Grandma

My grandma died this morning.  She was ready and I am so thankful she went quickly and peacefully but I am sure going to miss this lady.

This picture was taken about a month ago.  When I hugged her goodbye that day, I was pretty sure that would be the last time I would see her this side of Heaven.  

I was the first grandchild and the only one until my sister came along.  Grandma loved to tell me the story of how I favored her and wanted nothing to do with my grandpa.  I have so many wonderful memories of my grandma.  I am thankful for all the time I got with her,  I am thankful that my kids got the chance to know their Great-Grandma and I am thankful I get to see her again someday.

Goodbye 5th grade! Good bye freshman year! Goodbye Washington!

We've been home from our annual summer road trip to the Midwest for a month now so I figure it's about time I get off my blogging butt and do some catching up.
We left on the last day of school.  The kids had a half day so we were on the road (sort of) about twenty minutes after they got home.
Here's a little comparison of their first and last day pictures.

Yes, I know he has his eyes closed but this is all I got.  He's not that cooperative in taking pictures anymore.  

Sam handled the transition to high school pretty much like he handles everything - it was no big deal.  He is truly the most laid back kid I know, this drives me completely insane sometimes but mostly, it's pretty nice.  I think he would say he had a good year.  He loved doing high school sports, had a lot of fun with friends and tolerated his classes.

Katie wanted to wear her first-day-of-school-outfit on her last day too, even though the shorts and shoes were a little tight!

She had a good transition to middle school too.  She said she liked having lockers but the playground isn't as fun as the elementary school.  She was sort of talked into playing percussion in band but at the last concert when she got to play the cymbals, I think she kind of liked it.
The older the get, the more people comment about how she looks like Holly.  I see it sometimes but they are SO different when it comes to personality.
So, as soon as Sam and Katie got home from school, we got everything stinky out of their backpacks (don't you hate end of the year backpacks?), everybody got comfortable in their assigned seats (first year for Katie in the "way-back, she wasn't impressed), said our pre-roadtrip prayer, and....our Pilot wouldn't start.
Holly took these pictures for her Instagram story.

While the Pilot was getting a new battery, I visited the taco truck across the street.

We had hotel reservations in Missoula, Montana for that night so even though we got a later start than expected, we hunkered down in our patched-up Pilot and made it there by 11:00 or so.
Some of us in the vehicle hunkered down more than others.

 The Hiemstra Family Summer Roadtrip 2019 has begun!