Keep Laughing, Keep Smiling

Just over three weeks ago, the world lost a pretty awesome lady. My grandma was 96, and she'd been struggling with her health for sometime. She had her good days and her bad days, but last time we were up in Ohio she finally went to hospice, so we had to say our in-person goodbye's then. But really, for months we had lots of goodbye Facetime calls. She would always tell us to keep doing what we're doing with the boys, and school and everything else. She also had some instructions for everyone: keep smiling, keep laughing (We were permitted to be sad, but only for a little tiny bit!) 

Of course, I had the best, most thoughtful grandparents in the whole world growing up. They'd come down to the fair once a year and beam as we showed them all our ribbons. Then, they bought us pony rides. Her and grandpa traveled to Fremont for nearly all our school awards, and band concerts. She made all of our birthday/graduation/random celebration cakes for years (the frosting was THE. BEST.) Every Christmas she would heap on the traditions and the presents (and is apparently responsible for my Strawberry Shortcake Big Wheel, which I didn't know until I found the picture), and provide us with all the Christmas cookies would could ever eat. 

Grandma never wanted me to feel left out. She paid me not to get my hair cut (while she cut the boys' hair),  She gifted me un-birthday cards (because my brother's birthdays are three days apart in October- two and a half months after mine), and took every opportunity to be as thoughtful and inclusive as possible. You could show up to a family function with a friend she'd never met, and by the end of the visit they'd be calling her 'grandma'. 

Her and grandpa loved nothing more than family time, I remember many Christmas's, sitting down at the very end of a very long table that had to be all put together even if it turned in the living room and you'd end up sitting on the couch.  It didn't even matter that my dad and Uncle Warren were arguing loudly about politics, and the kids were slowly turning up the music of the dogs barking jingle bells, until we finally heard Aunt Bonnie at the other end say 'does anyone hear dogs?', both grandma and grandpa would get teary eyed just because we were all there.They always made sure Santa showed up at our Christmas Eve celebrations and we all had the perfect 'Santa' gift.  

They always had an oatmeal cream pie for us to snack on, and something to keep us busy. 

I remember family reunions with giant baby pool sized bubbles, building sand castles at Crane Creek (grandma had the best sand castle building tools) and playing croquet in the backyard like it was yesterday. I can hear the sounds of the first Bowl-a-tronic (before Tim had to buy a new one) and everyone arguing over who would get Holly on their Trivial Pursuit team when she first showed up (She was Clint's only competition). Grandma and Grandpa would sit in their chairs in the living room and watch us and smile. 

If you came back to visit from college, they'd take you out to your favorite place, which was usually Red Lobster and all the biscuits you could eat, and they'd always ask the waiters for a whole new basket just for you to take home. They always made sure you had a crisp $20 bill for anything you'd need, resulting in the long-lived theory that they had a $20 bill tree in the backyard. Then, we all started having  kids of our own, and they extended all that generosity to the next generation. 

When my dad and grandpa died six weeks apart, seven years ago, my mom started spending every weekend with my grandma. We Facetimed/Skyped frequently with both of them. My grandma almost became that other grandparent my kids were missing. Over the last two years, my mom had to move in with grandma to be live in care. We visited, we video chatted, we called. A couple of times I even went up to stay with grandma while my mom had other things to do.

She couldn't get around as much anymore, but she still could recall where every item in the house was, and she'd send you a mission to go get it. Then, she'd tell you the story to go with the item. I think because we talked so much over the last year, I got to hear the best stories. From runaway horses, to canned ham parties ('because it soaked up the alcohol') to private plane trips, to square dancing classes, to grandpa being overseas in WWII, we got to hear it all. In fact, the last time we were with her, the five of us sat around her bed, leaning in to hear her quiet voice while she told us about listening to FDR's Fireside chats, and being in Texas when JFK was shot. (We also asked her to make her Trump predictions. She was sure he wouldn't make it four years). She always said how important it was to vote, because her mom didn't always have that right. 

I think we had a special bond with grandma, although, everyone who ever met her thought that. From her twins club friends to the most distant relative. But, it was Asa who discovered grandma's lifelong dream to ride a camel just before her 90th birthday. It was the boys and I who decided at 95 she needed her very first pinata. All in all, we were very lucky to have such a fun, inspiring, generous lady to look up to for our whole lives. For my oldest to be pushing adulthood and to have still had his great-grandma was pretty extraordinary. 

