THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER PART TWO

Emmy Lou sliding into the water!

The blog site would not allow me to add any more photos so hoping I can post more here! My grateful thanks to Lori fo these great pics!

Lucas eating  his first barbecue rib on Ava Claire's lap!

Ava Claire, Claudia, Emmy Lou, Cillian, Lochlan, Liam and Owen

Grandma and Coryn join the kids

Grandma with Lochlan, Claudia Emmy Lou, and Lucas

Callie jumping in!

Bird's eye view

Ava Claire going for the catch!

Big line for the ball catch and swim!

Lochlan going for it!

Owen with Liam watching

The adult table with our hosts Jenny and Kevin!

Alex braving the heat in the bounce house!

 THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 167                                    SEPTEMBER 2026

Dear Readers,

I think my children are trying to kill me! The first weekend in August Lori, Claudia, and the Remsburgs came to town so we had family get-togethers at my house, Kay and Richards, and Coryn and Jeremy’s. While we were all enjoying the ambience of Kay’s yard, Sean was organizing a football game with some of the kids and was a player short so I promptly volunteered my skills once no-one else did! Sean, the only one of my children to express any concern for my safety pointed out a tripping hazard in the yard which I duly noted but unfortunately in my enthusiasm to catch the football and running at full speed I tripped right over the hazard and scored a touchdown without the ball! Sean and Owen helped me to my feet whilst my other children and grandchildren were laughing too hard to care and of course Lori caught it all on video! I only suffered a minor cut  and a couple of bruised knees! Just goes to show what eating cheese as your primary source of protein does for your bones! Most old ladies would have probably fractured a few in taking such a fall but of course I have a nicely cushioned body to ensure I bounce rather than break! 

Later in the day a group of us were sitting in the living room when someone asked if we could do an Asian squat. Some of us had no idea what this was and so a demonstration  ensued: basically you have to get as low to the ground as possible with your feet together and your thighs resting up against your calves. Some of us could and some of us could not  - I of course was one of the could nots and fell over, bruising only my ego! It was suggested that perhaps only Asians could do this but this theory was debunked whenJeremy tried it and succeeded very impressively- especially considering that  he has had knee surgery!  Coryn failed too which amazed me as she is so into fitness and was a beautiful ballet dancer! We all missed Marc being there knowing how much family fun we would have derived from his attempts to do it!

Jeremy and Owen pose perfect on the Asian squat!

The next day I took my third fall in Ava Claire’s bathroom! I managed to successfully complete the obstacle course across her messy room. She is just like her Auntie Leslee: as a teenager it was almost impossible to see a patch of flooring under the heaps of clothes, shoes, bags and stuff!   I  made it to the bathroom, kicking more stuff aside as I lowered myself onto the toilet seat only to land on the floor, with the toilet seat, and my knickers all in a twist as we say in England.!  Ava Claire said she noticed it was broken a couple of weeks ago but just  shoved it back on and  thought it was fixed! Obviously her little butt was not as efficient as my big butt in dislodging the seat! I have been assured that a new toilet seat has been installed.

Cladia was the first to arrive for this family weekend of fun  - so early that I was still in my nightie and drinking my first cup of coffee! Jeremy dropped Ava Claire and Owen off, then the Remsburgs arrived, and Lori drove in from Indianapolis around three having made a very early morning start to avoid stormy weather en route. Coryn, Sean and family  Kay and the boys and lastly Jeremy. I fixed supper for twenty two! Chicken Fajitas, beef tacos, shrimp, a cheese tray, dips and chips! I had prepped all the peppers,onions and tomatoes the night before  so they were ready to cook or serve raw.  I used three chickens and three pounds of hamburger!

Kay and Ricard grilled hotdogs and hamburgers for us and on Sunday we feasted on Kansas City Barbecue! We were also celebrating Claudia’s birthday - a day early - and she made her own birthday cake from scratch -  a very delicious  orange flavored cake  with chocolate ganache!

