Visiting Grandpa

One year ago today, JB's grandpa passed away from this mortal life.

After our church meetings this morning, we went to visit him at the Centerville cemetery, where we delivered some fresh flowers. It was our first time seeing his (updated) headstone since the funeral last year.

We take comfort in knowing that his spirit is not really there and that he has been reunited with his sweetheart. We also look forward to the day we will see him again, through faithfulness to our covenants. In the meantime, we love and miss him here.

Weekend at Bear Lake 2019, Part 1

Not to be outdone after our trip to Lehi Thursday, we went out of town again Friday morning and headed up to Bear Lake to spend the weekend at JB's grandpa's cabin in Laketown.

On the way, we stopped at Gossner's for some cheese curd and root beer milk (like you do), and we also paid Dad a brief visit in the Smithfield cemetery.

His headstone, apparently, was still there, and so were the flowers Mom left for him on Memorial Day weekend.

Once we reached Laketown and the cabin, we had a relaxing weekend along with JB's sister Danielle; her husband, Tyson; and their kids, Kiera and Tatum. We watched DVDs, read books, napped, enjoyed raspberry shakes at LaBeau's and Zipz, and just generally relaxed and had a good time together in cooler temperatures than we are used to at home in Bountiful.

On Friday the 5th, we had a second Independence Day/fireworks night, which included shooting Roman candles off toward the direction of the lake (or casting Harry Potter spells, if you will):

The second night, we made s'mores around the campfire:

Come Sunday, we cleaned up and packed up and were on our way back home to Bountiful. Leaving was an emotional moment for both JB and her sister. They had spent a number of days in their childhood and youth up at this family cabin. and with JB's dad and siblings agreeing to sell the cabin recently, it may very well have been our last chance to spend time up there.

Grandpa's Funeral

A beautiful funeral service was held today in honor of JB's beloved grandpa. We congregated with her family members at the Centerville 3rd Ward building for the occasion. JB's brother Jeremy was one of the speakers, telling a number of great stories and memories of Grandpa.

After this, we journeyed to the Centerville city cemetery for the graveside service and found that the heavens were weeping for the occasion. Members of the U.S. Navy were there to give him a military memorial, and it's the first such one of these I've ever seen. I loved it.

Here's Grandpa's 21-gun salute, followed by the playing of "Taps" on the bugle:

... and the folding of the flag that draped his casket:

Our five-year-old nephew Tatum kept dry from the rain in part by wearing his dad's suit coat:

It was a beautiful day, one filled with many tears and a lot of laughter, as well. How grateful we are for our knowledge of the plan of salvation.

Grandpa Moves On

JB's beloved Grandpa Arbuckle passed away Saturday. He was 91 years old.

Since JB came into my life, so did my having a grandpa to spend time with for the first time in many years and first time since I've been an adult. (All of my own grandparents were gone by the time I was 10 or 11 years old.) Most every Wednesday night (unless weather or illness intervened), we took him out to dinner locally and simply enjoyed his company, listening to his many great stories about serving in the U.S. Navy, a career in HVAC filled with opportunities serving others, or just his love for his many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

More than anyone else, though, he almost always would speak of his beloved wife and how much he missed her. They were married for over 60 years. She preceded him in death by nearly seven years, and he missed her desperately. While we mourn his passing, we are also grateful he is now reunited with his sweetheart and is free of the pain he endured in this life.

Today is, in fact, our first Wednesday without Grandpa. His viewing and funeral will be held next week, so I will post more about it here on this blog. We love you and miss you, Grandpa.

Wednesdays with Grandpa

For the last several months, we've been going to dinner most Wednesday nights with Jana's 90-year-old Grandpa Arbuckle. (Prior to my being invited to join in on the fun, which occurred a few months before we got married, Jana had already been doing this with Grandpa for quite some time.)

Today, we ended up at Rumbi Grill for dinner. The food was wonderful.

These meals are always a great time. Grandpa always has a number of stories to tell us about his incredible life. And I love having the opportunity to call someone "Grandpa" in my adult years; my own grandparents have been gone for many years now.