Over the last six months or so, she was really having a rough go of it, though. My mom would text us and ask if we could Facetime to help cheer her up. It nearly always worked. Even if she said she wasn't up to a call, mom would bring her ipad out to the den and grandma would power though. Even when she had a rough day, by the end of our calls she would be laughing hysterically. (Asa has that effect on people). What she didn't know, is some of those days were rough days here. Something would go wrong, it'd be a busy day, or some dumb adult like problem would have put our mood in the dumps too. But, we'd have to fake it for grandma, and by the end of the call, we'd all feel much better. Those calls helped us too. 

Grandma was our biggest cheerleader. She praised nearly everything we did. (Except watching Big Brother, she was like 'why would anyone watch that? That's ridiculous!') She loved our projects, she adored how well behaved our boys were (in her presence anyway, they behave well in public!). She was the first person we talked to when something good happened (like being invited to the Easter Egg Roll, or when Asa finally graduated), and even there to consult with big decisions (like homeschooling and house buying). All the compliments she heaped on us were always genuine, which we all appreciated. The boys said they'll miss how genuine gigi was the most. 

We'll miss her, but we all feel very lucky to have had her as long as we did. She left a lasting impact on all of us. We really did learn from the best. 

And, while we all knew grandma as a sweet old lady, she was quite the babe back in her day. Check out that picture from the 1940s! 

I went up last Saturday to help my mom with whatever she needed ahead of everyone else's arrivals. Peyton tagged along. I did something new this time and decided to be all ready to go two days before my flight left, resulting in a lazy day the day before I left. I spent the day in the hammock with Dipper. It was lovely, and it helped me de-stress pre-trip. It should be my new travel routine. 

Saturday morning Peyton and I got up and headed out to the airport. We arrived mid-afternoon in time to help my mom with my aunt's high school reunion. Despite everything going on, my mom had promised to help by making treats and helping set things out, and if my grandma taught her anything, it was follow through. So there we were Saturday night dishing up chocolate covered strawberries and setting out wine glasses. Mom rewarded us with a trip to Red Robin for dinner. 

We headed back to grandma's house to sort through pictures to display at the funeral home. There's boxes upon boxes of pictures at gradnma's house, all painstakingly labeled (you know, I'm pretty sure I got my organizational skills from grandma). 

I knew exactly what I found when I came across an envelope labeled 'Sattler kids Christmas play at home'. The three of us acted in a play written by screenwriter Cort Sattler, in which I played Santa, and our reindeer was played by our dog, Fluffy. I even remember tearing up pieces of white paper so it could 'snow' for the grand finale. 

Sunday, while mom worked on some things like the program, Peyton and I looked through some old books on the shelves trying to see what we could find. We even came across grandma's school books from elementary school. 

Peyton was fascinated by the encyclopedia's from the 1950s. He was cross referencing the books with google. He said they just didn't give a lot of information compared to the internet. He's right. You can find articles, videos, and pictures of an aardwolf if you google it. It only had a small paragraph in the encyclopedia. 

That night we swung by the new Tony Packo's for dinner. Peyton isn't a huge hot dog fan, but he really likes Tony Packos (I think the pickle bar helps). Since they are Toledo specific, he can only have it when we are there. 

We spent most nights in Fremont, and Monday morning I got up and headed out to see how many leaves I could round up. Hayden has never gotten to jump in a pile of leaves before. We'd only been in Ohio two times in the 'fall' in Hayden's lifetime, and both of those were in September when there wasn't any leaves on the ground. I was sure we could get some in late October. Unfortunately for us, it has been warm up there and there weren't many leaves on the ground yet. Mom said I could probably round them up in the ally and on the driveway though, so that's exactly what I did. I literally raked leaves out of the alley, and bagged them up to dump in my mom's backyard. 

Monday we were back up in Toledo to take care of some things that needed done. We worked on the slideshow of pictures and the program, and stopped by the store to get some food for everyone coming into town. I also gathered up my grandma's clothes so I could bring them home to make quilts for everyone. When grandpa died I made quilts and little stuffed guys out of his clothes. I found the one's I had made for grandma, along with the quilt- so they all came home with me. The giraffe in the sweater had been at hospice. 

