turning 80

My grandmother, whom I love dearly and am very close to considering that I'm her only granddaughter, turns 80 tomorrow. In celebration of her life and the wonderful inspiration she is to so many in my family, we had a blowout bash on Saturday including 4 of her 6 siblings and their spouses, all of her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids, and various friends from far and near. The celebration was very fitting for the many lives she has touched with her generosity, kind heart and caring spirit. I can't say enough about what a wonderful person my grandmother is. Everything I know about faith in God, resourceful living, gardening, canning, and a great many other things, I either learned directly from her or by way of my parents from her. Happy 80th birthday, Granny!

{Granny, in magenta,
with all her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids}

{Granny with her great-grandkids}

Since my brother and his family came to town for Granny's birthday celebration, they stayed at our house for the weekend. We took advantage of the fabulous weather today and made a visit to one of our favorite nearby wooded parks.

There, we...

climbed trees,

walked the trails,

poked at melting snow,

crossed ravines (or started to, anyway),

collected pinecones,

found a spider egg sac,

crouched in a gnome hole,

and discovered nature's "po'corn".

A very full weekend, indeed.