A visit from AshLee and Patrick.

Over Memorial Day weekend, we had a surprise visit from our niece Ashlee and her husband Patrick (Padrik as the girls love to call him).  We made the most of the three days and packed in loads of fun.  Grandma took her granddaughters to lunch at the Village.

 

Patrick played many games of basketball with the girls.

Patrick and AshLee took the girls on a bike ride to the gas station for candy.  Later that evening, AshLee and I rode back down for a bottle of wine.  I was actually quite surprised at the good selection of wine they had.  Who would have thunk it?

We BBQ'ed in the beautiful weather.  The girls decided to skip the BBQ in favor of their friend, Blake's, birthday party. 

Sitting out by the fire and star gazing.

A fun game of bowling.

 

Even with no fingerprints (chemo side affect), Kevin still managed to beat me.  GRR.

We took the girls out to the base to check out the planes.

The girls pretending they actually know what they are looking at.  We will make airplane lovers out of them yet.

Family picture in front of the trusted C-130.  It was too bad that they did not have a display of the all time best fighter jet around, the fabulous F14 Tomcat.  Hoorah!

 

We went to the pool for some swimming and sunshine.

 

A trip to the Saturday morning farmers market.

The girls waited very patiently for the balloon ladies to make them a piece of balloon art.

A picture of Patrick and AshLee in front of the state Capitol.  AshLee loves politics and is currently working as the Press Secretary for Governor Scott Walker (Wisconsin). 

No trip is ever complete without lunch at Andrade's!

 

Thank you guys for coming.  We had a great visit!

Never say "never"...

Twenty years ago, I went skydiving in New Zealand.  Kevin and I were dating at the time.  I remember pleading with him to do it with me.  He said, "Never.  Why would anyone jump out of a perfectly good airplane?"  He spent two decades throwing people and objects out of the back of a C-130, but would never jettison himself out of an airplane.  Ironic?  Here is Kevin, dropping me off for my skydiving experience.  My plane is in the right side of the picture.

They did not offer tandem skydiving at that time.  I had to take a day of classes and jump the following day, by myself.  EGADS!  Here I am floating through the sky.

Coming in for a landing.  Theses pictures were before the digital age, so I am lucky to have found a few to scan in.

 

To my surprise, about a month ago, Kevin announced he was going skydiving.  Here he is before the big event. 

 

 

 Suiting up.

Holy, crazy looking airplane!  When they rolled this thing out, I must admit I laughed out loud.  Kevin and I have had quite a few crazy flying experiences in a myriad of airplanes, but this one looked pretty precarious.  My good friend, David Omre (who actually learned to fly before he learned to drive), told me that aircraft paint is actually quite heavy.  These serious skydivers want a very high thrust to weight ratio, so they forego the paint in favor of a clear coat.

There he goes.  Sixty second of pure exhilaration in free fall.

Once the chute was pulled, he enjoyed the sights.

We finally caught a glimpse of him from the ground.

Check out the grin on that face.

The girls excited to see their dad and hear all about his adventure.

 

So proud of this man!  Kendall wanted to know if she could try it now.  Ummm, not for a few more years.  As for Sidney, she is "never" going to do that.  As I stated above, never say "never".

Fashion News.

Sidney's headaches have continued to give her trouble.  So, we took the logical next step and had her eyes checked.  As a result, she now adorns some very adorable glasses on her very adorable face.  It has been three weeks and the headaches seem to have tapered off.  Coincidence?  I think it is still too early to tell.

Hair news:

Kevin has been totally opposed to shaving his head.  The chemo has thinned it quite a bit, but with such a full head of hair to begin with he had quite a bit to spare.  A couple of weeks ago, he finally took the plunge.  I think it looks great!  It was the second time in 20 years that I have been allowed to cut Kevin's hair.  The first time was 20 years ago.  The logical question, why did he only let me cut it once 20 years ago and never again?  He is too kind to answer.

The girls have made some new friends in the neighborhood.  As it turns out, their mom is a hair stylist.  I scheduled appointments to have the girls hair done by her.  Love it!

Sidney's front version (a selfie, of course).

...and the back.

The girls have been very into painting their own nails lately.  Where do these girls get all of their fashion sense?  I am certain it does not come from me.

Pinterest Strikes Again!

After several years in our new house, we finally got the hanging baskets put in up front.  I tried to plant my own this year.  Let's give it a few weeks to see how they do....

 

Lucky for me, Kevin has been scouring Pinterest again this spring.  Awesome pots for annual flowers.

 

A succulent garden that he and the girls put together.  We spent double the price of the pre-made versions, but nothing like the experience.

Our strawberries have suffered in their previous location.  Kevin saw on Pinterest that strawberries can grow very well in a gutter.

So far, they are looking very happy in their new home.