GRANDPA

Life is funny. I know we have all been hoping Grandpa could move on because he was ready, but somehow it's still hard. I guess though that is only applicable to the ones left behind. Oddly enough, before I got this mornings call I was laying in bed thinking about all the great times I had with Gramps. There are so many! I was blessed to be raised down the street from them. I will always remember the whistling. I could tell Grandpa was on his way as soon as he hit the sidewalk (yes it was that loud). I remember running out on the driveway and looking down the street for him. There he would be, hands in his pockets, sauntering, and whistling. I loved running to meet him, it never got old.

An earlier memory than that came when I lived above his dental shop and I would go down when he was done and visit while they cleaned up for the day. Grandma singing and Grandpa whistling.

I remember the countless things he built for his grand kids and my mom. I guess that was my attachment to my parents house. Him. The tree house, the shelves, the bookcases, the wood floors, and the memorable arguments with my dad regarding proper craftsmanship.

Summer. When we wanted to go swimming we merely walked to Grandpas and he would drop whatever he was doing to accompany us to the pool. He would then proceed to time my swimming laps and rate my dives offering a blizzard if I could shave off some time or up my score. He even swam with me once or twice. He was always good for a Popsicle, ice cream, watermelon, or cookie. He was big into treats!

He used to take me with him to "pay the bills" which consisted of me running the payment into the various places of business all over town. I never minded cause I loved just being with Gramps.

One of the other great memories is that of Yellowstone and Island Park. I loved doing this with Grandma and Grandpa and sometimes they would take only me. Then they would buy me a souvenir at Old Faithful and I thought I was a princess. I loved the picnics on "the property".

As I got older he still came through for me, like when I needed a boat made for Young Women Camp. You better believe it was the fastest and the best. Perfection was key.

Then there was his remarkable memory. If I needed help with Math I could go down the street and Grandpa would remember all the rules and theories and the berate my mom for forgetting. "How can you not remember your Geometry theorems?" Too bad I didn't inherit that one.

When I got my first boyfriend he conveniently forgot his name every time he saw him (which was not infrequent) always referring to him as "Leroy" I thought it was funny!

He was always good for a laugh. He ran a stop sign one time and clearly startled the lady who had the right of way and had started to go. All he said was, "Ha! Scared the pants of that old bitty!" Other great sayings included:
"It's better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt." This has proved very useful in my life.
"I'll take two of those, one to throw up on and one to cover it up with."
Frequently when I called looking for my mom he would reply, "She's down at the pool hall shootin' pool" or
"She broke her leg and we had to shoot her."
There were so many great lines but, I think my brother and cousins could do more justice to them.

I know this isn't the greatest picture of Gramps but, I love it because it reminds me of the good times and he is holding little Larkin. He thought she was cool.

Thanks for all the great memories, love, kindness, and the wonderful example you showed me. I love you Grandpa!

It's a Girl!!!!!

We just got back from an ultrasound! I was certain that we were doomed to another boy! I had myself resigned to that fact, so you can imagine my surprise when they said it was a Girl! Maybe I have suffered enough with these mischevious boys! Only last week I found Oliver and Sawyer each with a nail polish bottle in their bedroom. One blue and one bright pink. They had painted the carpet, each other, parts of Larkins room and some of their door. All contents of the bottles were now on the carpet. I started crying, took the bottles and just tried not to kill them. Instead I put them to bed. Not my favorite day. Oh well. Relief that we are having a girl and hopefully she will be more mellow.