My Grandma Marilyn passed away on July 20, 2009 at her home as a result of injuries from a fall and strokes that followed~What an amazing woman she was. I'm so grateful for the time that I had here on earth with her. My Grandma was not a member of the church, but she always saw the good in it and I believe through the examples of her family we will have the opportunity to reunite with her one day.
Her funeral was absolutely perfect. The words, music, and memories were such a perfect description of the life that she led. Her children (my aunts, uncles, and Mom) made it such a beautiful day and one that will definitely be remembered.
Family was everything to my Grandma. Here is the latest picture we all have together in Mexico. This was hanging in the room during her viewing and what an amazing thing to have such a big, wonderful, beautiful family. My Grandma has given me so many memories and so many people who love and support me. I love you Grandma!~

Happy 24th of July Peck Style

After hearing of the passing of my Grandma I called my Grandpa and he decided that the annual 24th of July party must go on. With the help of all of my cousins I quickly planned a party and I think it turned out to be a big success. I think my Grandma would have been so proud of us and I really do feel like a part of her was with us there that day. We carried out her traditions by having some fun games, we ate lots of yummy food, played water balloon volleyball, water baseball, and had a watermelon eating contest which I think turned out to be a hit. We ended what was an emotional week with a great big celebration in my Grandma's honor.

(BEWARE OF PICTURE OVERLOAD)

Dave decided it was time for a boy only weekend. He planned a fun little baseball getaway for Carson in St. Louis. Carson's a big fan of Cardinals player Albert Pujols so Dave decided it would be neat for Carson to see him in person. They had a blast at the game and Carson was shocked at how big Busch Stadium was.
They woke up the following morning and toured around the city for the day. Dave wanted to take Carson up in the Arch but soon found out that heights must be Carson's weakness. Carson decided he would just keep his two feet on the ground. They had a great weekend and I'm sure Carson will never forget the fun memories he made with his Dad in St. Louis.

I can't believe our baby is 4. It's crazy how fast she is growing up on me. I took her into get her immunizations yesterday and the nurse gave her a cup and asked for a urine sample....Ryleigh gave her this look like HUH? She said to the nurse "How do you think I'm supposed to do that"? It was so funny. She's my little buddy. I don't know what I'm gonna do without her being my constant shadow once she starts school this fall. This is her making her birthday cake. She loves to bake so I let her make her own cake this year. Ryleigh's my girl and I just love her to pieces!

Billings, Montana~Part 1

It was so nice to finally arrive to Billings. We had a busy couple of weeks planned and it was time to let the fun begin. One day we just ended up at the park which was the perfect idea. No messes, no craziness in a restaurant, great entertainment, and FREE!
My whole entire family (minus Dave) was able to make it. It was so nice to be able to celebrate Aaron's 27th birthday at a restaurant without all of the kids. It's always fun to get some adult time in. Happy Bday Aaron!
The kids had a blast with their cousins. They all think we now need to move to Montana now....Dad says "I don't think so"!

Billings, Montana~Part 2

We had a really fun 4th of July. We went to a small town parade just outside of Billings. The weather was perfect. It was the fist parade I've been to in a while where I didn't sweat to death.

You've gotta thank Old Navy and Grandma Shauna for all of the matching shirts.
We ended the night with some yummy Dutch Oven cooking and fireworks. All in all a fun day. I love this Holiday. I'm truly grateful for the freedoms I have and the men and women who make those possible.
It's 10:30 at night....Do you know where your Elders are. HAHA Aaron, that was for you!

Billings, Montana~Part 3

Ryleigh celebrated her 4th Birthday in Montana. We really didn't do anything that exciting but she was with her cousins and that's all that mattered.
About a week into our trip it was time to say goodbye to my Mom and Dad and Grandma Elene (little Grandma). My parents were a big help to all of us and are always so gracious when it comes to buying things. The picture above is horrible of me but I don't have many pics with just my Mom and I so I thought I'd post it anyway.
Fun in the Sun~Pretty much that was the theme of our trip. The kids were constantly outside in the water, jumping on the tramp, playing with Gracie the dog, and eating....always eating. Yes, there were times when the kids needed breaks from each other but for the most part they all got along great.

Thanks everyone in Montana for making our trip so much fun. Thanks for all of the free sno-cones, food, transportation,....We hope to see you all sooner than later.

Our trip before the trip.....

Leave it to me to get stuck

in Denver for 2 days....

worst luck ever!

That would be little Ryleigh asleep on the ground in the Denver airport at 2 in the morning. Yep, I got stuck in an airport again. We were on our way up to Montana when we heard the gate agent get on the intercom and announce that the flight had been cancelled. WHAT???? So to make a long story short, we stayed in Denver for two days until they could get us on a flight, they paid for all of my transportation, paid for us to eat, paid for my hotel for two nights, and gave me travel vouchers. They would be FRONTIER Airlines.....good thing they hooked me up or it could have been a very long couple of days in the airport and my poor kids would have had a very angry mom!
We decided to make the most of our layover. We swam, ate lots of FREE food, went downtown to check out the "mile high city", and saw a movie.

Was our loooong layover worth a visit to 7-11.....heck yeah! It's been forever since we've had Slurpee's and Big Gulps. We're pretty easily entertained.
We took the city bus downtown. That's always good entertainment. It's a good way to culture shock the kids :) Cara lost her first tooth in Denver. The Tooth Fairy searched and searched for an ATM and then ended up misplacing her tooth...way to go Tooth Fairy! All in all it was a good couple of days. I felt like we remained pretty calm and patient (all of us) but we were definitely ready to board our plane and head to Montana.