A Tribute to Poppy

Last Saturday evening Granny called me and told me she and Poppy were looking at my last few blog posts and loved them.  She said they didn't love the picture I posted of them in the red shirts, though.  The next call I got was in the morning from my mom telling me that Poppy was in the hospital because he had a massive stroke.  That was the worst call I've ever had in my life. Later that afternoon I got a call that he had passed away.  That was even worse.

I am still shocked and it seems like a dream.  Even though he always referred to himself as "this ol' cowboy", I always thought he was so young.  Whenever I went somewhere with him or Granny, people always thought they were my parents instead of grandparents.  Poppy was so active and such a hard worker.  He worked out in his fields almost every day, and was an avid horseman.  I always thought he and Granny would live to celebrate their diamond anniversary.  I am just so glad I got to spend a little time with him the last time I was in Utah.

Although his funeral and viewing were so sad, I heard so many funny stories about Poppy.  Every person who knew him had a funny story to share.  He was so loved by so many people.  He had a way of making you feel special.  I am so glad that he would always tell me he was proud of me and he never had to worry about me (except when I drove or let my baby play with plastic toys).

Some of my best memories of Poppy are when he would babysit Ryan, Nicole, and me.  My dad lived in Michigan and my mom worked full-time, so we spent a lot of time with Granny and Poppy.  Poppy would take us to Utah Lake and do donuts on the sand in his truck.  We watched a lot of westerns and Perry Mason with him.  We played the quiet game and he thought it was hilarious when he handed the phone to me and told me it was my mother.  I said "hello" and he laughed and told me I lost.  Then Coley gave him the I love you sign and wiggled her thumb and said, "That means I love you extra."  He told her she was the winner.  We would play I Spy with him and we would be guessing for an hour of what he was thinking of, and it would end up being a piece of lint on the floor. 

Poppy was always there for me when I needed him.  When I had back surgery he would drive me to Salt Lake for my MRI's, CT scans, and some appointments.  Sometimes when I had migraines he would pick my girls and me up (Blake would be at work) and drive me to his house so Granny could help me.  He would always fix our fridge, toilet, sink, or anything that we asked him to do.  He was also always there for me in a crisis, and everybody else in the family.  No matter what mistake anybody might have made, he always treated you like gold.

All of Poppy's children would always go to him for advice.  For me it was a little different.  He would just give it to me whether I liked it or not.  He was always right too.  He hated my tall 4"+ shoes that I wore all the time.  I always told him I was used to them and would never fall.  He was proven right when I tripped on my shoes on his walkway and sprained my ankle.   Sometimes he was very stern and made me cry, but I always knew he loved me and wanted the zbest for me. 

Poppy was so sweet and loving with all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  He would hold the grandbabies on his chest and pat their back and sing:         
              Hush little baby don't say a word
              Poppy's gonna buy you a mocking bird
              If that mocking bird don't sing
              Poppy's gonna buy you a diamond ring
              If that diamond ring goes brass
              Poppy's gonna buy you a looking glass
              If that looking glass gets broke
              Poppy's gonna buy you a billy goat
              If that billy goat gets bony
              Poppy's gonna buy you a shetland pony
              If that pony runs away
              Ta ra ra ra boom de ay
                                                              
All of the babies and young children loved his deep, beautiful voice.  When I sing that song to Claire and say "mommy" instead of "poppy", she corrects me and says "poppy".  When Lyle played that song at the funeral all of our family was sobbing.

Poppy was such a great husband to Granny.  I always admired their relationship.  Even when they got in a little or big fight, the next thing you know they were laughing and being so cute together.  He always told Granny how cute, pretty, or beautiful she was.  I loved to see them driving down the road together with her in the driver's seat, because Granny likes driving, and Poppy didn't mind letting her.  One of my best memories was when I went through the temple and they were there with me.  I just knew then that I wanted Blake and I to have an eternal marriage like Granny and Poppy's. 

