Father’s Day & Charlie’s Birthday

This year Charlie’s birthday fell right on Father’s Day. Is doesn’t get better than celebrating two of my favorite boys in one day! You can make that four with my dad and father-in-law! I made cinnamon rolls, eggs, and bacon for breakfast, and then we gave Charlie a new bike and helmet. He had fun riding around.

After church and Colson’s nap, we headed to Alpine to celebrate Charlie, Karl, and Father’s Day. Plans changed, however, as we were on our way, I found out that my Grandpa Arbon had just passed away. I dropped off Jason and the boys at Grubers for the party and then met up with my family to see Grandpa before they took him body away. It was very sad and touching, but precious to be with my family.

After spending a little time there, I headed back to Grubers in time to see the presents being opened.

That Saturday we celebrated Charlie’s birthday with the Arbons. As I mentioned in a previous post, it was the day after the funeral for my grandpa. We had a really fun, full day. Jason and I picked up donuts on our way to share with the family, and then thanks to my mom we played pin the tie on the missionary, jumped on the tramp, tossed water balloons, played on the swings, and played Spikeball. Charlie and everyone else had a blast. My cousins, the Phillips, showed up since they were in town, and we all got to hang out together. Some of them went to the new Independence Day movie while others stayed back with the kids. When they got back, we had a BBQ dinner with hamburgers.

We took full advantage of the day and put the boys down to bed there then played more Spikeball and roasted s’mores on my parents new fire pit. We stayed until 11:00 pm before grabbing the boys out of bed and driving home. And who could forget the event of the night: my mom backing into the basketball hoop and knocking it down. A neglected monument bites the dust. It was probably about time anyways.

To say the least, we had a very eventful week. I love the boys in my life!

Colson's Nineteenth Month

(May 6 - June 5)

Colson started nursery! And it was legitimately on Mother’s Day that he became old enough. It was awesome and he did great. Dad dropped him off to prevent any potential separation problems. They said that he ate his snack and he sat in his chair during the whole lesson. Brimming with pride right here. There are only two boys and three girls in the nursery. He is the only “baby”. There is a big difference in age. The others are already verging on three.

He is such a cute and funny kid. He will make faces and try to imitate what you do with your face. He will also try and imitate other actions, like nail filing or gardening.

Colson will say “mess” when he is getting down from his high chair and he sees crumbs on the floor that he has thrown. He loves sitting on the kitchen counter and playing with whatever is up there. He especially loves putting things in the Blendtech, like lemons. He and Charlie also love drinking from squirt bottles.

At his 18 month doctor appointment they said it was time to ditch the bedtime bottle. I always hold on to what seems to work for as long as I can, but it was definitely passed time. To clarify, he was not put to bed with a bottle, he would just drink from a bottle to soothe to sleep and then I would put him in the crib without the bottle. So with this new goal we went cold turkey. No more bottles. Miraculously, he did pretty well. We went strictly to sippy cups. The new bedtime and naptime routine became giving him a blanket and reading him a story.  He likes to hold on to the book in the crib when I put him down. I found that I have to be careful with what book I give him because he has been known to destroy the books during his nap. With this new routine, he will sometimes cry for ten minutes, but then he always calms down.

Here are his measurements from his 18 month appointment:

Weight: 21 lbs 12.5 oz - 16%

Length: 31.5 inches - 16%

Head: 48 cm - 66%

Here are some more pictures from the month:

A Final Goodbye

Grandpa Arbon started declining quickly. His kidneys were failing and it was evident in his urine. He was no longer eating and he was very tired and weak. They brought in a hospital bed and hospice. Erin called the family together to say our last goodbyes because she knew the end was near. It was very sad and tender to see Grandpa lying there and Grandma there by his side. The cousins and family came and we spent some time together outside and took our turns with Grandpa. Then we all gathered in his room and sang "God Be With You Till We Meet Again".

That was Tuesday evening, and being the strong man that Grandpa is, it wasn’t until Sunday evening (Father’s Day) that he passed away. We were just leaving for dinner in Alpine to celebrate Father’s Day and Charlie’s birthday when we heard the news, so I dropped Jason and the boys off in Alpine and went to meet up with my family who went to see Grandpa before they took his body away. I arrived just in time and it was a special moment with them.

Thursday was his viewing. We arrived late because we were dealing with a popped tire from earlier that day. I ran over a huge screw-type thing and it went all the way through the rim. It was an expensive flat tire.

The little kids offered some joyful and entertaining poses:

The funeral was the next day in Taylorsville. It was beautiful and very heartfelt. Everyone had very sweet things to say about Grandpa. He was a very dedicated, strong, loyal, hard working, faithful, wise, and loving man. I loved all the of stories and the sweet memories. I gave the closing prayer. After the funeral we caravanned to Idaho to bury him at Teton Cemetery. We met George and Nancy off of the freeway to drop off the boys since we were not going to take them with us, and Bryan picked us up and drove us to Idaho. Well, he kind of drove us. The transmission of his truck failed when we reached Pocatello. Luckily, my cousin, Brock, and his wife, Liliana, were 30 minutes behind us and they were able to pick us up with just enough seats. We miraculously made it to the burial. The wind was blowing like crazy, up to 30 mph. It was nuts. It was a little hazy, but you could barely make out the Tetons in the distance. After the burial, we had dinner at a church that my mom’s sisters helped with. We ate, played Speed in the gym, and then headed back home. The Brinkers lent us an extra car to drive back in since the truck needed to be repaired in Pocatello. It worked out perfectly because Aarika would be driving from Salt Lake on Monday and could bring it home at that time. My family was actually able to go back on Sunday to get it and drop off the other car. I’m glad it all worked out. Car trouble is not fun!

By the time we pulled into Draper, it was midnight and the Phillips boys were there, so we chatted for a bit. Jason and I took Mark, Dan, and John home. We didn’t get home until 2:00 am. Luckily our boys were spending the night in Alpine. Jason and I slept in until 9:30 am (can’t remember the last time that happened) and went to pick up the boys. The events didn’t end there. We were headed back to Draper for a party for Charlie’s birthday, but I will talk about that in another post.

It is still surreal that Grandpa Arbon is gone. He was always so gentle and kind with me and he made me feel special. I knew he loved me. He was a quiet man, but so full of strength. I definitely miss him and wish I could turn back time and ask him more about his history. He had a big heart and he loved unconditionally. We are blessed to have known him and are blessed to know he is watching over us. Love you, Grandpa!