Wimpleton Graduation

Only my family knows that a wimpleton is a kid whose age is one digit. Andrew just happened to turn 10, and now that he is double-digits he is no longer a wimpleton. Happy graduation, bud.

Andrew's birthday came shortly after the news of Liza's death. I decided we really needed to have the party. Andrew had come up with this AWESOME idea and EVERY one of the 9 kids he invited was coming. But how could you not when your invitation says, "Nerf WWI!"

Having the heaviness of heart that I did, I put Daniel in charge of the party. He did such a great job keeping those boys going! I kept to the background and watched, played photographer, and helped serve pizza. :) I also bought my first birthday cake EVER. I've always made them, like my mother did, and put a lot of time, creativity, and love into it. But I just didn't have it in me. Fortunately there's an awesome bakery close by and the artist did an amazing job.

So, here's the party! They started with some cross between capture the gold and capture the flag, in the snow. This was Abby's favorite part--she got two (of five) flags!! Guess the boys weren't watching the girl too closely. :)

Lunch. I love this--every boy is in there.
The boys did target shooting and Dad shooting (Daniel had two Dad friends stay for the party and help out) and a weapons show in the basement. Each kid brought their own nerf guns and got to show them off. Which they loved.

Here they are opening presents
Andrew got so many things right up his alley--lego, star wars, and nerf. No wonder the smile.
For the last 45 minutes the boys made teams, built barricades/forts (in the basement) and ran around shooting each other. Does it get any better that that? There were no cracked heads, bloody noses, or broken lamps. Success!!

Here's the boy and the cake! Love that kid!

Liza

Most friends and family reading my blog will know that my youngest sister passed away two weeks ago. Thank you to so many who have offered their friendship and support, every email, message, facebook, comment, card, and text was noticed. Thank you, most sincerely.

I needed to write today. This is how it came out...a poem of sorts. If you know Liza, please remember these are my perspectives with my unique relationship with her. Especially if her friends come upon this, you may know the same girl quite differently.

I feel a little weird putting this up so publicly, but I think it will help my family and friends know where I come from with this tragedy and what it has meant to me. And it's easier to write and put out there, than explain one by one.

Better Now Than Before

I got to know you a little bit more

if you had to go this way,

better now than before

years went by that are fuzzy now

but we laugh of memories of you

you're Mary the dog

toddler summers in swimsuits

the hungry hippos obsession and thrill

more years came

I was away from home

you were off playing, silly times with the neighbor girls--exactly as I did when I was your age

except I never painted a dog blue

but I wasn't there much, I mostly know through pictures and stories shared

years came that pushed those memories of the sweet girl away

there was impatience in you, unkindness, unhappiness

with family

parents

sarcasm

you had years of darkness, depression

coping with your struggles in frightening ways

we were scared

I was scared

there are times you seemed close to death

frail of joy

missing parts of you

I didn't know this girl. she only said a few words on the phone at a time

she didn't want to visit

even when she was offered a free flight across the country

I was sad I didn't know her

I let it go as the teenage years

but your world changed, you changed ours

when you found the woods

crazy, insane hard work

mental and physical demands higher than you ever had before

out of nowhere you sent emails

hilarious accounts of your adventures

intensity

you are brave you were brave

you walked to the beat of your own drum

I loved getting your letters

your unique expressions, pranks, work load, views

you even called me once

you had 48 hours back in civilization, and you called to talk.

to me.

my sister was back.

you took off to another country just because you wanted to

none of us have ever been so gutsy

you helped people, you learned spanish

you were amazing.

I can't believe you're gone

the girl who was living. finally really living

and loving

and sharing

and letting us in.

I won't remember you so much as a troubled teen

or a girl with depression or a girl who caused herself physical pain

I will remember you with your crazy dreads

and your hugs

and your thoughtfulness to my kids, even on your last day living

and your smile

I'll remember the adventurer

I got to know you a little bit more

if you had to go this way,

better now than before

Wisconsin Dells

Before I forget to report it (for lack of pictures), our family went on an awesome little trip to the water park capital of the world, the Wisconsin Dells. The kids got the trip wrapped up under the tree for Christmas (their swimsuits and pictures of the water park as clues). We stayed two days and one night at the Wilderness Resort. What an enormous place! We spent two days hopping back and forth from their 3 indoor water parks. We had so much fun. The wave pool was a highlight for all. Andrew and Abby loved the giant hot tub that was half inside half outside. The huge water slides were a highlight for me.

The unique moment of the trip was at dinner. We were eating, enjoying the food, when a man at the table next to us swore. It was not that loud or terribly offensive. (I don't think Daniel or the kids even noticed.) But he decided that he should not have done that. And he seemed a little tipsy. He apologized to me several times, making it a bigger deal than it needed to be. Then on his way out, he lays a $100 bill on the table and tells the waitress to use his money to pay for his meal and ours, because he shouldn't use language like that. !!! So it seemed huge because he used a $100 bill. After his meal was covered we got about $35 of it for ours! Not bad! We kept trying to sit by sketchy folks at our next dinner, in hopes it would happen again.