Sunday, June 20, 2010

Issue 108

Remembering Grandma


On Tuesday June 8th, my Grandmother passed away. I was able to spend several hours with her that day, and was privileged to be by her side when she passed on and joined Grandpa on the other side. It was a very bitter-sweet experience that I will never forget.


We left Sunday for California for her funeral. I felt very honored to be able to speak at her funeral and represent her 26 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. It was a lovely service honoring a woman of great faith, who always put others first. We love you Grandma!

Sea World

Growing up we visited Grandma and Grandpa in San Diego every summer. These visits always included a trip to Sea World. Grandma LOVED Sea World! The last time we visited Grandma in her home 4 years ago, before she had to move, we took her with us to Sea World for her last visit.



In honor of Grandma's memory, we took the kids to Sea World while we were in California. I just wish she could have joined us one more time.







Ellie feeding a sting ray.



Dancing Queen

After the funeral, we raced home to make Janey's clogging recital. She's worked so hard on her piece we didn't want to miss it. (Besides, I paid $70 for the costume!) We arrived home just in time to get her there. She was great!

Pioneer Trek

Yes, this is all still the same week! We arrived home from CA, attended the recital, gutted the car and packed for our family Pioneer Trek. We got up at 4:00 am the next morning (Thursday) and left for our Pioneering adventure at Martin's cove in Wyoming. Everything is more fun with cousins!


Grandma and Aunt Emily made it all possible! They bought all the food and pre-cooked all our amazing meals. The pioneers never ate this good!



The hand carts weighed 180 lbs, BEFORE we put all our gear in them!



Add some dirt, scruff and sunburn and my hubby only gets more handsome!


Daniel taking an after lunch snooze in an empty hand cart. The toddlers got to ride in covered wagons when they got too tired to walk. Whitney and her best friend Natalie, who we adopted and brought along, spent most of the trek pulling the kiddie wagons.





Aunt Em made everyone's day with smores around the camp fire!



Steve says he would never want to hit the trail without his mom along. She was so fun, a hearty pioneer and made all these beautiful pioneer dresses for us!


All the youth gathered around our campfire to hear Steve's comedy skits. He's so funny! The youth in the camp really enjoyed each other.




Our pioneer Family!


Square dancing, pioneer stories, camp fires, the pony express, amazing wind that threatened to blow us away, neat families, mosquitoes, great food, 12 1/2 miles of trail, and gorgeous country made our trek an amazing experience. It also gave us a glimpse into the sacrifices our pioneer ancestors made for us to have religious freedom. We came away with a new appreciation and perspective for their faith and sacrifices.