Claudiia's birthday cake!

Claudia and Lori  posing in front of Coryn's banner!

Coryn’s neighbors opened their pool to us again which was greatly appreciated as we were suffering through another very hot and humid day  and after four injuries in as many minutes on the slip and slide in the Logue’s  yard it was a much needed change of scenery!

Lucas was greatly admired by all our visiting family who were meeting him for the first time! He has the most infectious smile with his big dimples and delighted coo’s. He is certainly the center of any Kansas City gathering as his cousins adore him, especially Lochlan who will often choose to play with the baby over doing anything else! 

Lochlan chatting with Kay and Lucas

Lucas is the center of attentionwith his cousins!

Callie and Ray were soon happily playing with their cousins and enjoying my new basketball hoops! We now have a mini half court in the driveway! Josh refurbished my old backboard, hoop and pole - which I thought was beyond repair and hence had purchased a brand new one! So we now have two hoops in my driveway which has worked out well as we have set one at a lower height for the younger children! I have to say the  big old boys seemed to have as much fun with my new and improved setup as the children!

On Monday morning,  August 3rd, I was babysitting Lucas with the Remsburgs preparing to head home later that day whilst Sarah and Sean stopped for a short while so the cousins could have one last playtime together! Sean and family were heading off to Fort Madison that day so that Sarah could see the small Iowan town he had grown up in before they drove on to Wisconsin !t was sad to see pictures of the old YMCA that we had renovated into a family home so unkept. I wonder if anyone even lives there anymore. Junk fills the driveway and the house is so overgrown with weeds and vines. Sean said he could not even identify my store amongst the largely empty storefronts that line Avenue G. But the kids enjoyed their trip to Halls Icecream shop, mini golf, and lunch at the Subarena! 

We ate a lot of sandwiches here, especially when they were located downtown near my store!!

One last cousin visit!

In late June I was motivated to paint my kitchen walls the same color as my adjoining family room. I was hosting a gathering of my neighbors for a farewell dinner for a couple downsizing to  apartment living so I  decided to patch some minor cracks and clear some old decor off the countertops and hopefully give it a more updated look.  While I was halfway up a ladder, rolling paint on the walls Josh stopped by with an old friend, Evan Fahey, from his High School  days. Evan questioned why I and not Josh was on the ladder, obviously much more concerned for my safety than my kids! However I took the opportunity to mention that although I was fine with painting walls I would appreciate some help with installing new hinges and door pulls on my cabinets! Then Evan and Josh headed out to the Power and Light district to join in all the festivities in honor of the FIFA games being held in our city!

The next day Sean showed up with his kids and offered to finish up the painting in exchange for my watching the kids! I pointed out that there wasn’t much left to do but Sean was very keen so I handed over the roller and played with my grand kids! Sean even returned another day - with the kids - to caulk and paint one wall where the join between the wall and ceiling

 was uneven. He never fails to point out this and other household repairs that he has accomplished for me on most of his visits to my house!

Josh came through with the hardware and replaced all my old brass cabinet hinges and pulls with streamlined stainless steel to match my kitchen appliances! Ava Claire was staying with me at the time and Josh enlisted her help to clean and do some  touch up painting on all the cabinet fronts  when they were removed. The new hinges did not fit into the previous slots so Josh had to add some wood wafers which necessitated using some very stinky glue but of course I knew better than to utter a single complaint! I also said nothing when my deluxe Marha Stewart dining room was commandeered by Josh as his workshop!! Thank goodness he set up my rickety folding table that I use for painting furniture instead of  using my  dining room table!  And of course it just so happened that Sean showed up with his kids the day Josh put all my doors and drawers back inI Teamwork! 

Joshua's make shift work space in my Martha Stewart  dinning room!

Josh and Sean updating my kitchen!

So thrilled was I with this improvement that I dared to suggest that the family room cabinets would also look much nicer with updated hardware:  preferably in black. Josh did not seem too enthused about this project so I was pleasantly surprised when he showed up one day with a box of new black hardware in a dressier style than those in the kitchen! This time Owen was staying with me and he was enlisted to help - with Josh letting him use a power drill on my cabinet hinges propped on my sofa! I had visions of holes being driven right through my upholstery but of course said nothing. I am thrilled with how much better they look and for the first tim since I have lived in this house the doors on the television cabinet are properly aligned!

Thank you Josh!

Kansas City seemed to do a stellar job of hosting the four teams who elected to base themselves here, my England team being one of them! I certainly enjoyed watching my boys play and felt that we could have won the whole thing! Next time we will for sure!  Now of course I am back to cheering on my Kansas City Chiefs!

Many of our family members have been traveling recently, Sarah and Sean flew to Los Angeles over the Labor Day weekend - the children stayed with me,and Coryn,  with assistance from Uncle Josh! Sarah and Sean  stayed in Bryn and Gabi’s house but without them as they were  vacationing in Italy! They met up with some of Sarah’s college friends and managed to have dinner with Marc one night only as Marc had another ongoing big court case so was working all weekend. Craig has been working in Paris, then went on to Greece leaving Leslee-Ann home with  Ray and Callie. Ming Jon flew out to Kansas City to see the Flaigs, meeting Lucas for the first time, whilst Jeremy, Ava Claire and Owen went to Oklahoma City! Coryn elected to remain behind to help me out with the grand kids and to nurse her very itchy rash that covered her legs. I had urged her to see a doctor to get some medication which she thankfully did!  Just imagine if this had happened to one of her hypochondriacal siblings - they would have been incapable of helping out with their niece and nephews but Coryn came by after work on Friday to have supper with us all -Josh too and then after bathtime she headed home. I have to admit it was a challenge to get everyone settled in for the night: at first they were going to sleep upstairs and tried out various combinations but no -one stayed put. Liam then decided that he wanted to sleep on the living room coach, where Owen always beds down so Lochlan joined him demanding that I push the coaches together to make one big bed! Emmy Lou decided she would join her brothers and Cillian had to squeeze onto the makeshift bed too as Emmy claimed he could not sleep without her! I snuck off to my bed and for a few blissful moments thought I was going to have the bed to myself for the night but the noise from the living room soon convinced me that four children in one space was not going to allow anyone to sleep so I carried Cillian into my room where he was promptly joined by Emmy Lou who was determined to mother him in her mother’s absence,  piling my bed with extra blankets - (in the middle of a heatwave), enough soft toys to set up a shop and of course cups of water! I had to threaten the boys with the loss of all the treats in my pantry to finally get them to sleep! But by ten-thirty all was quiet!

Kids love the sofa bed but it is not great for sleep!

Coryn came over the following day bringing lunch and offering to take two of the children to her house for a sleepover that night and the other two the next night. However the two not selected for the first night were so upset -Cillian in tears, shut himself in the toy closet - that Coryn bravely volunteered to take all four and that resulted in four smiley faces and promises to be extra good at Auntie Coryn’s house otherwise I would drive over and pick them up!! While I was packing clothes, swimsuits and pajamas for the children, Coryn was out in the broiling sun setting up two car seats, and two booster seats in her vehicle to transport the children. All this activity in the intense heat caused her rash to flare up but she soldiered on and took the children to a Splash Pad, McDonald's for Happy Meals, and to her neighborhood pool where Josh joined them as Coryn was not wearing a bathing suit in public with her rash!

I slept so well on Saturday night and was ready for the children’s return later in the day!Coryn  dropped them off around lunchtime and Josh came by in the afternoon with a treasure hunt game he had devised, complete with hidden written clues, monster sound effects and the discovery of ice blocks and fruit syrups in a cooler to make monster slushies! Earlier in the day I had let them throw ping pong balls over the upstairs balcony down into bowls below! The bowls were worth different points and poor Cillian was very upset that none of his balls landed in a bowl! But they wore themselves out running up and down the stairs to retrieve the balls and I got a lot of exercise moving the sofa’s to chase out balls that had rolled under them!

