Free Association Meme

Once upon a time I read a lot of Memes, which are helpful tools for bloggers as it gives them ideas on things to write about. I ran across an old Meme that I did while searching through my blog posts for the list of what I planted last year. I went to a Meme sight and this was the one they had for today:

"I say...and you think...?" For the following words, write the first word or phrase that comes to mind:
1. Red: favorite color
2. Book: read
3. Seven: members of my family
4. Gross: moldy Chinese food
5. Song: singing
6. Pen: black or blue
7. Apple: doctor
8. Sneakers: boys
9. Classic: books
10. Penguin: black and white

Gardening and Prince Caspian

On Saturday, after sleeping in and having some fun moving furniture around with Sarah, I decided to do some gardening. I planted Dahlias, Marigolds, Portulaca, Gazania, and Mimulus. Mimulus is a new ones for me but I have high hopes. Once again, I have to thank my parents, especially my mother, for teaching me how to garden. Just like last year, I also planted the front area of my neighbor's townhouse. I always seem to overbuy when it comes to flowers. I planted some in the pots in the backyard and planted my front garden, then knocked on the neighbor's door to ask for the use of her dirt. She gave her permission, then thanked me since she had been sick and wasn't sure if she would get flowers planted this spring. I plan to water and weed them so hopefully it will help her feel better all summer long. After I finished planting, Sarah and I went to eat at Cafe Rio. She went out with some friends and I decided to go see Iron Man but it was sold out. (I think that all the people who couldn't get in to see Indiana Jones went to Iron Man.) So I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The story was pretty good although there were a few plot holes. It has more violence than the first movie, which is always good for me. I also could have used a little more back story on Prince Caspian, but such is life. (Wow, when did I get so critical of movies?) I would give it 3 stars out of 4.

Church was lovely today. There was a beautiful music number in Sacrament meeting by Tiffany and Rodney, a good lesson on the Book of Mormon in Sunday School, and a lesson about faith by Annie in Relief Society. My Visiting Teacher, Missy, came at 3:00 and my Home Teachers, Mike and Dave, came at 4:15pm. Overall, it has been a lovely day.

Grandpa's funeral

After the death of Grandpa, the funeral plans began. My aunts and uncle helped Grandma make the plans. As it turns out, all of Grandpa's children, grandchildren, and most of his great-grandchildren made it to Idaho for the funeral. Since most of the hotels were booked because of graduation, we had to scramble for places to stay. Dad, Mom, myself, Brit, Jeremy, Sid, and Wyatt stayed in the house of a friend of Grandma. The viewing was on Friday, May 9th. Even though the weather wasn't very nice, the turnout was. As a tribute to Grandpa, a great slide show was shown. There were also two tables of "memorabilia" type things such as Grandpa's draft card, tools, hats, and a bowl of lemon drops. The next day there was a viewing at the church followed by his funeral. Renee gave a great tribute to Grandpa. It was both touching and humorous. Uncle Doug gave a great talk about eternal life. The pall bearers were all the male grandchildren, which I found very touching. At the graveside, there were military honors. I had never seen a military funeral before Grandpa's. It was so touching. To see the men salute Grandpa's casket, the presentation of the flag to Grandma, and the gun salute was amazing. I have to wonder if my father will want military honors at his own funeral (which won't be for another 50 or so years.) Grandpa's casket passed great-grandma's grave, which is the first funeral I remember going to.
After the graveside service, we went back to the church for lunch. The little kids ran around and we ate food prepared by the Relief Society members of Grandma's ward. After we ate, the grandchildren of Harold and Glenna went outside and had their picture taken. Honesty, I can't remember the last time we were all together. Even though it was a sad occasion, it was nice to see everyone. After the lunch, John, Jen, Lauren, and I headed back to Utah. Since the next day was Mother's Day, our family decided to push back out Mother's Day celebration until the next weekend. I will include pictures in my next blog post.

Happy Birthday Caleb

On Sunday afternoon, after I had heard about Grandpa Roberts death, Jen, Lauren, and I stopped by to see Caleb. I knew that after taking off part of Friday from work, there was a good chance that I wouldn't be able to drive back up to Bountiful for Caleb's birthday celebration on Monday night. So, Jen, myself, and a very tired Lauren stopped by. Since Mom remained in Idaho, she asked Jen and I to pick some flowers to put by the grave. It is strange to think that Caleb is four and not visibly running around down here with all his cousins and siblings. I still miss him and always will, but it was a nice thought to think that he was holding Grandpa Roberts hand and showing him around heaven. Caleb has had time to find all the good walking trails, fresh mountain springs, and the flower-filled meadows where he can chases puppies and rabbits around. I am sure that he and Grandpa have taken a walk or two already and talked about all the family members that are still on earth. Happy Birthday sweet boy; Aunt Jess loves you.

