grandpa's burial 11:59 PM

Because of government cutbacks the VA could not bury Grandpa until Monday. So today those of who were still able to be in Utah headed to the Veterans Cemetery for the internment. It was a short and sweet affair with close family. Brad gave a sweet and touching prayer, we sang some songs and then said goodbye to Grandpa again. Like before, pictures say it better than I can.

Today's pall bearers.

Cami, Aunt Kathleen and Paige.

Kaylee lending a comforting arm to Grandma, so sweet.

Gathering flowers and stars from the arrangements to remember the event.

The kids loved having their own stars.

The plot was right next to Grandpa's brother. * Bryce and Dad.

It was a beautiful day.

All that's missing is a mini-snickers bar.

ONE YEAR! 11:00 PM

photo from NingBlog

Amidst all this Grandpa stuff, I missed blogging about the one year anniversary of this blog. Woo hoo!!! I was really excited to make it one year. I have been waiting for this day to come! It has been fun and stressful, a good journal and a great way to keep up with family/friends. So to you, my loyal blog readers, thanks for hanging in there while I babble about dandelions and fireflies and other random things.

Love, Me.

ps, I swear I will catch up with the rest of the past weeks posts soon!

grandpa's funeral 11:00 PM

This morning we woke up at Grandma's house. While others had a breakfast shakes or cereal or eggs, I decided to commemorate the day with a hot fudge sundae (with banana and strawberries because, you know, it was breakfast) and a diet coke. Grandpa would have liked that. Then we all headed to the chapel for the funeral. There was a viewing beforehand, then the services where some lovely stories were shared. It was fun to hear things about Grandpa from his cousin, I did not realize he was close to his cousins like we are to ours. Afterwards we walked out of the church and watched a 21 gun salute and taps; Grandpa was a purple heart WWII veteran. It was touching. Pictures below will tell it better than I could. And a video. I bawled during taps.

Nate showing off my stellar breakfast drink.

The setup that the daughters put up. It was cool to see younger Grandpa.

Let the record show that I made Cathi smile for the picture.

A tender family moment around the casket.

You can fast forward through minute 3:30-4:30, they just refold the flag tighter, you wont miss anything.
You probably didn't cry during taps. But let me tell you, I will never listen to it the same way again.

The pall bearers in the background. Ryan looking sharp in his Marine dress blues.

Presenting Grandma with the flag and sharing some sweet sentiments.

Brad endeared himself to me forever, he was so sweet with Grandma and he loved Grandpa.

Family photo. Grandma and Grandpa did well.

We missed those of you who were not able to be here. You were in our thoughts and prayers.

remembering grandpa 11:59 PM

click on picture to enlarge

Today the family slowly rolled into town and gathered at Grandma's new place. It is a nice house that faces the mountains. This evening we gathered for dinner and dessert (traditional hot fudge sundaes) and to remember Grandpa. We sat around the living room and told stories/memories of the Grandpa/Dad we loved. It was a sweet time with good memories of a great man. For those of you who were not able to be there, we missed you.

View from Grandma's from porch, taken by my Mom.

clara 9:19 PM

Clara and Brian's awesome garden. I was inspired.

Today I was able to visit my long lost friend Clara. It has been like four years since we have hung out, but we picked up like it was last week. That I think is a sign of a true friend. In that time Clara and Brian have grown a family - they have a kid and a house and a garden and a huge screen Mac.


Clara and I spent the afternoon catching up. We took Will on a walk, swung on a zipline and barely escaped a dust tornado. We visited their garden and picked fresh lettuce for dinner. Clara decided to experiment with basil and make homemade pesto (we tried Annie's recipe, simple and tasty) over chicken and pasta with a delicious homemade citrus dressing for the salad. It was delish. Brian came home for dinner and it was good to catch up with him too. They are a great couple, I am glad to have them as my friends.

