Another Trip To Utah...To Bury My Mother!

Well, it has been a very eventful week. Last Friday as we were preparing our American Thanksgiving dinner, we got a call telling us that my mom was in the hospital. She had developed phemonia and was in serious condition. The doctor started her on antibiotics to help her, but it wasn't enough...soon enough...and by Saturday morning at 6:00 AM she had passed away. I am so grateful that I went down just a few weeks ago to see her with Kevin and Karla.

Little did I know that we would be back and burying her just three short weeks later!!

Doug and I quickly shuffled our work schedule for the next few days, talked with family and arranged a funeral date. We then booked our flights and headed to Utah!

We arrived in Salt Lake on Saturday evening and met up with Karla and her family. So good to see them again, and they always make us laugh, so it was good to be there!

Sunday morning early, Doug and I went up to Salt Lake City to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and to hear the 'Spoken Word'. What a wonderful experience, and to feel such a sweet spirit there. It was very good for me to be strengthened by the power of their music. When they sang "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again", I cried and cried, but it felt so good. I really am happy for my mom and I know that she is in a happier place now!

Sunday afternoon after church, Karla and I went over and cleaned out mom's belongings from her room at Orem Nursing and Rehab. Everybody was so kind there, saying how much they loved Gloria. We donated the majority of her things back to the nursing home. Karla had done such a good job of keeping current pictures of her family on her bulletin board...it was sad to now have to take them all down!

Karla, Bryan, Doug and I met with Berg Mortuary on Monday morning and they were tremendous!! They helped us plan this funeral every step of the way. Karla and I chose her casket which was a beautiful light burgundy color, with a lovely satin pattern inside. We thought she would like it!! Karla and I then had the privilege of dressing mom in her Temple Robes. Karla did her hair and I painted her nails...it was such a sweet experience to serve her in that way. She looked so beautiful!!

The viewing and funeral took place on Tuesday, November 27. It was so wonderful to see and meet with family that I hadn't seen for several years! My mom's sister, Aunt Betty and her husband, Clyde came with their son, David and his family. My father, Larry, has 3 living siblings, and they came...Gene, Paul and Marie with their spouses. Arlene and Ron came as well, and Brad's wife Michele and their daughter, Wendy and little Burton! Plus several cousins that knew my mom from years ago. It felt like heaven, with this grand reunion! So wonderful! I'm sure mom is having her own reunion as well.

 

The funeral services were short, but sweet. Kevin and Karla spoke and shared sweet memories, and then we sang John Denver's,"Country Roads". Kevin played his guitar and Karla and I joined him on the chorus... So fun!! Then I spoke sharing some thoughts and memories, and Doug followed up with a short spiritual message. I felt a special spirit there during the service, and I really think we gave a great tribute to our mother!

We then followed the hearse out to the Provo Cemetery, where she has a beautiful burial spot in the 'Angel Garden'. It was a lovely day, with the sun shining and the mountains creating a beautiful backdrop! We gathered together and bowed our heads as Kevin dedicated her grave. It was so good to see him in that "patriarchal role" blessing our Mother's grave. What a great experience!!

While we were in Utah we were able to go to Salt Lake and see the Christmas lights on Temple Square with Arlene and Ron. The lights go on forever and are gorgeous! The Tempe was beautiful shining so brightly through all the Christmas lights!

I am so grateful to have the gospel in my life, what would I do without knowing that I will see my mom again? It is so appropriate that she is buried in the 'Angel Garden'. I so look forward to that day when I will be reunited with that 'Angel Mother' of mine!! She had a difficult life, but through it all she gave to her posterity her example of great faith and perserverance!!

 

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Our Baby Boy Turned 33!!

Wow...it is hard to believe that 33 years ago today I had my first baby, a darling little boy. What a joy it was to finally be a parent!

And what to name him, hmmmm.....well we thought it should be a significant family name. Doug had his father Murray's name as his middle name so we decided to follow that tradition and name him Jonathan Douglas.

 

What a fun, gregarious little guy he grew to be, so cute with his curly blond hair! Today that little guy is grown up and is now 33!! So hard to believe how fast time flies. And that Doug and I could actually be the parents of a 33 year old!

