So, a couple of weeks ago, we headed out to the Basin for my niece's baptism. Brandon had a conference in Salt Lake on Friday, so I checked the boys out of school a little early, headed down to Salt Lake to pick up Brandon and drop off the kitties, then we headed to Roosevelt.
We stayed with my sister, and on Saturday, we went to AshLeigh's baptism. (I forgot to take the camera to the baptism, so I didn't get any pictures.) AshLeigh looked so pretty in her baptism dress, and I was so glad that she asked me to sing during the service. Thanks, AshLeigh!
That night, we organized a nerf war. We started out on teams (me, being the commander over all, of course), but due to people getting hurt, that didn't last very long. So, we asked Uncle Mike & Brandon if they would consent to being our prey. They agreed and went and hid while we planned our attack.
Our game plan was simple: "Be quiet!" The kids had a blast sneaking around the house trying to find Brandon & Mike. They found Brandon first - hiding behind the entertainment center. They emptied all of their bullets on him (7 kids x 6 bullets each = 42 bullets), reloaded and went in search of Mike. He was hiding in one of the kids bedrooms in a sleeping bag.
Once they found him, the emptied their chambers on him, too. The only armor Brandon & Mike had was a small cutting board. The kids cheered then we sent them to bed while the adults sat up and played Rummicub.
Reporting for battle, sir!
Get him!!
(Brandon is hiding behind the entertainment center)
They found the target - "Mike"
Sunday, of course, we went to church, and afterwards ate dinner with my sisters family and my parents. Then, we had a Family Home Evening with Tanner teaching us about faith. He used the example of Joseph Smith and taught that Joseph had great faith. It was a good lesson, Tann!
The next morning, we headed up to Tridell to visit my grandparents. They've been fighting illnesses for a while now, and my granddad has very quickly succumbed to Alzheimer's. He doesn't remember much anymore, and talks about past things as if they were the present. My grandma is quickly losing her memory, too, but she knows that she can't remember things. My granddad has no idea.
We had tried to see them during our Thanksgiving break, but with Connor being so sick, we skipped visiting them. We tried to go out during our Christmas break, but a huge storm came and it just wasn't possible for us to get out there. We figured this might be the last chance for us to see them before one or both of them pass away, so we had the boys skip school on Monday so we could visit with my grandparents.
When we got there, the hospice nurse was there, as well as my Aunt Toni and Uncle Gary. Toni is my grandma's only daughter. So we got to visit with them as well, which was nice since we haven't seen them in years.
Scottie slid right up next to my Grandma, who was immediately focused on him. She had to ask his name, but then she and Scott sat there and visited the whole time we were there. She told him some stories of when she was younger, and he read Harry Potter to her! :) She loved it, and so did he. I teared up as I sat there watching Scott with my Grandma. He'll never get to know her like I did, but to see them visiting like this was just sweet.
My granddad napped for a bit while we were there, but once he woke up, I went over and sat by him and visited with him and my aunt. It was obvious that he didn't know really what was going on. He talked a lot about the indians (my grandparents had a lot to do with the indians from working with them, to teaching them, to serving a mission) telling me that if I went over the speed limit, they'd catch me and throw me into hoosegow (aka jail).
Right before we left, he looked up at me and said, "I'm sorry, but I don't remember you. Who are you again?" I told him I was Renee, Jerry's daughter, and that when I was little he used to call me his little albino because my hair was so white. He processed that for a minute and then said, "That must have been yesterday."
I feel bad that he's lost his memory like that and that his health is suffering so badly. But, I'm so grateful that we were able to visit with them again. It might be the last time, it might not. All week leading up to our visit, I kept praying that they would hang on long enough for us to go visit with them, and they did, and I'm so thankful for that and those memories that I'll have.
My beautiful Grandma
Grandma talking with Scottie
My uncle Gary with Connor
(Just a FYI: Connor doesn't go to anybody except me or Brandon. Neither of the grandma's, grandpas, aunts . . . But, he crawled right over to my uncle Gary, stood up next to him, and then lifted his arms to be picked up. And, he's happy! We know this because his tongue is out. If he's happy, he sticks his tongue out. All. the. time. :) It's pretty cute.)
Scott read some of his Harry Potter book to Grandma while we were there, and she just ate it up. She is SO good with kids
Me talking with my Granddad
The boys showing Grandma how to work the iPad
Me, my grandma Ruth, and Scottie
We stayed with my sister, and on Saturday, we went to AshLeigh's baptism. (I forgot to take the camera to the baptism, so I didn't get any pictures.) AshLeigh looked so pretty in her baptism dress, and I was so glad that she asked me to sing during the service. Thanks, AshLeigh!