Back in Fremont that night (there was a lot of driving back and forth), we went out for some Chud Spuds. 

Some family arrived Monday, but almost everyone came to town on Tuesday. Lots of people were flying in, it was like we needed a color coded spread sheet to keep track of it all. Asa, Calib and Hayden needed to fly in on Tuesday since Calib had class on Monday night (and oh my gosh, my grandma would not have wanted him to miss that!) so Peyton and I went up to the airport to get them. 

Tuesday night we didn't go back to Fremont, instead it was an Ainsworth family take-over of the Hampton Inn on Secor Road. 

I had been tasked with picking up the programs, so after we were all checked in, we headed over to get the programs and drop them off at the church for the funeral on Wednesday. 

That afternoon we were at the funeral home. Funeral homes are always tough, but it was lovely to see everyone. People came from all over, my mom's friend Mary Beth and her husband even drove down from Buffalo. We have some dedicated family and friends. 

I do remember my great-grandma's funeral. She also lived until her late 90's (I never remember if she was 98 or 99), and I remember spending time with all my cousins in the 'family room'. Now, we're on to a new generation. All grandma's great grand-kids and even great-great grandkids hung out together eating snacks and watching cartoons. I figured she would appreciate that. 

That night we went back to my grandma's house and got out the Bowl-a-tronic. I think it was heading back to Seattle with my aunt, since my cousin Tim was the one that bought a replacement when the old one broke. The kids made one last attempt to play it. The new generation just isn't as good at it. (Look at Bridgette and Erin just looking in on the kids trying to play it). 

Bridgette and Aunt Patti and Uncle Emmett had literally just gotten back from their trip to China, so they brought some Chinese treats for everyone to try. If only we hadn't already done China day. 

We headed back to the hotel and the kids (and Asa) all went swimming and took a dip in the hot tub. There was some serious chlorine in that pool though. 

Then we gathered in the lobby for some drinks. My mom made me put a bottle of Margaritas in my luggage, and then provided some Baileys. Uncle Emmett contributed a beer which he split with Staci, and the kids all had hot chocolate provided by the hotel. 

Of course Aunt Patti also brought down some more Chinese candy and treats for everyone to try. 

Calib had headed up to bed in the room before any of us. We had a suite that slept six, so that mom could be in our room, but one of the beds was a pull out couch. I figured Peyton and Calib would sleep there, but when I arrived back in the room, Calib was in my bed, which meant Asa and I were regulated to the couch. We got him back though. (He was not thrilled when he woke up and figured we were taking pictures with him sleeping- but the rest of us were amused). 

You might notice Joanne is missing from all these shenanigans pictures. She had a conference in Phoenix and couldn't get back. The only way she could make it to the funeral was to take a red-eye in the night before. I promised I would pick her up from the airport, so the next morning I was headed back to Detroit Metro to pick her up. I took a picture to show Asa I had gotten her and Joanne promptly told me not to post the picture on Facebook (she said nothing of the blog, though. Hi Josie!) But I mean, come on- who gets off a plane after traveling over night and has their hair look that sleek? Obviously we didn't get the same frizzy hair gene. 

We came back to the hotel in time to catch the end of free breakfast and get ready to go. My kids did a good job entertaining Cort's kids while we waited for it to be time to go. 

Grandma's funeral was at Christ the King Church. Of course it was terribly sad. Cort did an excellent job on her eulogy, and I had lots of awesome people show up for moral support. Allison came to dish out lots of good Allison hugs, and my Sattler-side cousin Jake drove all the way up from Columbus and came to the funeral with his dad, my Uncle Grant. Mary Beth was there, as was lots of people from Terra to give me hugs and tell us all they were thinking about us. We went over to the cemetery where Clint tucked Hayden in his jacket, and Cort gave his to Peyton, because us Florida people just lacked the proper cold-weather attire. 

After the funeral, the Sattler's went back to my grandma's house. It's likely that that was the last time we were all 12 going to be there together. There's the iconic 'picture tree' out front, where we've all spent decades taking family pictures. We wanted to make sure we got one last one in. Cort took the picture with his tripod, but I also took a self-taken one for good measure. 

And of course there had to be some more shenanigans. It happens when we're all together. 

