Grandpa Warren's Funeral

On September 30th my dear sweet Grandpa Warren passed away.  My grandpa had struggled with COPD for years and had been on oxygen for over 8 years.  Still, he always maintained a postive attitude, a smile on his face, and even after losing his ability to go out and do the things he loved (golfing, trips to Wendover, hunting, etc) he found a new passion in reading and made the best of his situation.  On the Saturday before he passed we went over and Tony and my uncle Michael gave him a blessing because he was having a hard time getting out of bed.  He was still mentally sharp and even caught a mistake they had made while giving the blessings.  On Sunday he slept most of the day and on Monday morning my mom called to tell me that he hadn't eaten much, couldn't get out of bed (he had also fallen throughout the night), and hadn't really woken up.  Tony was sweet and got off work early so he could go over there with me and the boys (Macie was at school.)  When I got there I went in and sat by his bedside and held his hand.  He was in sort of a coma.  A man from hospice was there and said the last thing to go is their ability to hear so we all kind of took turns sitting with him by his bed and talking to him.  I left for a minute then went back in when it was just my mom and I.  I just rubbed his hand and then noticed that his breathing was starting to get slower.  I mentioned it to my mom so she went to get my grandma and aunt.  While it was just he and I sitting there I kissed his hand, told him I loved him.  My mom, grandma, and aunt came in and I sat at the edge of the bed with all of them as he took his final breaths.  There are so many horror stories of people who die of lung issues that gasp for air in their final moments but it was nothing like that.  He just simply stopped breathing.  It was peaceful.  We all cried and were so sad to see him go, but at the same time I felt this peace over me and knew that he was finally in a place where he didn't have a broken body to hold him back anymore.  I also pictured him reuniting and hugging my sweet aunt (and his sweet daughter) Pennie who we lost 14 years ago.  It gave me so much comfort. 

My aunt Nancy and aunt Sandy flew in from Arizona a few hours later as well as my aunt Stephanie (who they raised from the age of 9) and then my cousins all arrived throughout the week. 

 

It was a nice week of being together as a family and remembering my grandpa and going through pictures.  We had the viewing that Thursday night and so many people came to support our family and pay their respects.  On Friday morning (Oct 4th) we had the funeral.  My grandma had been concerned by the amount of speakers that we had but it ended up being one of the most beautiful funerals I've ever been to.  Everyone said different and sweet things about him and had a different perspective and kept their talks short and sweet.  My brother read the obituary and said some nice things, then the speakers were my mom, my aunt Sandy, my aunt Nancy, my uncle Keith (Pennie's husband), my aunt Charli, my cousin Nikki and the great-grandkids all sang "I Am A Child of God."  It was so nice.  Afterwards at the graveside he was given an amazing burial with a bagpiper, a flag on his casket, and servicemen there to pay tribute to him.  He served in the Navy and it was an amazing tribute.  They folded up the flag and gave it to my grandma..it was really neat.

 

We had luncheon afterwards.  The hardest part is after everyone leaves.  I grew up 2 houses away from my grandparents so they are a big part of my life.  I remember driving around with my grandpa, either doing balloon deliveries or just because he was taking me or picking me up from somewhere.  He always had Certs (spearmint) on him and he always had his Top Stop refill mug full of Pepsi.  Grandpa always had a smile on his face and a kind word to say about you when you walked in a room.  He was positive and caring, and loved his sweetheart, his girls, his grandkids and his great-grandkids. I will miss his Donald Duck voice, his scruffy face when he hugged/kissed me, his not-always-appropriate jokes, and most of all his smile.  I love you so much Grandpa and I hope you are golfing on the other side!  Until we meet again!

 

Grandpa & Brady (June 2013)

Grandpa & Paxton (December 2011)

Grandma, Grandpa & Macie (May 2007)

 

All of the great-grandkids

All of the grandkids

The 10 grand-sons

The 4 grand-daughters

The whole clan (of course the Riekena boys couldn't take one serious picture)

Grandpa's Girls (Sandy, Mom, Charli, & Nancy)

Lagoon

Tony's work has done a work lagoon day for the last couple of years so we took advantage and took the kids in September.  We not only got in free but they fed us lunch, too.  Can't beat that!  The kids loved it.  Tony and I realized how old we are when we were ready to leave by 5:00pm!  It was a nice day- good weather and lots of fun!

