Family photos and memories surround Veronica Plummer in her Bridgeport home as she prepares to mark the one-year anniversary since her daughter, two small grandsons and a nephew drowned when their van plunged into a pond.

?I really miss them,? Plummer says. ?It's hard, very hard, but we're coming through.?

The accident that took away the lives of Michelle McIntosh, 39, her two sons, 2-year-old DJ and 6-year-old Jayden, and 3-year-old family friend Julia Boyd happened on the Fourth of July last year, when their minivan rolled down a hill and they drowned in Bunnell?s Pond in Beardsley Park.

Although the family cannot understand why and how it happened, both Plummer and Paula Williams, Jayden?s mother, find comfort in the framed smiles.

?Just like going to the cemetery and putting flowers, you feel a little better,? Plummer says. ?Like they are not gone forever.?

The family says they have started to heal after last year?s tragedy, but events like birthdays, family gatherings and Friday?s anniversary bring everything back.

McIntosh?s husband, David, says he cannot bear to stay in the area for the Fourth of July. Instead, he plans to take his three daughters away for the weekend.

The city of Bridgeport has a memorial planned for the deceased, which will take place at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Bunnell's Pond. Plummer says she plans to attend the service to lay a wreath on the water's edge.