Grandpa

My dear Grandpa Talbot passed away on Wednesday. I sure will miss him, but I feel like I've been so blessed to have been able to say goodbye to him, to know that he's no longer sick, and most of all to know that I'll see him again someday. He was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer called glioblastoma cerebri just over two weeks ago, and was quite healthy and able to do what he needed and wanted to do until then.

I have so many fond memories with him. I don't think I'll ever be able to see a rodeo without thinking of him now. (When I was going to school in Idaho I spent one weekend with my grandparents, where Grandpa and I stayed up late every night to watch the National Finals rodeo together.) I loved to play games with him, like Polyanna and Hand and Foot. I remember when I was young, 10 I think, and our family (exept Dad) was living with Grandma and Grandpa, our Achievement Day activity one week was a Daddy/Daughter Activity. I remember being a little sad that my dad wouldn't be able to go with me, but Grandpa was willing to go and I treasure the memory of our little outing together. I've kept a little memento from that evening... that I will try to post later because it's not working right now and I've already wasted 20 minutes trying to make it work.

I love you, Grandpa.

This one's for you, Mom!

Well, I was chatting with my mommy, and she was so kind complimentary about my blog and basically inspired me to attempt to post more often because she like it. :) I just feel like I don't have anything interesting or clever to say... but these things are important to me so... here you go.

First, Parker is driving as we speak, okay, as I type, on his way back HOME!!! It's been a long summer, and a short summer too. Long in that I feel like it's been a very very long time since we just had day to day life together, and short in that I've felt like my real life's just been on pause while Parker is gone, so it's like I skipped all of summer and we're going from spring straight to fall. I don't know if that makes any sense at all. It does in my head. Anyways, I'm super excited for him to be back. We're going to LAKE POWELL for a few days, then we'll be back home and start a new semester of school... speaking of school, Parker got accepted to his program!!! We're one big step closer to graduation!! I'm so proud... and excited... for graduation... someday. :)

Second, my Grandpa has been sick. The doctor's don't know exactly what's wrong yet, but they're in the middle of tests, and at this point they're treating him for Lyme disease and waiting for test results. It's been interesting to reflect on how important my Grandpa is to me. I feel like I can better empathize with others who have sick family members. It's scary, and I'm glad I'll be able to go visit in a couple weeks.

So there you have it. A few things I think about a lot... Parker, School and Grandpa.

And now I'm getting frustrated because I can't find my favorite picture of Grandpa (and I know I must have it somewhere because it's been on my fridge for months...) so we'll go with the second fav... still a cute one.

Medford Love

Oh how I love Medford. It was wonderful to return home for my little sister's wedding on August 7th. I had a wonderful time helping get things prepared for the reception and such. I love spending time with my Mommy. :) We did some yard work and ran errands to prepare. My Aunt Cindy's family came on Thursday along with cousins Heidi and Megan. Parker flew in Friday at 11:50 pm and was able to celebrate the day with us before leaving again on Sunday at 6:00 am (it was a quick trip for him to say the least!). I had such a wonderful time!!! I can't believe it's already over, and now it's just my two youngest sisters at home, the 3 older kids are married.

I was able to go to the temple with Anna when she went for the first time.
She looked GORGEOUS! Of course. She's always gorgeous, so as a BRIDE how could she not look fabulous!

I thought this one of Parker and Shanna was cute...

I love him!

Cousins picture! It was so nice to have them there, although we missed everyone who wasn't able to make it. :)

In-Laws

I've been thinking lately about how I have such wonderful in-laws. I've had a very fun weekend spending time with Parker's family while they were in town. We visited his grandparents, ate good food, and laughed a lot. :) I feel so blessed to have such wonderful brothers and sisters in-law who are so much fun to be around and always make me laugh.

I'm a little embarassed about this next one... it's not exactly flattering, but we sure laughed a lot that night!

This next picture was from my most recent trip to Sun Valley a week ago...

Thanks Shanna, Taylor, Bobby, and soon to be in-law, Drew, for being awesome! :)

I love, I hate. True story.

You want to know what I hate? Well I'll tell you. Sunburns. Mine is really awful now. The blisters are here, (and I think it's because of Zumba...they weren't there the hour before I was drenched in sweat) and... well, I won't go into more (unnecessary and disgusting) detail, but it's not pretty.

Want to know what I love!? Parker. It's true. And I love that my sister is getting married in 2 weeks which means he has to be in Medford, because let's face it, a sister-in-laws wedding is a must-be-there event. The plane ticket is purchased, and he'll be taking a break from Florida to party with me and the fam. Can't wait.

And, just for fun, I'll give you another love of mine... my in-laws. They're so great. I had a wonderful time in Sun Valley and I get hang with them tomorrow. Life is good!

Past Due

Well, people have been telling me I need to update my blog. I guess that means someone reads it. :) I don't really know what to write about, so I guess I'll just write about what we've been up to.

I finished spring term while working part time, and then took the summer term off of school and began working full time at the MTC Student Employment office. Parker worked in a few different areas, including Miami, Panama City Beach, and now Pensacola, Florida.

My family came out for a 3 week visit in June and July. It was sooo nice to have family around to hang with on the weekends. We took a weekend trip up to Idaho to visit my grandparents, go wedding dress shopping with Anna, and visit with Adam and Shanna. It was very fun.

My Grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary over the fourth of July weekend. This turned out to be my favorite weekend so far because PARKER CAME TO VISIT!! It was wonderful having him here. It makes me even more excited for him to come back permanently. I now realize just how much difference having him around makes in my day to day life. He is so helpful, and really just makes me happy. Sigh. Can't wait.

Now I'm here in Sun Valley with Parker's family for a long weekend. I have had so much fun!! They just make me laugh, and it's been very relaxing. I did get quite the painful sunburn on my legs when we went to the pool the first day. I don't know why I thought SPF 8 was a good idea. Note to self, it's not. I've eaten way too much while I've been here, and now I have to figure out how to get home tomorrow. Time to go back to reality...

And that's it. Oh, I forgot to mention I had a roommate for a month. My friend, Kristen, stayed with me while her husband was away in Oregon. It was nice to have some company. We had some late nights and good laughs reminiscing about old times in high school.

Now I really mean it. I don't have anything else to say. Hopefully when Parker is back I'll feel like I've got something interesting to post about.