To celebrate with him on his 'birthday weekend', we drove down to Canmore on Thursday night, and Jon met up with us on Friday morning so he and Doug could go skiing together at Sunshine. They had a wonderful day of skiing, lots of fresh snow and sunshine and no lines!

 

 

I spent some time relaxing and did a little Christmas Shopping in Banff. It is such a neat little town to roam around in, so many quaint little shops.

Jon and Doug returned safely, I was a little worried as this was there first trip out the season. Jon had to drive back to Airdrie and be the daddy and pick up the kids from day care!!

 

On Saturday we drive into Jon's place and met up with him and Tiff, Ava and Josh. We went out for Japanese food for lunch and had quite a good time watching Josh eat 'pickled radish' and 'pickled ginger'...and Ava particularly liked the Miso soup! It is always an adventure going out to eat with a three year and a one year old. So fun! These are times never to be forgotten. It was great for us to be with Jon and see him now with his own little 'babies'. There really is a 'Circle of Life".

After lunch we went back to Jon's place and he opened his birthday gifts. He was like a little kid again, opening his presents with excitement and having his kids 'helping' him. Josh loved the bumper cars Jon got and once he got his hands on it he wouldn't let go...a small battle ensued between Josh and Jon as to who was going to be the first one to play with the bumper cars.

This was also a very significant day for Ava because she got her very first pair of glasses on Saturday. They look so cute and she can see so much better!! She loved playing her dad's birthday harmonica.

Jon looks kinda bushy with his 'Movember' beard and mustache. It's now so soft, Ava loves to touch it and runb her hands along her daddy's face.

 

Josh is almost walking!!! He takes about three steps before he reaches out for something to support him. I give him two weeks before he is running!! He has gone from a baby to a toddler almost overnight!

Well, we left jon's around 5 and met up with Mark for dinner. He is doing good and actually beginning to enjoy his teaching job!

We left Calgary around 8:00 pm and drove to the cabin. We stayed overnight there to check on everything and make sure all was well. It was so beautiful there with the snow framing the cabin. It was so peaceful and quiet...a wonderful place to sleepover!

It was wonderful to celebrate with Jon this weekend, and even though he is getting older...we aren't!!

 

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To Utah...for family, food, and fun!

Several weeks ago I was beginning to think that it was time for me to go to Utah again. I love driving down to Utah to visit my family, but it was getting late in the Fall and I wasn't sure I should go. I mentioned the trip to my dear friend, Eileen Hallett, and she said she would be very happy and excited to go with me...her daughter moved to Utah last February!

Well, that was all I needed to go...a good co-pilot! So we set a date to go, and looked forward to it with fun anticipation! We left early Wednesday morning (on Halloween), stopping by Doug's office to say good-bye to everyone. Lindsay was working that day, and gave us some delicious homemade pumpkin muffins for our breakfast!! It was a great way to start to our trip!

The weather was a little snowy as we drove through Red Deer and into Calgary. We had arranged to meet up with Eileen's daughter, Leslie, at a designated meeting place, but she got slowed down by fog!! She finally made it, and we had a great visit...she brought us a delicious lunch! She has a catering business, and had made us some wonderful food! Eileen had brought a cooler with sandwiches...so we had a great feast all the way into Montana!!

We managed to drive all the way down to Butte the first day, a very beautiful drive, especially through the 'Gates of the Mountains' along the Missouri River. We arrived just as it was getting dark. We settled in and watched the news in our hotel room about 'Hurricane Sandy', as well as what was happening with the election!

Thursday morning we started on our way again, but first enjoyed the hotel's complimentary breakfast of pumpkin waffles! It was a beautiful day in Montana, fairly warm and sunny, perfect for driving!! We arrived in Bountiful at Arlene and Ron's condo around 5:00. P.M. Eileen's daughter, Monique, met us to pick up Eileen and we enjoyed visiting with her!

It was good to see Ron and Arlene again, I love their condo in Bountiful, it is always fun to meet up with them there! They are both doing so well, Arlene is walking 3 miles everyday, except Sunday...wish I was doing that! Ron's health is so much better now, they bought a cute little trailer for their property up in Logan Canyon.

