Portland

Our trip to Portland was all about being there for Kevin's sister's wedding. But we managed to squeeze some fun times in for the kids too! Wednesday morning we went to a jump place to let them run around after sitting in the car all day long the day before. They loved it! There were some fun little parts too for Luke to do as well. Although he did spend quite a bit of time playing in one of the Little Tikes cars too. Grandma took some time off from doing wedding prep and came with us!

Wednesday afternoon Kevin and I went to the temple with Keri (and the rest of the family) for her first time. Thursday was set-up for the reception and luncheon, and the kids got to go out to see the horses with Grandpa while picking up the chairs for the reception. Thursday afternoon we did the food preparations and had the bridal shower and the boys went to play laser tag and out to dinner.

Friday Keri and Spencer got married at 11:00, with pictures afterward, the luncheon at 2:00, pictures at 5:45, and reception at 6:30. I was so grateful the kids did so well, we were able to stay for the whole reception and see Keri and Spencer off with sparklers. We took the kids home and put them to bed, and Kevin went back to the church to help clean up and I cleaned up around the house and then more putting stuff away and chatting later that night.
We were so lucky to have family members who were willing to watch our kids while we were at the temple both times. The kids did a great job with all of the busy, busy times, and all the times that they had to sit still and be really good during all the wedding festivities. I have absolutely no pictures from the wedding festivities, because we were wrangling kids, but I hope to acquire some soon! It was all really beautiful, and we're so happy for Keri and Spencer.

The Big Drive

We spent Monday night in Blackfoot. Luke woke us all up at 4:00 so we thought we might as well get an early start on the road. About 12 hours, many movies, lots of snacks, and at least 4 potty stops later, we finally made it to Portland! It actually wasn't too bad, which is good, because flying anywhere with our kids is going to be pretty rare from now on. Luke got a bit antsy, poor guy is still rear-facing, so he couldn't even look at the movie for a little distraction, he just got toys thrown at him whenever he started to fuss, which depending on his mood, he'd either throw over the side of his carseat, or played with for a while and then throw them over the side of his carseat. They all took some good naps though, and Kevin and I enjoyed some cheesey Mormon Navy Seal team suspense audiobook novels.

Here we are for a final stop, 1 hour to go, at Multnomah Falls.

A Real Man, by Edgar Guest

My dad used this poem during his talk at Grandpa Ellis' funeral.

A Real Man
Edgar Guest

Men are of two kinds, and he
Was of the kind I'd like to be.
Some preach their virtues, and a few
Express their lives by what they do.
That sort was he. No flowery phrase
Or glibly spoken words of praise
Won friends for him. He wasn't cheap
Or shallow, but his course ran deep,
And it was pure. You know the kind.
Not many in a life you find
Whose deeds outrun their words so far
That more than what they seem they are.

There are two kinds of lies as well:
The kind you live, the ones you tell.
Back through his years from age to youth
He never acted one untruth.
Out in the open light he fought
And didn't care what others thought
Nor what they said about his fight
If he believed that he was right.
The only deeds he ever hid
Were acts of kindness that he did.

What speech he had was plain and blunt.
His was an unattractive front.
Yet children loved him; babe and boy
Played with the strength he could employ,
Without one fear, and they are fleet
To sense injustice and deceit.
No back door gossip linked his name
With any shady tale of shame.
He did not have to compromise
With evil-doers, shrewd and wise,
And let them ply their vicious trade
Because of some past escapade.

Men are of two kinds, and he
Was of the kind I'd like to be.
No door at which he ever knocked
Against his manly form was locked.
If ever man on earth was free
And independent, it was he.
No broken pledge lost him respect,
He met all men with head erect,
And when he passed, I think there went
A soul to yonder firmament
So white, so splendid and so fine
It came almost to God's design.

More from Blackfoot

Here are the cousins ready to hunt!

Grandpa and Grandma's yard is huge and perfect for an egg hunt!Luke really got into this egg hunt and did really well finding eggs, especially with a few hints

The kids and their loot-- Luke wouldn't put down his chocolate bunny for anything! I'm sure he knew he better take advantage of the rare opportunity to have one all to himself at once!

