Birthday Party and Beautiful Fall Colors

Saturday we drove up to Iron Mt., MI to celebrate my nephew's 3rd birthday.  We took the scenic route and saw some gorgeous fall colors along the way.  It was a beautiful day and the kids had so much fun.  Happy 3rd Birthday Jack David, so happy we could celebrate with you!

 This sign made me laugh:)

 The pictures just do not do the colors justice. 

 The fact that they're all taken through the car window doesn't help either, but you get the idea!

 Pretty Reed girls

 My boys

 Cousins

 Thanks for the ride Uncle Paul

 The City Park has an enclosure with some beautiful deer.  This albino deer was cool to see. 

 The kind of buck all our guys dream of bringing home!  They'll just have to look at this big guy:)

 The girls feeding the deer carrots. 

 Pretty little doe

 Cute little chipmunk

 This boy loves sticks.  All boy.  All the time. 

 Piggy back rides for everyone!

 Jack blowing out his candle.  The wind didn't want to cooperate with lighting the candles. 

 So pretty. 

 The kids doing some great posing:)

 Grace and Callie were two peas in a pod!

 The higher the better. 

 Sisters!

A smile from the birthday boy:)

Zoo Boo 2015

Friday night we went to the opening night of Zoo Boo at the NEW Zoo.  It was a beautiful night and we had a great time enjoying it with Doug, Sarah, Hannah, Hattie, and Papa!  Doug and Sarah treated us all to pizza at their house afterwards; a great ending to a really fun night.  

 Hannah "spinning" the prize wheel on the iPad...she's a pro

 Through the maze

 Spooky skeletons, Wyatt and Madi

 Hattie and Gracie, two peas in a pod

 Peek-a-boo Hannah

 Trick-or-treat

 Me and my favorite little dragon

 Auntie and Hatti, BFFs

 Posing for the dj from Star98.  The kids made their Facebook page so Madi said they're famous!

 Posing for a worker from the Zoo; everyone must've thought they looked extra cute!

 Our customary pictures by the bear

 Cutest little Olivia the Pig I ever did see!

 Taking a little candy break.  These kids know who to ask:)

 Papa and Wy on the carousel

 Hi Olivia!

 2014 & 2015

 2014 & 2015

Hattie and Uncle David leaving Zoo Boo:)

"It's okay, even the sky cries sometimes"

The sky is crying here now which seems appropriate for the day.  One month.  4 weeks.  30 days.  720 hours.  43,200 minutes.  2,592,000 seconds.  My mom has been gone one month yet, somehow, it seems like a lifetime.  It's difficult to wrap your head around not seeing someone for the rest of your life here on earth; it makes me feel sick to my stomach thinking about it.  I miss her more than words can describe.  My heart is heavy; it matches the gloomy, rainy, day outside.  Madi remembered too.  She told me this morning; "it's 11 months until my birthday and 1 month since Grandmam's been gone, but it seems so much longer."  Grace had two days that she didn't want to get out of bed and fought everything about our morning routine.    They're grieving too.  It's definitely true that the hardest part isn't saying goodbye, but learining to live without someone. 

Last night we were watching Nashville and one of the characters had to make the decision to remove her mother from life support.  Though it was just on tv, my heart broke for her and I cried with her.  Watching your mother take her last breath forever changes you.  It is a moment that will be forever etched in my mind. 

I know my mom is with us everyday, we see it all the time.  This is a picture of the sunrise we saw this morning.  My sister took this picture but we looked out and saw the same, breathtaking, sky.  We knew mom was up early, crafting this amazing picture for us to see; she knew we'd need it today.  Thanks mom, love ya. 

Annie's Campground-Halloween Weekend

We camped last weekend at Annie's Campground near Gresham, WI.  It was their Halloween weekend and we had a really good time and especially enjoyed how close it was to home.  Their rates weren't too bad, especially with it being "off season."  During their peak months there is a $20/person wristband fee to use all the "extras" at the campground...seemed pretty steep to us and we would likely go during the off-season again to avoid it.  Everything was included this weekend and there was even a corn maze, hay rides, costume contest, and trick-or treating.  Check-out time on Sunday is 12:00 which was a little earlier than we're used to; normally we plan to eat lunch on Sunday and then pack up but we were home nice and early which was okay too.  The weather was a little chilly; nothing that a nice campfire, a cozy sweatshirt, or heated camper couldn't fix!  Overall we had a very good weekend; it was just what we all needed and fall camping is the absolute best!

 The kids got magic pumpkin seeds to plant. 
Here they are making their markers to put by their pumpkin seed.

 Planting their seeds...wonder what will be there in the morning?!?!

 This Jumping Pillow was SO.MUCH.FUN.
 (not to mention a really great workout-my legs are still sore)

 We woke up on Saturday to find the pumpkins had grown overnight!

 There was lots of exploring going on.

 There was a contest for which campsite was decorated the best. 
This seasonal site was hard to beat!  So cute!

 We had to ask the owner where she had gotten this adorable Halloween camper inflatable.
  We are on the hunt for one now.

 Lunch time

 Daddy's boy reading Turkey Hunting magazine in the camper.  Love the look on his face. 

 At the costume contest.  Madi is a devil, Grace is Olivia the pig, and Wyatt is a dragon. 

 Wyatt won cutest costume!  (Even though they called him a crocodile) 

My studly lumberjack.
 (I just noticed his phone hooked on his belt; it doesn't really go with the costume:)

 Trick-or-Treating around the campground

 Daddy and the kiddos

 No camping trip is complete without making S'mores. 
We had to get our fill to hold us over until next summer.

More exploring.  Bear went on LOTS of walks and I think he's still recovering.
 He's been a very sleepy dog the last couple days. 

End the Stigma of Lung Cancer

Since today is October 1st, and the start of Breast Cancer Awareness month, I woke up with this on my mind and in my heart today.  "Not all cancer is pink."  Now, please don't take this as me not supporting breast cancer awareness.  That is absolutely not the case.  The fact of the matter is, I support all cancer research and awareness.  I do, however, find myself feeling frustrated with everything being turned "pink" in October every year, especially since my mom's lung cancer diagnosis.

My mom died from lung cancer at 52 years young.  She never smoked a day in her life.  There is such a stigma that goes along with lung cancer.  People, for whatever reason, assume that a person with lung cancer somehow did something to "deserve" it.  NOBODY.  DESERVES.  CANCER.  One of the first questions people ask upon finding out that you, or someone you love, has lung cancer is, "did you/they smoke?"  I would find myself answering the question before it was asked sometimes, "my mom has lung cancer and she never smoked a day in her life."  Why should that be the first thing that comes to mind and why should we feel the need to defend the type of cancer our loved one has/had?  Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer related deaths in the U.S.  Lung cancer causes more deaths than colorectal, pancreas, and breast cancers combined.  If you have lungs, you can get lung cancer; regardless if you smoke or not.  


My cousin shared something with me that I just love.  She knew a non-smoker who died of lung cancer and he once said, "we don't ask people with heart disease if they ever ate bacon."  How true is that?  We'll never know what, if anything, caused my mom's cancer.  I just ask that you help end the stigma that goes along with lung cancer.  Please don't be quick to judge when you hear someone has lung cancer, or any cancer or disease for that matter.