4th of July Weekend

What a weekend... full of laughter, fun and sadness all at the same time. Unfortunately on Thursday evening my grandmother passed away from a massive heart attack. She was the only grandparent with no known heart problems. She had terminal cancer and had been battling various cancers off and on for 40 years, she was a fighter! It is hard to deal with something so unexpected. We were lucky enough to have just spent some time with her at Annie's birthday in May. She loved being with her grand kids and I am so blessed to have had 33 years with her. I just wish my kids would have had the chance to get to know her better. Grandma, you will be missed dearly.

In between family gatherings, we tried to give the girls some sense of normalcy and celebrate the 4th of July. On Friday we spent time with our friends Lori and Mike and their two kids Owen and Ashley at the park and beach. We all had a great time! I must say I was rather impressed that both girls did not hesitate to play in the lake, I wasn't sure what to expect. We then went and visited with Bapa (my grandpa) and family and stayed over night at my dad's house. It was the first time that the girls slept in the same room and in sleeping bags. That was an adventure!

Saturday, the 4th, we ventured out in the drizzle and went to the Delano parade. I hadn't been there since I danced in it years ago! The girls were not quite sure what was going on at first but within 10 minutes they were gathering candy and cheering like old pros...what fun! We went to Famous Dave's for a patio lunch and then all took a 2 hour nap while it poured outside. The evening ended with a spontaneous trip to the Lakeville festivities where the girls played at a park, saw some clowns, danced a little and then watched fireworks! Annie was of course rowdy, excited, and oohing and aahhing at the fireworks. Kate was tired and ready for bed! It was to date, their latest bedtime...11:30! Luckily for me they slept until 8:45 today!

The weekend ended with more family time with saying goodbye to Grandma. We just got back from the visitation and tomorrow will be the funeral. It is a sad reminder to cherish the ones you love and spend as much time with them as possible.I almost forgot that while we said goodbye to one family member we welcomed another....Preston Michael Komara! Brian's sister Kristen welcomed her first son into the world at 1:00 AM on Saturday (the 4th of July!). She was not due until the 21st but the little guy decided he wanted to come into this world with a bang...hee hee! :) We will be visiting Michigan in early August and can't wait to meet our new nephew and cousin! How exciting.

Here are a few pics of the 4th of July!