Friday morning Arlene and I were up early and off to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. There we met up with Eileen and the three of us had a special 'training meeting' on the new program 'Family Tree'. It was great to be able to ask questions and receive one on one help with the church's newest family history program! The temple, just across the street looked beautiful!

Friday afternoon, Arlene and I returned to Bountiful, and had a lovely dinner with Michele and Bobby and Brian and Julie. Brian and Julie had come all the way up from Logan to Bountiful for their granddaughter's baptism on Saturday. It was so fun to see them again, they slept over and we had a lot of fun catching up on our families and everything!

Saturday morning I left Bountiful and headed down to Provo. I went to see my mom at Orem Nursing and Rehab. We went out together and had milkshakes and drove up Spanish Fork Canyon. It was so good to be with her again! She doesn't say much these days, but sometimes her eyes can really communicate what she is feeling. I left mom at her nursing home and drive over to Karla's house. Karla's son Justin and his wife just had their little boy, Miken Dale, last Monday...so they were very excited, this is Karla's daughter Erika with the new baby!

Kevin and Joeen drove up from St. George on Sat. afternoon, it was so wonderful to see them again! We all gathered at Karla and Bryan's, and with their kids, Jace and Erika, went over to Justin and Chelsey's home for a BBQ...and to hold that new baby! Sunday morning, we went up to see mom and to get a few pictures. She was so happy to see us all there together. The next day Karla and I had a great meeting with mom's caregiver's at the nursing home and came away very happy to know that mom is being taken care of by wonderful doctors and nurses!!

Monday at noon I drove back up to Salt Lake City and picked up Eileen and we started home to Canada! We made it all the way up to Great Falls that night, and saw the most breathtaking sunset in Idaho on the way! Tuesday we continued our trip home and arrived here just as the American election results were starting to come in. It is a very interesting time for the U.S.!!

I am so glad that I took the time to go down to Utah and to see my family there. I love them dearly, and it means so much to me to actually see them, and know how they are doing!! I also watched some great American football, and had a little Mexican food... It was a great trip!

 

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The Calgary Temple...and friends and family

Another road trip...this time down to Calgary to tour the Calgary Temple. We had invited our dear friends, Ron and Eileen Hallett to go with us, and it was a good time for us to celebrate their birthdays! On the drive down to Calgary Thursday evening we had balloons, birthday plates and napkins, even fun favors and a picnic! I'm not sure Ron was as enthused and happy to celebrate his birthday as I was, but we had fun! We had booked a hotel near Canmore and planned to stay until Saturday. We enjoyed our time together, and spent a lot of time visiting and just relaxing. It is so beautiful there in the mountains!

Friday morning we were booked for the Temple Tour at 11:30 and we met up there with Jon and Tiff and Ava and Josh. It was so amazing to see the Temple, it is so beautiful, inside and out! It was exciting for us to show Ron the temple, he is not a member and really seemed to enjoy the visit. The spirit of the Temple was very special, I am so grateful to have another Temple in Alberta!

After our visit to the Temple, we drove back to Airdrie, to Jon and Tiff's place. On the way we stopped at Cross Iron Mall and gave Ron a quick tour of the Bass Pro Shop Store there. He is an avid outdoorsman, and he and Doug thoroughly enjoyed all the cool stuff there. Of course they had to try out their skills at the shooting gallery!!

 

When we arrived at Jon's, Mark was there waiting for us. He had to teach school until 3:00, so he couldn't join us for the Temple tour and lunch. We had promised him that we would bring him some lunch from our visit to 'Smash Burger' after the Temple (they do have great burgers)! It was good to see him again. Ava had fun playing with 'Uncle Mark' and 'Grandpa Ron'. It was so cute to watch them play together!!

We left Airdrie, and headed back to Canmore late afternoon. We had planned to take Ron and Eileen out for their birthday dinner at the Stoney Nakota Lodge, where they offer a Steak and Lobster Buffet. It was delicious and we were so full when we left that we were moving pretty slow! However, it looks like Eileen shrank a bit during the meal!

We returned home from our trip on Saturday and Lindsay and James and his two brother's Jeremiah and Sam were there. They had spent the afternoon out at the cabin taking out the boat dock for us. It snowed Saturday morning, so it was a pretty cold job! We really appreciated the time and effort they took to help us with getting that out before it gets any colder!

