Bitter Sweet

I am writing this from a Fairfield Inn in Edmond, Oklahoma. I am with my girls, mom, and dad. We are on the last leg of our trip back to Lincoln from San Antonio, TX. This week has been a whirlwind and even though I am tired I am going to do my best to document it.

My grandmother, (known to her grandchildren as Mama Ann) passed away on Sunday morning. She was my dad's mother & had been suffering from ALS (also know as Lou Gehrig's disease) for the past several years. She was laid to rest yesterday, July 1, and is now at peace.
The girls and I traveled down to San Antonio with my parents to attend her funeral. This trip was bitter sweet because I am from San Antonio and have not been able to make it back for a visit in 12 years! San Antonio is where I lived for the first 14 years of my life. On one hand I was excited to see the city I once called home, but on the other hand I was sad that my grandmother would not be there. She had never met Audrey and it had been 6 years since she had seen Madeleine. I kept thinking how wonderful it would have been for her to see the beautiful little girls they have grown up to become.

Madeleine and Audrey were confused and didn't quite understand what was going on. In fact, I am pretty sure Audrey was completely oblivious, while Madeleine often looked like she was about to burst into tears. Even though she didn't know her great-grandma, she was very sad that she died. I did my best to explain, but death is a difficult concept for an adult, let alone a child, to understand.

Surrounded by lots of family the entire week, the girls were treated very well and in spite of very difficult circumstances had a good time.

Posing for a picture at a rest stop somewhere between here and Texas (I can't remember where, exactly).

The obligatory picture in front of the Texas sculpture.

Madeleine is posing in front of some Palm Trees that were located in front of the restaurant we ate lunch at. You should have seen the look on her face when she saw them. She called them Hawaii trees.

This was the first place we ate lunch after crossing the border into Texas. It is a fast food restaurant that serves fabulous tex-mex & I missed it dearly after moving to NE. No tater tots here!!

Right after arriving in San Antonio we ate dinner at Chick-fil-a, another restaurant we don't have in Nebraska. There was a nice man there making balloon animals for the kids.

Audrey got Tigger and Madeleine got a balloon bracelet.

Once we finally arrived in San Antonio we stayed with my Aunt Sally and Uncle Bobby (Bobby is my dad's brother). They were gracious enough to let us stay with them for 3 nights. The girls loved it there because the hospitality was great and they have 3 dogs and a cat! Madeleine's favorite animal was this Chihuahua named Chica.

You Quiero Taco Bell!

The first day we were there we had half a day to drive around and see my home town. This is the house I grew up in.

This is the elementary school I attended.

The girls climbed the big oak trees outside my elementary school. Nebraska doesn't have oak trees like these.

The middle school I attended.

After driving around the old hood, we were able to meet my Aunt Dawn (my mom's sister) and my cousin Leslie for lunch. I have not seen Leslie in 7 years so eating lunch with her was a real treat!!

My Aunt Sally paid for the girls to go to Build-a Bear, something they have never done before, to custom make their very own stuffed animal. Here is Madeleine's cat before she made it come to life with stuffing.

Audrey's leopard pre-stuffing.

Madeleine is stepping on a pedal that puts stuffing into her animal.

Now she is making a wish on the heart that will be put into her cat.

Now it is Audrey's turn to put stuffing in her animal.

Audrey making a wish on her leopard's heart before it was sewn in.

In the next pictures the girls are grooming their animals and giving them an air bath.

Posing with her finished cat which she named, Sunny D.

Audrey is posing with her finished leopard, Nikki.

As I finish this post it is Saturday evening and I am home. I am thankful for the safe travel we had and for the opportunity I had to visit with family. I am also grateful for the opportunity I had to see the city where I grew up. I had freeze-framed San Antonio & had secretly wished it was still my home. Now that I have had a chance to see it again and how much it has changed I am able to turn the page on that chapter of my life and move on. Lincoln is my home.