Clara's first attempt at Pesto, I was a fan.

dad 8:16 PM

While you are so great that you deserve two separate posts for Father's Day and your Birthday, this year they are going to have to be combined. Just like your present. Sorry. So Happy LATE Fathers Day. Thank you for your example of quiet kindness and stalwart spirituality. I could not imagine a better Dad than you. Thanks for passing on your sense of humor. I hope this year finds you with time to retreat to the outdoors that you love and affords you many successes in your work and family life. I love you.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Love, Cam

shift goals 10:16 PM

Tom (my Lieutenant) decided that we needed to set goals as a shift. He had three in mind and asked us to make two more. Why this is a good development:

A) Mandatory group exercise. I don't make time for it in the morning at work and in the afternoon when I am ready, we are running calls. So this will get it done in the morning. We're going to set a goal of 100 lbs weight loss in the next year. I think we can do it.

B) A nutritional program. This is fantastic, because we eat like crap most of the time. Mike thinks a pot of green beans needs an entire stick of butter dropped in it to make it taste good. He is from the country. Like THE country. I hate starting diets because I know I cannot keep them up at work. So I am hopeful about this plan. I like these goals. I think they can help me.

And this is your boring post of the day.

david 11:23 AM

Happy Birthday EDC!
You are my favorite brother, I am so glad to have you in my life.
You are all the adventurous/creative/fun things I wish I could be.
Hope this year brings good times, great adventures and direction.
Love, Cam

grandpa 7:17 PM

2006

This is my Mom and her parents. They are the only grandparents I have known. Grandpa died today. He was a great Grandpa. When we were little he would bribe us with mini snickers to learn songs. I remember the Montana song (his home state) and the U of U fight song (he went there, all of his kids rebelled and went to BYU). And he knew great army camping songs.

2006 Nate & Annie's wedding

I remember begging him to teach me how to spit one time. I wanted to be able to gracefully spit off the side of a bridge like he could. Like in one spit, not spattering off into a million pieces then dribbling down my bottom lip. He said no; girls did not spit. And then he chuckled. I always remember Grandpa being happy. I can hear his laugh in my head now.

2006 Cathi's wedding

He radiated love. With every sibling and cousin that got married I hoped that he would stick around long enough to be at my wedding. Obviously that didn't work out, but I know he will be there in spirit. Families are forever. I am so grateful to know that.

2006 / 2007

Grandpa was always funny, but he grew more goofy in his later years. He did not always know what was going on around him, but he did seem to know when a goofy moment was happening. And if one wasn't, he would make it happen himself ... usually when cameras were around.

2007 at his annual Christmas Eve birthday party

His hamming it up often seemed to be to Grandma's chagrin. But not really chagrin I don't think; I like to think she found it endearing. I liked seeing the way Grandma looked at Grandpa. You could tell she loved him very much. And you could tell that he loved her deeply too.

2007 Christmas morning

Grandpa loved Diet Coke. It is a family addiction. He and Grandma tote their full-caffeine Diet Cokes with them when visiting people. I love that. I am an addict as well. Although I morphed over from Diet Coke to Diet Dr Pepper at some point. Maybe my Dad's parents liked the Dr. Pepper - Diet from one side, Dr. Pepper from the other.

2007 with Aunt Gail at the Oakland Temple Christmas nativity

Grandpa had Alzheimers. At some point he could not recall memories past those of his younger years spent as a tour guide at Yellowstone. So we talked about those. It was fun to hear him recall those good times. And really sad when he got stuck on a simple word that he could not remember. You could see the frustration on his face and then the frustration melted into sadness when he realized he couldn't find the word. It made me want to cry for him. He also, around this time, took a liking to this plaid fishing hat. He wore it everywhere.

2007

Family was really important to Grandpa and Grandma. They took the family camping to Lake Shasta every year. Grandpa tried to teach all the grandkids how to ski and also took us out on Ski Bob (a large blow up boat toy that was towed behind the boat). He always had sacrament at the family camping or family reunions. They both strongly supported scouting, education, church activity and family gatherings. They emphasized family to make sure that all 30+ of us are not just family, but that we are friends too.