Bailee joined in the fun too. It was a sunny beautiful day, and so fun to sit on the lawn and hang out with family.

Blackfoot doesn't have a ton of hotel options :) but the Best Western we stayed in worked out great. We especially appreciated the free breakfast and the swimming pool. We went swimming a couple of times, and it was a nice way to relax and to let the kids do something fun too. Luke LOVED the water, moreso than any of our other pool outings. He jumped in while holding my hands, he did some floating on his back (with me supporting of course), and liked dipping his face in the water and doing lots of splashing. He really had a blast and was pretty sad to get out!

The girls especially liked being able to swim with Bailee and the other family members. Swimming twice in a weekend was quite the treat for them!

We also got to visit with Grandma and Grandpa DeGiulio while in Blackfoot. Luke was a wild man at their house. I was jumping around from one side of the room to the other and back to protect the breakables. We had a nice visit, and it was great to see them again.
A couple of extras from that weekend...

I thought I had explained everything about Grandpa's viewing and funeral to Cora and Violet ahead of time so they wouldn't be surprised and would know what to expect. I even let them know a prayer would be said at the grave site and that the gunshots would be loud during the 21 gun salute. I did miss at least one explanation though-- after the ceremony at the gravesite, Cora, with a concerned look on her face, leaned over and asked me, "Who did they shoot?".

A few days after Grandpa got sick, I set up a facebook group for the family members. I was hoping to keep the 100+ of us family members more informed on what his status was instead of lots of phone calls and emails. I think it worked out really well. Everyone knew where to check to look for information and people who visited with Grandpa and had more information had an easy way to share it. Very handy. Many people also used it as a way to share memories of Grandpa, and it was so fun to read through them all feel connected. It was a nice way to coordinate information about the funeral. I hope it will continue to be used to announce family events and share information about the reunions and such.

About two years ago I decided that I wanted to have more communication with my grandparents. So I made a goal to write my and Kevin's grandparents a little card or postcard each month. I've only missed one or two months! It's been really easy to do, it takes me about 20 minutes and I write a little bit about what we are doing and a sentence about what each of the kids are doing. I know they've appreciated it too. And I know they know I love them. It was a nice way to know I didn't have any regrets when my Grandpa passed away, this small thing has given me a lot of peace and took such minimal effort on my part. I know I'll want to know how may kids' kids' lives are going when I'm a grandparent too!

Grandpa Ellis

Grandpa and Violet, January 2009

The week after my Grandma and Grandpa Ellis' Salt Lake anniversary party, I got to visit him in the hospital twice. I went on Monday with the kids during the day. We hadn't been to the VA for a while, and they were a bit intimidated with the big hospital. We dropped off some throat spray for Grandpa and just stayed for about 10 minutes since he really wasn't feeling good. It was hard to see Grandpa stuck in a hospital bed and clearly in a lot of pain. Luke was in a friendly mood and sat on the edge of the hospital bed and Grandpa seemed happy about that.

We got to go back for a visit on Thursday night. Grandpa was doing a little bit better, just really frustrated that nothing was working to help his body get better. I'm not very good with words, so it's hard to explain, but it was a very special visit. The kids stayed in with us for the first while, and then Kevin took them out when they started to get antsy. Before they left, Grandpa had Kevin get his bag out and gave them each a dollar. I got to stay for another half hour or so. Grandpa told me lots of stories about how he met Grandma, his recovery from his injury in the war, about one of his daughters choosing a husband, and a few others. He got choked up several times talking about how much he loves Grandma and how he was so worried about leaving her. I think it was the longest amount of one-on-one time I ever had with Grandpa. He was sure to give me lots of extras squeezes and held my hand the whole time.

It was a special gift to have that last time with him, as he died a little less than a week later. He had a blocked bowel that didn't resolve itself, and had to have surgery as a last resort on April 18th. He was in a coma afterward and died from an infection after the surgery. Grandpa was 90 years old.

Grandpa was kind, a hard worker, loved to fish and took great delight in his grandchildren. He concocted all sorts of toys, from smaller wood toys to big swings, see-saws, and even a kid-sized ferris wheel. I remember him being excited to play games and cook fish, helping us bait hooks, and enjoying everyone's company at the family reunions each year.

