Ditata Daily: Weekly Update

While everyone was waiting to get a glimpse of the eclipse Monday morning, I got word that my Grandpa John passed away. He hadn't been doing well, but it was still a shock for me. Last time I saw him he was the same Grandpa John I will always remember. Last time I saw him I was sitting on my brother Ray's patio and he was telling me how great of a mother I was and how proud he was of me. It meant the world to me then and even more so now. I know his journey to Heaven during the eclipse was a beautiful one and I'm happy he is now at peace:

(Love you always, Grandpa John!!)

Heaven must've felt my families pain and cried all morning long. The kids loved the weather and were so happy to use an umbrella as we walked into school:

Since it was raining we got to walk Tenley to her classroom and we spotted this gem outside of the room:

The rain didn't let up and we got stuck in a downpour at pick-up:

Tenley seemed super bummer after school and asked me an interesting question on the drive home...

Tenley: Am I a boy?

Me: No. Why do you ask that?

Tenley: Because during our second potty break a boy told me I washed my hands with boy soap and was going to turn into a boy.

Me: Well don't listen to him; he's being silly.

Tenley: I couldn't shake the feeling after and I told him my mom would love me no matter what! He was totally dipping into my bucket!

I chuckled inside, but felt bad that this upset her. She is so sensitive and has such a tender heart. I loved that she knew I'd love her no matter what though; it made me feel like I was doing something right!

She's all about "filling buckets" and came home with this picture of her "throwing hearts in people's buckets":

On Tuesday she wore a green dress to remember to be a Bucket Filler and looked adorable:

Wes starts T-ball this week so we went shopping for cleats and he said they made him go into "fast-mode":

Ev couldn't leave the mall without pretzels, of course:

When Tenley gets home from school we always go through her folder and go over her work before doing homework. I noticed that she wasn't doing the work correctly, even though I knew she knew the correct answers. I talked to her about taking her time and not rushing so that she understands and does it correctly. Although her work wasn't exactly right, she did draw an adorable picture of us walking in the rain:

Wes had his first T-ball practice Tuesday evening and I was beyond bummed I had to work and made Ed promise to send me lots of pictures. He said Wes loved it and listened to his coaches well. I can't handle how big he looks holding a bat:

We've been so busy that I haven't had time to tell the kids that we would be flying to Ohio or why for that matter. Since it was my day off and I wasn't saying my class in my head over and over again, I actually had time to think about the past few days and woke up super sad. I asked Tenley if she remembered Grandpa John and she said she did. She said she remember eating pink donuts on his lap; which melted my heart. I explained how he passed away and was now in Heaven. Without hesitation she said, "we will pray to God tonight and ask that he takes care of Grandpa John. I wonder what his wings will look like?" When I told her we were all going to Ohio for his funeral she was so excited. It's sad to go home under those circumstances, but I understand because I was excited to hug my family. On the drive to school she kept asking which cloud I thought Grandpa John was on- it was so sweet! It was her first day without a tear at drop-off...she was in an Ohio state of mind already:

After drop-off, the twins and I met Kelly and the Poe boys at the splash pad. It was so hot and they had so much fun cooling off with Dylan and Myles:

While going through T's folder, I noticed she took her time and answered everything correctly- I was so proud:

Thursday was officially TWO days in a row of no tears!! This girl was on a roll:

We had to have a lazy day at home because I had loads of laundry to do before I could pack for Ohio. Wes kept us entertained with "shake rumble matches":

Before heading to work Thursday evening, Tenley and I went over her school work and finished up her homework for the week. There's something about seeing her do her homework that ages her by 10 years:

I taught 2 classes Thursday evening, then took the late Empower class to finish my 40 classes in 60 days challenge:

While I taught, Wes had his second T-ball practice:

Tenley started Friday with a big smile on her face (and no tears!!) because she matched Jackson. I left her a surprise on her sandwich to get her excited about our red eye later on:

Amy watched the twins Friday morning so I could get my hair done and they were so happy to hang with her:

(Thanks, Aim!!)

I finally got around to packing Friday afternoon and Ev was a big help:

Tenley's work was good and no homework for the weekend- YAY:

We were all packed and ready to leave the house by 7:30pm (the kid's bedtime), but everyone had smiles on their faces:

The kids were so excited when Carll dropped us off at the airport... actually maybe too excited:

The excitement continued on the plane and the girls were so excited to "blastoff":

The excitement wore off on Wes quickly and he ended up falling asleep before we blasted off:

The girls, on the other hand, had a hard time getting comfy. Ev was able to fall asleep and I forced Tenley to lay down, but she did NOT fall asleep the entire flight:

We got to my in-laws around 6am Saturday morning and crashed...well, everyone except for Tenley. She wanted "Tenley and Grammy time". She raided Grammy's jewelry box and made a row that she wants to be hers someday:

Visitors started to arrive and we were all so thrilled to be with our families:

Everyone got cleaned up and ready for more visitors:

After being up for over 30 some hours Tenley fell fast asleep on the swing while everyone else continued to play:

The kids haven't seen their baby cousin, Joey, for a year so they loved that he was almost their size now:

Ed and I went to Mike's to watch the fight while the kid's stayed with Grammy and Pop Pop...just livin' the life:

I drank my morning coffee on the back patio and enjoyed the brisk 55 degree weather:

While I ironed our clothes for calling hours, the kids found Grammy and Pop-Pop's slot machines and thought it was so much fun to put the quarters in and hit the buttons: