Cousins are here

Waiting on the cousins.... was taking "Forever" according to these guys......

But then they arrived......

 And we even got an "Adult" evening out...

Fun was had by ALL!! 

Park is open again!

We rode our bikes down to the park this afternoon.. We all had fun! Seaside park is open again..... maybe not for when school is in session, but it's nice the kids can play again!

 Have a great rest of the week!

A little bit of the beach and a little bit of that...

We took the day off of swim lessons (make up next week) on Thursday, meanwhile, Austin went on a play date so Kain and I packed up the beach bag, woke Mela a little early from her nap and met our friends, Cameron, Sophia, Addison and Sawyer at the beach. It was really fun. Kain packed an entire solo cup full of shells he collected!

check out this turtle? that someone crafted in the sand..it was right in front of us.!

 Kain & Sawyer

 Searching for shells

 Today we planned a Lemonade Stand with the neighbors. Miranda, Madison, Megan, Edward. The cousin and a friend of Megan's. It was quite the crowd. AND the girls made Cake Pops too. They all had so much fun!!

 The littlest helper had a nap for most of the lemonade stand time.. .but woke up and helped for the last hour. She was having so much fun..... She kept yelling "CAKE POP" "CAKE POP"

 This was just a quick snap I got of the two littles when we went to pick up Austin from school today.. Mela really likes to hold the boys hands lately.... only their hands!

I found this sign while I was returning something to a store the other day. I decided it would go perfect in Mela's room. 

I learned that It's meaningful in so many ways! I "googled" some of the meanings behind it:


“If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.” 
― Joseph Campbell

“There is something infantile in the presumption that somebody else has a responsibility to give your life meaning and point… The truly adult view, by contrast, is that our life is as meaningful, as full and as wonderful as we choose to make it.”
― Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

“Know your own happiness. You want nothing but patience- or give it a more fascinating name, call it hope.”
― Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

When Mela wakes up, she always points to her sign.. 

My Video 6/19/12 at OneTrueMedia.com

I pulled this up from last summer. Good Times!! :)

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
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Celebrating Meme June 30th 2013

I was dreading that "phone call" but woke up every morning thinking to myself, "oh I bet Meme is upset that she woke up" but I was happy to get to call her on her phone just "one more time." Even if she could not respond, I would make sure to tell her how much I loved her. 

Sunday I did just that. I woke up and I remember mom saying not today, Hospice said she's got some time. And I remember thinking that I was happy to get to call her that "one more time." I didn't call because I usually waited for mom to get there. I will never forget the 12:45p (Ca.time) call I got on this day....I felt like my heart had stopped just hearing my mom's faint voice at that very moment. 

 I would give anything to hold her hand and hear her voice; hear her ask about my day or the kids. Ask who won in one of their games the night before. Check in on Eric and his travels. See what Mela was wearing or doing new. I can hear her voice in my head daily and I can't get her off my mind as my day goes about. We speak of her often around here especially during dinner when that use- to- be "our" time to call her..... 

But I know in my heart that Meme had a good life. She lived life and loved everyone of us. She was so involved with everything we did it's hard not to be able to call and tell her some "Good News". 

 As my mom put it.... "For weeks I've known her body would soon depart" but for 9 weeks we had her back to herself, happy talking for long periods of time over the phone and enjoying life.. walking again with her walker and even taking a Tai Chi class. I thought for sure I would come back this Summer and sit and have a nice lunch with her again at her place. 

I know that life doesn't last forever, but for some people you just can't help but wish it did! I miss her so very much, but I promised to keep her memory alive in this household. They say Mela looks just like her when she was little. Well, little Miss Mela Bliss.... you have some big shoes to fill, but in your own way-of coarse!!!!

 My mom and I sitting in Meme's apartment for the last time without her. I slept on that couch many times. The last time I was there, I barely slept. I thought that was the end....but I'll never forget the memories of sitting on this couch with my sister, then the boyfriends, then the husbands, then all the Great grandkids..talking, drinking, eating, fighting, laughing... It's where we sat when we went over to her house. 
 I know all these "Things" were just "things"....but they also held a lot of memories that I will always "Remember." 

 My girlfriend, Kim and I decided we were going to find the old house that I remember so well. Going over there every weekend and the holidays. It's now for sale. but I remember this yard. It was fun hearing the stories my parents had about this house too. That house was a "Beast"!!

Last Summer...... June 2012

 Some mornings or afternoons, I step outside on my front porch, this white butterfly flies around me. I swear. I've never seen it before *unless I've never payed attention. And I feel like it's her spirit saying I'm here. I see ya.. I'm smiling. I love ya. I miss ya, Keep going! At least that's what I want to think. But I now look for it, sometimes wait for it----every time I open that door.  

I use to update this every single day for a while there because I knew that Meme would get up and go over to her computer and it brightened her day to see the California kids on here.... I'm coming back... slowly but surely!

Meme had a beautiful wake and Catholic service-- all her family and friends came out to pay their respects. They had great stories to tell of her past and present. Her Monarch Landing friends are really going to miss her too as she was very involved in that "Community". She really loved that place!  But the one who will really miss her is her best Friend (of 77 years), Irene. and she said it best:

"Best Friends for Life and Eternity" may you save a seat on your right hand side for me........."