dad to fly up from Albuquerque to provide painting assistance and have since found amazing tenants who care for the home as well as we would ourselves. What a mess. The whole unit is up for sale now. =)
One Hello
Between the tears, work, and chaos of life came our sweet little boy, Spencer. Arriving one week after his due date, he has filled our lives with activity, gigantic smiles and a contagious belly laugh.
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