That night, we organized a nerf war. We started out on teams (me, being the commander over all, of course), but due to people getting hurt, that didn't last very long. So, we asked Uncle Mike & Brandon if they would consent to being our prey. They agreed and went and hid while we planned our attack.
Our game plan was simple: "Be quiet!" The kids had a blast sneaking around the house trying to find Brandon & Mike. They found Brandon first - hiding behind the entertainment center. They emptied all of their bullets on him (7 kids x 6 bullets each = 42 bullets), reloaded and went in search of Mike. He was hiding in one of the kids bedrooms in a sleeping bag.
Once they found him, the emptied their chambers on him, too. The only armor Brandon & Mike had was a small cutting board. The kids cheered then we sent them to bed while the adults sat up and played Rummicub.
Reporting for battle, sir!
Get him!!
(Brandon is hiding behind the entertainment center)
They found the target - "Mike"
Sunday, of course, we went to church, and afterwards ate dinner with my sisters family and my parents. Then, we had a Family Home Evening with Tanner teaching us about faith. He used the example of Joseph Smith and taught that Joseph had great faith. It was a good lesson, Tann!
The next morning, we headed up to Tridell to visit my grandparents. They've been fighting illnesses for a while now, and my granddad has very quickly succumbed to Alzheimer's. He doesn't remember much anymore, and talks about past things as if they were the present. My grandma is quickly losing her memory, too, but she knows that she can't remember things. My granddad has no idea.
We had tried to see them during our Thanksgiving break, but with Connor being so sick, we skipped visiting them. We tried to go out during our Christmas break, but a huge storm came and it just wasn't possible for us to get out there. We figured this might be the last chance for us to see them before one or both of them pass away, so we had the boys skip school on Monday so we could visit with my grandparents.
When we got there, the hospice nurse was there, as well as my Aunt Toni and Uncle Gary. Toni is my grandma's only daughter. So we got to visit with them as well, which was nice since we haven't seen them in years.
Scottie slid right up next to my Grandma, who was immediately focused on him. She had to ask his name, but then she and Scott sat there and visited the whole time we were there. She told him some stories of when she was younger, and he read Harry Potter to her! :) She loved it, and so did he. I teared up as I sat there watching Scott with my Grandma. He'll never get to know her like I did, but to see them visiting like this was just sweet.
My granddad napped for a bit while we were there, but once he woke up, I went over and sat by him and visited with him and my aunt. It was obvious that he didn't know really what was going on. He talked a lot about the indians (my grandparents had a lot to do with the indians from working with them, to teaching them, to serving a mission) telling me that if I went over the speed limit, they'd catch me and throw me into hoosegow (aka jail).
Right before we left, he looked up at me and said, "I'm sorry, but I don't remember you. Who are you again?" I told him I was Renee, Jerry's daughter, and that when I was little he used to call me his little albino because my hair was so white. He processed that for a minute and then said, "That must have been yesterday."
I feel bad that he's lost his memory like that and that his health is suffering so badly. But, I'm so grateful that we were able to visit with them again. It might be the last time, it might not. All week leading up to our visit, I kept praying that they would hang on long enough for us to go visit with them, and they did, and I'm so thankful for that and those memories that I'll have.
My beautiful Grandma
Grandma talking with Scottie
My uncle Gary with Connor
(Just a FYI: Connor doesn't go to anybody except me or Brandon. Neither of the grandma's, grandpas, aunts . . . But, he crawled right over to my uncle Gary, stood up next to him, and then lifted his arms to be picked up. And, he's happy! We know this because his tongue is out. If he's happy, he sticks his tongue out. All. the. time. :) It's pretty cute.)
Scott read some of his Harry Potter book to Grandma while we were there, and she just ate it up. She is SO good with kids
Me talking with my Granddad
The boys showing Grandma how to work the iPad
Me, my grandma Ruth, and Scottie
5 comments:
I love your blog and how detailed you are. It is a very refreshing blog to read ;) You have an adorable family and looks like you stay busy.
My grandpa has Alzheimers, too. I totally understand how that goes. I'm glad you got to spend some time with them. And...your grandma is adorable. :)
I'm glad you got to spend time with them! I live a lot closer then you and I haven't seen the near as often as I should. I love them to death and I really love the pictures you have of them especially the one with Grandma you and Scott! Precious!
That's great that you got to visit your grandparents. They are two of the neatest people I've ever met. I'm feeling grateful that we got out there last spring to visit with them.
Thank you for putting up pictures. I've been getting the updates about them and everything, but living so far away... I feel kind of sad that I haven't been able to see them during this whole ordeal. I'm glad you got to visit for awhile.
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