A great Grandma Great...

On February 26, 2011 Marie Covey Bush passed and left this earth to go and be with her Heavenly Father and her honey Carl. We knew that the day would come when we would no longer have Grandma Great with us, we just didn't know it would come so suddenly. She had been going down hill slowly, but always seemed to bounce out of it, but when Grandma fell it was just too much for her, and she couldn't recover. I didn't get to say "goodbye" to her, but every time I talked to her on the phone I made sure to tell her I loved her so much, even if her response was a chuckle and an "okay". She meant so much to me and to my kids.

When I think about Grandma, I think about the front porch, talking, The Bachelor, fast food, deviled eggs, teasing, games (Rummikub and Skip Bo), books (we shared so many books), sewing (she spent hours trying to teach me how to make Yo Yo's), ice cream shakes from DQ, and the van.

During the time that Andy and I lived in Utah with Grandma she and I shared many hours together. There were many months where Andy was gone for interviews and rotations and I felt so alone. I can't even count how many times I went into Grandma's room and just layed on her bed and talked with her. She made me feel better every time, and she would always talk me through it. Grandma knew what it was like to feel alone, she missed Grandpa Bush so much and she would tell me stories of their time together and of the farm in Kansas.

I could go on and on about what a wonderful woman she was, but I will keep those memories in my heart to treasure. I will be forever grateful to Grandma for the love and support she showed for Andy, myself, and our children.

I love you Grandma Great and I wish so badly that I could watch the Bachelor season finale with you on Monday (I am pretty sure he picks Emily!)

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Grandma

Trying to pack....

This is Porter's idea of entertaining Marin while I was trying to pack to go to Utah....









and it worked.

A jumping peanut...

Andy finally found our doorway jumper and Marin loves it!! It is so cute to watch her jump and play, it is instant smiles with her. I love to watch her little feet go up and down. Now that she has been it a few times she wants to jump when we hold her on our lap, something she did not do before.

She makes me laugh....

Oh man, my Tessa May, she is a stinker who is always up to something and always giggling. I always know when she is up to something a little mischievous when I hear her laugh at herself, kind of like her dad. She loves to play with Marin, but sometimes she can get a little carried away and crazy, a time like this....

No more storms please....

A few weeks ago we had a terrible snow, rain, and ice storm that left us without power for two days. It was a little scary but we made it through no problem. I spent the day at a friends house, drove around with the kids, and once Andy got off work, it gave us an excuse to go out to dinner since I was un-able to cook. We had to spend the night at a firends because our house was just too cold without heat. The morning after the storm was over was just beautiful, the trees were glistening.







Just a few days after that storm, we had another storm which caused the districts to call a snow day and Porter was able to stay home. Andy was also home that morning so we took the kids to the rec center to swim. They had so much fun swimming with their friends and dad. That afternoon Porter and Carlee were so exhausted, I found them passed out down in the basement. I couldn't believe it, they never take naps and to find them both asleep was so funny!



And in other news, Bee Bouncers is offically done for the season, no more until next fall. It was a great run and experience for Porter, I cannot believe how good he has become, I am so pround of him.

When is Dad going to be home.....

The other night I was making my bed and Tessa came down and wanted to lay with me, so I asked her to wait on the couch while I finished making my bed. When I was done I went to get her and this is what I found....







It had been a few days since the kids had seen Andy because he was getting home so late and leaving so early in the morning.

Rocket Wrestling....

Porter decided that he wanted to try out wrestling this year and of course Andy was all for it being that he wrestled in high school. At first I was very hesitant to let Porter do it, but he loved it. He had no idea what he was doing, but that is what it is all about right, learning and trying something new. We haven't been able to attend all of the meets because they are on Sunday's, but the coach set up some mock meets that we have gone to. I have also learned so much about the sport and have decided that I never gave Andy the full credit he deserved for being involved in such a hard sport. I really do enjoy watching it, it's very intense and scary.






Some post wrestling coaching with Dad.


Porter and his friend Keegan.


The girls love the meets because they play with friends the whole time. Ella, Tessa, Carlee, Meridith.