FIRST DAY OF SUMMER 2019!!!!!

I just can't contain my excitement on the first day of Summer!  It IS my season!  I was born in the summer and I come to bloom again each summer, just like a perennial plant... HELLO SUMMER (insert emoji with wide open hugging arms) It's me, It's me It's Vickie G and here I am to enjoy every glorious day of this season.

What is not to like about summer I ask?  Sunshine, warm rain, thunder storms, fireworks, hotdogs, hamburgers, GRILLING, watermelon, flowers, swimming in pools/lakes/oceans/ponds, picnics, fireflies, suntan lotion, topless days and topless nights (talking about my convertible... but that one is free for imagination), cookouts, family/friend gatherings, boating, skiing, tubing, sand castle building (much preferred over snowman building), outdoor concerts... basically Summer feels like a 3 month long celebration of Sunshine.

Sunshine is ,and ALWAYS will be on the top of my list of MOST FAVORITE THINGS!  I seek it like a sunflower follows its face to the sun.  Sunshine smells good... it feels good... it just makes my soul smile.  I have been known (as in actually being caught in the act) to just lie on the concrete driveway with my arms and legs splayed out like I am making a snowangel, just to soak up the warmth that is still held in the concrete at the end of the day.  I might add that the driveway and porch where I would lie splayed out was when we lived in Hutchinson KS, on a cul-de-sac street, very wooded, and we were the only house on the street... it was a private location... however... cars would occasionally drive down the road looking at the available lots, and there I would be, caught like a deer in headlights, laying splayed out soaking up the sun.  Usually though, I would hear the car approaching before it could view my sun soaking activity and I would just be sitting there sipping my ice tea and waving... the times I got caught were because I had fallen asleep while splayed out in my sun soaking... which falling asleep happens often when I lie in the sun.

This is my first summer that I have the opportunity to spend with all of my grandchildren. We recently moved from Portland OR to KY... or moved 'back home' is how we feel.  Its been 9 years since we lived in this area.  The week we found out about our relocation move is the same week we found out about our first 2 grandchildren pregnancies (the first 2 are only 3 weeks apart).  It was hard moving away from my clan just as my clan was expanding and I would have a forever new role as Grandmother... or in my clan Gigi, I role I had waited 10 years for.  The 9 years we were away I traveled every 6 weeks to spend time with my clan... those were tough years, but priceless reward for the closeness we all share, and worth every mile traveled.  The eldest grands are 8 years old and ready to spend quality time with us.  The youngest is 9 months old, so the youngest grands will never remember we ever lived away.  Life is sooooo good and I am sooooo blessed to have this opportunity to be back in the nest of my precious clan.  The summer time plans we have this year will be memorable for us all.

I am dancing a jig all day with excitement that TODAY is the longest day of 2019, and on this first day of summer 2019 the sun IS shining quite brightly and warmly!!!!  May all of you who read this post also have sunshine to celebrate today!

Holding up my glass to yours in a Cheer/Toast to SUMMER 2019!!!!!!!!

Hello Again!

Hello Readers!

It's been over 5 years since my last post... YIKES!!!  What happened you ask?  Where did I go?  The answer is just this... life happened... I was busy moving and relocating, and gaining 6 more precious grandchildren along the way.
My husband and I have relocated 3 times (3 states Ohio, Oregon, Kentucky) since my last post... so as you can see... life really did happen and life was really busy to the point I had totally forgotten about this little blog of mine until this very moment when I was going through my laptop cleaning out old apps... and by gosh here was my little blog sitting here neglected all this time just waiting to be re-visited.

Lets see if I can give an uber condensed version of the past 5 years...

2014
In January I was a Guest Chef for Jillians Italian Grill in Hutchinson KS... I cooked a 4 course meal for 60 guests for a wine tasting dinner... all made in house in my home, transported to the restaurant, plated and served... I received a standing ovation... it was a STELLAR night!  The menu was...
Appetizer - Classic Bruchetta
Salad- Bleu Provence
Entree- Ragu w/penne pasta (it took 3 days of slow cooking to make the rage)
Dessert - Deconstructed Queen of Sheba Mini Cakes.
What an awesome experience that was!

A tour of wine country in Napa Valley was a delightful trip we enjoyed in March.  BEAUTIFUL!

In May our eldest daughter graduated with her Doctorate in Nursing Degree... we are quite proud parents for sure!

September brought us our 3rd grandchild (3rd grandson) Hamilton... the hair!!!  Such a cutie.

Joe and I had a wonderful trip to Alaska in August.


2015
Grandchild/Grandson #4 arrived in March... George... another sweet nugget to snuggle and add to our clan!

In April we relocated from Hutchinson KS, to Columbus OH... 2 hours from the center of our clan nest of family instead of the 14 hour drive... we feel like we have come back home.  This is our 2nd time to live in Columbus, we LOVE Columbus!

2016
My first time EVER to go to Disneyland or Disneyworld happened in February... OH HOW MAGICAL!!!!

April brought us our 5th Grandchild and our 1st Granddaughter!!!  Ellie Ann... OH MY GOODNESS how sweet you are... we are delighted to also add our first redhead to the clan, as well as our 1st IVF baby.  Ellie Ann arrived into MANY open arms waiting to hold her tiny self.  She is just a blessing in sooo many ways and very long awaited for by her loving parents, who went through 3 years of everything to finally receive this precious gift from our LORD.