After that we headed over to the hall for the luncheon. While all my cousins couldn't make it (one of them is even in Africa right now), all the girls were there. Each of my mom's four siblings had one daughter, and of course I don't have any sisters either. It was a rare occurrence for all of us to be together. 

Of course, the boys always love seeing their cousins, Gwen and Garrett- and while they aren't first cousins (I think their second cousins?), the boys are always happy to hang out with Max and Henry. I mean, Calib's mostly happy about it... I always say I had him so my brothers had someone new to pick on, and now the younger kids are following suit. 

After the luncheon we all headed back over to my grandmas house. Ray, Joanne, Erin, Bridgette, Cort, Holly, Asa and I got sent up to one of the bedrooms to look through the Santa books so we could take one for each of our kids. We kind of got sidetracked though. There were texts to Uncle Emmett to bring some beer, Aunt Patty showed up with a crock pot ice bucket and rum, we nearly broke a window and Cort told the story of being stranded on the Napali Coast (he tells it the best- he stands up and uses his hands and it's very dramatic!) We also decided that we should rotate the location of cookie day across the country at all of our houses. It can be like the Olympics, and we hand off the fryer from one location to the next, after a random draw to determine next year's location. 

That evening mom, Dawn and Bonnie were headed out to Phoenix together, and with people being taken to and from the airport, we realized we (the 'kids') were the adults left at the residence. We decided it would be best to go downstairs to check on the actual kids. Chaos had ensued downstairs, and the dining room had turned into a floral shop (the funeral home had delivered all the flowers). 

I have three sides to my family: my mom's Ainsworth side, and my dad's Kuehmann and Sattler sides. The Kuehmanns live on the other side of the country, so they couldn't be there. But they sent their well wishes and lovely flowers. 

After emerging from the upstairs we moved to the porch, where it was rather chilly. No worries for Joanne, she can fit into Garrett's coat just fine. 

Asa, meanwhile, kept kids busy in the backyard with a game of empty water bottle baseball (hey, when you can't find a ball, you improvise). 

Garrett was the best dressed umpire I've ever seen, complete with his little tie. 

A little while later out on the porch we decided we were all getting on the hungry side. Holly decalred she knew where the coupons were, and I just happened to know where the pizza money was. (We didn't want anyone to miss the cash though, so we left a note!) Bambino's pizza is walking distance, so Holly and Calib went to pick it up. 

We were talking about what to do once we got the pizza. We were the 'grown-ups', which went against our long-running plan to raise the next generation to do all the work at meals and holidays, so it would skip our generation. There was talk of just putting the pizza on the floor in the kitchen, though Cort eventually cleared off the table. I was like 'We need an adult! They'll put it all out, add some fruits and veggies and find the paper plates and napkins!' We were ill equipped. Luckily, Aunt Patti came back just in time, and took care of those pesky vegetables and paper products for us. (Phew!) 

We did, however, quickly run out of pizza. We were left in charge one time and we broke grandma's number one rule: Never, ever run out of food. Mom said it was fitting, because it was the first time grandma wasn't there, and it was the first time we didn't have enough food. We ordered again, this time with wings (per Cort's request). When Cort didn't stay long enough for us to get the wings, Asa sent him a picture to show him what he was missing. 

We stayed a few more hours with everyone else who was going back over to the hotel. It was a whole lot of kids- and Great Uncle Joe, my grandpa's brother. Through the years he's started looking more and more like grandpa, and there he was sitting in grandpa's seat. (Also, Hayden spent the evening getting piano lessons- but Uncle Emmett was like 'please teach him something other than 'Mary Had a Little Lamb!') 

We didn't stay Wednesday night in the hotel, instead we went back to Fremont. This is the third time in a row I had been at my mom's house without her. She's probably lucky she wasn't there- there was lots of packing and unpacking and we sort of trashed her Family Room with our stuff. (I did leave it nice and clean though, I promise!) 

While the weather had been nice the first few days Peyton and I were there, it turned really cold once Asa, Calib and Hayden arrived. 37 degrees is not ok. 

But, reagrdless, it was a sunshiney morning, so it made for excellent jumping in leaves weather. Asa dumped out the leaves that I had bagged up earlier, and raked up some reaming leaves in the yard to make a decent sized pile of them in the backyard. It had rained, too, so it was nice that my bagged up leaves were dry! 

