Grandpa

I got the news last week that my sweet grandpa had passed away. He passed in the most perfect way. He was in his home with women cooking in the kitchen, granddaughters talking on the couch and boys playing catch in the front yard. He was surrounded by people who loved him with a house filled with family, which is just how he would have wanted it. I was able to spend a wonderful few days out in Utah saying my goodbyes and enjoying being with my dear family.

I feel so grateful for the opportunity that Ethan had just a few short weeks ago to travel to Utah with Charlie and spend some time with Great Grandpa up at the cabin. Ethan was the last one of my little family to spend time with him before he passed away and I hope it will always be a special memory for him.

While I was there I had the chance to go through some old photos and I came across this one that I had never seen before. It is me with my grandpa in his shoe store. I quickly snatched it up and put it in a special place. I love the smile on my face looking at my grandfather. He always could make me smile like that.

The services were beautiful and I was able to hear stories that I had never heard before. My grandfather was a man of strength and spirituality. He will be greatly missed. Over the last 9 months I have said goodbye to all of my grandparents that I had ever known. While it has been difficult it has helped me grow closer to my family and it has strengthened my testimony in the gospel. I am always grateful for my understanding of eternal families. I know that it must have been a beautiful reunion between my grandmother and grandfather and I am thankful for my knowledge that they are happy and healthy together once again.
On a brighter note the positive side to a funeral is that I get to see my family. It was even more special that it was my mom's birthday so I was able to celebrate her special day with her. We had a wonderful lunch with my sister and aunt and cousin. And we also had a dinner with my sister and her wonderful kids and my dad. I just love being around family. I so wish we were closer in distance. I miss them terribly. All of this was possible thanks to my dear mother in law who came and took care of all of my very sick children while I was away. It was difficult leaving but I knew they were in good hands and it was such a comfort to me to know that they were with their grandmother. Thank you Diane...you are wonderful.

I am thankful to know that my next trip to Utah will be just for fun. We are looking forward to seeing family and enjoying some happy times together.

Last, First

Today marked a major milestone, Logan's first birthday. This could quite possibly be our last, first birthday EVER. How do I feel about that? WONDERFUL! We love this little boy more than words can express but it is exciting for me to be thinking about possibly moving on to a new stage in life. Not necessarily easier, just different. I spent the day making a yummy chocolate cake for his party. After all, the only reason you even celebrate a first birthday is for the messy cake pictures right? As you can see from the progression of photos below he enjoyed his cake!

Logan is also our earliest walker to date. I have no doubt that it has everything to do with him trying to keep up with his brothers and sisters all day. He took his first steps while Charlie was gone and was ready to show off his new skills once they got back. He is so thrilled with himself as you can see from the video below.

I can't believe it has been a year already. Logan has filled our home with so much joy. It has been such a blessing to see him and Sam start to be best buddies and wrestle and hug and love one another. We are so happy to have Logan in our lives. Happy birthday my little man!

Ethan's Big Adventure

For spring break this year Ethan got to go along with Charlie to Utah. We took Abby to conference right before she turned 8 and since Charlie is in Utah recruiting for BYU each year around the time of General Conference we decided to make it a special tradition for the kids before they get baptized. Ethan had a BLAST! Day one was filled with airplane rides, a trip to the nickle cade, a movie, dinner at The Mayan with cliff divers and then a night at the hotel. He also swam at the hotel pool and took a trip to temple square. They visited BYU and saw Dad's Engineering building and walked around campus.

He then headed up to the cabin to spend some time with cousin Seth and grandma and grandpa. Since I was not there in charge of photo opportunities it looks like we missed some pictures of the fun spent at that cabin. Grandpa took the boys to see the trains and then they went tubing and got to ride some snowmobiles. It sounded like they had a ton of fun. Next was shooting with Uncle Chris and then it was off to conference with his best buddy Luke who he will be getting baptized with in a few months.

That night he also got to see his cousin Scotty while Charlie went to the priesthood session with his brothers. Then it was back to the cabin to have some down time just playing with family and having some good quality time with those we don't get to see too often.

Each day Ethan called with his report and was so excited. I think this will be a trip that he will always remember. The rest of us are excited to follow in his footsteps in July when we all get to go out together.

A big thank you to all the family that went out of their way to make this a special trip for my little Ethan. We are so far from family and moments like these are few and far between so THANK YOU for making it such a fun memory for him!