Farewell to Grandpa Noble

While we were on our trip last weekend we received word that Jason's grandfather had passed away.  He'd been in the hospital since he broke his hip in a fall in early March and had recently been placed on hospice.  We made the trip down to California this weekend for his funeral.

Noble Junior Waite

It was a very nice service filled with kind words and lots of music.  I didn't know him all that well, so it was neat for me to hear some of the stories about him as a young boy.  He certainly led a long, full life and left behind some wonderful memories in his friends and posterity. The feeling I got both at the viewing and the funeral was one of peace.  While those who he left behind will certainly miss him, they understood that he was no longer suffering and that he was finally able to be united with his first wife who died in a car accident almost 23 years ago.

Leila did remarkably well during the services (well, aside from treating me as her personal jungle gym) and she was definitely the hit of the party.  One lady who was sitting behind us even told me that Leila was her saving grace because every time she would be about to break down in tears, she would look at Leila and couldn't help but smile.  She certainly brings joy into the lives of those around her--even perfect strangers!  This is something I also admired about Noble.  He had quite the sense of humor and loved to make people laugh.

There was quite the funeral procession from the church in Huntington Beach all the way to Rose Hills Memorial Park (about 30 miles) where he was laid to rest next to his wife.  Jason had the opportunity to be one of the pallbearers.  I had been to the cemetery with Jason once before and don't blame them for choosing this resting place.  On a clear day, you can see the Los Angeles skyline and the cemetery is wonderfully maintained.

God be with you, Grandpa Noble, until we meet again!

Jaredites for Jared

My little brother Jared graduated high school yesterday!  Okay, so he's not so little anymore...

One of Jared's friends designed these t-shirts and a bunch of people bought them.  In case you can't tell from the picture they say "Jaredites: Jared Larsen is the Coolest Person I know."  My mom bought one for each family member but they didn't have any in Jason or Leila's sizes so I made them myself.  FYI, it is next to impossible to find a plain black onesie on short notice.  So I improvised and made a toddler's shirt into a dress for Leila.  She had matching booties on too but wouldn't keep them on...

Way to go Buddy Boy!  I'm so proud of you!

Birthday Getaway

Fact: My birthday usually falls on or around Memorial Day weekend.  Fact:  I LOVE vacations.  Fact: My husband is awesome and worked out a great birthday getaway.

We had been toying with going out of town for Memorial Day but never actually got around to making a plan.  Once I finally did start doing some looking for hotels and what not, I realized that every one else must also be trying to get away for the long weekend cuz there were no vacancies.  Not right near Bryce, Zion, Capitol Reef, Arches, or Vernal.  And I was bummed to say the least.  Jason didn't give up though.  He was able to find a decently priced hotel in Cedar City--which is about an hour away from Zion National Park.  So we packed up and left Saturday morning.

We got into the park in the late afternoon and rode the shuttle all the way up the canyon and most of the way back down before disembarking.  We decided to do the Lower Emerald Pool hike.  Beautiful!

Waiting for the Shuttle

Happy Family

Hiker Girls

In hindsight we should have hiked first and then rode the tram up the canyon and back down because the shuttle was PACKED trying to get back out of the canyon.  Standing room only with Leila strapped to my chest in a hot car with sweaty hikers all around...but we made it.  When we went through Springdale in January with my cousin Alicia, we had tried to go to Historic Pioneer Restaurant but it was closed for the season.  So we made up for it this time around.  We even got a slice of coconut cream pie to go that would serve as my birthday "cake" the next morning.

The next day I convinced Jason to forego going back into Zion and head over to Bryce Canyon instead.  Behind Arches, this is definitely my favorite Utah National Park.  Before going into the park we ate lunch at Ruby's Inn and then drove through the park while Leila was napping.  When she was done napping (or rather, when I was done driving) we hiked the Navajo Loop trail.  This trail goes down into the canyon, past Thor's Hammer and through Wall Street before winding back up to the top.

Down, Down, Down

Two Bridges

What a great way to spend my birthday!