Thanks

I would like to thank all my friends and family who remembered today. Your cards, emails, text messages and calls really meant a lot to me.

The warm sunshine and chilly breeze today made me think of our last "family day" with Brad. Brad had borrowed a boat from a friend and brought it to the house. The boys were so excited to have a boat just parked in our driveway. Ian helped Brad wash it and both boys would look out the windows at it and ask over and over when we were taking it out. I think Ian told everyone he encountered that his dad was taking him out on a boat. (Even the clerk at the grocery store.) Originally we were going to take a trip to a local lake resort, but school had just started and we were really busy. So, we drove 15 minutes north and put in at a public access of the Potomac River in Maryland.

Brad was almost as excited as the boys to get that boat in the water. I remember our ride to the river. Brad was a little nervous driving his big truck with someone else's boat in tow. He would get frustrated with other drivers and the boys laughed and laughed at him! When we got to the public access ramp, Brad backed the truck and boat trailer down and we discovered that I would have to drive his gigantic truck up the ramp as the boat slid off. That was a great truck, one I could hardly get up into, and one I had never driven. That truck had a lot of power and we all laughed when I squealed tires up the ramp!

There were only a few other boats on the water and it was so peaceful. The boys tried tubing. They were both so excited and talked about it for a long time. Brad blew up the tube and Trent looked at Ian and said, "you go first." Brad and I laughed at Ian who did just what his older brother told him. It was so much fun just riding up and down the river with the wind in our faces! We were trolling along when a Bald Eagle swept down to the water and pulled out a fish not too far from our boat. We found him down river in a tree and watched as he ate his dinner. As avid Eagle-cam watchers, Brad and I thought that was so cool!

It was just such a fun family experience and I am so glad that we went. It is a great memory for the boys and I. I just remember lots of laughter, the wind in our faces and the peaceful water. It is a beautiful memory.

Today Brad would have turned 38. I didn't miss him any more or less today than I have every day since he passed away.

Happy Birthday Brad. We love you.