Then we brought Hayden out to run and jump in the pile.

He LOVED it. He did leaf-angels, threw the leaves all over, and buried himself over and over again. 

Asa and I laid in the leaves with him, and I was finding leaf pieces in my hair the rest of the day. 

Calib came out for a little while, after Hayden buried himself and we tried to convince Calib we didn't know where Hayden was- so he could jump out and scare Calib. 

Peyton also got in on the fun. Hayden probably played out there for over an hour until the leaf pile had gotten more smooshed and there wasn't much left to jump into. 

We were also packed and ready to go on our next adventure, so it was time to go. I promised the boys that we would do some fun stuff in Ohio, because funerals are hard- and we needed to unwind after that. We decided to spend the night at Kalahari, an indoor waterpark hotel in Sandusky, since apparently there isn't much demand for rooms on a Thursday night in October and we got a great deal. 

On our way out of town though, we had to make a stop at the apple cider mill. They seriously have the best apple cider on the planet. I can't drink store bought apple cider, because I grew up on fresh-pressed non pasteurized apple cider. They still have the little apples who eat your pennies and give you a little cup for a sample and. It tasted like my childhood, and I loved it. 

Then it was off to Kalahari. We had an 'African Queen Suite' complete with a balcony, though most of the outside attractions are closed this time of year. Our room came with six waterpark passes and a $50 arcade gift card. 

The suite had a bathroom for the boys when you first came in and a little mini bar with a fridge and microwave. 

It sleeps up to eight, so we had one bedroom for the boys, 

and a bedroom for us- complete with our own bathroom and Jacuzzi tub. 

The living room had a pull out couch, a small table, and a fireplace which these Floridians were more than happy to use! 

We weren't there long before the boys wanted to change and head down to the waterpark. 

Again, probably because it was a Thursday night in October, it wasn't all that busy. 

The boys' favorite slide was this one that circled you in the end, and then dropped you into six feet of water, completely disoriented. I preferred the indoor-outdoor hot tub myself. 

We went back to the room for our microwave dinners. I told the boys if we stayed, we wouldn't be going out to eat, and they were fine with that.

Plus we had apple cider to drink, and buckeyes for dessert. Who can argue with that? 

We did head back to the water park later that evening. 

Calib, however, had a paper due the next night for class. This was literately the first time he could work on it, and the next night likely wouldn't be an option- so he had to do it at the hotel. He started out working on it outside, but it got a little too chilly for him, and he ended up explaining Philosophy to Peyton. 

Hayden, meanwhile, decided to sleep on the pullout couch so he could be by the fireplace. 

The next morning we hung out in the room and had an early lunch of Lunachables before checking out. My friend Amanda, who works at Kalahari but had the day off came to visit for a bit too, so after check out we moved to the lobby. It was nice to visit with her, even if it was just for a little. 

Asa and the boys, meanwhile, spent their time down in the arcade. They came back up to the lobby to show me how well they were doing midway through the arcade gift card. 

Apparently, they had won lots of those tickets playing Deal-or-No-Deal so after Amanda left, they enlisted me to play as well. I did really poorly though. I gave up a decent deal and ended up with 10 lousy tickets. 

The finished up their giftcard, and then proceeded to get all the warheads their tickets could buy. 

My cousin Jake, who had driven up to go to the funeral on Wednesday, then back to Columbus for work on Thursday, drove up again to meet us on Friday. We had the sixth pass, so it worked out well. He joined us for an afternoon at the water park. 

We did have to check in for our Southwest flight to go home that afternoon though, so there was Asa at 1:50 trying to get us the best spot in line (he did awesome too, and got us in the 'A' group!) 

There had been lots of talk of going to Cedar Point on Friday. But, by Thursday night I wasn't sure it would happen. The weather was looking really bad, and the park was only open 6pm to midnight. There was a 100% chance of rain, and tickets are rather pricey. I had a friend contact me to let me know he could get me discounted tickets, but if we were just going to get rained out, I wasn't too sure about that. That afternoon I heard from him, and he had some comp tickets to give us AND early entry into the park. It was amazing, and we were all really, really grateful. 

