Spring

has sprung! After what felt like a long wait and several late-in-the-season snowstorms (which I’m sure we haven’t had the last of), the weather has been fabulous the past few days. We’ve gone to the playground a couple times, and Bennett even pushed his little car all the way there on Thursday. I had to help him a little with the steering and up and down curbs, but he did great. On Friday, Bennett and I met my sister Camille for lunch on her last day of student teaching. We took a little picnic to the park and Bennett loved looking around (and trying to steal our food).

On Saturday, we went to the driving range in the afternoon. Nate and I took turns hitting and playing with Bennett on the grass. He was pretty excited when we brought out a whole bucket of balls – he loves balls lately. We had a near-tragedy when we got back to our car and I realized my wedding rings, which I had put in my pocket because they were hurting my finger when I golfed, were missing. One (I guess you still call it the engagement ring) was sitting on the seat of the cart, but the wedding band was nowhere to be found. We drove back to the driving range, looking closely along the path, and then spent a while looking around in the grass where we had been hitting (which was a pretty big area because we were playing with Bennett too). We finally gave up on the grass and I decided to walk back along the path to look one more time. About halfway up the path, there it was. Phew! Talk about stressful.

After a little afternoon siesta, we made some chicken and pasta salad and went to the park for a picnic dinner. Bennett tried out the swings at the playground and thought they were a blast – it’s amazing how he would laugh so hard at something that’s so simple to us.

When we got home, a friend in our neighborhood rode by on the tandem bike he had borrowed from his parents, with his little daughter on a seat on the back. He let us take it for a spin, so we had Nate, me, and Bennett all on one bike. We should have taken a picture :) It took us a minute to get the hang of it (he was probably a little worried when we rode away quite wobbly) but it was really fun once we got going.

We hope the nice weather continues!          

Clapping!

I realize most kids learn to clap much earlier than Bennett, but apparently he likes to do things at his own pace. He finally started clapping a couple weeks ago when I taught him how to stack the rings on his ring stacker thingy, then he did it all by himself. I love how much concentration it takes for him to clap his hands together!

the rest of the trip

Although we were in Idaho Falls for an obviously sad occasion, it was great to all be together as a family, especially for Easter. Here are some pictures of the festivities the rest of the weekend (again – thanks to Stacey for some of the pictures – you can assume any good ones are the ones she took!):

  

Easter Egg hunt in the basement – because it was WAY too cold outside! Bennett’s eggs all had a special “B” on them because they didn’t have candy in them. Stickers are courtesy of Nate. Bennett screamed when we pulled them off.

Playing with Grandma Great, and with Grandpa and Kallie

 

apparently, cousin Landon was in the way. No worries, Bennett just climbed right over him

 

Saturday was Nate’s birthday. With General Conference and being out of town, we didn’t get to do too much to celebrate, but Bennett helped him open some presents, and we went out for ice cream after the Priesthood Session.

the men all dressed up for the Priesthood Session

the women and kids went down by the river to feed the ducks, then made a quick trip to DI before meeting them for ice cream. I love going down to the river to see the falls and the temple. They are so beautiful!

Grandpa’s Funeral

I think I wrote a little in my last post, but wanted to get in a couple pictures. So here you go – I don’t feel like writing much so the captions will have to suffice :)

 

Us & my handsome brothers at the graveside service – thanks for the pics Stacey! It was freezing cold – but at least the 3 inches of snow that were on the ground when we woke up that morning had melted off.

 

After the luncheon, all the great-grandkids were running back and forth in the gym, and Bennett really wanted to keep up. But he couldn’t quite do it, even with his dad’s or my cousin Rudy’s help.

 

the family all together!

Grandpa Landon

I was debating about whether I should post this (somehow it seemed too personal for my blog?) but finally decided to. Last Sunday (March 28th) my Grandpa Landon passed away. The week before, and the week since then, have been full of ups and downs, but the one thing that has stood out to me is what a great man he was and how much love he had for people – and in return, how much love they have for him. I drove up with my mom to see him in the hospital on Wednesday last week, and although I just had a couple minutes with him (I stayed down with Bennett most of the time so my mom could spend time with her dad) I am grateful I had that chance.

Grandpa loved to tease us when we were kids, and he was a very hard worker but also loved to play with us. He was a master gardener and I loved going to grandma and grandpa’s house in the summer and eating fresh strawberries and raspberries that grandpa had gone out and picked early in the morning. When we were at BYU, my sister and brother and I would always go to my grandparents’ house for Thanksgiving and each time we were there, he would try and slip us a $20 bill at some point. He was always very generous. He spent countless hours cutting out quilt squares and making quilts with Grandma, I think all the grandkids have several quilts that Grandpa and Grandma made for us. I could go on and on, but I’ll save the rest for my journal :)

I will definitely miss him, but he had been suffering from various illnesses for a while and although his death wasn’t “expected”, I know he is no longer suffering and am grateful that I and the rest of the family feel at peace. It was interesting to have everything coincide with Easter – it really helped me focus on the true meaning of the holiday – I’m so grateful for a knowledge of the resurrection and the peace that comes from knowing that I will see my grandpa again! As I am sure most people feel with the death of a loved one, it made me appreciate the time I have with family and made me resolve to cherish those experiences. My whole immediate family was able to make it to the funeral, and all but 2 grandkids were there, so it was great to have a chance to catch up with everyone and spend time with my family – I’ll have to write another post about that.

  I think these pictures from my wedding reception in Ashland are how I will always remember Grandpa – with a big smile on his face.