Flashback Friday

In August of 2004, we were in Aurora, Illinois for my grandma's funeral. She died the month of her 91st birthday. This is the Poss group at the after-funeral lunch: my dad, me, Mary, my dad's cousin Sue and her husband Bob, my mom, my dad's cousin Jan, my grandma's sister Aunt Dot and her boyfriend Tony, Peter, Brad, John, my brother Steve, and my sister Kelle. Of the generations above mine, the only ones in this picture still alive are my dad's cousin Sue and her husband Bob. My sister Kathy wasn't there because her father-in-law was very sick and would pass away the next month.

 

Cuteness Corner

 Peter, Jessa, and Rosie spent their last week of summer vacation in Aruba. 

Rosie went from being afraid to go near our pool at the end of June, to this by the first of August.

When Rosie goes back to daycare next week, she'll have a long answer to the question of: what did you do on your summer vacation?

Meanwhile, Lloyd learned the joys of a Dairy Queen Blizzard while on their house hunting trip to Minneapolis.

Back at home he enjoyed a weekend outing to the zoo.

As you can see, Freddie is a baby on the move and he's going nowhere but up.

Although sometimes he's still carried by his dad.

Freddie cheered for his brother at a weekend bike race.

Owen modeled the new sweater knit for him by Priscilla Tolan.

Navy's his color, but he'll hold off on wearing the sweater for now and stick with a tank top while it's still hot summertime.

Owen went on his first vacation. It was a road trip to Pittsburgh.

And don't let that scowl fool you. This baby had a good time.

And with that I'm going to close out the cuteness corner. Owen says to everybody: remember to always stay cute, just like me and my cousins!

Elkader

The week before last we were in my mom's hometown of Elkader, Iowa for my Aunt Joyce's funeral. We got there a few days ahead of time and I spent my mornings walking all around this tiny town of 1,200 people. Above is the Catholic church that my mom grew up in, where my parents were married, and where we held the funeral.

The church is one of the iconic sights in towns, as is the Keystone Bridge. We stayed the river with a view of the bridge from the opposite side. However, I can't take credit for this pretty picture as my sister Kathy took it.

My mom grew up in an apartment downtown with her parents and 8 siblings. This is one of the downtown streets.

The white door is the door to the stairwell to my mom's 2-bedroom apartment that she lived in for all but a couple of years of her childhood, and that my grandparents lived in for all but a couple of years of their marriage until they died. In their adulthood, my mom and her siblings always took pictures on the stoop, so we did the same. Things have changed since my mom was a kid, when the downstairs business was a funeral home. Now there's a swanky coffee shop on one side and an Aveda salon on the other. It's still a farming town, but Elkader is in such a beautiful setting that the town has figured a way to attract tourists.

This is an example of the beautiful setting.

It was great to see family at the funeral. As much as I loved seeing everybody, I don't have to tell you that the best part was having Peter and John there.

Fifteen of my aunt's nieces and nephews were there. We missed just one cousin, who was home recovering from cancer treatment. It was really nice to catch up with everybody.

It was also really nice to see my siblings and their spouses.

Me and my siblings.

The boys with their Poss aunts and uncles.

It was sad to say goodbye to Aunt Joyce. In my family, she was the last of her generation. The funeral Mass was beautiful and a perfect way to say farewell.

 

Flashback Friday

It was nice to be in Elkader last week with the boys and extended family. In 2021, four years ago practically to the day, we were all there for my mom's funeral. 

Flashback Friday

Brad and the boys and I are in Iowa for my Aunt Joyce's funeral tomorrow. Here are our kids with Joyce and Kelly in the summer of 2003.

Grandkids Update

In June, this group went to Delaware to have a family reunion with Troy's family.

These sweet brothers enjoyed some time on the sand.

Afterwards they went to Baltimore where they met up with Aunt Mary and .....

..... Uncle Andy and ..... they got to meet their cousin Owen for the first time!

Owen is the host-with-the-most. Not long after Lloyd and Freddie visited, Rosie and her family went to Baltimore too.

Owen got a lot of loving attention from his cousin Rosie and Aunt Jessa.

It's never too early to start learning how to be relevant for one's cousins. This book covers bases for Owen's Polish speaking cousin Rosie and his train loving cousin Lloyd.

Meanwhile in Denver, Freddie's a fan of swinging.

Lloyd and Freddie (see helmets above) rode on the bike with their parents at a Fourth of July parade in Denver.

A festive day!

The next weekend was Freddie's first birthday in Traverse City, Michigan.

In Traverse City, Lloyd found the best playground ever.

Meanwhile in Baltimore, Owen took his parents to his first-ever baseball game.

And finally, by the time she got to her other grandma's house in Pennsylvania,  Rosie discovered her love of the water.

 

All About Rosie in Tucson

Rosie brought her parents to Tucson for a weeklong visit at the end of June. Here you see Rosie dressed for success as a swimming fashionista. However, let's just say her ensemble did not quite match her actual enthusiasm for the pool. 

However, she did enjoy pushing the bubble mower (shown above), playing golf (especially pulling the cart), and playing with the t-ball set (her favorite part was carrying the equipment around the yard). But mostly she enjoyed mowing.

The great thing about mowing is it's also an indoor activity. This is important in the summer in Tucson.

Her favorite water activity was splashing the golf club in the kiddie pool. She discovered that she didn't need to get in when she could splash herself til she was soaked.

Rosie also enjoyed dining al fresco on the patio.

Great Grandma Geneva spent the week with us too. We got in some indoor reading time. This is at a local bookstore.

Ditto.

Morning is the best time of day in Tucson year-round, but especially in the summer. One day we went over to Agua Caliente Park where we got to see some turtles and ducks.

While in Tucson, Rosie got a taste of Wisconsin on her very first visit to Culver's. I don't need to tell you she's a fan, because the look on her face says it all.

Our group after dinner one evening.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the week. As John dubbed it: three generations of Harrisons.

Rosie thought my exercise bands were fun. It's never too early to start taking care of one's body, so here she is learning how to do physical therapy.

We went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant with live Mariachi music. If you've ever wondered how a toddler looks when she's just realized she loves the sound of Mariachi, then see above.

Just cuz.

One morning, Jessa and I went for a hike in Saguaro National Park East.

On another morning, we went to a storytime at the Children's Museum at a botanical garden called Tohono Chul.

Rosie loved the stuffed rabbit at the museum.

Before sending them off we had dinner at El Charro - it's over 100 years old and the oldest Mexican restaurant in the country.

She dipped and she dipped and she dipped her chip in the salsa until she about burned her tongue off. We all admired her dedication, even if it ended in (brief) tears.

Rosie loved Grandpa's babyccinos. And we love her and her parents. It was such a fun week with some of our favorite people. We can't wait until it's time for their next visit.