Paxton was kind of timid and didn't want to go on very many rides.  I practically had to force him on a few of them, but he liked them once he was on.  Macie went with me on Colossus for her first time.  She liked it but it kind of hurt her head since it's so fast so she wouldn't go again with Tony.  It made he and I both lightheaded!  It would have been fun if we didn't have Brady so the 4 of us could have gone on more rides, but I hate leaving him so he came anyway.  We worked it out.

5 Months

Brady started doing a half crawl/scoot thing around 5 months, able to get wherever he wanted, and by the end of the month was up on his knees ready to crawl.  By 5 months he was eating most fruits and veges, wearing size 4 diapers, growing like a weed, happy as can be and almost sitting up alone.  Still waking up several times during the night, too. 

School Days

Macie started 1st Grade the end of August.  Her teacher is Mrs. Simpson and she is so awesome!  Macie was so excited to get to eat lunch at school.  She took lunch from home on the first day and likes to look ahead at the menu so she can decide between home lunch and school lunch.  She had a little bit of a hard time adjusting to all-day school but is doing great now!

 Paxton started his first year of Preschool the first week of September.  He goes 2 days a week this year and his teachers are Mrs. Lorie and Mr. Avery (the kids actually call him Grandpa Avery).  I took him to orientation which was the first day and he played great with the other kids.  On his first real day Tony took him and said he was a little nervous but he walked him to the door and he did great.  I was a little nervous for him...he's a lot more "attached" than Macie was at this age so I worried that he would have a hard time being away, but he did great!  And he loves it!  I still can't believe he's big enough to go to school.

Jerzi's Blessing Day

My sweet niece Jerzi Kate was blessed on August 11th by her grandpa Royce.  He did such a great job and gave one of the most beautiful blessings I've ever heard.  In her blessing Jerzi was told she would be a peacemaker.  She is such a sweet girl.  Sometimes I feel bad I don't get to snuggle with her more since I have my own little one demanding my attention, but I do try to love on her as much as I can.

 

 

Jerzi and Brady took a little nap together in her crib.  It was the cutest thing ever!  They ended up waking each other up but it was worth the photo moment!

4 Months Old

At 4 months Brady weighed 18.3 lbs (95th percentile) and was 25.5 inches tall (50-75th percentile).  He was waking up about 2x a night and somedays took great long naps while other days he'd catnap.  I started him on solids and started with oatmeal...like all of my babies he didn't know what to think about it and didn't love it at first!  Throughout the month I introduced single fruits/vegetables...sweet potatoes & bananas were his favorite.  At 4 months Brady was laughing all the time, cooing a ton, and hummed himself to sleep.  He loved the exersaucer/walker, the jumper, and started learning to give "kisses!"  He was scooting wherever he needed to go and by the end of the month was getting up on his hands and knees and rocking...getting ready to crawl! 

 

 

Brady and Great-Grandma Vickie

First time eating solids (oatmeal)...not so sure about that!

One of my favorite things is when they start grabbing at my face....Brady started doing that around 4 months and I love how he just wants to make sure I'm still there while he is asleep.

Pioneer Day (July 24th)

One of the best things about living in Utah is the fact that we get 2 July holidays (which happen to be my favorite!)  This year my family from Arizona and California were in town so we had a fun BBQ and did some fireworks.  Earlier in the day some of my cousins got together for lunch at the Porcupine and it was so fun to hang out.  I grew up super close to my cousins and I am so thankful for the relationships we have with each other.  Even though my brother is my only sibling I never felt like I missed out on the big family because of how close we all are.  Love these people!

Also, on the 24th Brady officially started rolling over...both front to back and back to front. 

This is just Pax "nursing" his baby at the BBQ!  Love that kid!

Cousins Lunch

My blue eyed sweet boy...once he started rolling it was hard to keep him in one place!