Remembering Grandpa Williams

 

On December 2, 2011, my beloved Grandpa Williams passed away. 

Our families came from far and wide,

gathering in Mesa to honor and celebrate the life of a great man.

 It was a reunion for many of us. 

Maybe a little TOO much reunion, judging by Grandma's expression!

 My family!

 I finally got to meet my new chunky nephew, Greyson!

I got such a great workout lugging him around!

He is such a sweetheart and is generous with his smiles.

 My brothers and dad, looking respectable....for the time being!

 The burial service took place on a cool, bright Monday. 

We stood together as the site was dedicated and reflected 

on the many lessons we'd learned from this great teacher.

Grandpa had chosen his favorite flowers and casket weeks earlier.

I took comfort in knowing that Grandpa, 

who'd had such a love of woodworking, 

had admired the craftsmanship when he selected it. 

He probably ran his hand over the grain gently 

and with reverence just like I did when I saw it.

 After the service, we rallied the troops for a luncheon at Aunt Lorna's house.

Aunts, uncles, moms, dads, cousins, brothers, 

sisters, grandkids, and great-grandkids were 

everywhere--Aunt Lorna's house was nearly bursting at the seams.

 One of the nights I spent in Mesa involved 

a trip to the Mesa Arizona Mormon temple 

to see the Christmas lights with the family.

 My parents were married here, oh, 30+ years ago!

 At the memorial service, all the grandsons wore a tie from Grandpa's collection. 

It was a really cool moment when the boys came together.

 I heard so many new stories about my grandpa during this trip--

about his tap-dancing, his love of airplanes and flying, service in the National Guard, 

adventures on the farm in Idaho, working as a baker at the age of 12, 

and when he fell in love with my grandma all those years ago.

 A handsome fellow!

I discovered that he had written a personal history several years ago, 

and when I returned home, my mom sent me a copy 

so that I could read in his own words the simple 

and yet rich recollections of a life lived over seven decades.

 

I have stored up countless memories

of his enriching influence, laughter, and love.

How grateful I am to have these memories 

to sustain me during the moments when his absence is especially felt.

Where did November go??

 I don't know what happened to November and December, 

but here's what happened in November:

 There were lots of cousins.

 Crystal, Ryan, Cassia, & Madsen came to visit, 

along with Adam & Heather, Angela,

AND Isaac, Katie, Lily, Hudson, and Liam. 

I guess technically we were visiting, too,
since we don't live in Palmyra where the parents live.

 We were ALL there, except for Amber. 

There were a lot of us, so we had Thanksgiving dinner/celebrations 3 weeks early!

 Hudson & Madsen, probably right before
they were about to do something naughty!

 Crystal & Ryan and Baby #3 getting smashed in the front!

 Later that week, Crystal & Ryan and Co. came to visit us.

 On the real Thanksgiving Day, just the three of us chilled out at home and feasted on a few select items:

Halloween-y

 Every October, we visit the Chesterfield Berry Farm to get our pumpkins, 

because really, pumpkins from a grocery store are just not as exciting.

 See what we would miss if we went to the grocery store?

Yes, the PIG RACES ARE AWESOME,
and YES, the Scary Fun Barn is not to be missed.

 Part of the appeal is riding on a big trailer full of hay with strangers, 

pulled by a tractor that is at least 100 years old and could break down at any second--

the suspense is all part of the fun.

 This year all the pumpkins were pretty much the same size--

no monsters for Jeremy to choose from! One year he got one that was like 33 lbs.

 This was the duck race:

rubber duckies propelled forward by the gush of water 

from the old-fashioned water pumps. 

Yeah, I totally smoked those kids!

 In case you were wondering, this ride-on lawn mower 

is now on Parker's Christmas Wish list, 

since he is responsible for mowing the lawn at our house.

 On Halloween night, Parker was "Something Scary". 

Sadly, it rained the entire night and was a balmy 49 degrees, 

so Parker and his friend had two nice moms who were willing to drive them around, 

house to house for trick-or-treating activities.

LEGO KidsFest!!!

 It came....the closest event there is resembling a Lego Convention. NERDS UNITE!

 For weeks, we were all excited.

 Parker could barely sleep.

 We drove for 2.5 hours to Raleigh, NC and joined about a 

BILLION kids and adults who all love 

or enable someone they love to collect all things Lego.

 The Lego KidsFest boasted THREE ACRES of Legos, 

including building stations, competitions, shopping, 

enormous Lego statues, and lots of screaming, happy children 

and their exhausted parents.

 The statues were AMAAAAAAAYZING! 

This Lightning McQueen was 350,000 legos and weighed 3 tons.

 This is the Brick Pile. Basically a dump truck 

came into the convention center, 

dumped a heap of bricks, 

and all the kids jumped in and started building.

 Monochromatic brick build: featuring the cheddar cheese assortment.

 Parker literally screamed when he saw the 

another building station with the bricks in his all-time favorite color.

 Parker had a hard time at the Lego retail store 

deciding what to spend his allowance on. 

He saved for weeks!

 This is Creation Nation. Everyone gets a small base plate 

and they can create whatever they want, 

which is then placed on the map of the U.S.

Parker got so excited he broke out in his customary 

Heat Rash of Excitement, so we knew he had a great time!