cardwell living

October 24, 2012

     My Grandpa Butler passed away a week or so ago.  He had a difficult few years with his Parkinson's and health matters.  So, we were sad to not have him with us anymore, but also grateful that he isn't suffering anymore either.  We got to see a lot of family and that was nice.  My brother was able to come from Germany, my sister from Wyoming, and my other sisters were there too.  We also got to see a lot of extended family and I don't know if there will be another chance that we get to have so many of us together like that again.  I decided I wanted to write out the week so I could remember it and document it.

Tuesday

     My parents were driving in from Wyoming with my sister Heather and her family, she has two kids ages 3 and 1.  They had stopped at Heather's on the way here after they had spent the last few days with Grandpa before he died.  So Matthew and I got the house ready and we were able to visit that night.  We also watched the presidential debate and had dinner together.  I made a crockpot dinner of barbecue beef.


Wednesday

     My dad was busy doing a few things getting ready for the funeral.  My parents left after their dentist appointment.  My mom and I went to a hair salon to get our hair trimmed.  My mom had tried to get her friend, but the times wouldn't work out.  It was kind of exciting to get out of the house without the kids in the middle of the day with my Mom!  I just had my hair trimmed at the bottom.  Then I spent the afternoon watching kids, talking with Heather, etc.  Mark left to do something with the car and I hung out with everyone for a bit.  Matt and Melissa's family drove up that evening to spend some time with us.  Matt had flown into Salt Lake from Germany on Monday and rode with Melissa.  We had dinner together from Cafe Rio and then Melissa and Bill and their four kids drove the rest of the way up to Driggs.  Bill had to work in the morning (just with a place with the internet) so they needed to be up there for the morning.  Matt stayed with us that night.  Before they left, they helped us switch out our fridge that has been in the garage for a number of months!  It was great.  We found a dolly and then we had four men to move it.  We appreciated all the help.  Even lately, we still accidentally go out to the garage once in a while!  I am getting better now and have for a bit, but it is still happening, such a habit.  That night we talked in the family room and laughed with me and Matthew, Matt, Mark and Heather.  We had serious conversations, we talked about spiritual things, and laughed a lot.  Then Heather went to bed and me and Matthew and Mark and Matt went out to the hot tub.  I was outnumbered with all the boys.  But it was fun because it was dark and the stars were all out above us and it was also cold outside!  But it wasn't too bad getting out, thankfully.

Thursday

     We got ready to go up to Driggs.  Matthew took off work, the kids took off school and we were going up to spend time with family.  We hadn't got anything packed, so for almost two hours, Matthew and I just spent time packing, and helping kids, and running around!  It was a little bit busy, but it was fine and we made it!  Then we drove up to Driggs with Matt and Heather's family and when we got there we had lunch with Dad's best friend Jim and his wife Sandy at their house.  Right next to their house was a house that gets rented out.  We were able to stay in it for free, because the person knows Jim and heard about us and said we could have it for free as long as we just cleaned it up, obviously.  So that was awesome.  Jim and Sandy Wilson live in Alta, Wyoming, which is just a little bit away from Driggs.  Jim took the kids on a hike, I stayed with the twins and Eli and Matthew stayed behind to help.  Mom and Dad, Matt, Bill, and Mary and Nathan and Carter, Preston, Avery, and Laura's family went.  Laura and Scott drove up just as they were going so Laura and Scott just followed them with the car.  I talked to Heather and Melissa for a while, we showed James and John the horses, (which they were a little bit scared about) and Matthew jumped on Jim and Sandy's tramp for a while with James and John, which they thought was fun at first, but then they didn't want to stay on it too long.  There was also this black dog of somebody's that hung around the house and James and John liked the "puppy."  This is also the place where we had the runaway horse sleigh ride experience that I wrote about a long time ago, just because talking about the horses reminded me of that.  Here are a few pictures of the house we stayed out, or views right by it, from the days we stayed there Thursday to Saturday.  Some of these pictures are ones that Laura or someone else took.  I think most of the next ones are from Laura, though, or me.  There is one of John when Uncle Matt fixed his hair and John did not like it.  There is also one of me and my sisters and me and all my siblings from oldest to youngest.

Thursday evening we went to Grandpa's viewing at the funeral home and saw a lot of family and visited with them.  Thursday night after we got the kids to bed the adults talked on the couch and laughed.  At the house, Laura and Scott and family, Melissa and Bill and family, and our family stayed there.  Mom and Dad, Matt, and Heather and Mark's family stayed with Jim and Sandy who were just next door.

Friday

     Friday morning we got up, ate breakfast, and got ready for the funeral.  We went to the family viewing before the funeral and then went to the funeral.  It was a wonderful event.  I felt more emotional than I had expected, even though that sounds kind of funny, but it was a good experience to remember Grandpa's good life, his courage, and his good example.  There were funny stories, inspiring stories, and it was wonderful remembering him.  The grandkids sang "Love at Home" and my brother Matt played a piano solo "Coming Home" I believe it was and Scott sang "The Test."  Matt and Scott's pieces were beautiful.  The grandkids sounded good too, I would guess, even though I am not a fair judge because I was up there singing. :)  We went to the cemetery and since Grandpa served in the war they did the guns and everything.  Then we went back to the church and had lunch there that a ward provided for us and talked.  A few of us went back to the house with our kids.  A lot of my cousins stayed at the church and played basketball there.  For dinner, all of the family that was still there I think came to the house we were staying at and had pizza.  It was a full house, but lots of fun!  It was great to see everyone.  After many of them left, some of our cousins stayed and we played a game and talked.  It was a busy day, but good.  Here are a few pictures from that day.

     In the picture just above are the grandkids of Grandpa Jay Dell.  There were a few grandkids at the funeral that aren't in the picture, but most of us are there.  It's a pretty good bunch!  I love these people!  I wish I could see them more often, but it was still good to see them.

Saturday

     We spent a few hours cleaning the place we were staying at and then we left to go to my house.  We drove up earlier with Laura and Scott while Melissa, Bill, and Matt stayed with just Sadie to clean up without any kids there to make it easier to clean.  Then we took my family pictures on Saturday and watched the BYU football game against Notre Dame and then Matt and Melissa left and we just hung out that evening.  Laura stayed and went to church with us on Sunday and then went home after lunch.  It was a busy week, but fun to see everyone.