Fun in the midst of sorrow

With three small children...you have to incorporate some fun into the midst of anything going on, even sorrow! My parents live on Crooked River Ranch in Terrebonne, Oregon. Twenty minutes from the highway, thirty minutes from Redmond, it feels a bit like the "middle of nowhere" once you finally get to my parents house. Thankfully though, there is a community swimming pool in "downtown". I really should take a picture of the town, it truly resembles something you might see in an old western movie, just with modern things like a golf-course & a pool. You've got your typical old hotel, saloon down the street & white church with a steeple! 

The weather was nice & hot so the kids and I and sometimes Grandma & Grandpa too spent about an hour each day at the pool in between naps and meals. It was a great way to get out of the house and get a breather from all that was going on with Great-Grandma and sometimes, it was just nice to get the little ones out from underfoot too!

 

Joel was able to come over after work the day after Grandma died. It was comforting to have him join us and just nice to be together again!! Besides, he makes everything more fun!! Abigail made some really good progress with swimming. Although she still doesn't like putting her face in the water, with water wings on, she can "dog-paddle" really well! Elijah spent a lot of time on the steps of the pool and eventually figured out how to kick his feet to move around the pool while in his ring. Caleb...well, he just floated around and kicked, kicked, kicked. He really enjoyed being in the pool! And me...well...I actually prefer to just lay beside the pool...so between having my parents there to play with the kids and then Dad around...I got a good dose of relaxing done that way! : )