Mimi and Pa

Today my grandparents have been married for forty-nine years. My family celebrated their anniversary by going out to Riverside for dinner. For their fiftieth next year, we plan to throw a party for the both of them.  This is something I am already looking forward to. My grandparents have made a tremendous impact on my life ever since I was a little girl, and still today.

When I was a baby, both of them basically raised me. My parents would work long hours throughout the day and I would be at home with Mimi and Pa. At this time it was easy for them to watch me because we lived in their basement while our future house was being remodeled. When our house was finished, my mom, dad, and I moved from Mimi and Pa’s basement across the road into our new home.

Growing up across the road from my grandparents has truly been a blessing. They were always there for me when I needed a ride, help with homework, or someone to talk to when I did not want to talk with my parents. I realize that they probably got annoyed from their grandchildren being over constantly, but deep down they knew they just could not resist us.

Not only were my grandparents there for me at any given time, they also spoiled the heck out of all of their grandchildren. When we all were in elementary, Mimi would pick us up from school on half days and take us to McDonald’s, where we would play for hours on end.  

Mimi and Pa also have a fifth wheel that we take camping. They have taken me camping ever since I was little. We would often go up to Aloha State Park, but that was an extremely long drive, so we changed our location of where we would camp.  Now, we go camping at Outdoor Adventures, which is only an hour away. Where we go camping is particularly close compared to where Mimi and Pa’s cabin is located.

My grandparents have a cabin about three and a half hours away. While my family is up north we are always outdoors. Pa recently bought a can-am four wheeler that is always being used, whether we are cruising the property, riding the trails, or hauling back our deer after an evening hunt.

Along with riding quads up at their cabin, we also snowmobile. When all of the grandchildren were little, Mimi and Pa bought us a mini-z. This was so we had a snowmobile our size to ride around the yard, and they wanted us to be comfortable with driving. The mini-z stayed in our family for many years, we had to sell it because everyone had grown up and soon after that we bought a bigger sled. Snowmobiling is something everyone in my family loves to do, all of us often go out and ride the trails. Mimi and Pa always are the caboose because they like to sight see and enjoy keeping an eye on all of their children.

Mimi and Pa have always been there for me. I certainly do not take them for granted. I cherish every moment I spend with them because these days we never know when it will be someone’s last. I can go to either of them in any situation and I know they will always do their best to help me out. I can honestly say I am blessed with the world’s best grandparents.

Kayle Marie

You and Me

Right from the beginning you always were a pain,

Now we steal each other’s clothes and call each other names,

We have grown so close throughout the years,

And have both experienced many tears,

We have memories that will last for miles,

And looking back on them it always makes us smile,

The littlest things seem to lead to fights,

But we know having each other is a delight,

We will have the other’s back,

Even when our days go black,

We’re both growing up as you can see,

But we’ll stay best friends, you and me,

Even though it’s not always clear,

You are my sister, you are my dear

I wrote that poem as a present to my sister, Kayle. Along with the poem, I painted her a canvas and glued pictures to it.  I wanted to do this for Kayle because as we grow older we tend to lose memories, and I wanted her to know just how much I truly do care about her. Kayle has been by my side since I was four years old; at that time I thought she was the worst present ever. When she was born, all the attention was on her, jealously took affect real soon. As years went on we began to fight, cry, and laugh with each other.

 Today, we still pick little fights, but we know that we can go to the other about anything. We often find ourselves asking to borrow the other one’s clothes, talking about our days, and giving advice. Not only am I proud to call her my sister, but she is one of my best friends.

When my boyfriend, Oliver was in the Marines and could not make it home for my senior prom, Kayle was there. We thought Oliver was going to be home for prom so we went ahead and ordered a tux for him. Military issues came up and he was not able to take leave that weekend. So Kayle went and put on his tux. We got many weird looks when we went to take pictures, but it was the sweetest and most ridiculous thing anyone has ever done for me.

Kayle and I are hard on one another, but that is just because we care. We are constantly saying rude comments to each other and making jokes. Many find this hateful, but to us that is just our relationship. We know that there is no other person in the world that has the right to talk to one of us like we do.

