June 2015

This year marked the first time in a long time that Kelli and I were out of school before June. Which meant we have been able to enjoy the entire month at home with Charly and Hayes!

One of the kids' favorite spots in Cedar Falls is Big Woods Lake. They love tossing rocks in the water, finding flowers (and candylions), and running on the trail.

Hayes spent much of June tormenting Elliot. The boy loves this cat but shows his love by smothering her every opportunity he gets. No matter how many times she snips at him or runs away!

The ball diamonds at UNI remain a favorite as well this summer. Charly and Hayes ask to go to the diamonds almost daily! 

Another June staple is strawberry picking at Heartland Farms. The crop this summer was the most impressive since we've been going. 

The jumping pillow is always a hit too!

Father's Day!

Charly is in her element on a ball diamond. We have so much fun watching her play so we signed her up for two leagues this summer, one organized by the Cedar Falls Rec Center and one in Waterloo that her Uncle Beau and I will coach. 

We sometimes struggle keeping Hayes entertained during t-ball because he wants to play, but then he gets home and drags his hockey nets out to the driveway and forgets all about t-ball!

We brought the kids to Kelli's 20-week appointment so they could see their brother or sister for the first time. Charly was entranced by the situation and Hayes was bored. He thought the baby looked like an alien. "That's not my baby," he said over and over.

On Kelli's birthday, Dad and I started residing our garage. The kids dug up the yard looking for worms and Kelli cleaned the house in preparation for hosting her family the following night. Quite the birthday!

The following morning we went to the Sturgis Falls parade to see the Budweiser Clydesdales. 

For Kelli's birthday, we hosted her family because Blaine and Jodi were in town for a baseball tournament Brooks was playing in. 

The following morning, Kelli ran in the Sturgis Falls 5K! At 5 months pregnant! 

Coming up in July, we plan to celebrate the Fourth, travel to Alabama for the Third Annual Henrichs Family Vacation, go for a lot of bike rides, and visit Target Field to watch the Twins play.

Grandma Gail

Grandma Gail passed away on New Years Day, 2015.

At 92 years-old, she was a woman that I had begun to think of as indestructible. A number of things come to mind when reminiscing about her... I laugh thinking back to her snapping at all 18 grandchildren as we took turns flipping the ceiling fan on and tossing wrapping paper into it during Christmas time. I can't tell you the number of times I have tried making eggs over easy in the morning, only to scrape them off the pan and into the garbage disposal because they just never quite taste as good as they do in Grandma's kitchen. I remember her hugging me with teary eyes one Sunday morning and thanking me for the wedding thank-you she had received in the mail from Kelli and I. I smile thinking back to how happy we were that she was able to be at our home for Charly's first birthday. I love how Charly has to carefully place all the ornaments Grandma Gail has made her on our Christmas tree because they are some of her favorites.

When Alzheimer's began to take Grandpa Warren's mind, I was a college freshman and I stubbornly refused to see him in that state. I had my picture of who Grandpa was and I didn't want his Alzheimer's to confuse that. The fact that I could have visited him a few more times before he died, but selfishly kept my distance, still eats at me today.

When Dad called on New Years Eve to tell me Grandma had taken a turn for the worse, my gut instinct was to stay at home. She was the Energizer Bunny. I didn't want to see her lying in that hospital bed. Dying. That's not how I wanted to remember her. But I knew I had to go. Even for just a short while. I didn't want to make the same mistake I feel like I did with Grandpa.

It was a visit that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

She gave Taylor a hard time about getting married. She told stories about Grandpa buying her screwdrivers (the vodka and orange juice kind.) And after a while, with nearly a century-worth of stories on her mind, she just closed her eyes and said, "I have been so blessed."

She felt so blessed in that moment not just because of all the memories she was thinking back to, but because of all the family that was surrounding her, literally, in her hospital room. She looked right at me when I had entered the room and was surprised and happy that I was there, as she was with everyone she saw in her final few days.

Ironically, the image of her in her hospital bed that I was so scared of remembering, is now the image of her that I never want to forget. Our presence there, and her memories of us, made her feel blessed in her final moments, and that is an incredible, powerful feeling to hold onto.

"'Autumn' is Another Word for 'Fall'"

Recently Charly learned that 'Autumn' is another word for 'Fall.' We love this time of year because it's full of fun traditions: Prairie du Chien with Papa Denny and Grandma Carol, football, raking leaves, and carving pumpkins.