Saying good bye to another dear friend...

Our dear friend, Sheila Cope, passed away suddenly last Thursday afternoon. I was privileged to be her visiting teacher, and she was a sweet friend. The thing I loved most about Sheila is her great smile and how she always made me laugh. I also loved her  musical and teaching talents. She was a fantastic gospel doctrine teacher, and it will be difficult to replace her. Many of her younger friends will remember her as a great seminary teacher. She had a beautiful voice and was active in Sweet Adeline's for 30 years. It's always difficult to see a friend pass, but when that friend is your age and so vibrant and full of life, then leaves so suddenly, it seems to be harder to accept. She had always mentioned wanting to go in a "twinkling," and apparently that's what happened. She was in the backyard shoveling snow, and then she was gone. The entire ward and everyone who knew her is still in a state of shock.

I had the privilege of saying good bye to her today as I went to the funeral home with a few other sisters from our relief society, to dress her. It is always a sweet experience to be able to do that. She looked beautiful and at peace. Good bye my dear friend. Enjoy singing in your beautiful heavenly choir.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/gazette/obituary.aspx?n=sheila-b-cope&pid=155231176&fhid=6111

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time...

First, take a look at this sweet little face...

Next, take a look at this nasty bird...

We were on our way to our extended family gathering at Papago Park the day after Thanksgiving. Our two little grandsons, Jacob and Joseph, decided to ride with us. When we got to the park, we were the first ones there, and so Joseph and Jacob went to play on the playground while grandma and grandpa watched, but not close enough...

and this is when it happened...pigeon overhead and boy playing on playground on the ground...poor combination.

Joseph comes over and says, I think somebody spit on me. Taking a closer look at the top of his head, I noticed a big white spot, then a green spot. Upon further investigation, his back was covered with green poop, as well as one of his arms. Trying our best to clean him off with tissues from my purse, it was no use. I sent Bruce with him to the restroom to rinse him off as much as possible. Luckily, we had a towel in the van and was able to dry him off somewhat. Joseph looked so devastated...I spent the next several minutes trying to assure him that it was not his fault...he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I reminded him to watch out for the airplanes. 

And I am thankful for...

I arrived home from Hawaii on Monday evening, spent one day at home getting Christmas shopping done (I had already left most of Christmas in Hawaii for Paula's family) and pies prepared, and left on Wednesday for Thanksgiving at Brent's in Maricopa, AZ. 

Arriving a few minutes before 6 am on Thanksgiving day (thank you Gabby--our GPS lady), we started off our holiday adventure. While Bruce took a nap on the sofa, Brent began preparing the Thanksgiving turkey...

Rachel finished preparing last minute items not completed the day before, and I went into gear helping to clean up the kitchen. After giving Brent and Rachel an early Christmas gift, it was time for Grandma and granddaughter bonding time...

teaching Emma how to make dinner rolls...

Another resident chef in training...

While finishing up on last minute preparations, Tom, Amanda, Lucy, and Lydia arrived...

Prior to beginning our Thanksgiving feast, it is a tradition to go around the table and tell what we are thankful for...

3 out of the 4 boys said...LEGOS. Being our little chef, Jacob said FOOD, so let the feast begin...

The birds have to eat too...

After the meal was settled, we sat down for dessert...peanut butter and chocolate pie...

For Friday, Brent had organized an extended family gathering...almost everyone was there...

Vickie's family...

We visited with Tara and Tony prior to the gathering...

Walt's family...

William's family...

Our family...

The three brothers...

Mine is still the cutest.

We enjoyed a fun meal and socializing together...

Grandpa and granddaughter bonding time...

Thanks Brent, for organizing this time together...it was great to see everyone!

Aloha from Hawaii...Polynesian paradise and the land of peace, contentment, and relaxation...

I had the opportunity to spend 2 1/2 weeks in Hawaii in November. It was a wonderful experience. Let me tell you a little about my trip. First of all, my accommodations were the finest. I had a custom suite that I shared with two of my favorite people, and several of their closest friends...

My bed was a deluxe queen (actually pretty comfortable), 

When I got hungry, I had a choice of something healthy...

or something a little more indulgent...

Room service at no extra charge...

A special treat was a complimentary "tea"...

My view from the window was amazing...

An alarm clock was also provided to make sure I would wake up at the crack of dawn every morning, with a customized ringtone that went something like this..."Grandma, it's light outside, time to get up."

Entertainment was performed daily by three of my favorite actors...

and I was serenaded with lovely music frequently...

My relaxing dinner cruises? The nearest body of water, with this ship captain...ahoy!

On to some of my exciting adventures while in paradise... 

because we needed to buy one of these...

because we needed to buy one of these...

Just kidding...but I just had to take a picture...at our Costco, you walk in the door and there are heaters, in Hawaii...surfboards. We really bought some of these...

 because we needed shoes of course...

Some other memorable outings...

Makapu'u Lighthouse trail...

where we saw these...

are we in Arizona or Hawaii? Tropical paradise...sheesh.

North Shore...first to 

Anticipation...waiting for sweet pork burrito...

And the food arrives...

Next stop... Turtle Beach...

To see the turtles, of course...

Next, on to the 8th Wonder of the World...Matsumoto's Shave Ice...

where they not only have the best shave ice in the world...

but also have invisible mosquitoes, that you see no evidence of until later that night when you settle down in the deluxe queen bed to slumber off to sleep.

I met some of Paula's friends at Hunter's baby shower...

And you thought I was on vacation...shame on you. Somewhere in the middle of all this, Lexi decided she wanted to be like Grandpa, who I left back in CO...so her next 2 toys of choice from the pre-school treasure box were these...

Since she already had one, Lexi is now the proud owner of 3 sets of purple vampire dentures. We are all so thrilled...

Dole Pineapple Plantation to buy pineapples...nooooo...to feed the fish

and get pineapple ice cream...

Remember...we bought the pineapples at Costco for $2.99 each minus the cute little Dole box. Brought 4 back in my check-in luggage. 

So, while I was in Hawaii I did allot of cleaning, cooking, baking, organizing, picking up, and the normal things a nanny or maid would do...except that my payment was in the form of hugs and kisses, and getting to play and cuddle with my grandchildren...no better payment than that! The day before I left, little Hunter was blessed by his daddy...

and I was left with happy memories, knowing that we are trying to be one big happy eternal family... together forever.