{Saying Goodbye}

Grandpa Lundquist was 92 years old when he passed away this year. I only had the pleasure of being with him twice in my life. The first time was Christmas 2010, when Ben and I were dating. The second was just last year. It was quite the memorable holiday for all of us as Grandpa, Ben and myself ended up incredibly sick for at least 24 hours. I will spare details, but we tried to laugh about it the day I was leaving. This is our "I'm not dead, but I still feel like it" face. It was the last time I would see Grandpa in mortality. I remember the first time meeting him how much he loved his Ethelyn. She passed away about a year ago. Right before we took this photo, he broke down crying saying how much he missed her. Knowing he is now with her again made his passing a sweet sorrow.

Ben and I drove to Lindsborg, KS from Utah. Ben's dad drove from Lake Charles, LA for the funeral. We even brought Cinna (she's an interstate traveler now). Getting to Grandpa's was something we were looking forward to, but we both commented how strange it was to be in his house and not have him there. The feeling was just different. He really was gone. Grandma and Grandpa Lundquist were life-long supporters of the Bethany Lutheran Church. This is where he and Grandma are now buried. It was a lovely service and I felt his location quite appropriate, as he could still watch the crops grow. Grandpa was a life long farmer. He was an inventor and had so many stories of working in the fields. I can still hear his voice...

One of the lovely parts of losing family is the opportunity to gather as family and spend time together. I grew to really love Lindsborg and getting to know Ben's cousins during our short visit this time. I love their small town and their little families and can't wait until we have a brood of our own so they can all play together. We loved walking the streets of the quiet town, watching squirrels, getting SnoCones, visiting places remembered during his childhood, and trying out the local restaurants. It was a great visit and we love this part of our family. As it is with the rest of our family, it is very sad distance keeps us all so far apart during this time of our lives. We love them all :)

{A Little Update}

I've tried to start a new blog post a few times in the last month, but for some reason I just haven't been able to get my heart to put into words how its been feeling.

Rather than blog from the heart this time, I guess blogging the facts will have to do :)

• Co2 Laser Therapy-Round 2, went very very well. I actually have very little to say about it other than it was such a DREAM compared to the first time. They figured out to use ICE on each part of my face before zapping me and WOW. One more treatment to go. I was scheduled for June, but had to postpone until August. I am loving the results!
• Weight-loss. Well, the online trainer thing was short-lived for me. Physically I felt terrible and I looked terrible, and the weight just wasn't coming off fast enough to keep me motivated. A friend of mine came back from maternity leave looking amazing for having had a baby 9 months before. She told me about a program she's been on using "Ideal Protein". I started it 5 weeks ago and I think I down about 13 lbs. right now. I've heard of more weightloss in that amount of time, but I am still encouraged. My clothes have started fitting better and my joints feel amazing. (I was having really sore hip pain before I started this.)
• 48 Hour Movie Project - Year 4 wrapped up last weekend. I was able to be on the Daley/Maxim Team again as their camera chick. It was awesome. We drew "Superhero" for our genre and even though the guys weren't as thrilled with their film this year, we all thought it was really good and of course, funny :) Looking forward to next year even more.
• Garth Brooks - I FINALLY got to see him LIVE in concert in Las Vegas at The Wynn. Ben and I drove down and had an amazing weekend. I have to say---BEST CONCERT I've ever been to. Wow, Wow, Wow. I mean, he is the REASON I LOVE COUNTRY MUSIC. I will admit this...yeah, I CRIED. I've never cried at a concert before...I was that amazed at the magic of it all. He was so real, funny, and he adored his wife, Trisha Yearwood, who came out on stage and sang two songs with him as well. I'm not sure concerts will ever be the same for me again. This girl is completely spoiled.
• That same weekend (Memorial Day), we stopped by and say my good friend, Jenn on the way home. She is pregnant with her 4th baby and we ended up helping her pick up dirt for her garden and getting that all sorted out for her. It was cute to see her so excited about plants. I am looking forward to having something like that once I have room to grow food...now that I love veggies and all :) We also went camping with her family and some people from her ward up Diamond Fork Canyon. They were all fancy and had campers, but we slept in the back of our truck, just like the outdoorsy people that we are, haha.
• Ben surprised me one night and when I came from work he had pulled our weeds and bought a bunch of bark for our front garden. It looks so nice! I don't think it even needs flowers, but I wouldn't object. That was a big deal for me! :) It was one of those things I kept meaning to do and just never got around to doing it.
• I cut 7 inches off my hair. I don't love how it looks, but I love how it feels. I'm pretty sure this was my biggest cut ever.
• Ben and I went to Zions National Park a few weeks ago. We bought a parks pass and have plans to frequent many more. We climbed Angel's Landing, camped and had an amazing time. It was pretty hot and all, but I'm glad I did it.

That's all I've got for now. G'night my pretties.