Throughout our lives, Kayle and I have been told we look alike a total of three times. Most people figure we are friends rather than sisters. I have brown hair, brown eyes, and am dark complected. Kayle has blue eyes, blonde hair, and is fair skinned. Many people cannot see past our physical appearance, but if they were to watch our facial expressions and the way we talk, we would probably be mistaken as twins.

Kayle and I look forward to ragging on each other every day. Along with that, we are also sure to remind the other of how pretty they are. We pick the littlest fights and share the biggest tears. Nothing will tear us apart, we are sisters, we friends, and we are blood.

The Three Sharks Plus One Moore

In my first blog I began to discuss the people who live within my household; my mom, myself, and my two younger sisters. It wasn’t always like that though, about seven years ago my dad moved out. When he left I thought things would never get better. It took quite a while to adjust to this new life I was living, and not long after that my lifestyle hit another curveball.

 

Kayle and I used to see Kylee every other weekend when we would go to our dad’s house; about five years ago Kylee was taken away from her mother from child protective services. When this happened she was taken to Houghton Lake to live with some of her relatives. Kayle and I had not seen Kylee in almost a year. On our way up north three summers ago we stopped to visit her. Kylee begged her uncle to come up north with us for the week, he said yes and packed her bags. When our vacation was up we went to drop Kylee off, little did we know that her uncle had all of her clothes packed and sitting at the door. Kylee’s own blood turned her away.

Time went on and we soon found out that Kylee was not supposed to leave her uncle’s house while she was in foster care. Since her own family basically said they no longer wanted her, my mom decided to take her in as a foster child. While Kylee was our foster child, her mother was given a chance to turn her life around. Kylee’s mother was told to attend rehab, divorce her husband, get a job, and have her own house; by accomplishing these things she may have a chance at getting her daughter back. As predicted she had failed. Her mother could not even stay in rehab for a month, she refused to leave the man who was a bad influence on her, however, she did get a job, but never showed up on time, if at all, and she continued to live with her husband. When the judge found out that she could not follow these simple orders her rights as a parent were terminated.

At the juvenile center on December 12, 2012 we legally adopted Kylee into our family. Adjusting to this change has been nothing but easy. In the beginning I thought it was bad having one younger sister, having two is like living a nightmare, but I wouldn’t trade those two girls for the world. All three of us fight, cry, yell, and laugh at each other, but in the end we know that we would not do those things if we did not love our sisters unconditionally.

The reason I chose Forever Family as my topic is because I believe family isn't always blood. A family consists of people who love you unconditionally. They are always there for you in a time of need, they help you get up when you fall, make you smile, and also provide a shoulder for you to cry on. My family is far from perfect; we fight, we laugh, we yell, and we don't always get along, but that's what makes us a family.  My parents divorced when I was in sixth grade. Going through this experience was one of the worst things that I ever had to deal with. I have come to live with their decision and I now know that it was best for our family. As of today our household consists of my mom, me, my sister Kayle, and my youngest sister Kylee. Kayle is my blood sister and she is four years younger than me. Just like any two sisters, we fight, we steal each other's clothes, we hit each other, and sometimes yell at the top of our lungs, but we have come to realize that the reason we do this is because we love each other. On the other hand, my youngest sister Kylee is quite different than Kayle and me. She was chosen to be a part of our family roughly two years ago. We also have two dogs, a bunny, and a cat. About seven years ago we rescued our oldest dog, Hershey. Our other dog, Duke, we got as a present for Kayle. With her own money, Kylee bought our bunny, Chubs. Last, but not least is our cat Tootsie. Just last May she arrived at our door, and we have kept her ever since. Now most people would consider this as their family, but my family goes beyond these people and pets. I have grown up with my grandparents living across the road from me and my uncle and cousins living next door. Yes this can be annoying, but I also count it as a blessing. My grandparents have played a major role in my life, they babysat me when I was little, took care of me when I was sick, and they were also my chauffeur for many years. My uncle and cousins have always been just a yard away. My uncle, Marko has been like a second dad to me throughout my life, and my two cousins basically live at our house. They always seem to be over and are like the brothers I never wanted. I feel that the word family can be stretched for miles. A family is not just a group of people under the same roof. A true family loves you, supports you, and is always there for you no matter what.