Our GrandpaWe lost him last Monday, and it's just really sad, but I remember all the good times we had. When we first moved to Delta, he was the water master for the Sugarville area. The kids and I would go for rides in his truck every few days to "help" him check the water. What a carefree, fun time we had back then. He always kept everything running well around the farm, even our cars that Jim didn't have time to work on. He loved to take us all out on the desert for picnics, Easter egg hunts, wood cutting, and Christmas tree finding. On Christmas Eve he pulled the old wagon with his tractor with us all piled in just to drive a half mile up the road in freezing temperatures to sing a Christmas carol or two at the neighbors. One of his favorite things to do was to fix people breakfast in the morning. His specialty was pancakes, but you never new exactly what he might put in them. They were always good, but sometimes they were a little different. I can't count the many times that he paid to get us out of a bind. He didn't really give us money very often, but he'd fix something that was broken or lend us a car for awhile. Both he and Grandma were the best grandparents a child could have, and we're going to miss them. But we do have our happy memories.
Tana and her green nightgown! I don't know whatever happened to it, but she wore it every time she spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa.
Grandpa with hair? When did that happen?
All the kids loved their Grandpa!
Celebrating Grandpa's birthday. Everyone had a birthday celebration that usually included Grandma and Grandpa.
Grandpa was always out in "the barn" fixing something.
Lydia with her great Grandma and Grandpa. It's just too bad that she won't really remember them except through pictures.
Chris and Brooke on an exploring trip with Grandpa.
Grandpa loved to take his family out on the desert, to the mountains, etc. as long as it was away from civilization.................I think this was a Christmas tree hunting trip in 1987.
Everyone loved Grandma & Grandpa's swing, including Gavin and the cat!
Wow! They look so young!
This has always been one of my favorite pictures. Chris and Lars were such little munchkins......
It's hard to believe Ian and Shelbee were ever that little. They loved living next door to their grandparents!
Thanks for making me cry. I guess I haven't done that in about a week. I'm so glad I have such good memories of the best grandparents ever even if remembering does make me miss them even more.
ReplyDeleteRiding in the truck or on the tractor with Grandpa was great. I remember going to Bob Stinson's cabin once and eating banana chips. Grandpa always had a jug of water in his truck too...usually an old bleach bottle. I also remember him driving with no hands on the hardpan. He always gave us vitamins, miscellaneous treasures, and ice cream.
Grandma let us girls play in her old make-up and water plants with her by using the little tester. She always had a smile or a song and she was always willing to do the bunny hop with us. Or a puzzle. I so wish that He-Man puzzle hadn't disappeared.
We had it really good growing up. We were outside playing around the farm a lot. Did you ever wonder where we were? I guess maybe between the two houses you could see us or figure out where we were playing...eventually.
I guess this is the way life goes. Things change and you lose people you love. It's so good to know that we'll see them both again. Thanks for sharing the pictures.
Sorry for making you cry Shelbee, but it's OK to cry. I didn't really wonder where you were when you played outside because there was nowhere for you to really go except to Grandma and Grandpa's. You always answered when I called, except Chris, and we fixed him by putting bells on his shoes. I grew up playing outside all the time and having a great time, so I guess I wasn't too worried about it. That was such a carefree time for the most part, and I miss it.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad that I didn't visit Grandpa as much as I should have after Grandma died, but it was just a comfort knowing he was there. Now there's just an empty feeling. It is good to know we'll see them again!