In honor of ALL the father's in my life, I'm going to share 1 memory of each father that I'm related to. To be included in this list are my own Dad, my husband, Grandpa's, and Uncles...Living or passed on. Here we go.
Dad-My Dad, Gina and I went to Red Robin for dinner one day in the summer months. We told them the waitress it was Dad's birthday (January 24) so we could get free ice cream. We ate our dinner and then bottomless french fries for over an hour. It was AWESOME!
Ken-When we lived in Utah we lived in a duplex with a lot of trees in our front yard. One fall day Ken went outside to rake leaves and just as he was done the kids joined him. He was getting ready to bag up the leaves when Matthew and Nicole ran through the pile then started playing. I could see that he was frustrated but he allowed himself to get caught up in the moment and they all played in the leaves together. We never did get them cleaned up and in the trash.
Grandpas
Grandpa Price-Last time I saw my Grandpa it was while we were in Bremerton for my Mom's viewing and funeral. One evening while we were at the church for the viewing Grandpa and I were standing at the head of her casket talking and my sister said she would take her picture. I stood there and smiled, and right as Gina snapped the camara Grandpa ducked down so he would be level with the casket. It was really funny.
Grandpa Anderson-I never met him. He passed away before I was born. He actually passed away before any of his grandchildren were born. Both my Mom and my Aunt Chris were pregnant with their first babies at his funeral.
Great Grandpa Calaway-Grandpa Calaway passed away when I was 11 years old. If I remember correctly he lived part time in Idaho and part time in Basin City. Basin City is where I was him. He made the BEST peanut brittle. One of the last times I saw him I went over to his house which was across the street from my grandparents house, and we made peanut brittle together. I think that batch was the best one I ever had and we ate A LOT of it by ourselves.
Uncles
Steve Price-Steve is my Mom's brother. When I was a child we would visit my grandparents home and on each visit Ryan, Heather and I would spend the night at Steve's house. I was terrified of their dog, Bear. His children are my cousins that I was the closest to and have the most memories with. (That actually shows how very little time we spent with family while I was growing up.) I remember one time Steve was my grandparents house and we were talking about names. He was asking me what each of our middle names were. When I told him Garen's middle name was Clyde, after Grandpa Calaway, Steve told me Garen was named after him. He said his name was Clyde. I didn't believe him. He ended up showing me driver's license. He convinced me of his first name, but not that Garen was named after him. :)
Lyn Price-I didn't see Lyn very often growing up because he didn't live in the same town as many of my Aunts and Uncles. One time he came over to my Grandparents house and I was playing outside. He looked familiar, I knew he was my uncle and I knew it wasn't Steve but I also knew I didn't know who he was. So when he said 'Hi Dedra' I thought quick and said, 'Hi Steve!' He stopped, and then said told me he wasn't Steve. After he told me his name he also informed me that he was MUCH younger AND more handsome than Steve. They are far less than 2 years apart...I was going to say 16 months but I'm not sure. Lyn passed away in May of 2006 and is GREATLY missed.
Tom Collier-I saw Tom a couple of summers ago. First at a family reunion and then I stayed the night in their home while I was driving back to Kansas. Tom gave the prayer that evening and gave thanks that 'Deder' and her kids made it safely. He is one of my only family members that still call me Deder. I like it.
Darcy Price-When I was little I would watch Darcy give my older cousins rides in the back of his truck. When the rides were over my brother would tell my Mom what they did. She'd get mad. Ryan would say I was great. I wanted to go! The first time I got to ride in the back of the truck I felt like it was a HUGE milestone in my life. I was scared to death while we road up to the dairy but it was an equally fun time.
Grant Mathews-When I was 6 years old Ryan told me that Grant was the Incredible Hulk. I was scared of him for MANY years. I wish I had a picture of him to show you. Last time I saw him, Ken and I ran into him and Jill at the Columbia River Temple. After our session, while we are all in the last room you go to, I told him that story. We laughed and he said he hoped I had learned not to believe what Ryan tells me.
Brad Casper-The first flat tire I ever had happened while I was taking my cousin Jessica home. I was parked in front of their house and my cousin Tyler told me he could hear my tire losing air. Brad changed that tire for me. THANKS AGAIN Brad!
Theron Anderson-Theron did chin videos with us the evening after my Mom's Funeral. He acted like it was too juvenile for him, but he loved it!
Sherrall Anderson-Sherrall and his wife Brenda came to visit us a few times when we lived in Meridian, Idaho. I remember his always being kind and happy. I don't actually have a memory of any conversations we have had, but I loved it when I got to play with his children.
Dave Nicoletti-Dave is not legally my Uncle anymore since he and my aunt divorced but I still consider him my Uncle. I haven't seen him well over 20 years but I remember that he LOVED trains. I think the first time I ever heard, 'I saw 'U' 'P' (you pee) on a boxcar', he was the one who said it.
Ernie Kean-I never met Ernie. I only spoke to him on the telephone 3 times in my life. He passed away on July 25, 2003. My memories of Ernie are nothing but positive. The first time we spoke he told me to let my parents know that their baby daughter, Natalie, didn't survive. He bore his testimony to me that Heavenly Father had bigger plans for her. The next 2 times we spoke were after my baby son passed away. He gave me good council and bore his testimony to me again. I wish I could have met him. He was a good man.
My Dad came over for dinner tonight. Before he left we took a couple of pictures. Something went wrong in the end...
Happy Father's Day!
When Ken and I go to the temple we bring Nicole and Matthew with us to wait in the waiting room. They get about 2 hours to feel a special spirit you can only feel from the temple. While Ken and I were there on Friday, they took my camara and went outside for a photo shoot. Among the blury sideways pictures and the ones taken of the inside of one of my child's mouth (who shall remain nameless) this picture was present. One of the kids put their scriptures in her lap and took the photo. I LOVE IT.
I really LOVE this guy.
I also love this guy. He said he didn't mind if I posted this picture, but he was concerned about the caption I might tag to it. Taking the whole photo into consideration...my dad acting--'special' and my brother behind him not really knowing what's going on, I'm taking suggestions for possible captions to add to this picture. I'll start with a comment that he would say to us often, maybe not with this expression, but according to my teenage mind fits the question...
We got on the road at 11am on Saturday and drove to Rawlins, Wyoming the first night.
As happy as I am to be moving back to Washington to be closer to my family, this sign was the hardest one for me to see. I LOVE KANSAS!! It's not like the Wizard of Oz. Maybe you already know that but I surely didn't when I moved there. I'll say I was pleasantly surprised. The people are amazing. The landscaping is beautiful and I've never seen more beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Anyway, I love Kansas and I already miss my friends that I left behind.
While we were in Utah, we stopped in to see my sister, Gina. She cut my Dad's hair. We also ate Walmart deli food for lunch on the patio furniture in front of the store. Sadly, my camara was in the truck.