Washing my car in the broiling heat!

On Sunday night I had all four children bathed and in bed by nine-thirty! Coryn and Josh returned on Monday and Coryn had the children wash my car in their bathing suits before she headed home! Since the children were already in swimsuits I set up my splash pad for them in the back yard and they ran around for quite a while despite the triple digit heat! I sat on a chair, gulping water and hoping the fat was melting off me!

Uncle Josh and his slushies treasure hunt was a big hit!

Sarah and Sean arrived from the airport around four and were very happy to be home - having missed their offspring a lot! I was very happy to send them home with my four grandchildren! But seriously they were fun for the most part! Ava Claire and Owen will be staying with me the first weekend in October as their parents are going to Herman, Missouri for Octoberfest with friends. I'm sure that Sarah and Sean will want them to spend a night at their house to entertain their cousins! I am so blessed to have this time with my grandchildren, spending two days a week caring for Lucas, and spending my Friday afternoons with Cillian!

It is fortunate that spending so much time with my family does not allow me to dwell on the totally chaotic world that narcissistic Trump and his sycophants have created in two years. I can only hope that the mid-terms will bring some sanity back to our politics and policies.I was delighted to see that the Irish gave him the welcome he deserves! Definitely time for term limits for all politicians, age limits, cognitive and health assessments!

Love from your Mother who is hoping for cooler days as we head into fall, for the clocks not to fall back and for me to stay on my feet!

 

 THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 166                                                    JUNE 2026

I flew to Orlando in mid April, flying SouthWest for the first time since they switched boarding systems. Groups A,B and the dreaded C have been replaced by assigned seating and eight boarding groups! I had chosen aisle seat 11c,  close to the front of the plane for  my flights to and from Orlando.. However, once I checked in, twenty-four hours before my flight,  and saw I was in group 8 - the very last to board - I began worrying about space in the overhead bins for my carry-on bag. I never check luggage for my  trips - just another hassle! Of course there were a lot of kids on both flights wearing back backs with their tablets, busy toys, snacks and water bottles that would hopefully keep them from screaming throughout the flight. I prayed that their parents would be stowing these bags under the seat in front of the kids rather than in the overhead bins. I noticed several people wearing huge, weighty backpacks ( that would have turned me into the hunchback of Notre Dame) who were also pushing along a wheeled suitcase! I think only one of these items should be allowed as many passengers will try to fit both bags in the overhead bins and toss their jackets in as well!! I had visions of me  frantically charging to the back of the plane looking for space in an overhead bin and the delay this would cause on arrival as I would have to wait for the entire plane to empty so that I could retrieve my bag. Mother’s bowels were churning! I was already composing paragraph two of my complaint letter to Southwest in my head when I boarded the plane and found my suitcase had a spot just a row ahead of me! I collapsed into my seat and almost became a believer on the spot.

Leslee-Ann picked me up from the airport and drove me to her beautiful,new family home in Winter Garden. They have a very spacious, open plan home with an impressive pool that has a built in hot tub and many fountains. I have to say that I loved their guest bedroom -a big improvement over the Murphy Bed in their home office with no window shades to block out the early morning light! And thankfully Miles the dog can not open the bedroom door at this house so you do not have to barricade the door to keep him out like you did at their former house.  Ray and Callie have adjusted very well to their new schools and made new friends in the neighborhood, 

That evening we headed out for dinner, and explored the local shops, The next morning we watched Ray’s basketball team play with Coach Craig - who has a couple of championships in the basket- but unfortunately the team lost to a team that seemed to have several players that looked more like  middle schoolers than fifth graders!! Ray was the top scorer for his team that day!  Craig’s dad, Roger was also in attendance and was definitely a  bleacher coach! We headed out to lunch with Craig’s assistant coach and family. 