Joe and I celebrated our 38th Anniversary in New York City with our very dear and best friends, attending the Broadway Show 'Hamilton' in the Rodgers and Hammerstein Theater.  There are simply not enough words, nor words eloquent enough  to describe what a marvelous theater production this is.  The BEST show I've seen, and I've seen many... looking forward to seeing it again.
I had broken my left big toe knuckle the day before we were to leave for NY... knowing there was nothing to be done about it, I just grabbed my 'shoeboot' from my past bunion surgery, strapped it on and clumped my way through that long weekend in NY City staying well dosed on Tylenol.  Broken toe or not... still one of the best trips EVER!  When I returned home I finally went to the orthopedic to have toe x-rayed... it was actually broken much worse than I thought, to the point the X-rays made the Doctor wince.  But... I was correct about time being the only healer and continue wear of the 'shoeboot'.  A little thing like a broken toe isn't going to keep this feisty girl down!  :  )

2017
April we move again, relocating to Portland Oregon!!!  This southern country girl doesn't know anything about the Pacific Northwest... but I'm eager to discover it's charms. Joe and I grew up on, and our parents still reside in the rural country side of Kentucky, so urban living was a whole new world altogether for me.  However, Joe and I LOVE our experience in Portland as empty nesters, living the city life comfortably.  I am sooo very blessed to have this opportunity of living this experience in my life.  Priceless!!!!  We drove to wine country several times, drove the waterfall route, visited the International Rose Garden several times, drove to the Oregon Coast, visited Seattle many times, visited Mount Hood several times, and could see Mount Hood clearly from our patio balcony... we are on the top floor of a 16 floor high-rise.  I shaved the left side of my head and had a pixie style on the other... wore my hair that way for 2 years and constantly got stopped on the street with compliments... it was cool and hip and very Portland, which I wanted to embrace 100%.  I watched the 99.2% of the moon eclipse in this lovely park downtown Portland, making several new friends that awesome day.

October I had left shoulder rotator cuff and bicep repair surgery... FINALLY relief after 2 years of an arm that would not function and being in constant pain. Surgeon was PHENOMENAL!!! Healed like a champ.  But also sadly a week post surgery my adorable Father in law passed away after several years of illness.  His immediate family surrounded  him in much love as he crossed from one world into the next.  He is with us still.

November (the week before Thanksgiving) we find out that my daughter who is 21weeks pregnant is carrying a baby with a zero percent chance of viability.  Babies in this circumstance usually terminate themselves by the 6th month... but our little Jonathan Angel beat his little heart to full term... delivered at 37 weeks, absolutely beautiful perfect baby boy... he was in this world a mere hour and 15 minutes... but the love he brought and the love he continues to send is with us every day.  He is a blessing, meant to be our forever angel.  Our daughter Jessica who was blessed to be chosen to carry an angel full term, knowing it wasn't hers to keep on earth, did so with such grace and beauty.  She has been to the depths of the worst emotional, mental, and physical pain imagined, yet she did so with nothing but love in her heart... she continues to do so.

2018
February our sweet Jonathan Baden arrived to bless us with our 6th Grandchild/5th grandson.  He was BEAUTIFUL... he continues to fill our hearts with love as he watches over us from heaven.

June we added our 7th Grandchild/6th grandson to our clan with Hamilton Otto... such a happy chillax baby.  Our nest is growing fuller and fuller and we feel blessed and elated to have so many grand nuggets to love on.

July Joe and I celebrated our 40th Anniversary in Hawaii... on the main island with the volcano that had been erupting for 4 months and was still erupting... we took a helicopter ride over the volcanic eruption for an unbelievable experience.

In September I celebrated my 60th Birthday... WOW!!!  I was surprised in Portland OR by  my BESTIES Abby and Norma along with their hubbies for my birthday... and not only was it a HUGE surprise... but the first surprise birthday I have ever had... because I am always involved in some way for all social functions, it is just hard to surprise me.  It was an EXCELLENT surprise!!  I celebrated my birthday in KY with my family, who took me to dinner on a party bus... it was a wonderful night!

Our 8th Grandchild/2nd granddaughter (2nd IVF baby) Mia Abigail joined our clan in October... she is truly her mothers clone!!!  Happy is the word we use to describe sweet Mia.  Interesting fact... Ellie and Mia are actually fraternal twins born 2 years apart... we celebrate Mia for surviving the Ice Age as a frozen embryo... don't you just LOVE science!!!

2019
We have FINALLY returned Home!!!!!  We are beyond thrilled to have been relocated again... and for the FINAL time... in April we moved back to our family nest in KY.  It is just sooooooo good to be back home again.

This brings my story to current status... which in 2 weeks Joe and I are taking our 2 oldest grandsons (Henry and Liam) on a road trip across America as we fly to Portland OR to retrieve our RV and drive it back home to KY.  Excited is pretty much the state of mind we exist in presently... there will be an entire blog about our adventure once we return home.

Thank you for stopping by to catch up... hopefully you will visit again.  Until then... have a lovely day/evening.