I am so blessed to have had Poppy in my life for the past 29 years.  I have learned so much from him and the example he always set.  I hope I can be half the person he was.  I am so grateful to have had him as a grandfather, friend, and most of all my Poppy.

In this last picture I had just bought this red plaid shirt at The Gap, and I thought I looked so cool.  I was visiting with Granny and Poppy, then Poppy slipped out of the room for a minute.  He came back in wearing a shirt just like mine.

The Last Harry Potter Movie

I've gone with Coley, Christine, and Sami to the midnight showing of the Harry Potter movies since the 4th movie.  It's been so much fun, and every year I've joked that I was going to dress up.  This year I actually did dress up.  I still pretty embarrassed about it, so don't make fun of me!

I was trying to look like Bellatrix.

I french braided my hair in 5 french braids to get it big and frizzy.

It was kind of annoying that Bellatrix didn't have white in her hair in this movie like the pictures on the internet.  Doran was having so much fun dueling with me in his Harry Potter costume.

Christine was going to be the golden snitch.

She got a gold bikini and gold latex body paint.

Sami and I painted her.  It was kind of awkward...

Not long after we got the paint on, it started driving her crazy.  She said it felt like a glove and she couldn't take it.  We peeled it off her, and she was screaming and crying.

Samantha was Lavender.

Nicole, Samantha, and Sarah got Harry Potter snuggies from Hot Topic.  They were really cute.

Jayce was the cutest.  She was Dobby.  Christine made her and Jake house elf costumes.

Harry Potter and Dobby

It's always fun to have Andrew come as comic relief.

This is the wand that I whittled and painted.  I didn't want to pay $25 to get one at Hot Topic.  OK, now I'm really admitting to being a dork.

Jake's mom and sisters came and dressed up.  They were so cute.

I'll have to admit, I loved it when these people asked me to get in their picture.

Coley was the biggest dork of all because she was reading Harry Potter right till we went to the movie.  She rereads all of the book before each movie.

Another Visit to Utah

We got to visit Utah again for 10 days.  We stayed with my mom most of the trip, Lyndsy one day, and Coley one day.  We mostly just visited family, which was the best!

Gay Gay and I went to lunch at Mi Ranchito.

Jaxy Boy slept over with Jayce.  These two kids are the best of friends.  Jayce cries when something reminds her of him.

I kind of lost track of time at the pool, and I got the worst burn I've had in years.

Blake only got to stay for 5 days because of work.

.We went on a hike to dry canyon with Papa Don.

Blake loves to get a reaction from me by getting really close to the edge of the cliff.

Blake used to take me to dry canyon when we were dating.  It was fun to take both girls there.

Claire fell asleep on Papa Don's shoulders.  It was so funny that she could sleep that way.

Claire loved playing at Lyndsy's house with Kai and Pai.  She loved playing dress-up like they always do.

She stole Phinn's bottle, even though she hasn't had one for a few months.

It doesn't get much cuter than these two.

We went shopping and Claire gasped when she saw these shoes.

Jayce asked Papa K if she could make salsa with him, and he was so sweet to let her help him.

I love Granny and Poppy!  We got to celebrate both of their 69th birthdays while we were there.

I love my Sami too!

Summer

Fake sleeping

We drove through Canon City one day and decided to stop at the prison museum.

Blake on the toilet of the 11-year-old inmate

This little boy stabbed somebody to death for their gold watch.

I wouldn't last on these prison beds for 10 minutes.

Next to the prison museum is the real high security prison.  It was kind of weird that the guards in the watch tower were watching us with their binoculars instead of the inmates.

We went to the girls' favorite restaurant Golden Corral (gross).

One of Claire's favorite things to do is to take all of the cereal out of the cupboard and eat a little of each.

We set up our little pool, and the girls have had a blast with it.

Jayce likes to sleep on the couch sometimes, and Footis will go wherever she goes.  When we got home from Utah Claire ran over to Footis screaming, "Hi Tooty!!"  He took off running as usual, and she got mad and screamed, "No bye bye Tooty!"

This is Claire throwing one of her huge fits.  This little girl has a temper like I've never seen before.