As my grandchildren age they seem to prefer picking out their own stuff rather than being surprised by my choices. So later  that afternoon we headed to Target so that Ray and Callie could buy something they wanted from the toy aisle with the money I had given them . They took their time, and both enjoyed their new purchases once we made it home. 

Leslee Ann was most anxious that I experienced their new pool and hot tub but there was a problem; the hot tub was tepid and  she  was expecting Craig to rectify the situation immediately!

Craig  fiddled with the hot tub controls mounted  on their family room wall and frequently went to check the hot tub temperature with his hand and return with an  assurance that it felt a bit warmer despite the thermostat not reflecting this observation - Craig eventually concluded that the thermostat must be broken and said he would call the pool maintenance guy on Monday. Leslee was not appeased and raised herself off the couch  and went to check the pool equipment. Unfortunately for Craig she discovered that the breaker for the hot tub heater had tripped  . He was now in hot water with Leslee - who was at boiling point having spent a couple of days waiting for the hot tub to  be enjoyed by her mother! Personally I am not a big fan as Norm was always so negative about them - he believed they were bubbling cauldrons of bacteria likely to result in a urinary tract infection at best!

Soon we were all in the hot tub, swimming in the pool and when relaxing by the pool thoroughly drenched by Miles, the dog who loves swimming and playing in the pool then shaking himself dry by thoroughly showering any-one who doesn’t move away fast enough. It is a beautiful set-up for family fun in the Florida sun!

Ray, Callie and Grandma cooking in the Hot tub!

We also made our  traditional visit to the pick your own blueberry farm - they also had peach trees laden with fruit that  unfortunately was just not quite ripe enough for the picking! I do love a ripe peach - unfortunately the ones at the store are often quite tasteless.

Picking blueberries with the Remsburgs!

Ray and Callie showing some sibling affection!

Sarah and Sean are also on the verge of opting for a new home - they would like to move within walking distance of the elementary school attended by their second  grader, first  grader and kindergartener, leaving only Cillian  in need of a ride to and from pre-school. They also think that they could downsize from six bedrooms and four bathrooms to four bedrooms and three bathrooms  and have less house cleaning and maintenance chores! They also would like a cul de sac location so there would be a lot less traffic than there is on their through street. The children love riding their bikes and scooters around my neighborhood with so few cars! However these requirements limit their search to a small area and  so far they have not found their perfect house!  They are putting a new roof on their home prior to listing it as it’s over twenty years old and apparently that is not favorable for mortgage/ insurance purposes for a prospective buyer! 

Josh is back much to the delight of everyone, especially his nieces and nephews. I learned that he had actually rented a Soviet built apartment in Georgia for several months and seems to have thoroughly enjoyed living in and traveling around Eastern Europe! Of course I was concerned about his close proximity to Russia and Iran  and the possibility of a stray drone or missile hitting his apartment! Of course it doesn’t seem to be much safer in certain parts of Kansas City as we approach the start of the FIFA World Cup matches slated for our city. We are also hosting four teams for a couple of months: England, Algiers, Netherlands and Argentina. Fortunately most of these crimes occur in neighborhoods unlikely to attract visitors from afar.  We have certainly had some bad publicity worldwide after nine people were short -  thankfully with no fatalities around Troost and 79th street after partying at an illegal nightclub! One has to wonder who is policing our streets and enforcing zoning codes!

My social calendar has been very busy these last few months. Kay and Richard hosted our KC family and Richard’s parents for Mother’s day and opted to serve a delicious catered buffet and the glorious weather that day allowed us to eat el fresco! I hosted a welcome back supper forJosh, and then this past weekend I had everyone over, including Sarah’s parents who were in town, for lunch with three different flavors of ice cream cake to celebrate Owen’s 11th birthday and Alex’ 5th! Both boys were born on June 8th! Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate, being extremely hot and humid after a stormy night but when Sarah and Sean proposed walking the three mile trail by my house I was surprised that at least eleven of us  opted to join them! I stayed in the air conditioning, under the ceiling fan with the others that had no interest in risking heat stroke to burn off some luncheon calories.

