WE LOVE GRANDPA!

My Grandpa passed away on January 10th, his 90th birthday. He was such a wonderful man, I wanted to take the opportunity to share my feelings about him. I was so blessed to have grandparents that were so involved in my life. When I was young they lived in Salt Lake City. We would go stay with them every summer and sometimes Christmas too. I absolutely loved going to their house. In the summer we would play outside for hours. We'd go to a nearby field and shoot off rockets. We'd ride the bus downtown (which as a child was a treat!) and go shopping and eat out (which was also a treat!) When I was in Jr. High they moved about a mile from us and it was one of the greatest blessings in my life. They were at every important thing in my life except for the 2 yrs. they were on their mission. They were there for my MANY concerts. There were my loudest fans at the Jr. Miss pagaent and my high school graduation. I loved having them there.

Later I had the opportunity to live with them while our first house was being built. I thoroughly enjoyed spending that time with them. We would stay up late talking, or watching "Steinfeld", or the Suns game. Grandma would get so worked up over the games and Grandpa would have to calm her down. They were so gracious and always acted like they were thrilled to have us there. 5 years later when we were building another house Grandpa generously invited us to live with him again. This time was different. Grandma's Alzheimer's was advanced at that point and she didn't even know who I was. The 6 months we lived there were some of the most challenging, but most rewarding of my life. I had a 6 week old baby that cried all the time, 2 older children to care for and a desire to help my Grandpa as he cared for Grandma. She needed constant supervision and constant care. I helped bathe her, dress her, feed her, etc. I loved having the opportunity to serve her and to help Grandpa. He was so incredibly dedicated to her. I have never seen greater devotion and sacrifice in my life. He cared for her every need, at great personal sacrifice. He was such an amazing example to me!

After Grandma passed away Grandpa took the opportunity to travel which was something he and Grandma had enjoyed, but he hadn't been able to do in the years he was caring for her. He traveled to many places but the opportunity to spend 10 days in France and Switzerland with him were a treasure to me. Grandpa was so good to me on that trip. He and I were the only ones without spouses so he said that he would be my date. He was so amazed by everything we saw and kept saying that he never thought he'd see these things in his lifetime. The best part of that trip was Grandpa's hike to the top of a monestary called Mont St. Michel. He didn't think there was any way he would make it to the top. But with Dad on one side and Ryan on the other he made his way to the top. What a tremendous example he was to me. He was always so positive and always showed so much gratitude for his blessings...even through the physical trials. He is such an inspiration to me!