::imperfect perfection x3::

My beloved Grandpa, Howard Vincent Schow, passed away March 29th at 2PM. He was the kindest, funniest and bestest "good doobie" in the world. I feel so blessed to have been able to have him so long in my life and to have been able to spend so much time just being around him. I have not enjoyed being so far away these past 7 years and miss being able to spend time with him, especially saddened that I wasn't able to really say goodbye and that my girls will not get to know their wonderful GreatGramps. He served in the Navy during WWII and lived most of his life serving the Lord, alongside his wife and eternal companion. My most favorite memories of Gramps are playing Pollyanna before bed and then waking up to waffles made from scratch (from the Tupperware bowl in the pantry) with real crumbed bacon that was mixed into the batter. In a word: HEAVENLY. (especially when topped off with any of Gram's homemade syrups---maple, strawberry, raspberry, boysenberry, and apricot. ...

So my mom and I took the girls to the park. I played like a little kid (after I finished reading the Lands End catalog, of course. I didn't fall in love with anything...darn) It was fun. However, I fear I will be very sore in the morning.... pictures of me doing the zipline not included.... (you see me wayyyyyy up at the top?? the girls got NOTHIN ' on me....) :) Jordyn Avery. With her wild hair. Ashleigh. Looking a bit uncomfortable .... Photos of the gorgeous Spring foliage. It's definitely sprung here. Happy Spring, everyone! Now, go swing on some swings! It's sooo much fun!! :)

My parents and brother are visiting from Idaho and the day they got here was my mom's birthday. The girls waited at the door with their signs for Grandma. This was the best photo I got.... :) (notice the one slipper on jordyn ...yeah no explanation for that. she just wanted one . whatever.) We've had so much fun already. More posts to come about what good times we have had together!

For Valentine's Day (weekend) we had the chance to see Disney On Ice "Worlds of Fantasy" with some friends who were kind enough to share their tickets with us. They had a suite to use and it was soooo awesome! I can't imagine trying to keep the girls in regular seats that long. They were able to roam around and they ate their weight in popcorn! It was a fantastic treat! Then later Saturday night, Tony surprised me with a dinner out. It was a new place neither of us had been called "Pearl". It's situated on the river and you can see the downtown skyline in the distance. So pretty. The food was fantastic and the dessert was spectacular!! It was a heart shaped chocolate cake with a thick chocolate mousse layer all covered with chocolate ganache and then accompanied by strawberries and whipped cream. Yummmmmy . It was a lovely day. I had a great time with all four of my Valentines. I hope you had a special day filled with love (and chocolate)! Pictures: Th...

The girls' friend Brianna had her fourth birthday party at Fairytale Town a couple weeks ago and it was so cute and so fun. We had never actually been there before so I didn't exactly know what to expect but I knew they would love it. They had snacks and cake and ice cream inside the "princess castle" then everyone was free to run around the park all day. We sure had a great time and the girls did not want to go home for naps! Thanks for inviting us Bree and Fam ! We will miss you! Sitting on the big throne bench inside the castle: Ashleigh was being photogenic that day: Too bright for pictures.... Avery riding the rabbit: Jordy joined her: Then Ash had to get in on the fun! (nice "cheese" face, jord .) How often can you say you've climbed on a turtle's shell? I will add more pictures as I get them. Somehow I missed getting some of the birthday girl!

Yes. I have been given doctor's orders to wear a mask. It was super fun getting my prescription in Rite Aid, looking like death AND wearing a face mask. I was not making eye contact with ANYONE and I'm pretty sure everyone was running in the opposite direction from me. This is probably a more appropriate post for the other blog but I'm too lazy to log in and blah blah blah . I have the flu. Just the regular flu, not swine flue (although they don't really do the "test" anymore to see if it is or not) so really it's just a guess, but I'll go with it. I have to say it's pretty miserable. I don't think I've ever had the real flu before so it's a new experience and one I hope to never repeat. But I probably won't ever get the flu shot so it's a real possibility I'll get it again....but I've gone this long, right??? But for reals, I DID get a new look! I've been long overdue for a hair cut (try a YEAR) so I finally had...

I took the girls and Tony's mom to the Railroad Museum a couple weeks ago and we had a great time! We got yelled at once by a, shall we say , mature? museum worker wearing denim striped over-alls for eating our fruit snacks on a bench inside the museum. My first question is, how do they expect the kids to not eat at any point during the day? If my kids did not sit down and have a fruit snack they were going to start a riot . SO luckily we were done eating by the time we were repremanded. :) All in all, it was a fun day. And Avery had to use the bathroom every 5 minutes. I wish I was kidding. WHY did we potty train them? WHY???? Ugh. I really hate public bathrooms. I find that I'm yelling at them over and over again "Do NOT touch ANYTHING!!!!!" And what do they proceed to do? Touch everything. Then I wash their hands twice and douse them with antibacterial hand sanitizer. *shivers* Here are some photos of the fun!