Celebrating the Birthday Boys!

The day before I had attended Emy -Lou’s dance recital which took place at the Lied Center in Lawrence at the unbelievable time of ten in the morning. Since all the performers were to be there by 9:30 it was decided that we needed to leave from my house at eight thirty ! Sarah  promised to show up with coffee to make amends for getting me out of bed so early!. It took awhile to switch people into my car and one of theirs but we made it on time! I have to say I have never attended a dance recital that was not in the afternoon or evening before but I guess they have so many students that they have several shows throughout the entire day !Emmy Lou gave a stellar performance again this year and her Nana and Papa visiting from Maine were thrilled to be there! Afterwards we headed back to my house for lunch - picked up from Chipotle at  our dancer’s request, 

I have to say that her brother’s were all very into the recital -Liam sat up in his seat, licking his lips watching the teenage girls routines!! I can recall having to force  my boys to attend  their sister’s dance recitals! Remember when Sean was cast in the Top Hatter’s production of the Wizard of Oz as Toto the dog - he took gymnastics there as a preschooler and Marc who could barely touch his toes - then or now- called him the tumbling fairy..

I thought I was going to finish this newsletter last weekend but a bat flying around Liam’s bedroom caused Sean to order the evacuation of his family to my house shortly after luncheon Saturday. Sarah came down to my house with the kids and an invitation to join her - in Sean’s place - for a production of The Little Mermaid at JCCC , just a block from my most conveniently located home! By the time we returned from the show Josh was in my basement installing a box he had built for me to cover the sump pump!  Sean was still at home searching every nook and cranny of Liam’s room for the bat which had disappeared =- probably out of the window I suggested they open! Sean had completely encapsulated his body against a rabid bat bite. Being an always helpful mother, I volunteered my expertise for the job as a few years ago I successfully removed a bat from my living room with two duct taped garden canes and a step ladder! No protective clothing or house evacuation. Later Sean arrived after a fruitless search for the bat and announced he would be staying at my house overnight too! Josh volunteered to spend the night at Sean’s in hopes of tracking the bat!! Sean and Sarah  called their pet control company - who they had already paid to bat proof their house and were not very happy when they said they would not be able to respond until the following week! Of course I do not  pay for any pest control services, loving my eco friendly existence! I fixed supper for myself and the children and sent Sean and Sarah off by themselves for a break, so they picked up sandwiches and took a walk on the trail by my house!

All four children were very excited to be having a sleepover at Grandma’s and after baths, hot milk and a movie they headed up to bed. Emmy Lou and Liam slept in their usual beds, and Lochlan wanted to be in the same room so I set up the folding camp bed for him. -but he apparently ended up sleeping alongside Liam in his twin bed!  Cillin slept with Sarah and Sean had a bedroom all to himself - but the next morning he seemed even more exhausted than me! The children woke me up at about six in the morning - which I consider the middle of the night!

Josh said he had searched every inch of Liam' s room for the bat, inspecting all the clothes in his closet,the duct work and the entire attic! Sean decided that after a trip to the Kansas City Zoo the family would return to their home! Mother would not be driven batty after all. A quiet rest of the day was promised!

Sean covered head to toe in search of a bat!

Bryn and Gabi will be celebrating their marriage in West Hollywood next March and we are all anxiously awaiting the opportunity to view their “mood boards” so that we females in the family can plan what color dresses will be acceptable! Coryn has begun to look into the possibility of finding a short term rental to accommodate the entire family with a pool if possible. Apparently there are quite a few choices to accommodate up to thirty guests!

  

As always mother is as busy as a bee, buzzing around her garden, hovering over her grandchildren and being the queen bee of our family gatherings! Speaking of which, the Remsbergs, Lori and Claudia will all be here in late July, early August!

Love from your honey of a Mother!

 THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 165                                               APRIL 2026, 

Dear Readers,  

We have exciting family news! Bryn proposed to Gabby in Japan last month after finding the vintage engagement ring of her dreams. CONGRATULATIONS to them  and we are delighted to have another family member! 

Gabby and Bryn engaged in Japan

The beautiful vintage ring they found in Tokoyo

The weather is as unpredictable as the actions of our president,  one day will be hot, humid and sunny, the next freezing cold with snow and punishing winds. There are days where I have to change my clothes by mid day to accommodate the huge temperature swings! For the first time ever this year my many daffodils bloomed in early March and days later were felled to the ground by a disastrous freeze. Meanwhile Trump is seemingly willing to set the world on fire by declaring war on Iran, causing the deaths of many innocent civilians all in an effort to effect regime change and ensure that they never have nuclear weapons capability. But didn’t they along with Israel claim to have bombed Iran’s nuclear weapons facility to oblivion months ago?

So far  all they seem to have accomplished is alienating most of the world, causing higher energy costs for everyone and possibly being justifiably charged with War Crimes against the people of Iran. And the most amazing thing to me is that the Senate and the Congress do not seem to be outraged that our despotic president has declared war without any consultation or approval from them! What’s the point of electing these people to serve us if they are not going to abide by the constitution?

We had another health scare recently: Liam was hospitalized for two days with complications from strep throat and a sinus infection . He was running a high fever, was nauseous and most alarming of all he was unable to move his neck. After ruling out meningitis and sepsis the doctors ordered a scan and discovered an infected growth in his neck tissue. They hoped to resolve it with intravenous antibiotics and steroids with surgery an option if he didn’t respond well to treatment. Apparently this is a condition which usually occurs in children under six who have undergone a tonsillectomy and had their adenoids removed too .So Liam definitely met the criteria and happily was able to avoid surgery! 

 His siblings stayed with me at my house - so conveniently situated just a couple of blocks from the hospital -  so Sarah and Sean could spell each other day and night at the hospital!, One night I had all three sleeping in my bed as they were so worried about their brother! Unfortunately Emmy  Lou developed a coughing fit in the middle of the night so I moved her onto the sofa in hopes that she would not wake her brothers! I gave her cough medicine and a cup of water  and settled down to try and sleep again only to have Lochlan fall out of bed! Fortunately he did not wake  Cillian and I was able to get him wedged between me and his brother!! 

Liam missed almost two weeks of school but fortunately being in Kindergarten - and a great student -it  will have had no ill effects on his education!  

On one of the nicer days recently Sean decided to cut his hair and that of  his three boys on my deck.  Grandma had to give the boys a bath afterwards to get rid of all the itchy hairs on their necks!.A few days later I ventured into the back yard to fill up my bird feeder and saw a pile of fur in the grass. I immediately thought a squirrel or a raccoon must have been savaged to death by a coyote or hawk ! Upon closer inspection I realized that the mix of blond, black and brown fur was the shorn off locks of my boys hair! Sean had clearly just swept the hair clippings off the deck to the grass below! I contemplated cleaning the hair pile up but decided that the birds could probably use it for nesting material so left it for them.  A couple of weeks later I was cutting down one of my many pampas grasses when I noticed my hedge trimer was about to cut into a flower pot so I shut it off and reached for the pot and discovered a nest of mice with a lock of Sean’s wiry black hair keeping them cosy! I am sure Josh will have something to say about this since he was removing siding around my house last year in an effort to block off entry points for vermin Not to mention all the moth balls and metal mesh he has provided me with in an effort to deter them! It's not very helpful to have a brother providing them with luxury nesting material within feet of their front door to my basement!

I volunteered to host Easter again this year and couldn’t resist some cute Easter themed fabrics which I spotted on Amazon and yards of multi-colored mini rick-rack. I devised a new pattern for this year's baskets and managed to find time to sew them all!! And of courseI found all kinds of eggs on Amazon stuffed with squishy toys, wind up bunnies and chicks and even fidget chicks that lit up! Grandma ordered them all of course and added a few dozen more filled with candy purchased at the Hen House!

