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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Memories











Sometimes I think this blog is more for me than anyone else... The month of November has not been a happy one to say the least, thanksgiving is approaching what I have to be thankful for is the family I still have in my life. The second of November my parents, Jake and Corby, Carson and I attended a viewing of a family cousin who had been diagnosed with Cancer just 5 weeks prior to her death. Then a week later my grandma passed away. Her passing was somewhat of a blessing-now that she isn't in pain. I'm grateful for the knowledge that I have being a member of the LDS church in knowing that once people die they are restored to a perfect state, where the cancer and dementia that plagued my cousin and grandma are gone and they are with loved ones they have been apart from for far too long. My grandpa passed away 31 years ago and since then my grandma has never loved anyone but him.



I didn't know until we were writing the obituary to go in the paper that my grandparents were high school sweethearts. They met when they both attended Cyprus High. Funny, high school is where my parents met and they've been together for 39 years(well married anyway), I'd bet it's more like 40 plus years when you count the time mom and dad went to college and dad served on his mission.

I remember so many things about my grandma and going to her house, she always tried to give you a piece of fruit whenever you went over- either a banana or apple or an orange, or when the three of us kids would go stay overnight, we'd watch the Golden Girls, Dallas and Falcon Crest--That's right the devout Relief Society President and temple worker loved the soap operas of the 80's! And how the four us used to sleep in her queen sized bed while she sang Primary songs to fall asleep to. Then there were holidays, Halloween we would go over and she would give us Carmel popcorn balls-even when we were in college grandma sent care packages with these popcorn balls, the little note would read, "Share these with your friends but make sure you keep two for you." Thanksgivings where she let me eat turkey with the shrimp fork, I hated shrimp cocktail when I was younger, yet I still insisted on using my fork! I've since grown to like shrimp cocktail, but I still use that tiny fork to eat other things too.

Christmases where she always had thin mints on hand and those red velvet reindeer with glitter ears, one boy and one girl. We played with them until all the velvet and glitter came off. It was then that Grandma got rid of them.One summer I came home from college I wasn't able to find a job, and she wasn't able to drive so she paid me 100 dollars a week to take her to doctor appointments, to the temple and to the grocery store. She didn't have to pay me because she was already helping with my college tuition, but she said that's she wouldn't feel right about it otherwise.

She was such a proper lady, she always had her hair pinned up so neatly with not a strand out of place, except when she was working in her rose garden. But she would come in and fix it before she went anywhere else.

She always had a matching purse to go with every pair of high heels she owned. In each purse she always kept a powder compact and a tube of red lipstick. She was famous for wearing pearls and stockings(pantyhose) everyday-I remember she would wear her short socks with balls on the heels over them. There are so many things I could say about my grandma but then this entry would be longer than it already is.


I love you grandma







Thursday, November 3, 2011

Carson's first Halloween

from L to R: A tiger and his mama, A tiger, a dragon and the uncle/daddy, the costumed babies watching grandpa put DryIce in his "Monster tub"











Halloween was fun, I think I enjoyed it more as a parent than I did as a kid. We took Carson trick-or-treating around my mom's neighborhood with my nephew Xavier. The boys rode in style in the wagon while Uncle Jake pulled it from house to house. Corby and Adri went up to the houses while the boys stayed secure in the wagon guarded by their paintball gear dressed Uncle--complete with gun in tow.

The boys got tired of riding and wanted to be carried halfway home, that tiger and dragon sure got heavy in a hurry on our way back to Grandma's. The twosome went their separate ways when Xavier went home and Carson(aka the smilin' dragon) went to Grandma Alaine's for chili and more trick-or-treating. However, little dragon was sleepy when we got to grandma's so we decided to forego trick-or- treating and just hung out with Tyler and Makayla and Aunt Kaeloni. We sure missed seeing the other cousins:(


Overall I think his first Halloween was a success! Stay tuned for more pictures after I get some from Grandma Char.