In Loving Memory

October 29th, 2011

It is with an extremely heavy heart that I write this post.

On October 18th, 2011, at 7:15 in the morning, Jeff’s mom— Judith Elaine Forslund passed away.  She had been fighting a huge battle with Lung Cancer over the last two years and sadly, it was the cancer that took her away from us here on Earth.  She was 75 years old.

At her passing, she was surrounded by her family— her husband Charles (Jerry) and her three children Julie, John and Jeff.  Jeff told me that along with the birth of our kiddos, it was one of the most profound and personal experiences he’s been a witness to.

Judy, I miss you.

I loved that you and Jerry just picked up your lives and moved to Napa, CA, to retire. Thank you for picking that city for the family to come and visit!

I loved that you really embraced your Napa community.  You were involved in so many things in your neighborhood and I loved that.

I loved those annual Yosemite trips.  Who could forget the year that black bear invaded our camp?  I’ll never forget you defending yourself with your pot & pan.

I loved that you always rang in the New Year banging your pot & pan.

I loved that we shared the love of knitting.  I loved that we worked on that scarf project together.  I was completely fascinated watching a ‘lefty’ work with the sticks.

I loved that you loved to make your own earrings.  So crafty!

I loved that trip to Biale Vineyards and you asked if you could add 7 Up to the wine to make it taste better.  Really, I just loved that you added 7 Up to every glass of wine to make it taste sweeter.

I loved that you found just regular table grapes to be sour.  We always joked about what the heck would you think about sour patch candy?!

I loved that Tahoe trip in which we got you to play Guitar Hero.  Just awesome!

I loved that you got a toe ring just a few years ago.

I loved that even with the invention of e-mail, you still clipped articles out of newspapers for us to read, and you ‘snail’ mailed them to us.

I loved that you really tried to embrace computers, e-mail, and Skyping.  Even though, I’m pretty sure it made you pretty mad at times.

I loved how proud you were of your backyard garden.  Loved Forslund Family Vineyard!

I loved how much you loved cooking.  You really helped spark that love of cooking and experimenting in the kitchen for me and I love you so much for that.

I loved how much you loved family get togethers.  You will be so incredibly missed at the table.

I love you and miss you more than words can say.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  -Matthew 5:4

In Loving Memory from Jen Forslund on Vimeo.

Please read Jeff’s post for ways you can celebrate her life with living tributes.

My Sweet, Sweet Video Mama’s Day Card!

May 11th, 2011

Awesome Mama’s Day! My guys took me to P.F. Chang’s for dinner, Pinkberry for dessert and then they gave me this video mama’s day card! My heart is sooo full of love! Love my family!

Happy Mother’s Day from Jeff Forslund on Vimeo.

Auntie & Uncle summer visit!

September 5th, 2010

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Continuing with the meandering mind flashback…

At the end of July, my sis & her hubby came out to Tennessee for a visit!  We had sooooo much fun playing tourist in our backyard— some of the highlights:  Chilhuly @Cheekwood, Neely’s, cooking up some yummy eats (lovin’ that T. Yearwood cookbook!), giving them their first taste of Sweet CeCe’s, & lets not forget– trying that deep fried alligator @55 South!  (I think I’m gonna pass on that next time!)

That’s just a taste of the FUN we had while auntie & uncle were visiting.  We sure enjoyed having them here!!!  Not sure if they’ll visit in the summertime again– Oh my, was the weather H-O-T!!!  I’m pretty sure by the end of their visit they were dreaming about standing at the end of HB pier soaking in mother nature’s air conditioner :)  Don’t worry guys, the next time you’re here, the weather will be much cooler.  Promise.

As always, a slideshow!  Sit back & enjoy!

G-ma visit!

August 16th, 2010

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Continuing with the meandering mind flashback…

My mom came out for a visit at the beginning of July.  What an awesome 4th of July week of FUN!  Lots of time spent outside playing with the water table, eating some delicious BBQ, & just chillin’ with g-ma :)

Check out the pics–

Summer Fun!

July 20th, 2010

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Continuing with the meandering mind flashback…

Let the start of summer begin!  Over Memorial Day weekend we purchased some SUPER FUN water toys for the backyard.  One Elephant blow up pool (& one super pump to pump this baby up!)  & a really cool Water Table.  Both Ben & Ben’s mommy & daddy have really enjoyed these toys :)  Check out some pics of the FUN–

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A Perfect Day In May

July 19th, 2010

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Beautiful sunny morning in May spent at the park.

Ben discovering playing the the grass for the first time.

Excellent chill time.  Love my family :)

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Happy 1st Birthday Ben!

July 13th, 2010


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Come with me & lets take a trip wayyyyy back to March!  An amazing event happened!!!  Benjamin Wyatt had his first birthday!!!  We celebrated this awesome occasion in SoCal with family & friends.  What FUN!  Some of the big highlights during this 10-day adventure included:  birthday beach day @Corona del Mar, lots of swing time @the park, San Diego Zoo, & 2 birthday parties!!!  (Yes, 2!)

Super special thanks to our NorCal family for driving down to celebrate with us!  Thank you g-ma & g-pa for hosting Ben’s BIG birthday party @your house, and thank you Irvine auntie & uncle for Ben’s special beach photo shoot.  We LOVE our family!  You guys R-O-C-K!!!

Are you ready for photos?  Well, sit back & get comfy.  Perhaps, maybe take this in a little at a time.  Might I suggest pouring yourself a little wine?

First, PLEASE check out Amanda Bevington’s blog. An awesome day @Seal Beach with the fam!

I know you want to see pics of the birthday boy–

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Check out the rest on Flickr.

Or, here’s a fancy slideshow of all the action.  Enjoy!

Did you make it through all of that?  Pat yourself on the back! :)

X-mas, New Year’s, and Snow!

February 15th, 2010

Who’s dying to hear what’s been going on in my meandering world???  I thought about calling this blog entry- sit back for the BIG rewind.  I know!  It’s been far too long since I last wrote–we need to do a little rewinding on what’s been going on.  Who wants to see 3 slide shows???  Go grab yourself a beverage & a snack . . .  I’m serious.  There’s a lot of photos for you to check out!

First off, our X-mas & New Year’s celebrations in the Bay Area. We had such a great time with family & friends celebrating Christmas & New Year’s, wine tasting adventures, an afternoon spent at Pier 39, awesome family meals, and there was even a family outing to do some bowling.  The real kind.  Not Wii :)  Although, we did play a lot of Wii with the nephews during our stay :)  Ben even got to ring in the New Year with his Napa Grandma & Grandpa, & his G-ma & G-pa (my parents).  It was a grandparent fest of LOVE!  I know I’m forgetting some stuff– just check out the show :)

If you want to read more about our wine tasting FUN, check out these posts from Raise the Barn-

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Finally, a little slide show of us enjoying the SNOW around our house. Ben’s first time experiencing snow!  He wasn’t that excited about the whole thing– I think he was kinda mad we took him away from his jumpy-jump to take him out into the cold.  But…  Isn’t he the cutest? :)

Baby Ben video alert! This one will make your heart melt!

January 7th, 2010

Jeff put this video together of Ben’s First 1st X-mas at our house.  Definitely, one of my favorite 2009 Christmas memories.  Makes my heart melt.