I'm grateful that he didn't have to stay cooped up in a hospital for too long before he died. He was so antsy to get out and go home! I'm grateful he got to see almost all of his family in person in the 2 weeks before he died. And I'm grateful for his kindness, love, and example.

Grandpa Ellis' funeral was in Blackfoot on Monday, April 25th. We were already going to be going up to Oregon that week for Kevin's sister's wedding, so we just left a few days earlier and made it an extra big trip. Keyton was able to come England, and it was so nice to see him. And Shad, Jen and Bailee came up too, so we missed Liz, Emeline, Jarom, and Wes terribly, but did have some fun together family time.

Loving aunts put on a fun little Easter egg hunt on Saturday. We survived Stake Conference with no kids' 'church bag' on Sunday and all of the relatives contributed to a pretty amazing impromptu Easter dinner for all of us. The viewing was on Sunday as well. We went early, and the kids enjoyed watching the slideshow of pictures from Grandpa's life.

I love our family reunions! They are so wonderful and busy and full of fun. But this was a really neat weekend too, for most of us to be together and not all be running in a bazillion directions, being able to visit a lot together and remembering Grandpa.

Here's a picture of my beautiful Grandma at the viewing.
The funeral was on Monday. We had a special family prayer together right before. I haven't been to a lot of funerals, but I felt Grandpa's was exceptional. I heard stories I've never heard before from Carlie when she gave the life sketch. One grandchild from each of the eight children's families told of a short memory of Grandpa. My dad gave an amazing talk about Grandpa and the beauty of the plan of salvation. And all of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren crowded on the stand to sing "I am a Child of God".

We then all headed to the cemetery for a drizzling ceremony with another beautiful prayer and a 21 gun salute. And the ward put on a very nice lunch for us all too.

Like I said in my last post, I've tried to work hard to make Easter more about Christ's resurrection and less about the Easter Bunny. This year with a quick-notice trip over Easter weekend, the Easter Bunny never did make it to our house. And the girls never noticed. It was a beautiful Easter weekend with all of our thoughts focused on Grandpa and the beauty of Christ's resurrection, spent with many, many people I love at a place that has lots of special memories for me. It was beautiful.

Tulips

Today was our annual spring flower picture trip to Temple Square. There are so many, with so many varieties and such huge blooms. It's a great spring tradition for us, and this year Luke could run around and look too. The kids love to walk around Temple Square when we visit Kissie and Pata-- it's a perfect Sunday afternoon (or any day!) thing to do.

Easter Festivities

We have been talking about Easter for the last month or so. We've read Easter books and we learned a new Easter song (Did Jesus Really Live Again?). A few years ago, I read a book that talked about how we often celebrate Christmas for a month before the date, while Easter often gets just a passing mention. We've worked hard to make Easter more about Christ's resurrection and less about the Easter Bunny. And as the kids get older, there will be even more we can do to enrich our celebrations.

However Spring festivities and Easter egg hunts are always fun too! We all got to go to a very fun Easter party at Cora's preschool. Not a lot of pictures, since I was with all the kiddos, but it was fun to hunt eggs and make a craft together.

Luke enjoyed the train table most of all! He wasn't fast enough for the eggs in this hunt :).

We also live in a great neighborhood that puts on an Easter egg hunt each year. Everyone contributes 12 eggs per kid and a group hides them, and then the kids gets to go search! This year was especially fun that the fire truck was there to sound the siren to start looking, and the firemen handed out candy too. Luke wasn't too interested in looking for eggs, but was very interested in opening the candy.
The girls especially liked finding their one 'golden egg'. Violet opened hers and said "Monies! I got monies!" -- 4 quarters :).

70th Wedding Anniversary Celebration!

