The rain rain rain came down down down

On Tuesday, Colleens parents came to visit and were so kind to let me join them. Her parents are very nice. Right away her mom welcomed me with a hug. We also saw the "Move It, Shake It, Sing It" parade. Here we got to dance with the characters at the end of Main Street by Cinderella's Castle. I want to do it again and get closer to a character like the Genie or Woody & Jessie. 

We were near  Phineas and Ferb and still had fun dancing. I focused more on Goofy on the top of the float. I busted out my dorky dance moves and didn't hold back... Something I needed to do! After the parade we went to eat. I'll have to ask Colleen where it was again but they had a good gluten free bacon angus burger! My taste buds were doing a dance of their own at that point. 

It started to rain as we ate our lunch. I came prepared with a cheap poncho in my purse (thank you mom). Colleen and her parents bought one, a huge profit for Disney that day I'm sure. We went to Splash Mountain.... and ya. It's as great as I remember. The big drop is worth the entire ride. The whole time your going up, you're wondering what you got yourself into. After you drop you remember why you put yourself there. So much fun! I convicned my mom to go on it. It's just one drop, she can do it. I won't make her go on the Tower of Terror, but this one she can do... I am after all, going on "It's A Small World" with her. It's not a bad ride but it's the song that will get in your head and take weeks to leave. 

We went on Thunder Mountain as the rain let up, which I have ridden before and it wasn't that jerky. Colleen and I think it's because we were in the back. After that we did rides inside. Things like Buzz Lightyear, Stitches Great Escape (I was a little disappointed with that one. It was a one time see) and then Peter Pan. We stopped at the gift shop by Gaston's Tavern. I caved and got two "Chip" mugs, one for me and one for my sister. A girl rang me up at the register and wrapped up the mugs for safe keeping. I might have noticed the cute guy working with her... just saying. 

Anyway she wrapped it up and told me she put a surprise in there. Colleen was hoping it would be a number. It was a sticker, kind of anticlimactic but still fun. And we stopped at the Emporium to buy Ben and Joe their R2D2 and 3CPO mickey ears. Ben sure is excited! The whole family is excited to come basically. I for sure have the time off to spend with mom and dad. I am waiting to see if my time off is approved for when Joe, Emily and Ben come down. 

The Buzz Light Year Ride with Colleen...

... I won ;) Don't worry Colleen, Shelby kicked my butt my first time. 

This video is straight off my phone - not edited. Sorry for any weird angles or horrible shots. :) But this was the dance parade!

Ah yes, the ponchos.

For My Grandma

I am taking a break from my college program at Disney to fly home for four days. I received the unfortunate news that my grandma had passed away on Sunday morning. She passed away peacefully in her sleep.

It was the first day at work without a trainer. It was also my first 10 hour shift. I was very stressed and tired when I got back to my apartment. I was in bed ready to go to sleep when my mom called me and told me the news.

Now I've had trouble contacting people in the program the last weeks. With the struggles I've had, I wasn't expecting it to be so easy. I just called housing and told them. They gave me bereavement. I decided to come home to visit for multiple reasons.

First of all, I had Wednesday and Thursday off. I didn't want to sit there thinking that I'm not with my family during this time. I didn't want to do anything fun like go to the parks. Both would make me feel guilty and would painful. And if I'm going to mourn, I want to mourn with the ones I love and share memories of her with me.

My roommates have been so supportive. I am so blessed. When I found out, they were by my side right away. They offered advice, let me talk it out and just helped. Shout out to Colleen for giving me a ride to Walmart to get blank DVDs to burn my grandmas memorial video that I made for her wake.

Enough about that. My grandma, Vernita Dummer, was such a strong woman. She raised five girls and a boy. She loved gardening whether it was veggies or flowers. Her love for flowers was especially strong. When my grandpa passed away, the line at the wake was going out the door, a true testament as to how big of am impact they made together. I am ready to see the same thing at her wake on Thursday.

She loved to play cards. Her Christmas tree was beautiful every single year. It is now at our home in Sioux Falls. My family loved it so much, we brought it home when we cleaned out their house a few summers ago. We would walk through the back yard to visit the chickens in the neighbors yard. There was a set of roller blades she would break out for us kids. We were pretty sad when we out grew those. 

She collected little angels, and gave one to me as I went to college. And, she made each of her grand children beautiful jean quilts. I will never let it go. And I hope the green rosary she wanted me to have, since we shared the same birth month, shows up some day. She has the best meatballs ever by the way. 

We all loved to dye easter eggs with her and have easter egg hunts. Those ice cream cups and tiny like cereal boxes got me excited every time I came to visit. The polka music I'd hear early in the morning when we spent the night, and the coo coo clock going off every hour. All those things will stay with me and bring back many memories.

Those memories are what I will focus on instead of her last words to me. But, she went the way she wanted, to fall asleep and not wake up.

The thought of knowing she is free from suffering puts me at peace. She had a good long life and brought love and kindness into this world. But my favorite idea is that Grandma and Grandpa are together again, dancing in heaven.

We love you Grandma and will miss you!