Fortunately the weather co-operated with us this year so I was able to hide all the eggs outside! Amazingly I was doing this at the unbelievable hour of  nine O’clock on a Sunday morning so I could get my half ham in the oven and a bag of potatoes peeled! The hunt was scheduled for eleven with lunch to follow at noon! We had all my Kansas City family here plus Richard’s parents so my house was full with the seventeen of us! I also had a couple of chickens and salads from the deli, Sarah contributed her pasta salad, and Sean had little smokies in a crockpot for the children! Kay and Richard contributed dessert from Mclaine's Bakery. It was quite the feast!

Liam on the Bunny trail!

Cillian, Alex, Owen and Lochlan

Cillian filling his Easter bag mad by Grandma!

Lochlan 

Emmy Lou opening her eggs

The following weekend it was my birthday so the family gathered here once again and went with a pasta theme! Along with delicious salads and crusty bread Sarah and Sean cooked shrimp ravioli with lobster sauce, with meatballs in the crock pot for the picky kids and Coryn made her delicious chicken spaghetti baked dish and for dessert a delicious cheesecake with strawberry compote and fresh whipped cream! 

I had had quite a busy week in between Easter Sunday and my birthday on the following Saturday . On Monday I babysat Lucas, on Thursday I had Lucas again with the addition of Liam and Cillian in the afternoon as Lochlan had Kindergarten round up which required his parents' presence. They arrived back at my house with Emmy Lou and Lochlan and announced that the kids wanted to eat supper at Grandma’s so Sean picked up Chipotle as I don’t cook after babysitting for eight hours! On Friday morning I had Lochlan and Cillia who were joined by Ava Claire and Owen who elected to spend the last day of their Spring break at my house! Of course the younger cousins were ecstatic to see them! 

Ava Clare and Owen decided to stay overnight with me so that afternoon we headed up to the Hen House for snacks and breakfast donuts as per tradition ! Owen and I stayed up late watching a Terminator movie - one of my favorites. Thankfully the children let me sleep later the next day! 

Unfortunately Kay texted that she would be missing my birthday party as she was not feeling very well but said Richard and the boys would be there! The party was scheduled to begin at 2:30 that afternoon but Richard called and asked if I could take Lucus at noon so he could take Alex to a movie -no problem as I already had two kids here who would love to have cousin time with baby Lucas! I posted a picture on our KC thread of the three cousins at my house shortly after Lucas  arrived so upon seeing that my house was already filling with children Sarah and Sean decided to join the party early too! Fortunately the weather was perfect for being outdoors and it wasn’t long before Sean and Jeremy had the children playing baseball on my driveway! They played for hours! Lucas was happy to watch in his stroller, take a nap or be passed around the family!. How lucky am I to have eight grandchildren playing at my house two weekends in a row! I find them so entertaining  even when they are brats!

Ava Claire and Owen with Lucas

Grandma blowing out her candles on her 74th!

Owen with Lucas

Lucas watching TV with Liam and Cilian!

I am flying to Orlando this week to visit the Remsburgs - Claudia was with them last weekend. Whilst Bryn and Gabby were getting engaged in Japan the Remsburgs were vacationing in Mexico then Canada! MingJon’s move to Austin, Texas was short-lived.He is now back in Arlington. Josh is still in Georgia, - too close to Iran for my liking - and will be making his way to Germany  to fly home next month! Marc will be visiting Blake soon to check out his two newly adopted rescue cats!

Hoping we can all weather the endless storms and ensuing chaos as Trump continues to blow hot air around the world, spewing hatred and propaganda out of his narcissistic mouth. Thank goodness I have so many grandchildren who can quickly ground me in their world for a few hours a week and in the ensuing chaos I enjoy a respite from the latest Trump disaster. Love Mother