Great Grandma’s 90th Birthday

We took a trip to New Mexico to celebrate Hank’s Great Grandmother’s 90th birthday. It was so fun to see all the family there and visit the farm where Tyler used to play with his Grandfather. Hank had his very first flight on an airplane and he did very well. He’s a good little traveler, something we are very grateful for.

airline seatbelts are so much fun!

We flew into El Paso where we met Tyler’s parents and proceeded with them in their RV. Those things are great, especially if you have kids. We took a day trip to Cloudcroft. It was so beautiful and we found ourselves picking up quite a few treasures there. Then it was on to Deming to catch up with the family and celebrate Fawn’s 90th birthday. Everyone had a great time.

Grandma (Fawn) is 90 years old!

Tyler screened a documentary he’d been working on about some of his Grandfather’s experiences during WWII. It was fascinating, – especially on this end of things, knowing the history – to hear his Grandad tell stories of being on a boat during a “real bad storm” and knowing it was a hurricane, or of how he broke his back and just wore a corset (whale bone mind you) for a few months so he could keep driving his tank. He drove the lead tank into Rome when the allies liberated it in WWII. Such an unassuming man, so jovial and often mischievous and he experienced so many amazing things but shared them like it was just another thing, like us going to the grocery store or something. Honestly, he reminded me a bit of Forrest Gump in that he was a part of SO many important historical moments but didn’t seem to realize the significance. To him, he was just doing his job. But he always said, “you just do what’s right”. He was also a big proponent of living life to the fullest. His saying was “Get after it”. I’m sad I never got to meet him, but I’m so glad I got to know him a bit more through Tyler’s documentary. Fawn, Ty’s Grandma (Hank’s Great-Grandma) said that film was the best present anyone could have given her. She and Carl were married 62 and a half years before he died and she misses him every single day. She thought it was so great to hear his voice again and to hear his stories presented in the way Tyler did it, it helped her understand more of what her husband did and went through. It was so sweet, from time to time she’d say, “what was that you said?” to Carl on the TV or she would start chiming in with a part of the story, just like she was doing on the TV (she was in the background when Ty filmed his Grandad telling these stories several years ago). The film was a big hit, everyone there wanted a copy. Fawn had a wonderful birthday party and a great time visiting with us. We had a fabulous time too. On Father’s day we went to La Posta to eat lunch. It was so much fun. There was a group of musicians who really held Hank’s attention. We’re so happy he seems to enjoy music so much. We had a great trip and are looking forward to our next one….