A Time for Goodbyes

Rinar's grandmother passed away on Thursday morning. She was 94 years old. Over the past ten years her whole world has been closing in on her. By the time she died, she couldn't see, couldn't really hear, and couldn't remember anything. Death was such a release for her.  But still, knowing that this is really a good thing, it still makes me sad to know she is gone. We really loved her. She was such a rock for Rinar's family and for the community in Laie, Hawaii. Fortunately, the funeral isn't until the end of the month, so Rinar should be able to go and say goodbye.

We went to St. George this weekend. I really wanted to do a mini vacation but we ended up doing the same old stuff. Oh well. The little kids stayed with Nordel so that they could play together. I stayed with my grandmother. Raef and Zach joined me. And then Rinar stayed at his mom's house with Noelle. Margaret was visiting Linda, which was why we split up into so many groups. 

I was able to have a nice visit with my grandmother. She is getting very old and very frail very quickly. It was hard to watch her try to stand up. Her poor body just makes her miserable right now. There is absolutely no bend in her feet, toes, ankles...nothing. She has a very hard time moving around at all. But grandma is as sharp as ever, although her voice does not always agree with her.  I felt myself getting a  bit teary watching her struggle so much. I know that my time with her is very short. I am really going to miss her when she is gone.  I have been so blessed to be able to spend so much time with her these past 20 years. I cherish all of the time and hope I have a little bit longer before she passes away and joins my grandpa on the other side of the veil.

Rinar and I were able to go to the St. George Arts Festival for a little while on Saturday. Linda and Noelle also came. It was really fun. They had live music that was enjoyable and the art was fantastic. We watched a group of 5 siblings perform on violin while they danced and clogged and sang. They were quite a bunch of performers. I was really impressed. Although the music was not terribly difficult to play, their stage presence was outstanding. After the festival we met up with Nordel's family for some bowling. Our kids had a blast and Harry was adamant that I watch him while he bowled. He told me that he wanted me to watch him forever. Oh, my heart.

On Sunday, we ate dinner at Lyf's house with all of his siblings. It was a lot of fun catching up with everyone. We ate elk roast with potatoes and carrots and played card games. The kids were able to spend a lot of time with their cousins.

I had hoped to go to Bryce Canyon National Park today on our way home but I checked the weather and it was supposed to be cold and windy. We were not prepared for those conditions. Instead, after a slow start we stopped in Cedar City to watch the movie "Cinderella". It was okay, but the kids seemed to enjoy it. Actually, everyone except Noelle enjoyed it. She was super fussy. Rinar held her in the hallway and she ended up falling asleep on his shoulder. That worked out okay, I guess. I suppose bad weather was good because it enabled us to have a wonderful visit with Rinar's cousin Jenny. She lives in Parowan and is deathly ill. Jenny just found out that she has cancer and it is spreading at a horrendous rate.  She found out a few months ago, but as a few weeks ago the doctor told her she has about a week to live. But after two weeks, she is still here. What a blessing it was for us to be able to visit with her. She seems to be in really good spirits. Maybe this is why she is still here. Her mother Carma is with her and she has had tons of visitors. Rinar's family is truly amazing. I don't think any of my family would do what they have done for her. I am in awe. We took this picture right before we left and said our goodbyes. I know that we will see her again.

I guess this past week has been a time for goodbyes.  Goodbye Jenny and Grandma C. We know we will see you soon. God be with you till we meet again.

Cousin Gift Exchange

We came down for a long weekend in St. George. On Thursday night we stayed at the Courtyard so that the kids could do some swimming. Once in a while, it is fun to do something like that. And they kids enjoyed the time with dad in the swimming pool Thursday night. 

 

On Friday morning, it was  my turn to take the kids to pool while Rinar took some phone calls for work.  I am not quite as much fun as dad when it comes to swimming pools, that is for sure. But I tried at least.

 

We then had to do some late Christmas shopping because we were meeting at night to exchange cousins gifts with Rinar's family.  It was a good time to go to Target. There were oodles of things on sale.  Then we went to wrap everything at Grandma E.'s house.

 

After a Mexican dinner with Lyf's family, it was time for all the cousins to come over for the exchange.

 

Lani and Jeff

Rayder and Aislinn

Grandma and Jayde

Xayden and Bethany

Mary Jane

She is just being SOOO cute!

Grandma plays a mean game of ping pong.

Lyf and Angie got a ping pong table for their kids this Christmas. It was a big hit for the entire family. And let the record show, I played Nordel and beat him. Boo-yeah, baby.

It is satisfying to see all of these cousins growing before my very eyes. They are becoming wonderful young people and I really look forward to seeing what they do when they become adults. Family is a blessing.

Danny Jay

My brother Jamie and his wife Leah had a healthy baby boy, born last night at 10:38: 7 lbs, 21 inches long.

