family and favorite memories

Today was a special day! We made the trek down to the Bay Area to be there and support my brother,  Tyson. He was set apart and received the Melchizedek Priesthood today. It has been a long road for my little brother and there was not a dry eye in the room as my Dad set him apart today! There are awesome things in store for Tyson and his new wife, Gina.

 

Today is what life is all about. It is about supporting one another. Loving one another. Being there for one another...no matter what! It was awesome to be there with my family today.

 

A favorite memory from today was sitting on the front porch with my Grandma Shore. The guys turned on the 49er game and that always seems to elevate the noise level by a few octaves. Grandma looked at me and said "lets sit out front!" While I do love family gatherings  with everyone there, it was so nice to have some one on one time with just my Grandma today. I wish I had thought to have someone snap a photo of us, sitting on the porch chatting, but I didn't. It is one of those memories that I will tuck into my own memory for the rest of my life. I love her so much! I am thankful for the love and time she invests in me and her entire family. I know, without a doubt that we all mean the world to her, as she does to us.

 

Here are a few of my favorite photos from today.

12

It is so hard to believe that this sweet little guy/baby is 12 years old today.

Happy Birthday to our sweet, Car-Car!

He was up,dressed and ready for his special day by the time I got home from the gym(I attend the 5 am class). He woke up to his bedroom door wrapped and covered in birthday treats. John had already purchased his birthday donuts for the family to enjoy. He was patiently trying to to wait for me to get home so he could open his presents.

This is Carter opening the gift from GranRanSan(my parents-Randy and Sandy), he can already see what it is and he is one happy boy! It is a new 49ers hat. He was on cloud 9.

 Here he is opening one of the gifts from us. He is in shock because it is the baseball glove that he has been wanting/asking for. He had to start baseball practices without it because he didn't know he was getting it for his birthday!

 I love this photo! Brody had been busy creating presents for Carter. He he had even wrapped them all by himself. He had them placed on the kitchen counter with all of Carter's other gifts that had been arriving in the mail prior to his birthday.Carter opened up 2 pieces of birthday art from Brody! Carter made such a BIG deal about each gift. He ran right to his room to hang them on his bulletin board next to all of the other items Carter sees as important in his life(All Star photos, report cards, etc...).  It was very sweet.

 The birthday door. This is a fun idea that I got from my friend, Brenda! It is now a tradition that the boys looks forward to each year! We pick up a few of their favorite things and attach them to their bedroom door. A few of Carter's current favorites are : Licorice, sunflower seeds, Mio, gum, etc...

 I always feel bad about having to send them to school on their birthdays. I guess it is real life training though, right? We usually have to work on our birthdays in our adult years. John and I surprised him with lunch(Taco Bell) at school. He had baseball practice after school so I made his favorite chocolate crackle cookies to share with the team. He had Costa Vida for dinner, the birthday boys pick. We ended his day with cake, ice cream and really bad, obnoxious Happy Birthday singing  to this cute 12 year old! Happy Birthday, Carter!

first time memories

Feeling a little weepy and sad this week. My family(parents,siblings,aunts,uncles, cousins,Grandma,nieces, nephews...the whole family) members are all headed to Hat Creek. It is the first family camping trip since Grandpa Shore passed away. Hat Creek was his favorite place to camp and fish. As I have read and seen my cousins FB statuses/updates/pictures from Hat Creek, I am feeling a little sad. Sad, that I took the responsible parent route this week. School starts tomorrow and I didn't feel like the boys could miss the first day/week of school. I know we are missing out on a great camping trip. After creating this layout for this weeks Kit of The Week for Green Tangerines, I am feeling a bit happier. I am remembering the fun memories I have of my Grandpa. These photos are of Garrett and my Grandparents, Aunt and cousin. We drove down to the Bay Area when he was just a week old so he could meet Grandpa and Grandma Shore. I am so glad I have these photos and I am even happier that they have now been scrapbooked.

The Clock

There were many special moments that occurred right before my Grandpa Shore passed away. Little glimpses of love, things were said & those type of memories that will forever be "hand prints left on our hearts" occurred. The day before he passed away happened to be a gorgeous California day. A day filled with warm sunshine. He was sitting out on the patio while my Grandma planted more flowers in their already gorgeous back yard. My Grandma said he was pointing and telling her where he thought she should plant their new flowers...so him :-). It was a good day for him...a wonderful last day here on earth with his sweetheart. It was the kind of day that we would all enjoy as our last day on earth.

