Family is here!

Lately, family has been here in VA with us. The Malletts (link to their blog under friends and family) came down since Grandpa Bristow had problems with the pacemaker (?) in his heart, and had to be at the hospital. So they came down. In about 10 minutes, we will be driving to the Lynchburg Airport to pick up Uncle Bryce and Aunt Meg. Wait, scratch the 10, instead, put a 1, so I have to go!

-Becca

School's out!

School is out, and I start to pity my parents. No more days of peace and quiet left, but then again, I get to spend more time with them.

So far, we have a busy schedule-
Cousins on the Bristow side coming July 17ish
Girls Camp for me on the last week of July
Leaving for California the beginning of August
Family Reunion for Cate side 2nd week of August
Come home from Cali

Then school on the 20th I think. It's ridiculous how much we're going to have happen this summer, as well as Mom wanting to do some work on the house itself. Here are things we want to accomplish-

Paint the Main Level
Do yard work

that's all I know of, but there is probably more to this list then I know of...

Seems like we're in for a busy summer!

-Becca

Summertime is great! Yes, it is busy, but before we get to do the extended family thing, we are enjoying having time for the more important things in life, like taking walks together, making friendship bracelets, homemade ice cream and umbrella houses (during the storm, no less), and reading lots and lots. Gotta love it!

--Sarah

Sick, sick, sick!

We have had a bug going around our house, and Jeffrey & Laura have been sick. I caught Laura asleep in the reading corner in our room (me and Rachel) when Mom was looking for her. I had to take some pictures, she was so cute, so here they are:





She is SO cute, isn't she?








She woke up (halfway) to tell Dad that she was just tired, then I tucked her back in, brought Hedwig, Hermes, and Tenise (her owls, but I have no clue where the name Tenise came from, and Laura says, neither does she!) She later woke to eat a little bit, fell back asleep again, and was woken up to eat a bit more. We are still recovering from the bug, but who knows who it will strike next?

Hope you all are not sick like us!

-Becca

A few pictures

Rachel sitting in the backyard.


The girls had fun taking pictures of everyone down in the woods behind Grandma and Grandpa Bristow's house. Just FYI, Grandpa Bristow is doing much better and started cardiac rehab this week.



Jeffrey on a Sunday afternoon ride around the race track.




Laura sitting on their little bridge over a little creek that is higher now than later in the summer.


Brian with his dimples.








Miriam (second attempt). I love her smile--she doesn't hold any emotion back! I had to laugh last week when we were watching one of her little friends, her friend got angry and did the same growl that Miriam does sometimes when she's mad. And another kid in church her age did the same thing today, during church. lol!





After tasting the ritual passover foods, we had a "feast" on the floor of simple foods that Jesus might have eaten--pita and hummus, carrots, and of course, olives. You can guess which was Miriam's favorite. For a 4 year old, (or a 2 or 6...) it doesn't get much better than enough olives for all your fingers. :)


It would have been a candlelight dinner, which the kids love, except that with daylight savings, it's too light unless we eat at 8pm.

Update on Grandpa

Grandpa B. is out of the hospital, and doing fine other than being a little tired.

-Becca

At the end of the day...

We had a challenging day today, but at the end of the day, things are looking up. My dad had a heart attack today, but he realized it quickly and got to the hospital and they were able to treat him quickly. The next couple of days will hopefully be very boring as he simply responds to the treatment and gets better. I'm grateful he's been exercising regularly the past couple of years--hopefully that will make recovery easier.

Kids are very resilient. They weren't happy about not getting to visit Grandpa at the hospital tonight (he needed to sleep!), but we'll have corned beef and cabbage tomorrow, assuming it's a boring day at the hospital. A day late, but I don't think they'll mind too much.

-Sarah

Uh oh!

Imagine a Saint Patrick's Day, you're all happy, and you come home to find crazy kids, throwing Legos, and no mom in sight. Dad says he needs a hug, which normally means something went wrong. I asked and he told me Grandpa Bristow was in the hospital. Mom is with Grandma, which also meant no St. Patrick's Day dinner (traditional), so that really dampened the holiday happiness. Grandpa's had a heart attack and damaged an artery, so they put in stents, and he'll be there for 3 days to make sure he's okay. Looks like we may have Daddy-cooking for the next 3 days. But thank goodness for visiting teachers. Sister Council brought dinner, so we'll have that. Thank you Sister Council!!!

-Becca