Forty!

Holy Smokes, I'm 40!

And I celebrated for days!  Not 40 days, but a few...and they were all great.  I woke up Thursday morning to flowers and breakfast on the table.  Well, more like a bowl of cereal with a side of milk in a glass because, as Natalie so honestly put it, "I would have put the milk on your cereal, Mommy, but I didn't want it to get all soggy while you made our breakfast."  Yup.  That's a mom's birthday breakfast if I've ever seen it.  I loved the sign she made..."KIM (the mom)".  Priceless.

That evening Corey and the girls made me a delicious cake with pink sprinkles and I opened gobs of beautiful cards from friends all over the country (and world, actually!), thanks to a little Facebook card campaign my sister orchestrated.  So fun.  Thanks, Ash.

 I think my all-time favorite was this one from Kristen:

That is what I feel like doing most mornings these days!  

Especially as the sun is slower and slower to wake up!

And finally, on Saturday night, Corey and I had a birthday celebration date planned.  When we got to Postino in Lafayette (honestly, one of the most amazingly delicious and cozy restaurants I've ever been to) four lovely, great friends were waiting at our table to surprise me.  (It would have been six, but one couple got delayed coming back from vacation in southern California and couldn't join us at the last minute.) Such and awesome night that Corey had secretly planned.  I loved every delicious minute of it.

Amy, me and Mari (missing Nicole!)

Love these ladies!

I loved how I entered this 5th decade of my life (gulp...that sounds old) and plan to make the most of it.  Thanks to everyone for helping to make it so special!

First Day of PreK

Audrey started Pre K last week and she's so excited to be back in school.  She has the same teachers as last year and that was music to all of our ears.  We love them!  She goes to school three mornings a week and looks like such a big kid on her little campus now.

Not ready to say goodbye...

Our family lost our dearly beloved grandfather last weekend.  I think I'm still in denial.  None of us were ready to let him go.  There was no other man quite like him.  He was full of life and positive energy.  Kind to his core.  Loyal and loving.  Equal parts strong and sensitive. An all around beautiful person.  

Today would have been his 90th birthday.  While my grief is weighing heavily, I'm truly overcome with gratefulness.  I'm so grateful I was lucky enough to call this man Grandpa and that my children got to know and love their GGPa.  

October 2012, dancing at Ashley & Paul's wedding in Sedona, AZ

I had the honor of writing his obituary...

 Charles George Grifall, adored husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend, passed away August 29^th after a brief illness.  Charlie was born September 8, 1924 in Fresno, California to George and Anna Grifall.  He spent the majority of his childhood in Mountain View, California, graduating from Mountain View High School in 1942.  He married the love of his life, Elizabeth Anne Kelly, in 1946.  They had four children and settled in Reno in 1958 where they celebrated their love of family and the outdoors.

Charlie enjoyed a successful career in trucking and forever put his patience and expertise to great use helping family, friends and neighbors fix just about anything.  Charlie loved to camp, fish, garden, entertain and travel.  Among his favorite places to visit were Skopelos, Greece, Alaska, Death Valley, and annual camping trips to Stampede Reservoir.  Although his favorite place on the map was likely his own backyard and workshop.  In recent years he was an active member of the Knights of Columbus Nevada Council 978 and a member of the 4^th Degree.  He was also a previous Grand Knight and an active member of the Color Corp of the Reno Diocese. 

He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Elizabeth Grifall, his son, Jim Grifall, daughters, Charlotte Callahan and Karen Sabo, five grandchildren, six great grandchildren, two brothers and one sister.  In addition to his parents and his older brother, his daughter, Linda Grifall, preceded him in death in 2008. 

 High School Graduation, 1942

Wedding Day, 1946

66 years later, 2012

                                                                             

He will be missed beyond measure and forever remembered for his kind heart and gentle, generous spirit.  

First Day of Second Grade

We have a second grader in the house.  A second grader with braces!  What a busy few weeks it's been.  Right before school started we learned that Natalie would need phase one (of only two, hopefully!) of braces sooner rather than later to correct her cross bite.  We took advantage of a cancellation in the orthodontist's schedule to start right away.  She's thrilled.  At least with the brackets (with custom color pink and purple bands, no less) and wire.  She gets the palatal expander retainer in a few weeks, so we'll see if she's as thrilled after that appointment.  She'll be sporting a whole lot of mouth metal by Halloween!

As for second grade, she totally loves it.  Her teacher is a neighbor of ours who also has a second grader and they've been a fellow Girl Scout family so I think that will help make it a great year!

 On the way home from the orthodontist I asked her to take a picture of herself.  She said, "you mean a selfie?"

Trip to Michigan!

I'm so behind on the blog.  We've been home from Michigan for a few weeks now but those few weeks have been beyond crazy.  We had a great time visiting the Brooks side of the family this summer, as usual.  The girls love the farm so much and keep themselves very entertained there!  We all do, actually.  Corey joined us for most of our trip this year and that was awesome for everyone.

Time at the farm, as I mentioned, is probably the common favorite for all of us.  It's such a peaceful place...walks to take, wildflowers to gather,  raspberries to pick, swings to swing in, birds to watch, frogs & ladybugs and lighting bugs to catch, naps to take, custom pancakes to devour (thanks, Aunt Kristen!) desserts to bake (thanks, Aunt Ammy!)  and tractor rides to take.  The girls had an awesome time collecting bugs in a magnifying bug vacuum that Auntie Kristen gave them.  Natalie sucked up anything that wasn't nailed down.

 We also had a great time at the cottage this year...

And we had a fun day in St. Joe, enjoying Lake Michigan and a really fun splashpad and carousel.

 Totally great trip.  Thank you all so much!