For Gage's party we had family over to eat the cake: Grandpa Dave, Grandma Colette, Great Grampa Calvin and Great Grandma Carla, Uncle Nick and Aunt Sarah along with Danny and baby Lilly. Also Aunt Ashley and Uncle Sam were all there.
He carries around his new "Baby Mater and baby Rightning Nafreen" inside his new Mac truck, which he puts inside his old lightening Mcqueen "pack pack." And that package goes everywhere with this boy. He also stuffs his beloved woody doll in there. As his mother I am requested to zip up his back pack at least every 3 minutes from sun up till sun down.
What Cache did at Gage's party:
My Grandma Carla who I got to visit with more than usual this trip, was watching Cache and relating stories of her days raising her seven Spratling boys. She told me how to them, play was their work. She would need to go run errands but the boys would tell her: "Oh I've got too much work to do Mom. I've got to bring in the harvest or plant the spring crops." And they were 5 years old and referring to their toy tractors in the sand box. I loved that story and laughed when I told Cache he needed to clean up and with lot of anxiety he told me: "The United states is about to win the battle!" 
Speaking of my Grandparents. My Grandpa Calvin looks great and we think he may possibly be out of the woods with his throat cancer. He thinks the radiation and chemo did the trick. We pray that it has! He is so healthy and always been very careful with what he eats and taking care of himself. It pays off to treat your body well! I'm so SO grateful that my kids get to know their Great Grandparents.
One more of our now 3 year old baby!
Onto Cappie's wedding!
It was a beautiful country wedding. Just happened to be out on a road that Cappie and I spent a couple rainy nights trying to steal the road sign from back in the day. (Don't worry, we were unsuccessful robbers and despite our best efforts didn't even loosen the sign.) Who knew that one day she would be married right there! Small world. :) The guy that married them was Casey's old college football buddy and did a great job. He said a couple of times referring to that evening: "This is life at it's best." I just loved that and agreed.
Cappie has always gone out of her way to be such a good friend to me and made my highschool years and summers working in the wheatfields some of the funniest memories of my life.
I just love this gal and so happy for her.
I just love this gal and so happy for her.
The night before her wedding we stayed in an old western brothel down town.
So cool and old and westerny.
Not the most flattering pictures of me, but when you see Nicole once in 3 years or less... you gotta document it.
Love my Jennifer. She brought her little girl Morgan out Sunday morning to swing and jump on the trampoline and eat pancakes. Kinda becoming a tradition of ours now when I come home to Oregon. I grew up with such neat girls in highschool. Lucky me.
Nicole giving her maid of honors speech.
This is Macy, Nicole's youngest. She is the brightest eyed baby ever!
I think she stared at me without blinking for 30 minutes.
I think she stared at me without blinking for 30 minutes.
A rainbow! And my good old kindeegarten pal Riley.
The Ruggs. Claude (Cap's dad)cowboyed for them most of Cappie's life. They are like family to them, and told me stories about how she use to bathe Cappie in her kitchen sink. But in reality they ARE family to Devin. Devin's mom's first cousin. It was so fun to talk to them and hear stories of Devin's Grandpa and Uncle and their memories of Karli, Devin's oldest sister. Devin has felt unusally drawn to his Granpa and Grandma Etter recently but I'll save that all for another post. It was fun to hear that Tom Rugg has sold his ranch and is now helping some of the boys I grew up with farm out at Helix. Such a small world. Or maybe just a small town. *wink.
We danced till the DJ called it quits. Our feet were numb and our ears wear ringing.
We don't get the chance to just dance outside of our own family dance parties in our living room, so.. you gotta dance man! We are pretty good at making fools of our selves and enjoying it. I have to say for someone who can't chew gum and keep a beat at the same time, Devin can seriously get down.
Love this man! I can't get enough of him.
Love this man! I can't get enough of him.
We drove my dad's old blue truck home to my parents, on the old gravel roads but not before we parked for awhile... reminisced (*wink *wink) and had a few good talks about life and what we wanted to create and give to our children.
Such a sweet, happy weekend.
"Life at it's best."
"Life at it's best."
