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Home. And tired.

Hi everyone! We're back in town after a much-needed extended visit with my family. I'll be back here tomorrow to tell you all about Eva's third birthday. (Three! Can you believe she's three??!)

Thank you so much--everyone--for your kind words about my grandpa. We are really, really going to miss him, but he had a long, full life, and he was blessed with a peaceful death...there's not much more we could ask for. One really neat thing that happened is the Minneapolis paper contacted my family and asked to write an extended featured obituary about him. The story appeared in yesterday's paper, and the reporter did a great job capturing Gramps' spirit. If anyone is interested, you can read the article here. (My mom is even quoted!)

Happy Tuesday to you all!

Three!

Happy, Happy Birthday to our favorite three-year-old!
We love you, Eva.
Mama & Daddy

Sad.

Eva: Why are you sad, Mama?
Mama: Oh sweetie, I'm sad because Gramps died.
Eva: What's died?
Mama: Well, when people get really, really old, their bodies stop working. And then they can't walk or talk or eat or sleep anymore.
Eva: Or climb.
Mama: Or climb. And we won't see Gramps anymore.
Eva: But when we go to his house we will see him.
Mama: No sweetie, he won't be at his house. But we can remember him in our imaginations. And we can look at pictures.
Eva: I'm not old.
Mama: No baby, you're not old. You're very, very young.
Eva: Mama and Daddy aren't old.
Mama: No way, we're not old.
Eva: The workers won't take down Gramps' house. They'll leave it there.
Mama: You're right. No one will take down Gramps' house. It will still be there.
Eva: But Gramps won't.
Mama: That's right sweetie.
Eva: Mama? Ducka's kind of sad about Gramps.
Mama: Well, let's give Ducka a big hug. That's the best thing to do.



William Arthur Reimer
June 16th, 1922—June 22nd, 2009

He was a very, very special person, and I can't begin to describe the hole he's left behind him. I suppose in 87 years, a person can't help but make an impression. I'm not sure whether I'll be posting much here in the near future...we'll be spending some time with my family--and we'll also be trying to carve out a chunk of special birthday time to devote to a certain soon-to-be-three-year-old. I'll be back here for sure sometime after the weekend. Be well, everyone!

Can't Say No To That

Yesterday, as I was in the middle of a marathon vacuuming session (oh, nesting, you're so much fun), poor little Eva walked up to me and said in her loudest (non-yelling) voice, "Mama, please turn the vacuum off? I want to talk."

Giving Daddy his card:

Hope your day was happy, too!

Happy Father's Day

...to Eva's daddy, my own dad, and the rest of you dad-type people out there. Enjoy your day!

A HUGE Thank You to my brother Derek (Uncle Dicky) for taking these beautiful pictures. We had an impromptu family photo shoot last weekend, and he did a wonderful job capturing our little family. I'll share more soon...

Summer Girl

Eating oranges for a snack, while wearing her tie-dye watermelon dress.

Have a happy, summery weekend everyone!

Inquiring Minds

Last night, while Mike was helping Eva in the bathroom, I heard her ask "Daddy, how do you say 'toot' in Spanish?"

Four Day Weekend

Whew! We spent the weekend at my parents' house, and, as I mentioned on Friday, Eva and I sent Mike back to work on Monday and stayed for a couple extra days--a mini-vacation before the new kid arrives. Eva's Grampa drove us back to Eau Claire yesterday afternoon, and Eva and I promptly collapsed from Too Much Fun.

I'm a little overwhelmed at the thought of summing up for you all the things we crammed into our happy four days, so instead you're going to get a bunch of pictures. Ready? Go!

Highlights include (but are definitely not limited to...):

A haircut from Grammy. First thing. Because I could feel my mom cringing across the internet when I posted that picture of Eva's bangs on Friday. Grammy's a hairstylist, and it's pure torture for her to know her grandchild is walking around looking like a sheepdog.

This haircut included (for the first time ever!) a trim of the rest of her long, long, growing-since-she-was-in-the-womb hair. Two inches, people! Aaaand no one but her mama can tell. Which is just what I was hoping for.



We spent most of our days outside, playing, blowing bubbles, and running through the sprinkler. Well, Eva and her cousin Sebastian ran through the sprinkler. The rest of us sat back and acted like their own personal paparazzi.



We had a small early Father's Day celebration for my dad, since we were all together.



And on Monday, Eva and I joined Sebastian and his mama (Auntie Alix) for a trip to the Minnesota Zoo. They were kind enough to share their zoo membership with us, so we were able to enjoy the zoo for free! I'm sure you can imagine what a trip to the zoo is like for an almost-three-year-old, so I'll just tell you this: there were ducks. And big kitties. And at the end of the day, Eva told me she was going to live at the zoo--in one of the empty animal "houses."

And also, there was a fountain at the zoo...specifically for running in!!

Although, if you ask Eva, she'll tell you her favorite part of the zoo was the "Automatic" bathroom. An enchanted place where the toilets flush themselves, the water runs all by itself, the dryers just magically turn on, and the soap! Pumps itself! (We used a lot of soap once she figured that out.)

Finally, on the way home yesterday, we took a small detour to visit with my friend Mira and Eva's buddy Chaz...and to meet their new little baby, Marcus. Eva was a little unsure of the baby at first, but then, just before we left, she asked if she could hold him (!!)

On the way home, she told me that maybe our baby was going to be a boy (which is a first, usually she insists it's a girl), and that we could probably name him Marcus. I think she liked him.

Well, that's it folks! We're back. You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!

Guess who's getting her bangs trimmed this weekend?

We're off to Grammy and Grampa's house for the weekend! Eva and I may stay a few extra days, so if you don't hear from me until later in the week, don't assume I'm in labor or anything like that. I'm probably not.

I hope you all have a fun weekend! Be good.