I remember once I was flying home from an interview in North Carolina and I was sitting next to a woman visiting Utah for the first time. As we started to land she turned to me and said, "Ya'll have no trees!!!" I smiled and wanted to say, "duh, you guys don't have mountains." (With my strongest Utah accent) Utah might not have many trees, but the mountains are pretty incredible. There is something kind of amazing about looking out the window as we are coming in for a landing and seeing the majestic mountains with the jagged rocks. I know my kids will never have that "coming home" feeling when they see those mountains, but I sure I hope they have a "coming for fun" feeling. We did our best this trip to make sure that was true.
On my birthday Rich told me that one of his presents to me was a month long trip to Utah in September. A month!! It seemed so luxurious, but since my job is my kids now and they are portable...why not! He was going to come out at the beginning for a "dude room" 10 year reunion. These guys named their apartment after a stolen sign. This apartment was the reason we dated (in the most simplified version of the story).
My goodness, 10 years goes fast and yet so much has happened. That first picture is after a whole lot of weddings, graduations and children....and facial hair.
When I found out that my grandmother was sick I just kept hoping that she would be alive when we came to Utah. My Grandma Jo is awesome (more on that later). Five days before we left I had a moment. It was one of those moments in the middle of the night that newborn mom's know about. It was 2 or 3 or 4 AM. I don't know for sure, because honestly it all starts to blend together. But anyway it was a moment where I was alert and not frustrated at being awake. Elliott had fallen asleep and I was just enjoying his snuggling body. I thought, "I haven't heard any news on grandma in the last 2 days. That must mean she is doing well and will get to meet this little guy." The next morning I had a text from my mom waiting that said, "call as soon as you get this." I knew what it meant. It isn't until today as I was writing this that I wondered if maybe the reason I was thinking about my grandma at that moment in the middle of the night was because she was with me....meeting my little guy in his sweet baby dreams. I hope so.
My Grandmother's funeral was the first day we were there. I am just going to say this...her funeral rocked. Seriously! That feels like the best way to describe it even though as I reread those words they seem wrong for a funeral but they are right for my grandma. My grandma was amazing and her funeral highlighted all of her. I bawled and cracked up almost equally. I felt inspired to be more and better in my life and I felt blessed to call her my grandma.
My cousin Wendy did a tribute from all of the grandchildren and she called most of us to ask for favorite memories. Soo many to choose from. My grandma would say the most inappropriate things just for the comedy of it and to see how others might react. When Richard and I graduated from BYU we went to dinner to celebrate. I warned Richard's family to not take anything personally and be ready for any question. So we are all sort of waiting for what she will say. The waiter comes up to take our order and she says, "tell me about your duck." He said, "it is prepared blah blah with a blah blah sauce blah blah and served over blah blah blah." She then says, "well I don't LIKE duck." The waiter quickly replies, "well then you probably won't like this." She sits in silence for a moment then says, "I'll have the duck."
She is one of the original Wedding Crashers. They lived one block from Temple Square in Salt Lake City where there are tons of weddings. She used to go to the receptions and get the food. But that wasn't enough, she would go through the line and greet the bride and groom. I can just imagine her striking up conversations in the line.
She was one of the original extreme couponers. She would clip coupons and go to three different grocery stores, then come home change her clothes and her purse and go to all three stores again!
She decided to work as a free sample lady because she thought it would be fun. She loved to make traditions and create themes. She would get one dollar bills put into a notepad and give us dollar bills for answering trivia questions at family reunions. She would make goals or agendas of things she wanted to do and then do it.
I want to be able to really explain who she was and i don't think my words are enough. She was just so great. I will miss my Grandma, but I think of her often and hope to become more like her.
And then here are a bunch of pictures from the rest of the trip...IT WAS A BLAST!! But there isn't as much to say about that...or there is and I am too lame to come up with anything. OH and they are not in order. I didn't think you really cared. you don't right?
She wanted to "do that" after watching me wake board (despite the fact that she cried like I was being murdered while she watched me wakeboard...probably just sad that I can't jump the wake like my sister)
Pony ride at the State Fair (turns out that I do like State Fairs when Charlotte is there)
Ferris wheel
corn dog
Dancing like it is her job at the state fair.
Riding downtown SLC on tracks...this did nothing to help my obsession with big city living. I thought traveling with two little ones on public transit would cure me of my dreams of NYC...it didn't.
Temple square
Learning to give a social smile.
CARTER...love my nephew! My sister's pretty cool too!
Early morning marathon training with my sisters. These girls are the girls that I can tell any portapotty joke to and they laugh...what more could you ask for in a running buddy!
My family....what can I say...i like them a lot. (We miss you bubs!)
Hike #1-Elliott in tow...baby girl sleeping peacefully in Ama's care.
Hike #2- one on front and one on back...yep I'm hard core and sweaty (truth be told my sister put Elliott on for the hike down...but can we just pretend I did the whole thing, you know, for my ego)
Muse Concert with my sisters and their friends. We went to dinner and ordered Tapas. They were great, but Lauren summed it up well when she said, "now whose up for Wendy's!!"
Cousin time! Learning to share and Charlotte practiced her mothering skills.
Gravitron at the State Fair...I was laughing so hard that I got an ab workout.
Touching the doors at the Salt Lake Temple...or "Castle" as Charlotte called it (she asked where Belle and Beast were)
Rich at my old apartment (What up Double or Nothin!!)
Rich at the BYU Football game.
One of our many pics for Daddy!
Charlotte feeding fish at the pond in Eden.
Elliott and Apa in Eden!
Elliott and Anna...Loved visting with the Websters.
