The Phillies win it!!!

What is with Philadelphia lately? First a temple (see previous post) and now the freaking World Series?!?! What's next? No more ghetto???

Philly is getting better and better since we left! I guess it was just us.....luv ya Philly!

Grandma Neves and the big trek out West

The phone rang early last Wednesday morning. An early phone call, or a really late one for that matter, is never a good thing. Keith's grandma, Grandma Neves, had passed away just shortly before. His parents were calling to tell us the news.

After the phone call, Keith and I lay in bed waiting for the alarm to go off, thinking of how much we needed to be at the funeral to pay tribute to her life. What an amazing life. We didn't get to see her much since we moved to Philadelphia but were so glad we saw her one last time this summer. Bennett and Leah were able to meet their Great Grandma.



It's never easy to have a loved one die. No matter how sick and miserable they are, it still leaves an open wound full of memories that takes time to heal. In the case of Grandma Neves, she was pretty miserable. She had been sick for quite a while and Keith's mom had been caring for her nearly around the clock for months, it seemed. It was exhausting for everyone, I'm sure. Certainly no one complained about it. Well, except Grandma Neves. She was pretty sick of being sick. She was always a very independent lady. When we were there this summer, she complained that her kids kept coming around to check on her and they wouldn't leave her alone.

She passed away on her 89th birthday. I think that was the deadline she set for herself. She quit taking all her meds a couple of days before. The night before her birthday she took off her oxygen and said she didn't need it anymore. She wanted to go and she just got sick of waiting. She took death, just like she took life: on her own terms.

Grandma Neves grew up under circumstances that anyone else would have crumbled under. She lost her mother to cancer at age 7. Her stepmother beat her and regularly kicked her out of the house. As a young girl, she slept under a train bridge and would often go to school hungry and dirty after a night out in the bitter Wyoming cold. She had a horrible childhood. Yet, she was able to forgive. And made sure that no one was ever as sad as she was. She always put her family first. As well as friends, neighbors, and anyone she came in contact with. She was awarded "Citizen of the Century" in her community several years ago. What an amazing life she lived. We'll miss her.

We were so glad we were able to be there for the funeral. But talk about an epic adventure! WE DROVE! Yikes! We jumped in the car on Thursday after Keith got off work and drove through the night. We finally pulled into Wyoming on Friday night. Somehow, the kids were amazing. As amazing as a 3-year old and a 10-month old can be when they are strapped in car seats for over 30 hours straight. Actually, it was painful. But we just kept driving. At least on the way there the scenery gets better and better. The drive home through North Dakota and Missouri were pretty difficult.

Funerals are meant to be solemn affairs. Grandma Neves' funeral was....not. It turned out to be the party of the century for the citizen of the century in Burlington, WY. We probably should have booked a band for the viewing. It was a raucous reunion. Every single child and grandchild made it there--except for Keith's brother Mark in Alaska. I'd be embarrassed to show my face too if my Governor looked like Tina Fey. But whatever.... There were over 150 relatives there! What a great legacy. I was pretty sure they cancelled school in the town so that people could attend the funeral. But I did notice a few cars in the school lot as we drove past so I guess they didn't.

Regardless of the absence of a band, we did have a great time. Despite having this view for SIXTY HOURS in a short 5 days. South Dakota is relentless....


All of Keith's brothers (except Mark) got to hang around and be dorks...er, awesome dudes in matching trucker hats...together. Ahhh, good times...

Some cousin time for Bennett. He loves cousins!!


Some 4-wheelin'...



And fossil huntin'...




And a little bit of middle of nowhere trail running. This is called the String of Pearls. Its a cool knife-edge series of bumps that goes and goes. Keith decided to see how many "pearls" he could run.




We had a good time in Wyoming and were glad we were able to be there to celebrate Grandma Neves' life. We are so glad to know that she is in a better place and happy to not be sick anymore!

We are also glad that we won't be driving through South Dakota again for a while... :p

Weird

The other day I was spinning some tunes off my ipod while making dinner. Randomly, an Enya song came on. You know, all floaty and mystical and you can't understand what she's saying. After a minute, Bennett came into the room and said "Mom. this song makes me feel weird."

Such advanced musical taste. But seriously, the Wiggles make you feel better??

The Mormons in Philly

A temple in Philly! I was really surprised and so happy to hear this awesome news. (For my peeps that don't know what I'm talking about, go here or here.) Very exciting. I only wish this had been announced about 8 YEARS ago so that Keith and I could have been a part of the whole thing. Man, I gave my heart and soul to that city for 8 years and they build a temple as soon as we leave! Keith's comment when he heard the announcement: "Well, when we left, the holiness quotient went way up. Now it's good enough for a temple." Haha. Anyways, such good news. A temple will be an awesome addition to the city. Plus, my sources (third hand info) say that it's going to be right smack in downtown. Sweet. Downtown Philly could use something clean. :)

Here's a cute conference quote from Bennett. While Keith was getting ready to go to the church for the priesthood session on Saturday night, he was asking where daddy was going. I told him he was going to listen to the prophet speak. He responded, "Is daddy going to follow the prophet? Oh, so he won't go astray?" He spent the rest of the night singing: "Follow the prophet, follow the prophet, follow the prophet, don't go astray...." (the words to a kids song at church)

I gotta say, as much as we love our new surroundings, I do miss our awesome church family in Philly. I felt kinda lonely at the women's broadcast since I'm still meeting the new people in our ward here. Here's a shout out to my Philly sisters!!!

Eleven part two

I had a great week, but it was just how I like it...Busy. I did not get a chance to tell the world how great my wife is and how much I love her. Not all of the past eleven years have been great but Andrea you have always been. Thanks for still being that B.A.R.B. I fell in love with so long ago...



Andrea thinks that we went out to eat at a fancy restaurant with a great view of the Cumberland River fall foliage to celebrate our anniversary. She's wrong. We went climbing the next morning. Andrea and I never went on a real date until we were engaged but we did climb together every spare moment long before that. This is exactly the view I had of her as I fell for her over a decade ago. She literally had to catch me on many occasions. Isn't she great?




Andrea you rock! P.S. I forgive you for "the slack incident!"

Big Kid

Ok, I know I'm about a couple weeks slow on this one, but I wanted to post a pic of Bennett's first day of preschool. I can't believe what a big kid he is!

I have him in a preschool at a gymnastics studio. They do school stuff for 2 hours and for the remaining hour they run around on the trampoline, balance beam, practice somersaults, etc. He LOVES it! It is so hilarious to watch too. So now 2 mornings a week, Bennett goes to school and I get to spend a little girl time with Leah. It's awesome for everyone. :)