Tear for Tear: What I did Last Summer, Part Infinity... the super long post

Okay. Back to What I did Last Summer. It's almost over. I think I can do the rest of Summer Oh Nine in 2 or 3 posts... these may be a little picture, heavy, but at least I have everything up to remember.

Such as: The kids went to Drama Camp for a week. They had an AWESOME TIME.

They had to act, sing, improvise, and write and direct their own short plays. Riley's was a version of Chicken Little called "The Sky is Falling" and it was seriously crazy cute, especially because he wrote all the dialogue.

Violet's was a Haunted House play. Seriously sad she didn't incorporate her "Dead Zone" song into it, though.

At the end, there was plenty of dancing, and the audience members were encouraged to participate. You don't have to tell Liane and Melinda twice!

AND they got their "Certificates of Participation" for being so adorable.

After the Drama Camp week, we had a week of Family Reunions... not exactly for the happiest of reasons, however. We were all getting together to celebrate the life of my beautiful grandmother, Gerry, who passed away on May 26th. So while the reasons for the trip were marked with sadness, the family gatherings, reminiscing, and laughter that resulted were just a testament to the amazing woman she was and the incredible family she created.

The cousins spent some time in the pool...

I read to them from my most favorite book to read aloud ever, "Skippyjon Jones"...

Everyone snuggled with Sage in her chair...

And then, on the morning of the memorial, Liane had a wonderful idea to host a tea in our grandmother's honor. We all gathered together to sip tea, remember Abu, and share stories. I was able to share a special story that Abu shared with me before she died. There were plenty of tears a-flowing that morning!

The table, set for tea...

Abu's picture welcoming us to the event...

Everyone got to use the fancy china from Liane's extensive teacup collection. The kids loved making their own tea!

Riley was VERY careful... :)

And then, later that day, we took a family photo of everyone who was able to make it to the service. Pastor Greg officiated and it was wonderful. Every single person who shared a memory or a story did a beautiful job and I loved hearing from all of them.

After the Memorial, we had plenty more family gatherings at the Publow house. Papa got out the motorcycle and let the kids ride around with him for a bit...