And now...August.

On August 1, we quietly celebrated our 13th anniversary!

The first weekend of the month we made a quick getaway to Rehoboth Beach for some sand, surf, and time at the pool. We enjoyed visiting and spending time with Uncle Tim, Aunties Jean & Kris, and friends Natalie and Pauline. Connor enjoyed going into the ocean with Dad. The big event of the weekend was when a big wave came, Dad held Connor over his head, but the wave swept Dad's glasses off of his head - never to be seen again. While Dad had to go the rest of the day and the trip home without glasses, thankfully he had his backup "Harry Potter" glasses at home to use until replacements could be procured.

The second weekend Dad traveled to Germany for work and was gone for 4 nights - a quick international trip that had been put off long enough. Unfortunately, the trip coincided with the foiled liquid explosive terrorist plot which resulted in canceled flights, last minute airport departure plans, and a very long transfer through London Heathrow both ways. Daddy and Connor survived by themselves just fine. However, everyone was glad Dad came home on the 5th day - especially Dad.

The third weekend we enjoyed having Grandma JoAnn visit for a night. Connor had a great time showing Grandma JoAnn all of his toys. Grandma JoAnn was also a great help picking out Connor's first expensive pair of shoes and his first visit to Stride Rite - what a wonderful store for cutie patootie shoes! The visit was short, but sweet and we look forward to the next.

The fourth weekend we went to visit Great Grandma Martin (aka Mono) who at this point had been in hospice care in her home for some time. It was tough for us all to see her in her weakened state, but at the same time it was a wonderful visit. Mono recognized Connor immediately, reached out to grab his hand, and smiled and Connor played with his toys in the living room. The next day Mono was able to sit up on her own, help mix a cake, walk across the living room with much assistance, and even cracked some jokes that we will always remember. It was tough saying goodbye to her on Sunday, but we feel so fortunate to have had that weekend. It was also wonderful to see how caring Pappy was with Mono and to see the bond that they had together.

Sadly, Mono passed away two days later. We miss her terribly, but know that she is no longer suffering. She really fought hard the last couple of days and we are comforted to know that she is at peace. Mono and Pappy were married for 64 years. How many grand kids and great grand kids are able to say that? Their marriage and relationship with one another is a model for all of us to follow as we raise our families.

The next weekend we spent in Pennsylvania for Mono's visitation and funeral. The funeral was a day we will always remember for Aunt Sue's eulogy at the funeral, the burial in the town where she grew up followed by ice cream at the local general store (Mono and Pappy took us there all the time as we grew up), driving by the farm where she grew up (and the lake nearby where she and Pappy taught us grandkids to fish), and the sounds of her little great grand kids ever present. Just as she would have wanted the day to be. We miss you Mono.