My Grandpa

Earlier this week, my grandpa Bushell peacefully passed away.

We knew it would happen sometime soon, and we were prepared for it, but It's always hard to let a loved one go. 

His funeral was beautiful. Simple, and respectful, jut how he would have wanted it.

As my family members spoke about their memories of him, I thought of my own favorite memories, and 3 came to mind that I will always cherish.

The first, is one time when we went camping. He had a 4-wheeler and often took us grandkids for a quick ride. Usually packing 2 or 3 of us on. But on this particular day, he asked if I would like to go for a ride, just the 2 of us. I remember that as soon as I hopped on the 4-wheeler, he said "You might want to keep your mouth closed. Otherwise, you will get bugs in your teeth!".  Needless to say, I was terrified I'd be spitting out horseflies and beetles into the next week! We rode around the mountains for what seemed like forever.

The 2nd, was only a few years ago. I think it was just before my grandma passed away. We were over at their home for some sort of family party or BBQ, and out on the table in the back yard, he had a small scale, working engine that he had built. My grandpa loved to take things apart and put them back together. He never threw anything away because he could just fix it himself. He sat me down and pointed out every aspect of that engine, explaining to me how it worked, what part did what, and how gasoline in converted into energy for the engine to run. I like that memory because it defines just how my grandpa was: always curious of how things worked, and he enjoyed passing on that knowledge.

The third was the day he asked if I wanted to see his photos. He enjoyed taking photos and had faithfully cataloged them. He showed me an album or two of some nature photography, and then said "would you like to see my photos from Germany when I was in the army? I think you would appreciate them." He then pulled out an old album with his photos from when he served in Germany during the Korean war. He spent a good hour going through each photo, recalling all of the men's names in every photo. I remember that near the end of the album, his voice cracked and he had to excuse himself. He left for a moment and returned with a tissue and a couple of tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry" he said "but you know, those were all good men..."

My grandpa was never an expressive man. He never hugged you, or showed much emotion, so that moment was significant to me. He wanted my family to see those photos because they had meant a lot to him, and they now mean a lot to me.

I guess, now that I think of it, there is one more memory that I will always pull up when I think of him. A week or so before he passed away, he came to stay at my parents house for the weekend. He was so thin and his body moved slowly and his mind was moving slowly as well. It really hurt me to see him like that because I was so used to my strong and healthy grandpa. I didn't know how I should act. I almost felt uncomfortable. He sat down on the couch and after I walked in from getting his bags from the car he said "Now Brooke, you know those hats you make?"

"The knitted ones I make on the loom?" I asked

"Yeah, those knitted ones. If you aren't too busy this weekend, will you show me how to make one? I'd really like to learn because Roberta liked to make them." (Roberta is my Grandma)

This request really warmed my heart. Years ago, he had made me the loom I used to make knitted hats on. He made it out of wood and even carved his radio call name from when he was in the military on it "Lobo" (which means 'Wolf' I think...) I still have it, and I still make hats on it.

But I never did get around to show him.

And I will regret that for a long time. It probably would have been the last one-on-one time I would ever have with him.

I'm so grateful for the knowledge I have of eternal families. It's comforting to know that he is reunited with my grandma now, and they are waiting until the day that we will all be together again.

Disneyland!

Ok, so back in March, we went on a family trip to Disneyland with Bryant's parents, his brother Tyler, his sister Chantel, his Uncle Steve, and his aunt Sandy! It was like a mini-Stoke's family reunion! It was so fun to have the whole family there, and It was even more fun that we were there for Savannah's first birthday, which she shares with her Grandpa! 

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Savannah was a lucky duck because this was actually her 2nd trip to Disneyland! Two trips in her first year of life! One with her Peacock side and one with her Stokes side. Yup, she's lucky!

Ok, so I have a TON of photos from the trip, and I wanted to post ALL of them because I consider this blog my personal journal/scrapbook. So I apologize for soooo many photos, but I just couldn't help it. I wanted them all here for myself. They are not in order, and they are all collaged into groups for time and space purposes. I'll comment on a few, but this post will be mostly photos. Enjoy!

Savannah isn't crying in that first photo, she's actually pulling a face. She's such a ham in front of a camera. Also, Chantel won that horse for her at the California Adventure boardwalk and Savannah won't go to bed unless it's in her crib!

We caught Mickey just as he was walking across the front of the park. He was being followed by a million kids, but stopped long enough to give Savannah a hug (and I was trying to navigate around a lot of people so I didn't get a great shot.)

Bryant wore that Elmo hat everywhere. And he hates that I usually beat him at Buzz Lightyear... And I finally got a good picture of Savy with Mickey and her Aunt Channy!

It was really cold in the morning and at night, but she looks darling in her Mickey hat! (can you spot her birthday pin on the ear?) Sandy and Steve are in the bottom left. Steve lives in California and Sandy lives in Hawaii, it was so great having them there and getting to know them better! I miss them so much!

The fountain is from St. George on our way home. And that picture on the bottom right is a duck that was following Steve and I while we were buying hot chocolate!

These are from our hotel. The sign on the right says "for your safety, shoes must be worn in the atrium". The bottom left is our view. We were in a different room, but it wasn't clean when we got there, so they upgraded us to this room, which faced Disneyland and we could see the matterhorn and lights from the World of Color show!

