The past few weeks have been very busy with friends and family,  fun events, and farewells and final goodbyes.  Our parents don’t live nearby, and so we are fortunate that they were able to make time to travel to our house to  spend some time with us.

My parents came in from Pennsylvania, traveling by car.  My dad cannot sit still for long, so he only hung out for a couple of days before he took off again.  He is a busy man … he has things to do, places to go, people to see.  And weddings to perform.  He is the Mayor of Zelienople, and of the many responsibilities that fall to him in this role, one of the sweetest perks is to officiate at wedding ceremonies, and he had to get back to Pennsylvania to make sure a nice couple tied the knot!

I am a daddy’s girl, and always will be!

It was very difficult to say goodbye to my dad, so I tried to keep it light and fluffy, and while having some fun in the pool, when one of the kids decided to snap a photo of my parents, it picture caught the best photo-bomb ever!

When dad took off for home, my mom was able to spend a few more weeks with the kids and I.  We packed in the fun, including a two day outdoor swim meet.  This was the first time either of my parents were able to attend a swim meet.

I also took her to Valley Fair, an amusement park here in the Twin Cities, specifically to get her into the old time photo store.  You all know those places … you dress up in costume & pose with props?  Well, mom is a bit feisty and full of spunk, so I knew she would go along with it.  And she didn’t let me down.  When they asked her what props she wanted, I was not surprised when she said “All of them”.  So here is the photo, mom with a long cigarette, gun, and an empty liquor bottle.  They told us to be serious, but mom winked.

Just before the gal snapped this photo, mom realized that she had her watch on, so I helped her take it off, she wanted this photo to look authentic.  Funny lady that she is, her watch was a Mickey Mouse watch!

My father-in-law arrived from his place in Arizona by motorcycle.  Thinking that is a long way by bike?  Not for Dale.  He is a life-time biker, and has logged hundreds of thousands of miles by way of his Honda Gold Wings.  This year, his bike was a brilliant blue!

He is always great fun to be around, and from the first day I met him over 16 years ago, he has been teasing me.  We have a fun relationship, I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man for my second dad.

Of course I took photos of these sweet parents with their grandchildren, because, after all, they are sweet grandparents!

 

The night before my mom left for  home, again, I tried to keep things light.  My daughter has some software on her laptop that distorted our faces … here are a couple of the good pics:

And finally, saying goodbye at the airport, was tough.  Here is the last picture I took of my sweet mom.  She intends to make the trip to Singapore to for a visit, but in reality, it’s a very long tough trip, and it would be a difficult trip for her.  I’ll just have to make plans to fly to the USA!