Family

5 weeks ago I had a very tearful phonecall with my sister. My Nana (Dad's mom), my last living grandparent, had passed away. Nana just turned 91 on December 3 and, while her passing may have been a blessing, it was still very sudden and a shock for all of us. The hardest part for me when it happened was that I wasn't there to grieve with my family. I quickly bought plane tickets for Bradyn and I, and we were on the red-eye flight to London the next day. Kevin and I decided that although she may not understand it all, it would be good for Bradyn to attend the visitation and funeral. Bradyn never ceases to amaze me. She was so good, and even if she didn't fully understand, she was very sympathetic to all of us who were crying. At Nana's grave, she was rubbing my back as I said my good-byes. My cousin Brian did an amazing job with the eulogy and I think we all had grumbling stomachs as we remembered the oatmeal cookies Nana used to make. We all have our own fond memories of 'Moo' but mine will always be the 'Nana bowl' - the beige and white ceramic bowl Nana used for mixing the cookie dough. I have my own set of Nana bowls, and they always bring a smile to my face when I pull them out of the cupboard.

Although it may sound inappropriate, the best thing about the first night of visitation was Bradyn's utter amazement at having so many cousins. On Kevin's side of the family there's Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Dallas & Aunty Ita, Great Auntie Molly & Great Uncle Brian, and that's it. No kids and no cousins (or at least none that she knows). My dad has 2 brothers and a sister - each of them has two kids - and almost all of us have kids. Every time I introduced Bradyn to someone at the funeral home, you could see the confusion. "He's my cousin? But he's an adult!" "Baby James is my cousin?" "That's ANOTHER cousin?" "How can I have so many cousins?" It really was sweet.
No matter how many cousins she has, there is absolutely no doubt that her favourites, hands down, are Kiera and Robee. Although the trip was made for sad reasons, I'm glad we had the opportunity to go because Bradyn hadn't seen Sherri, Jason and the kids for over a year. Despite running on about 5 hours of sleep (our 11:30 p.m. flight was delayed until 2:30 a.m. so B slept 1 1/2 hours in the airport and 3 1/2 on the plane), Bradyn was full of energy all day Saturday.

Here are the superheroes.

Going for a ride on their rocket ship (check out the video in my next post - I only wish I'd had my camera to record the earlier part of their adventure - it was hilarious!)
While Kiera and Robee were at school on Thursday, Bradyn and I checked out her beloved Children's Museum. This time they had an Arctic exhibit....

... and an Egyptian exhibit. After some coaxing, she fully embraced being a mummy.

Aunt Sherri and the kids played hooky on Friday, so we all went to Kidscape, an indoor playground. This photo is the first of 2 I got this trip that are truly rare shots. Rare shot #1 - Kiera wearing pony tails! Is she not adorable?

I loved listening to Robee while climbing the wall - "Aunt B - look how high I am!" (Yep, you're a whole foot off the floor sweetheart)

For our last night in London, we had our traditional family birthday celebration dinner - Chinese food. Aunt Sherri's 37th birthday was February 5 and as you already know, Bradyn's 6th was February 13. Grandpa Bill's birthday (Jason's dad) was also on February 5 so we had a full house. After dinner, I told the kids that I wanted one really nice picture of the 3 of them, all looking at the camera. I know it was one of those 'you had to be there' situations, but these 4 pictures just make me laugh when I remember trying to take them.

"That's a nice one, but can I take one more with you standing up Bradyn?

Everybody smile."

"Kiera, you weren't looking at the camera and Robee, you look like you have a lizard neck. Let's do another one."

"Come on you guys. You can't go watch TV until I get one nice picture. Bradyn, you weren't looking at the camera and Robee, you've got that goofy neck thing happening again."

"Never mind - go watch TV."

Later, as we were getting ready to go home with Nana and Poppa, I decided we had to try and get some family shots. While we were trying to convince Kiera to participate, I got this awesome one of Sherri and Robee.

Here is Rare Shot #2 - a Moody family photo, with all of them looking at the camera!

Me and my little sis - I love you!!

Nana and Poppa with their grandbabies.

I love Kevin and Bradyn, my home, and the life I've built in beautiful BC but, some days I really miss Onterrible. When Sherri and I were pregnant at the same time and separated by 3000 miles, it was hard. Now that we have kids and they can't play together whenever they want, it's even harder. As I get older, I am realizing more and more how much my family means to me and wish that we could spend more time together. I also realize that I've spent too many years not appreciating how lucky I am. Remember to cherish your loved ones and make sure they know how much they mean to you. You never know when there won't be tomorrow.