Our first night in Anaheim, we all went out to celebrate Ed and Savannah's birthday at the olive garden! I was super car sick and couldn't keep anything down so I didn't really get to eat my dinner, but it was fun just being there with the whole family!

(I was sick the whole trip, which sucked, but I still had an amazing time! Just FYI, don't go on captain E.O. if you are recovering from car sickness. It just makes it worse...)

Our first day in the parks, we stopped at Town Hall to get Ed and Savannah birthday buttons! And we had to head to Bryant's favorite ride first: The Jungle Cruise!

Savannah fell asleep on every single boat ride, without fail! Pirates of the Carribean, It's a Small World, the Storybook Canal, all of them!

Savannah wasn't quite walking at the time, but she enjoyed hanging onto the ropes in line and making everybody smile!

I ate my first Dole Whip! A-MA-ZING!

Playing games on the boardwalk!

We had so much fun and Savannah loved all of the attention she got from having so many family members around her (and lots of strangers who thought she was the most adorable Princess Belle they had ever seen!) And she did really well the whole trip (Except for the car ride there, she just wanted to play with Chantel's ipod the whole time and got really upset whenever I took it away.)

We can't wait to go again! Chantel just got a job at Disneyworld in Florida, so we are planning a trip there hopefully sometime in January or February. We are so excited!!!

14 Months

The problem with a 14 month old is that I'm constantly chasing her, cleaning up after her and stopping her from escaping outside. When I get a break (like during nap time) I'm usually catching up on laundry, or taking a breather and relaxing. Which leaves very little room for blogging. I have soooo much to catch up on. I haven't even blogged about our Disneyland trip back in March yet! Yikes! But, I figured I had better do a "Savannah Update" before another month slips by me and I miss something. 

In my last update, (nearly 2 months ago!) I wrote that Savannah was starting to walk, mostly hanging onto things and taking shorts steps between the couch/coffee table/chairs. Well within a day or two of posting that, she just randomly decided "hey, I'm just going to walk like a pro now!" and so she did! She's been cruising ever since! Its been interesting and fun and terrifying to say the least. My favorite thing about it is that she's created a game I like to call "where did this come from?".  I constantly find things where they shouldn't be. Like finding all of my herbs and spices in the laundry room, or her books in the bathroom. If I can't find a necklace/watch/bracelet Its almost guaranteed to be hiding under the couch cushions. Just the other day I was fishing out a headlamp in my parents garbage can that I don't think they threw away...

She's been starting to figure out words. She's been able to say "mom" "dad" and "baby" for a while, and now she tries her hardest to copy almost any word you ask her to say. Like "cracker" (crack-a!) or "toes" (toe) or "nose" (nawo),  eye, or "Sage" (tage!) And she's been saying "Naw Naw" for the last few days, usually when she's showing me something or wants something, but I can't figure out exactly what she's trying to say.

She also likes to make animal sounds. My favorite is her "elephant" sound!

She's gotten a lot more clingy, and not in a "all I want is my mom and no one else" sense, because she is just fine being around and going to other people, and doesn't get upset if I leave or anything. She just enjoys my attention more. If she feels I'm not giving her the attention she wants, she will come and sit in my lap, give me a hug or kiss, hang onto my legs, or grab my cheeks and move my head so that I'm looking directly at her. It really helps me re-focus my attention on her and reassure her that I love her and like to be with her. Usually after a quick hug or kiss on the cheek, she is back to being her curious, independent self. She just likes the comfort of knowing that I'm there.

 (She has just barely enough hair to do piggy-tails!)

She is very observant. She loves to do the things that she has seen me do, like pull a dishcloth out of the drawer and wipe her face, and the counter, floor, chairs, walls, etc. She likes to pretend to do laundry and will pull her clothes out of her drawer and take them into the laundry room and put them in the basket. A couple of days ago, I had just finished folding a load of laundry and she picked up the stack, walked over to the dryer, threw them all back in and closed the door. Apparently, they weren't done yet! She even has tried to plug the charger into my phone! 

She loves her stuffed animals and constantly has one in her arms. She will usually pick a different one ever day and carry it around, hug it and kiss it, and makes sure mommy gives it hugs and kisses too. 

She really loves to be outside. It's her favorite place to be and she constantly runs to the door or looks out the window and cries if I don't take her out.

 

(Her favorite food, marshmallows) 

 

She has a new found love for dogs. When we first introduced her to Ace, she was a little wary of him and he didn't bother to acknowledge her. And she stayed a little afraid of all dogs until a couple of months ago and now she absolutely LOVES them. She cuddles them and hugs them, and gives them big kisses right on the nose!

 (Her favorite activity at the park, throwing wood chips on the slide)

She has 3 teeth coming in at the same time. 2 molars and another front tooth. Three teeth at the same time makes for one ornery baby...

She loves to tease people. She likes to tickle, pinch, wrestle, play peekaboo, etc. She also loves to BE teased. She will walk up to you, then run away screaming, expecting you to chase her. If you don't she will walk past you several times until you do.

(She's a little water bug!)

She loves to read her books, and will bring one to you to read to her. (It's more like just turning pages. She doesn't give you enough time to read haha!). Yesterday, she grabbed a cookbook and wanted me to read it to her. It doesn't matter what kind of book it is, so long as you let her turn the pages, she's happy.

She's also a little dancer. If any kind of music comes on, she shimmys and shakes her booty to the beat! (even church music!)

She is such a sweetheart, and she's growing up way too fast!