Author: midder

Just a quick update here, I suppose. We finally had a Saturday that was somewhat our own this past weekend. So that meant we were able to relax. Uh. Maybe not. We used the time to do some much-needed cleanup. We *still* didn’t have a garbage can on Saturday (it did show up in the driveway today), so I took a bunch of trash up to one of the nearby dumpsters. Then, since we finally got a garage door opener, we decided that we should try and put the cars in the garage — which was no small task, mind you. It required that we move the hot tub that was up against the back of the garage. We had to move it about 30 feet or so, which was interesting. It was lying on its side on top of a blanket. We had to kind of drag/push/pull the thing across the garage. I was sore for a few days. We also had to move the freezer and everything else in there. In the end, it all worked out.

As we were finishing up an early dinner around 5:45, we got a call from the neighbors across the street. They were hosting a game night, and we were invited (the girls too!). It was going to start at 6 and I hadn’t showered all day. So we cleaned up really quick and went over there for a few hours. It was fun. All the kids went down in the basement while we played different games upstairs. I think it was good for Julie to get out a bit.

Monday night, we went to Julie’s old stomping ground, Trafalga (or Aglafart, as they used to say back in the day), for some miniature golfing and fun. Miraculously, we made it through all 18 holes without losing any golf balls and without Lucy jumping in the water. I even got a hole in one at the end and got a free round for next time. Abby got a hole in one on one of the holes as well. It was very exciting. Julie put up a few pictures from the outing, so you can check it out.

Susi got her iMac last week and I only got one phone call. That means that she either loves it or loathes it. Hopefully it’s the former. Either way, UM, it’s not my fault. 🙂

The weather has been interesting. We’ve basically been breathing in dirt since the whole inversion thing started. Hopefully we’re getting some wind and snow tomorrow to get rid of it. And hopefully there will be some snow left when Mikey and Ali come to visit us in a few weeks.

I heard that you were a little embarrassed that I was doing the “representing” looking like Teen Wolf. Well, the mullet is no longer. Just thought you’d be proud of me. Dollar Cuts rules! In and out in about 7 minutes. No bowl required.

Didn’t I just say I was going home? But now I’m back home? Oh, I’m so confused.

We left here on Saturday early afternoon. It was comical trying to get through security, but everything worked out just fine. We were even able to sit all together on the airplane, which worked out well. The girls really enjoyed the flight. The refreshments served were particularly exciting. We were surprised how cool it felt in Phoenix once we got there. Julie especially wasn’t prepared for it, mostly because we had to pack so quickly. So she went out to WalMart on Saturday night and got some hip new jackets for the girls.

It was good to see everyone. Grandma’s nieces came, representing the Oregon contingency. Susi, Mike, and Traci came from the other Utah contingency (the one that hasn’t yet been disowned for living there). And there were the usual cast of suspects from Phoenix and vicinity. I often think that it’s bizarre that it takes an event like the death of someone close to us to get us all together. But at least we all were able to get together.

The funeral was on Monday. It was a relatively small service held at the Sunland mortuary in Sun City. Abby was a little concerned when she saw Grandma. She said that her lips didn’t look right — like they had been frozen together or something. I tried to explain a few things to her, we went out to look for the swans, and she seemed a little better. I’m sure she’ll remember her as I do — smiling and laughing. So I’m not too worried about it.

Somehow I was volunteered to speak at the funeral, “representing” the grandchildren. As I said in my comments there, it’s funny how my comments have gone from being labeled as biting sarcasm to somehow poetic or profound. I guess it’s amazing what moving 700 miles and reading words instead of hearing them will do. Either way, it was good to be able to speak there. The only comment I got from anyone was that I should have written something down. I guess that means I missed a few things and that perhaps I rambled some. Oh well. It all worked out well.

Krisanne had her baby about 12 hours after Grandma died, which was a bit of a microcosm of the whole thing — life’s cycles and renewals and all that. Baby’s name is Sophia, and she had a bit of a hard time getting here, but she’s doing well. Krisanne was able to go home yesterday and they’re expecting baby anytime now. I think we should expect Aaron to join the blogging elite fairly soon.

We didn’t make it out to Surprise. Julie felt that it was too early to go back out there. It was a bit awkward to be back in Phoenix so soon after moving. All the drama and emotions of the goodbyes we just had to go through were a little fresh, I suppose.

Well, enjoy the pictures. I guess my thoughts tonight aren’t as profound as expected, but that’s the breaks, I guess.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/midder/

Back to the grind tomorrow.

Looks like we’ll all be heading home tomorrow for the funeral on Monday. It should be an interesting flight. Luckily the flight was about 40% cheaper today than it was when I checked it last night, so that will help. But it should still be interesting. Abigail was on a plane 2 or 3 times the first 2 or 3 months of her life, but she hasn’t since. None of the other girls have been on a plane, and not even Julie has flown since 9/11. It should be fun to watch us go through security. I also checked what seats we’ve been assigned on this completely booked flights, and we’ve all been assigned separate rows. I would imagine we’ll be making some other people mad when the airline lets us sit together. I look forward to all the comments, both repeatable and not so much. Of course US Airways seems to enjoy annoying me and other travelers, so who knows what will happen. Hopefully they will disappoint me this time and actually provide good service.

On another note, Julie has been playing around with our little camera and PhotoShop. She seems to be getting more interested in it all again. She took a bunch more pictures today and posted them to flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/midder/

She’s even putting her signature on them now. She’s very fancy.

The weather report for the last 3 days has said that it was going to be 30, but it’s never gotten above 18. Even now, it says that it’s 18 here, while saying that the high will be 31. I would imagine that it will be a bit warmer in AZ, although the forecast does look a bit cool the next few days (by Phoenix standards, that is).