2008 opening his b-day presents with Shawn, six months ago

I am very sad that Grandpa is gone. I am even more sad that my mom has lost her father; when I think about that I start to cry. I am truely sorry that Grandma has lost her husband, friend and eternal companion. I am grateful though that Grandpa, the Grandpa we grew up with, is no longer trapped in that body. I know it was frustrating for him and Grandma. I am heartened at the thought of him being reunited with Austin and Tanya. I am sure that he is happy to see his family again too.

2006 Grandpa and Me

I love you Grandpa. You will be miss by all of us. But you are not gone because you live on in each of your children and grandchildren, and we will pass a piece of you on to future generations. Thanks for being my Grandpa. I love you.

it's-it 11:42 PM

I was bored at work today and perusing blogs when I came across a lady from Texas who was reminiscing about Big Wheels ice cream sandwiches she used to get at the 7-11 as a kid. While I didn't think much of it (other than that I wanted to make her version of Big Wheels) the article apparently affected me. I found myself with a hankering for the taste of an It's-It, a childhood treat that we used to get from the 7-11. It has probably been eight years since I have had one. I never crave them. The only time I think about them is when I am at home and drive by the factory. But today I wanted one. I needed one. All day long. I even walked next door to the 7-11 on the off chance that they had them west of the Sierra-Nevada's. Yeah, no. Not so much.

In the wise words of this guy:

"If you're not from the Bay Area you might be tempted to call an It's-It just another ice cream sandwich. But you'd be oh, so wrong."

Seriously. Pure vanilla or sweet mint ice cream sandwiched between two soft homemade oatmeal cookies with a hint of cinnamon, dipped in a delicate layer of chocolate. Divine. I have a hankering for one. I can taste a mint one in my mouth like I enjoyed it yesterday. In an attempt to stop this craving I looked into how I could procure one from 3,000 miles away. You can order them online to be shipped to you by the case - only $19 for 24! Plus shipping - $67. Ouch. So much for that one. It is rumored that they are in the Google cafeteria in NYC as well as the Pacific Standard - a bar that embraces all thing west coast. A trip to NYC might be needed...

the proposal 5:46 PM

Tasha and I went to see The Proposal this morning. I love Sandra Bullock and will pretty much see any movie she is in. While she does not have the greatest track record (Speed 2, Forces of Nature), she does have some great ones (While You Were Sleeping, Miss Congeniality). Luckily this time Sandra did not disappoint. The Proposal was a fun, smart, entertaining movie. I would see it again. 

cheesecake factory 11:51 PM

Back in the day, when Erika was footloose and fancy free, we used to drive up to Maryland and wait two hours for dine at the Cheesecake Factory. It was like Erika's favorite place. She would come home and say she needed to go get a salad. Needed. And we would go. While I never had the need-to-go craving, the Cheesecake Factory has become one of my favorite restaurants. My meal of choice is the herb-crusted salmon with mashed potatoes and asparagus drizzled with a fantastic hollandaise. But I could also name like ten other great entrees. They just make good food.

And really good cheesecake. My favorite is the 30th anniversary cheesecake that they just have for this year. Last night I tried the key lime cheesecake; it was light, tart, and delicious. But really, if you go, try the 30th anniversary kind: layers of chocolate cake, fudge and cheesecake. You can't go wrong with that.

old school wendy's 9:33 PM

Remember this? It is like the greatest fast food tabletop ever. It's old school, like the Wendy's we went to when I was a kid. They are fun to read. "How to Make Women Weautiful - with Adipo-Malene."  "Lairitz's Celebrated Gout & Rheumatic Remedies and Preventitives - with pine wool flannels underclothing." Ely's Cream Balm - cleanses the nasal passages, allays pain and inflammation, heals the bores, restores the senses of taste and smell." Ah, the good 'ol days.

safeway 4:40 PM

Safeway is my favorite grocery store. Their Safeway brand brownies are the BEST, second only to the Ghirardelli brand brownies. They are the only place east of the Mississippi that I have found decent Sourdough. They tend to have good sales. AND they are a little piece of home. 