That evening we attended the adult session of our Stake Conference. Our new Stake Presidency have been in just over a year, and we are blessed to be guided by them! The meeting was very uplifting! Sunday was our Stake Conference so I took Doug's mom, Helen. We enjoyed going together and took good notes for Doug.

Doug and Lindsay had signed up several months ago to help at the annual 'Homeless Connect' project that runs twice yearly in Edmonton. Doug donates time doing Dentistry and Lindsay doing hygiene patients all day! They really love it, and have done it for several years now. Many different businesses donate supplies time or skills to help out low income and homeless people in Edmonton.

Tonight we had a Phillipino family in our home to celebrate their son, Myron's birthday. Myron has been in Doug's teacher's Quorum this past 2 years. It was fun to have them here and to get to know them better, they are a very humble, sweet family. They have only lived in Canada for a few years and came here from Manila. A lot of immigrants struggle to make a life here, even in the church!

 

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Southern California...here we come!

Several months ago Jon called us and invited us to go to Disneyland with him and his family. We hadn't been there for about 20 years so it sounded like fun! Well, then the planning started! Jon got a great deal on seats, and Tiff booked a hotel near Disneyland. Things were coming together!

Well, as the time came to go...Cam and D's baby decided it was time to come! It was good timing! We already had time off, we just needed to make a few changes to our travel plans. We drove down to Missoula, Montana and flew to Phoenix from there on Friday. How fun it was to spend 4 days with Cam's family during the time D had little Brynnlee! It was wonderful to see her!

 

Then, Monday evening, we flew over to Los Angeles to meet up with Jon, Tiif, Ava and Josh. We joined up with them at the airport that evening and drove strait to the hotel, we were all very tired! The next morning, Tuesday, we decided to drive down to San Diego. We went and saw the San Diego Temple, it is so beautiful!

We had a great lunch on the bay watching a little seal entertain us as we ate. We then went over to Sea World and enjoyed several hours there. Ava and Josh especially liked playing in the open water aquarium. That evening, just as we were settling the kids we heard 'boom...boom...boom'! It was so cool...we went out on to the balcony and there were fireworks shooting up in a magnificent display.

 

Wednesday and it was off to Disneyland. Tiff had some good tips for us, she is a real Disneyland fan, and knew that we needed to get up early to beat the crowds. It worked! However, once we got there, we couldn't get Doug off the merry go round!

 

 

 

We enjoyed riding on several rides without having to wait too long. The weather was perfect! It was fun watching Josh and Ava point and say "ohhhh' and "awww"! But it makes you wonder what Grandpa and Ava were thinking??

 

We loved the fun carnival atmosphere and enjoyed dinner in a New Orleans themed restaurant.

Ava danced and loved the musicians music, and they were very entertained by her!

Thursday was our day to go to California Adventure, just across from Disneyland. It is a little bit of a smaller theme park. We really enjoyed the show put on by the green toy army soldiers from 'Toy Story'.

Doug and Jon had a blast at the shooting and fishing galleries, and were very successful. We went home with quite a few stuffed animals!

We enjoyed a few 'scary' rides...'Hollywood Tower Hotel' and 'California Screamin' really got us all, especially me ...screaming!

Overall it was a great day! Josh and Ava were great little troopers as we spent about 8 hours walking and riding and playing. We really loved meeting 'Dug' from the movie 'Up'!

Well, by Friday we were sad to leave California, it was such a wonderful time to be there with the warm weather and fun theme parks! However, we had to fly back to Missoula that afternoon.

Saturday morning, before driving home, we decided we wanted to get some Romney/Ryan bumper stickers. (Doug now has one on his truck and I think Jon is giving a few out at work in Calgary...funny!)

 

So, we drove home from Missoula on Saturday and stopped in Calgary on the way home to visit with Mark. He told us all about his teaching adventures, both good and bad, but he is fairly content and was even happier when we gave his a Mickey Mouse 'stuffy'!!

 

We finally made it home around midnight and Lindsay and James were there to greet us...they had been staying at our house taking care of our dog, Rachel, while we were gone. We sure appreciate them, and we brought them a 'stuffy', too!

It was a great week, we saw all of all kids and grandkids...Even our newest addition! it just doesn't get better than that!

 

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