Catching up on my zzz....'s since my 9 yr old Grandson left for home/Oklahoma City last Saturday at 5:40 am. He was here for SIX-WEEKS!!! Yeah...........
We did SO........ much stuff. First we had the July 3 & 4, activities, then the planning and packing all the stuff for the 4th annual Ernie BBQ, that was going to be down at the beach this year. We rented a U-Haul so we wouldn't have to bother people about haul this, haul that. One trip there and one trip back and it's all done.
Then we had Lakefair week and going downtown everyday for Demo Burgers. Friday he and I dropped off Uncle Nels and he got a $22 wristband to ride as many rides as he wanted for 3 hours. He had a BLAST. Then Olie and Alex came over and we had a bonfire in the backyard for hotdogs & smores.
Saturday we went downtown at 1:30pm and roped put out our chairs for the Lakefair Parade at 5pm, a great spot right by a speaker, a couple blocks past Union with the sun behind us.
Then on Sunday, the 19th, Olie, Alex, TaRon & I went downtown across from Hannah's with our chairs in a parking lot to watch the fireworks . (I thought the Lacey fireworks on July 3, were MUCH BETTER! )
They went home Monday afternoon and he had a couple days of quite, then Lucinda and Victor came back over to go to the SeaFair TorchLight Parade in Seattle on Sat. July 26. They had a GREAT time, PIRATES!, CLOWNS!, Lots of Floats, Bands, Horses, etc. Lucinda waved at EVERY thing in that parade. Her arm MUST have been tired!
Wed Dark Knight/Batman a surprise with me and Uncle Nels
Thurs - Lucinda & Victor spend night to leave in the morning
Friday - Seattle to see Blue Angles (got stuck in traffic for two plus hours coming home) had goodbye party planned at 5:30 with all TaRon's neighborhood Friends. We got here at 5:30. It all worked out, his friends got here around 6, and it turned out perfect. They all stayed until 10:30. I cut out the NOISY running around the yard at 8:30 and said if they wanted to stay we'd have quiet time and watch a movie. 'Call your parents and see if you can stay till the end. I'll drive or follow you home on your bike when the movie's over.' They watched Mark Walberg in Planet of the Apes. Must be from about 2000.
TaRon and I only had 3 hours to rest before we had to get up. We got home at 11:00pm and had to be up by 2:00 am to get to SeaTac for his 5:40 am departure for home. You have to get to the airport 90 minutes before your flight leaves to check in, and get through security. Plus, we had the one hour (at least) drive to Sea Tac to begin with.
Needless to say, THAT was a week that I KNEW was going to be TOO much for me especially that last day, and getting stuck on the freeway, leaving me NO TIME to prepare for the SURPRISE PARTY (it wasn't as much of a surprise as I had hoped), plus just the stress of stop and go, stop and go for TWO STRAIGHT HOURS -- STRESSFUL!!!
But, he got off and home in one piece with a GREAT summer under his belt.
No alcoholic issues, no drug issues, no drama or fights, just fun, fun, fun. Parades (3), He was in the Beach Crest (our neighborhood) 4th of July Parade, Lakefair/Olympia, Seafair Torchlight/Seattle, Blue Angels, Hydroplanes, swimming pool, slip-and-slide, bike riding, skate-boarding, Memorial Gathering Beach BBQ for Ernie, playing on the beach, going to his neighborhood friends' houses. Just a very stress-free summer!
He also helped me with my garden and can tell you the name of almost every one of my plants.
NOW, I'm resting. For the past week I have worked around the house and garden in the morning, then napped in the afternoons and evenings.
About Me
- DNR87
- S/W/F 57 ~ LOL ~ Conservative Liberal. My son’s principal said: Pragmatic Idealist ~~ What does a CL/PI do with her time? In 1996, with an out-of-control gang problem, and the desire to open a home for teen moms, I founded a nonprofit. I did not retire from the state until 1199, DID TWO JOBS FOR a GOOD 3 YRS. MOSTLY though, I was a single mom of two teen sons. ~ That was 1996 - 2003. Then in 2004 I lost my 25 yr old son to an impaired driver. Losing a son BEST FRIEND is NOT EASY, but I am surviving. I have a couple small dogs *Jack Russell/Minature Dachshund, and I do a lot of mentoring. Teens and young adults looking for help negotiating life struggles. ~ I am a GRANDMA to 3 grandsons, and I am working on Ernies M.O.M. (Memorial Outreach Mission)project. M.O.M. assists victims of DUI crashes.
The Late Great Ernest Lee Ivery III
RIP ~ My Beautiful Beautiful Boy ~ RIP
A photo I took out my office window down toward that tree that killed Ernie just five months later.
My 25 yr old son's death trap....
July 9, 2004 4:13 a.m. David James Butterton, age 28 drove 80+ mph around a 25 mph suggest speed curve, killing my boy
Please Don't Drink & Drive
Nels, my youngest's first trip to the crash site or "Ernie's Tree" as we now refer to it.
Ernie's Bench at Cemetary
The Love of His Life
The Wall 2005
Where I Moved So I Wouldn't Have to Drive Past The Tree Every Day
Izzabealla and Mommy
I raise Jack Russell Terriers. This is my new female at one week.
Izzabealla, aka BELLA at just over 2 months
January 1, 2008 ~ Bella on the Pot
Our Easter Entry 2008
April 24, 2004
Our Last Photo Together - Two and one half months before THE CRASH exactly
Memorial Gathering July 9, 2007
Ernie's Memorial Bench ~ Ernie's on the Left & Mom will go on the Right
The Seat Says: MC ~ Rapper ~ Poet ~ Lyrist (second line) E ~ Double E ~ Extreme Excellence (near edge) We Love You Always Mom, Nels, Gary, TagenLynn, TaRon (bottom line) Bryan, Chris, Dorian, Jamie, L's B & Mason, Mark, Mike W., Mikey, Nate, Rahm & Shanika & The Walkers (the Walkers are Ernie's Dad's Cousins & his Aunt Cynthia) Isn't it just BEAUTIFUL? I absolutely LOVE it.... It give me some peace.
Ernie's Tatoos on Either Side
Halloween 2007 at Grandma's
My Grandson & His Sis & Twin Brothers
Back-2-School ~ Theme: Mission Possible
For Eight Years YUP! held Skating Parties with door prizes and guest performances by local Hip Hop artists. We celebrated school STARTING, and what kids COULD DO with their lives!