We celebrated with a morning at church followed by a family time at Grammy and Granddaddy’s house. After lunch and Easter egg hunting we spent the evening watching NCAA basketball games. That would not be the normal tradition for Easter Sunday, but when you team is playing you fit it in too.

Grammy and the grand-girls

Granddaddy with the girls too!

It was a wet day outside so the egg hunt had to happen inside. It is a new experience to look for eggs hidden among pillows and toys, but they enjoyed it a lot. Since Easter, Julia has made her chocolate stash a place she likes to visit before Mama gets up in the morning. After three mornings of not eating her breakfast Mama finally figured out Julia’s morning routine. Julia seems to have inherited Mama’s sweet tooth.

Emily is officially more than a handful of years now. What a blessing our big girl has been in our lives. We are thankful and grateful for her. She was looking forward to this birthday a lot. We kept teasing her that she could have two years at five and then skip up to seven, but she wasn’t interested.

Her first party of the day was at school. Her class sang to her and made her feel special. Then for lunch Mama ate with her. We shared blue iced cookies with her class. Then that evening we had a family party. She chose to eat Chinese in town for her birthday dinner. Then after dinner we opened gifts and had cupcakes. Her favorite gifts were a Merida dress-up dress and ballet classes.

Her assorted gifts and little mini-Emily figure that comes out every birthday.

Grandma T with baby Rachelle

Thelma was born in Missouri. She married Charles while she was in college. After moving several times, they had their children in Cincinnati. While her children were in upper-level classes, she returned to Missouri Teachers College to complete her elementary education degree. She then taught in a Cincinnati elementary school until retirement. While the children were in school she was a substitute teacher in the school system her children attended. In Cincinnati she was an active artist, painting most of her life. All of her children’s homes are filled with art from her hand. The inspiration of most of her art was the places she knew or visited including a trip to Europe following her husband’s death. Her life did extend beyond her husband’s and she enjoyed the privilege of knowing all of her grandchildren.

A college education for a woman in her era was not common. Her daughter followed in her footsteps and received her degree in teaching which she used until retirement. This legacy of education is a strong one in our family where all the women have continued on to complete their college degrees along with the men.

Mama does have of memories of time with Grandma T. She passed away while Mama was still in elementary school, so while her memories are limited they are clear. Mama remembers the twin beds we would sleep in when we would visit. The apartment building she lived in was unique to Mama as a child because she knew no one else who lived in an apartment. The apartment was very close to an ice cream shop which she remembers visiting. One New Years Eve, Grandma T watched Philip and Mama while we all watched the Wizard of Oz on TV. Mama remembers being very scared during the movie and hiding among the blankets we were camping in on the floor. Mama remembers the apartment as being very full. All of the walls were covered with art. We would be allowed to play, if we were quiet, in a basement area, back drive, and in the apartment. On a visit to Grandma T’s one summer Philip and Mama were introduced to our first non-parent tennis lesson. Forgive the random remembrances, because these are about all Mama has of her time with her Grandma T.

Mama is pleased to have her own selection of Grandma T’s art to hang in her house. Mama’s has been told that Grandma T never thought a painting to be completed. She was known to get a paint brush and paints out to make changes to works on her wall. What a fun perspective on life!

Dad’s favorite memory of his mother is: that she often took him to art school with her.

Her legacy to her family was her art skill and the inspiration of art. Mama has seen first hand examples of this legacy in both her aunts art interests and in the help her own father has given her in art projects where he showed his own skill in perspective and drawing.

Three generations – Grandma T, Philip, and Rachelle. Photo taken outside of Grandma T’s Cincinnati apartment.

A family visit – Grandma T and two of her children’s families, Ann and Philip. Ann was taking the photo. From the left Uncle Don, Lynn, Laura, Grandma T, Joyce, Philip, Phil, and Rachelle.

One of Phil’s favorite pastimes was baseball. This photo was taken outside of the Cincinnati Reds ballpark.

The girls and Mama rode up to the mountains with Grammy and Granddaddy for a picnic by the river. The girls enjoyed coloring at the table while we cooked and playing in the stream. We floated bark like boats down the side pool we were playing in, we threw rocks, we jumped in the water from the top of the rocks, we caught minnows in a bucket so we could inspect them close up, and we rearranged the river rocks. The girls were fascinated by the people floating down the river by us. We had a blast. Then we drove into town and enjoyed pizza for dinner followed with driving home. The girls minds were filled with ideas of other things we should go back and do another day.

Sisters loving on each other while enjoying their picnic.

How Julia looked when we got to the picnic area. She had the best nap of any of us that day.

Emily taking her coloring seriously.

Julia enjoyed a little pre-picnic rock throwing. She was excited!

Mama loves this photo. It was of just genuine happiness, no cheesy grins.

Granddaddy just enjoying watching the river. He also enjoyed watching the girls play and reading his book riverside. Looks comfy!

The girls were busy in the water walking on the rocks and searching for the next best rock to throw.

Julia got a little cold in the water and decided laying on the rock in the sun was a good solution to the problem.

Granddaddy has a standing Father’s Day gift of being taken to the Smokies’ ballpark. We sit in the family section down low where he can feel the game as much as watch it. We all enjoy our hotdogs, popcorn, ice cream, and soda (all a dollar on buck night) and cheer for our favorite team. This is pretty close to heaven for him and it is a delight to be able to spend the evening with him doing it.

This year we went on the perfect evening. The day had been hot, but not humid. The evening brought warm and comfortable weather. A light breeze made it perfect. School was still in session so there were not many people out at the park. The girls enjoyed sitting and eating their snacks. They bounced between different laps, especially when someone still had a treat. We spent the later innings over at the playground with the girls. They enjoyed walking around the outfield, watching for the mascots, listening to the different music, actually watched the game some, learned some baseball terms, sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, and said cute things.

To our surprise Julia was not terrified of the mascots this year. She willingly had a photo taken near them. Maybe next year, she will want to give them hugs. We look forward to our next trip out the the ball game.

Don’t let the lack of grin fool you, Grandaddy was a happy man. We know you are grinning on the inside.

Emily wanted to join the team

Our hug with the mascot. He flirted with Julia and she was happy, but not going to touch him. Emily was so happy to be picked up!

Julia wanted to join the team even though she couldn’t hold still enough for a photo. She had to be just like her big sister.

We took Granddaddy to his annual baseball game. The attendance was light that evening and it made for a very enjoyable evening. It was a hot day that spilled over into the evening, but for part of the game we had a breeze that made it bearable. The girls were great for the whole game. They enjoyed eating, swapping laps, walking around the outfield, listening to the fun songs, and watching the between inning entertainment. Emily sitting in Grammy’s lap was so sweet. They were discussing things going on around us. The day we went had cheap food so we were able to feed the girls popcorn, hot dogs, and ice cream in different innings to keep them occupied. In the bottom of the 5th inning Robby, Grammy, and the girls went for a walk around the field. They found the playground to play in for a little while. The evening ended just right with a win for the Smokies and us staying in a hotel close by.