A few months ago, my grandpa was in town for some medical tests. He served in World War II and although he lives in Southern Idaho, he gets he medical care through the VA in Salt Lake. We got to see him during some of his downtime, which was so fun. We had lunch at the Church Office Building with my dad, went to the top of the Church Office Building, and my mom took him to see many of the other Temple Square sites. My grandparents were married in the Salt Lake Temple, and as they don't travel too much anymore, they hadn't seen those sites for a long time. My grandpa mentioned that he would love to have my grandma see all of Temple Square how it has changed and how it is now, and that it would be a perfect thing to do for their anniversary.
So, lots of planning and lots of people coming in from all over the country, and lots of people helping out made it really happen! And especially my mom, who hosted it their apartment social room, and did so much.

On Friday, some of those who were in town already visited the Temple Square sites with Grandma and Grandpa. They got to see so much!
Aren't they beautiful? They don't usually use wheelchairs, but it was so much for one day, they did so they could be comfortable. My grandpa still chops wood, works in his shop, and goes fishing, and they both plant and harvest a huge garden.
It sounded like they had a great day! Unfortunately, later that night, my grandpa had to go to the hospital with terrible stomach pain. I'm so happy he got to spend that time with grandma at Temple Square together.

We still had a lovely party Saturday, even with everyone sad that grandpa couldn't be there. Lots of pictures were taken so grandpa could see how it went.

Here's my little family with my grandma

There was tons of delicious food from everyone. All of my grandparents' kids were there, and all but maybe 7 or 8 of the grandchildren and their families. It was so fun to see everyone! The centerpieces were all Grandpa's toys that he has made-- barns and fences, marble trees, and new Easter toys. Here's Luke with a patient Pata, who is letting him experiment with this toy so he could figure it out. I'm sure that fact that it's a jelly bean dispenser didn't hurt :).


And the kids (mostly great-grandchildren) prepared a special Grandparents song from the Children's Songbook to sing for Grandma.
Here's my Grandma with all of her kids. Grandma and Grandpa have (I believe): 8 children, 34 grandchildren, and 46 great-grandchildren. What a lucky posterity!
We did miss Grandpa so much, and luckily, those from out of town had a chance to visit him in the hospital.

Here's Luke playing with the jelly bean machine-- sheer delight!

Here's the girls practicing the grandparents song the kids sang all together

Field Trip!

Cora's preschool got to take a field trip to the landfill. It was actually really cool! Everyone should have to do that every few years or so. It made me think a lot more about what I buy and what I recycle. It was amazing to see the huge pits full of garbage, garbage and more garbage. Now I'd really like to take a little tour of the recycling center... it sounds like they have an interesting system of sorting, and it'd be nice to get more details on what you can and can't recycle.

There were tons of amazing facts they told us about how much garbage we generate, how fast the pits fill, how long it takes to dig them.... that I can't remember. But, one interesting thing was that a lot of the seagulls that live at the Great Salt Lake fly to the landfill each day to eat. There were hoards of them swarming around all the trash being dumped! They know what time the landfill opens up and show up when the first trucks come in!

Snow in April!

We woke up to a huge amount of snow Sunday morning! It was a great last hurrah for winter playtime. The girls were thrilled to go out. It wasn't good packing snow... but perfect for throwing a little around and making snow angels.
Luke wasn't quite a thrilled to be outside.... he tolerated it for a little while and I finally relented and took him in.... ... after we couldn't get him to stop crying for this picture.

Oh what fun!

Blackfoot Celebration

The weekend of Conference, my mom and I took a day trip to Blackfoot to attend my grandparents' 70th wedding anniversary. It was mostly a celebration for neighbors and friends, since the family celebration would be the following weekend. I volunteered to be my mom's driver, as she had an expired license! The party was wonderful, with delicious food. It was so fun to see my grandparents' friends. They've lived in the same place their whole lives, and many of the friends who attended were people they have been friends with their whole lives. We also got to meet their ward members friends who we've heard lots of stories about and who have been so kind to my grandparents.

The drive home was especially eventful since I was driving an unfamiliar car (my mom's) and we were talking a lot.... and we ran out of gas! I noticed 2 minutes before it happened, and managed to get off an exit before the car truly died. Thank goodness for my mom's AAA! It took about 30 minutes for them to come, such a blessing since it was dark, rainy, and no gas stations on that exit!

Here's a sweet picture of both sets of my grandparents. My mom's parents, who were celebrating their wedding anniversary, are in the middle.