We celebrated good friend Charley Ashcraft at the park where Anna was in heaven with her little crew of friends. Dane was happy just to hold Teddy at the park and of course Grant brought his soccer ball and gathered friends to play a game amidst party games. I was thrilled to attend the Ellen Show with my friend Jessica! That was SUCH a fun experience and I loved every single moment of the day... from the long car ride up- in which I talked on the phone with Jamie for longer then we had in months, to the exciting gift cards and celebrity sightings, to actually seeing Ellen up close and personal. It was truly an amazing day.
We celebrated Troy and Catie's birthdays with a trip up to Orange County for the day. We hiked with the dogs, swam in Grandma and Grandpa's pool and ate pick up stix for dinner. The kids LOVE to walk Troy and Catie's dogs. Its always an adventure! We were so happy to have the Dargers in town and to meet up with them at the beach! Old friends from New York!! Julie had twin little girls since I'd last seen her and it was awesome to meet them and to catch up with these dear friends of ours. Ev was in heaven helping out with the little girls. Such a fun day.
St. Patrick's Day came and went and I did nothing past coloring the milk a shade of blue/green which actually frightened Anna enough to the point of her dismissing her cereal plans- ha! I was too busy this year to properly celebrate the holiday which was fine by me.
In sad news, our dear friends the Hartzells, lost their son Aaron to bipolar disorder. It's been heartbreaking to see people we care about suffer in this way and it's definitely influenced our every day thoughts and priorities. We feel so devastated for our friends and wish we could do more. In times like these, the only thing to do is show love and concern as often as we can and that's what we've tried to do. I was so grateful I could help with the funeral and lift a slight burden off of Melanie's shoulders. I was grateful my friends and I thought to go over and decorate and spread some love and joy the way others had for Michelle when Wyatt passed away. I loved cleaning and stocking the fridge and doing something to help ease the burden. Life is certainly never an easy journey and it's terrible to see tragedy up close and personal.