He was a few days late, so we all thought he would be bigger than he was. I must really grow large babies, because Harry was 7 lbs. 1 oz. and was only 36 weeks, and a twin! Holy schnikeys!  I guess every kid, every pregnancy is different. You never know.

Leah is doing great and I think that Jamie doesn't haven't a clue that he really is a father. He is a bit bewildered, as it just has not sunk in yet.

I took Eli with me to the hospital to see my new nephew. I don't think it has sunk in yet for me either, that in another month I am going to have one of these for myself.  Whoa!  With that said, I made the mistake of posting his picture on Instagram, and not clarifying that it was my brother's baby. Naturally, everyone thought it was mine.  I tried to clear up the misunderstanding, but it wouldn't surprise me if people are really confused at the end of September.

Anyways, welcome to the world Danny Jay. There are a gaggle of cousins waiting for you when you get home.  I hope you can survive the onslaught.

Benihana Take Home

Cousin BJ called and said he was coming to our house to cook us dinner. I didn't really realize what he meant, but he really came to our house to make us dinner. Lindsay and her kids were over, as we were preparing for our yard sale, and she didn't feel like cooking after all the work we had done. So, she was going to take her kids out to dinner. I invited her to stay for dinner instead.

"Hey, Rinar's cousin is coming here to cook us dinner and I am sure there will be plenty of food. You might as well stay."

So, uh...yeah. My instincts were right about there being enough food. BJ and his dad Jerome stormed into the house, broke out the knives and pans and started cooking. They really went all out making us two delicious dishes, like two chefs from Benihana's. Lindsay and I just sat at the island and watched them cook and cook. They were fast and efficient, cleaned up all their stuff, gave us a hug and kiss and said goodbye. Then they left.

All we were left with was this...

We sat down to a feast and Lindsay and I just ate and ate that shrimp dish. Rinar is allergic to shrimp, hence there was a pork dish as well.

Yum-o!

I don't think there are two nicer guys on the planet. They are both totally awesome and it was great having them at our house, even for a little while. Top-notch.

Then today we had our big yard sale.

It was a big success. Four families and lots and lots of stuff. Now all that stuff is gone.

Goodbye stuff!

Memorial Weekend

We had a lovely Memorial Day Weekend in St. George, Utah. I would first like to report that Eli is going strong with potty training. We were gone all weekend and he did great. I think he only had a couple little accidents.

We stayed with Lyf and his family in Hurricane. The kids had loads of fun playing with their cousins. I am so grateful that they get to play with lots of different cousins. I never got to know any of my cousins growing up because we lived so far away. It always made me sad. Now, they are strangers, in essence. I don't want that for my kids. It is a wonderful thing to be able to live closer to family. My kids definitely know all of their cousins well and they are some of their best friends. Here is Bryn and Mary Jane greeting us on our arrival. They were statues!


Julia got to experience a wonderful new creation...watermelon! She loving caressed the watermelon, admired the watermelon and ate the watermelon. Julia was on happy little girl.


We worked hard on Saturday and Monday cleaning up the condo and moving stuff in. I did a big yard sale expedition with Angie and I found some great treasures, including a $5 kitchen table. It was a little broken, but Rinar fixed it up. We also purchased new beds and I have tested them out. They work great.

On Sunday we went to church with Rinar's parents. It was awesome because Rinar's Grandmother C. was there! She has lived in Hawaii for a long time, but has recently moved here so that she can go to a long-term care facility. I gave here a hug and introduced her to some of my kids. She was very nice, but she didn't have a clue who we were. I didn't think she would. I missed out on getting a picture of her, but I will get one soon.

Since it was Memorial Day, I decided it would be a good idea to go visit Grandpa N. at the St. George Cemetery. I called Grandma N. and she came along. I am embarrassed to report that I have never seen Grandpa's headstone. That's right people. I have not gone back to visit his grave since the funeral. I always mean to go and I think about him all the time. I just never went and I never took my kids. At least now, I have proof that we have been. I just never worried about it because I know that he is busy up there doing important stuff, so he wouldn't be offended if I didn't visit his grave.

Then I realized I had never told my boys about Grandpa and how he died and everything. That was an interesting conversation as we were driving to the cemetery. You see, he was killed in a car accident about 5 blocks down the road and we drove right past it on the way to his grave. It was quite a show and tell moment.

Grandma is doing really well, see?


Before we left, Rinar and I went to the grocery store to get some flowers for Grandpa's grave. We took Eli with us. It was the cutest thing. He walked into the store and immediately grabbed a bag of Frito's corn chips. He hugged them like a teddy bear and carried them around. He was doing some serious shopping. It wouldn't have been my pick for chips but he seemed confident in his decision. He just looked up at us with that cute grin of his and we were hooked. Now I remember why I don't take my kids grocery shopping.