Going to Idaho

Last weekend, May 2-4, I went to Idaho with my parents, my sister, and her daughter. My mom called me early in the week and asked if I wanted to join them in visiting her parents and I decided that I did. Mom said that Grandpa wasn't doing very well and that he probably wouldn't last much longer. Since I hadn't seen him since the fall, I felt I should go. I decided to work until 10:30am on Friday, then leave and go to my sister's house. I worked really hard all week so that I would be able to go. On Friday, after doing some last minute work and having birthday cake for my boss, I left the remaining work in the capable hands of my co-workers and took off. On my way there, I stopped by the bank and the distribution center to buy a hymn book. I drove to Jen's house and she, Lauren, and I went to Mom and Dad's house. Mom cooked us hamburgers and we left for Idaho. I sat in the front because of my motion-sickness and I wanted Dad's opinion on my emergency plans. Mom worked while Jen kept Lauren busy. When we got there, Mom made dinner and we all said hi to Grandpa. Grandpa has been bed-ridden for a while and slept most the time we were there. He did wake up for a while on Friday and we got a chance to talk to him.
Lauren kept us entertained most of the weekend. She was running around around, wrestling with Poppy, reading with Mommy, helping outside, and going on walks to see the doggies down the street. Lauren also had lots of fun playing with my silver bracelets, which I wore just for her. For some reasons, my neices and nephews seem like like these bangle bracelets. On Saturday, Mom and Jen took Grandma shopping for Mother's Day and Dad did household repairs. Jen and I also managed to get some weeding done in the flowerbeds while Dad mowed and edged the grass. I watched Lauren and Dad and I checked in on Grandpa. The clothes Grandma got were very cute. Mom made another great meal on Saturday and I made banana bread. Mom, Jen, and Grandma cooked the meal on Sunday afternoon. I really enjoyed both the salmon and chicken that Mom cooked. It never ceases to amaze me how wonderful my mom and sister are at cooking. On Sunday, Aunt Diane joined us. As lunchtime passed, it was time to go but Mom didn't want to leave. After some thought, she decided to stay.

On Sunday afternoon, I went in and said goodbye to Grandpa. I told him that it was ok for him to go and that we would take care of Grandma. I also told him that Caleb would be excited to see him and that he could teach Caleb all about trains and how to fix things. After a kiss on the forehead and a few tears, I left so Jen could say goodbye. A few minutes later, Dad, Jen, Lauren, and I left. Fifteen minutes later, Mom called and said that Grandpa had passed away. Jen and I called our siblings to tell them the news. While Grandpa's passing is very sad, it is a good thing. He was tired and ready to go. I think that once everyone, including Grandma, had accepted that he was dying, he decided it was time to go. I think it's nice that he was able to die at home with his wife and two of his daughters with him. Mom decided to stay the entire week and help Grandma with the preparations. I love Grandpa and will miss him. I will always remember him calling me "babe" and letting me have lemon drops or See's Candies. When I was young, I remember him always working on something or going to the Bishop's Storehouse to volunteer. Later on, I could always find him reading the newspaper or watching a sporting event. I will be eternally gratefull for the support and love that he always gave me mother. I love you Grandpa and will miss you.

Painting

I know that it has been too long since I last wrote so I'm going to try to catch you up. On Saturday, April 26th, I went downstairs to find a lot of plastic covering all the furniture in the front room and Sarah taping off the windows. She had decided to paint the top section of the front room. I ate breakfast and then met Happy coming down the stairs. She was moving home that day. I must admit that I don't enjoy change, so this day wasn't my best. However, Happy called John to help move the heavy stuff, Sarah's family took away the futon that had stayed on our back porch over the winter, and I made a run to the DI. Sarah and I then started painting and finished before the 10pm news came on. Sarah cut in the primer while I used the roller. Sarah had chosen a light tan color to replace the white. For the paint, I cut in while she used the roller. (Happy was nice enough to take a picture of us while she was moving stuff.) The next morning, when we saw the paint in the sun, we realized that we needed to put on another coat of paint. Since it was Sunday, and Sarah had thrown some of the painting plastic and tape away, we waited until Monday night. I was so late coming home from work that Sarah had the second coat over half way done by the time I got home. I think it turned out well.