The store did not have its headquarters on P-town while I was growing up, but now it does. And I love looking at the label and seeing that it came from my town. My hometown. 

purse 6:31 PM

You may want to sit down for this.

I bought a purse. And I plan on using it. Yep, I said a purse, not a bag, a purse. Bet you never thought you would hear that word coming out of my mouth ever. Look at me being all adult-like. Tasha and I stopped by the outlets on our way to camping, where I found this fun little canary yellow shoulder bag. I mean purse. I like it.

Cross you fingers that I will actually follow through with it. :)

happy birthday mom! 9:23 PM

Happy Birthday Mom!

Hope you had a good day.
Hope your year only gets better from here.
Know that I am thinking of you today.
And every day.

Love, Your Oldest

assateague day 2 11:59 PM

Reese Cup, French Toast, Carnival, Chocolate Covered Cherry

Tasha, Susan and I woke up way too early this morning in our happily mosquito-free tent. Tasha put on an elaborate breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon and fresh fruit for the group (I would have made hot chocolate and oatmeal and called it good). After which we found an excuse to ditch the questionable herd of mid-singles and run to town to grab ice because the coolers needed it I swear and diet cokes.

We pulled into a gas station for some ice and saw a sign for hand dipped doughnuts next door. Of course we had to investigate. The place was called the Fractured Prune, who could resist eating doughnuts from a place that had a mascot of three prunes with peg legs and bandages on them? Not us. Scott, Susan, Tasha and I had a delicious sampling onf the hot hand-dipped doughnut. They were fun and warm and chalked full of sugar. Just what we needed to balance out the sugar-free Diet Coke.

Recognize this picture Erika?

Back at the park we finally ran into ponies at our campground. It was pretty cool. (We shot pictures, unfortunately after taking the handful of picts last night my camera battery died so all the pictures from today are trapped on someone elses camera). We then headed to the beach to hang out, chat and get some sun. After a couple hours of enjoying the seashore we decided to grab lunch.

A little hand painted sign on the side of the road touting all-you-can-eat crabs lead us to our lunch. We indulged in fresh Maryland crab. Since it was my first encounter with straight up crab I opted to order a crab cake instead of the all you can eat our crab legs. Steph and I got crab cake and steak, it was frickin' fantastic! We also tried some of the crab legs, they were good too, but seemed like alot of work for a little meat. I would order them in the future.


We wrapped that up, hit the beach again, made dinner with the group (although we did not eat alot since we had the huge lunch), and then headed home. It was a fun weekend. I only got a few bites on my arms and legs. And row of 6 bites on my lower back. Plus 16 bites on my butt. Crack. Yep. By buttcrack. Both cheeks. Strategically placed in areas that could only be reached while one was sitting on the toilet. I am pretty sure there must have been an army of mosquitos hiding under the toilet seat rim just waiting to attack. Me. Attack me.

I ultra super hate mosquitos.

assateague island national seashore 11:59 PM

Today Tasha and I headed to the Atlantic ocean for some camping. Asateague Island is best known for the wild horses running free. Legend has it that a Spanish ship encountered a hurricane and was shipwrecked along with its horses on the island, and there they stayed for the next 250 years. We arrived at the National Park this evening and were greeted by what the park should be known for - mosquitos. They were everywhere. They were monsterous - like birds. We hopped out of our car, sprayed Off with 26% deet all over, and pitched our tent.






We then headed to the beach. There was a cool breeze and a slight haze in the distance. The sun was setting coloring the haze in tones of rose pink and light peach. It was beautiful. I wish the pictures captured it. Tall grass on the dunes to the left, strong waves lapping up on the beach to the right. All we needed was to see the ponies. We didn't see any on the beach, but we drove and found them later. The evening also included a campfire and the quintessential camping smores. Oh, and camping with 40 other mid-slingles. Yikes.