Especially for my kids, some roller coasters are better than no rollercoasters, and with the early entry it looked like we could at least get in the favorites: Millennium, Maverick, and Top Thrill. It was cold, and dreary, but we were excited to be there. (We did get in the favorites all before the park officially opened-- and we even added a few more!) 

Hayden isn't into the big coasters, but he did love the HalloWeekends decorations, and he had plenty of spinny rides open to go on. 

And let me just take a minute to say, my grandma was right, I do have some thoughtful kids- everytime Hayden got off a ride, he'd hold the gate for every single person behind him. 

Of course, we also had to get our favorite Cedar Point food: mini corn dogs and cheese fries! 

And there also may have been a cheese on the stick to round out the carbs and cheese evening. 

Cedar Point at night is just my favorite, and I had missed out on that last time we were there (since it was an early 8pm closing time) 

And it's always fun to see the HalloWeekends stuff out, it brings back good memories. It was the last weekend the park was open too. We had a super fun night, so I'd really like to thank Mike for making it happen, without him, we just wouldn't have gone- and without early entry we wouldn't have been able to go on much. By 8 pm the rain had set in and a lot of rides were closed. 

Of course, so visit to Cedar Point is complete without visiting the place where Asa and I first met way back in 2003. 

On the way back to Fremont from Cedar Point, we stopped at Toft's, though not for ice cream (it was way too cold and wet for that!), but for chocolate milk. It is the boys' favorite, they say no other chocolate milk on the planet is as good. 

The next morning we packed everything up, and by some miracle got it all in the car. I literally had a suitcase on my lap, and Peyton had to sit criss-cross applesauce so that he could have a suitcase at his feet. We had all of our stuff, plus some things to bring home (like the quilt and the stuffed animals), and then all of my grandma's clothes for quilts. I still can't believe I got it all home. 

But, on our way to the airport we stopped at my grandmas to see everyone who was still there. We tried to offer to bring brunch, but my Aunt Patti wouldn't have it (she is her mother's daughter and got that excellent hostess gene for sure!) and she ended up making us all brunch. To nobody's surprise, there was more than enough food, including even more Chinese candy. 

And shout out to Bridgette who makes excellent toast. 

Allison came over to see us off as well. It was her anniversary, but in true Allison fashion, she was the one who brought me a present... another magnet so we could be magnet twinsies. This one was courtesy of Nate all the way in Jordan. 

She also picked up these cute little Pokemon for Hayden. 

It was nice to get to see everyone one last time before we headed home, so I'm glad we got up extra early to make sure we got in one more visit. 

Shout out to Southwest for the free bags (um, like that whole section of the luggage cart was ours), and the cute Harry Potter themed counter. 

We did get our pick of seats too. Calib and I took the two person emergency exit row, so none of us had to sit by strangers. And that was a wrap for Michigan/Ohio and its cold weather. 

We had a layover in Atlanta, but we didn't have to get off the plane- which was a little weird, but cool. 

We got home late Saturday, but had gotten BOGO PDQ in our email, so it made for a quick, easy, cheap and delicious dinner before arriving home. 

And while we did have cooler weather in Ohio, it's also been cooler weather here. I enjoyed football Sunday with tacos, coffee, and the french doors wide open letting in all the cool air. 

One last thing before I wrap up this massive blog (sorry about the million pictures), I do want to thank everyone who has been so kind and helpful these last few weeks. Of course my family was great, and Jake and Allison and all the Sattler's going out of their way was amazing. But, we also had some awesome people taking care of us here. Tracy came and watched the dogs, and someone switched Asa at work so I could go early and he could get Calib to class on Monday. 

But also, when I finally got out to the stores, I couldn't find a pumpkin anywhere. Calib really wanted to carve one this year, but I missed the window, being gone and all. Asa sent our friend Kayla a text. She works at Publix, and they had one pumpkin left. She put it aside for me, and I picked it up when I took Calib to class last night. As I walked out of the store with it, no less than three people asked me if it was the last one. I'm pretty sure it was the last one in all of Florida, so thank you for saving Halloween for my only non-trick-or-treater, Kayla. I appreciate it more than you know. 

That's it from here. I'm finally off to do some Halloween activities and later tonight we'll trick-or-treat. 

Next Up: A quiet weekend at home, before we head out to San Diego next week.