a different normal: Happy 92nd Birthday to my Grandmother!

This Saturday, despite the over 100 degree weather, we celebrated my Grandmother's 92nd birthday with a Red, White and Blue picnic at my awesome Aunt Linda's house. She has the coolest covered deck with tons of seating and fans built in. For an added bonus since there is somewhere around 20 small kiddos as part of the great big Clark Clan, she rented a water slide to play in to cool them all off. They all had a blast, but more about that in a minute.

I just adore my amazing Grandmother! I have so many memories of hanging out with her as a young child. She loved to read and no matter how many times I brought her the books "Harry the Dirty Dog" and "Ms. Suzy" she would stop and set me beside her on the couch or better yet the porch swing and read them to me. I actually have the Ms. Suzy book she read to me now, and need to pull it out and read it to Emma now. She also use to take us to the local park with a swimming lake and we would eat sandwhiches under a large shady tree and play in the water for hours. I really remember the dreaded hike up and down the large hill to get there:) I remember delivering Meals on Wheels with her sometimes too and the smell of the food in the backseat with me as we went house to house. I also remember that she loved to travel. Both my grandparents did, and they took bus tours all over the US till my grandfather decided he was too old. She then, took me on two trips with another lady friend of her's. We went to Washington D.C. when I was like in fourth grade and it was amazing but cold from what I recall. Then I was maybe in eight or ninth grade maybe I went to Memphis with her as well. That was a fun trip, I loved the ducks at the Peabody hotel.

I have so many more memories with this lady but those are some that really stick out in my mind. She loved to cook fresh food from the garden, she loved to read, she loved any body of water since she grew up in Florida, she loves anything sweet and really likes when I deliver her some baked goods with the kiddos in tow, and she loves to sit on the front porch surrounded by family and friends. I hope she has many more years to live, as now Emma loves to go and visit with her and play with the cool toys she has tucked away by her bookshelf full of photos of all the grandkids and some of her many many great grandkids and her now vintage golden book collection. Happy Birthday Grandmother may God bless you this year!!

Back to the waterslide! Emma had a blast, well after she decided to finally come down it. She sat at the top about ten minutes before sliding down and then would only do it, if the rope to help you climb up the stairs was thrown to the front and she could use it to slowly slide down the slide and land in the bottom full of water. But she loved it! And had so much fun, she spent well over and hour doing it. Taylor splashed around in the small baby pool we took over for him to stay safely out of the way of the older great grandkids running around.