The funeral was just as wonderful. We had lots of family and friends from near and far show up to help us remember Grandpa. My Mom gave one of the eulogy talks. She did an amazing job and for that I am grateful. She had warned Amber & I that one of us would have to jump up and finish it for her if she couldn't do it. Whew...she did it! Thanks Mom :-). Her memories and thoughts were very tender & described our Grandpa's life perfectly. The paragraph below comes directly from her thoughts at my Grandpa's funeral. Read for yourself.

The Clock by Sandy Shore Davis
There was a strange occurrence close to 4:10 am, March 19th, 2010 – about the time of Dad’s heart attack. His clock, a clock that had never required a battery change in its 25 years of existence, chose to stop at this momentous time. It is said that “Coincidence is a small miracle in which God chooses to remain anonymous”. And as a friend of my sister Carla said in a condolence note to her, “There will be some joy in the deep remembrance at the heart of all this loss; a sudden smile that re-routes a tear or two when long unspoken stories are shared by those who loved and knew him best pass from heart to heart into family legend. When the time comes to paint those pictures, use all the colors you can conjure and don’t let the actual facts get in the way of the greater truth.” A new family legend, the clock legend, has been born at Dad’s exit to pass down to future generations. He would love this story.

I am so thankful for the wonderful memories that I have of my Grandpa. I am so thankful that he chose to be such a big part of our families life. I am so grateful that my boys had the opportunity to know and love him in this life. As for today, I am so thankful for those memories that I can remember and recall at any moment.

p.s. that is an actual picture of his clock that stopped ticking about the time of his death.

fond memories

We received word, early this morning that my Grandpa Shore had passed away. The world has lost one A-M-A-Z-I-N-G man. It is so hard to imagine our lives without Grandpa present...he was such a big part of our lives, our world. We received that early, early morning phone call that everyone dreads. My Dad was on the other end, fighting back the tears as he called to let us know that Grandpa had passed away. Since the news of his passing, favorite memories have flooded my mind. While I am enjoying those memories, I am so afraid that Garrett and Brody aren't going to remember him and the wonderful human being that he was. That makes me sad. For my own sake & for the sake of my children, I want to record the things I remember & loved most about my Grandpa Shore.

- When I was born, I had crazy, dark hair that stuck straight up in the air. When I was two months old, Grandpa bought me my first curling iron for Christmas. That just gives you a glimpse of his humor :-).

- When we were younger, we knew we could always earn money for penny candy while visiting Grandpa. He would pay us a penny a snail. Those snails had to have been collected from his yard :-).

- I loved the one on one dates/sleep overs that each grandchild got with him & Grandma. That date was your ticket to some serious one on one time with them. It meant new jammies, a new toy from Sav-on and breakfast at Sambo's. I have a Polaroid photo from one of my dates and it is one of my favorite photos ever.

- He was an honest man. If he got home from the store & realized that he was given too much change (even if it was just 2 cents)...he would march right back to that store & return their money. He was a wonderful example of being honest in all you do and say.

- He had a favorite chair, his recliner. If he caught you sitting in it, he would come over and say "who's in my chair"? Then he would sit on us & we would giggle. We'd sit there just to rile him up! I can still hear & see my cousin Mike giving him nuggies on the head while Grandpa sat in that very same recliner.

- If there was a cool, new gadget to be had, he would have it. If he loved it, he would buy one for each of his kids. A few gadgets that come to mind, a dust buster, a can crusher, a bread machine, and soda racks for the fridge.

- I have many fond camping memories with Grandpa. My favorite trip ever was the summer he and Grandma took the California granddaughters camping. We camped at Grandpa's favorite spot, Hat Creek(near Mt. Lassen). I am not sure if he really new what he was in for :-). That was the summer we all learned to fish, thanks to Grandpa. The four of us girls wanted to go fish some more. He sent us on our way & yelled "first one to catch a fish gets $10.00". It was game on from there. Kerstin, Amber, Sommer & I were perched in our spots, all hoping to be the first one to catch a fish. Kerstin caught a fish and started to reel it in. As she was reeling it in,it was headed right towards Amber's face. Amber screamed & started swatting her hands at it, knocking it off of Kerstin's line. There was lots of screaming and commotion. When we settled down and looked up,there was Grandpa. He had come running when he heard the screaming. I think he had thought one of us had fallen in. Then he realized the screaming was going on due to the slimy fish being reeled in. I don't think we ever invited on a girls only trip again. :-).

- When John & I were newlyweds and had moved into our 1st apartment, it was an upstairs apartment. At this point in his life, it wasn't easy for Grandpa to climb stairs. He was determined to come see our new apartment & he did. I think he wanted to check out his old recliners that we had had re-covered :-).

- He had the best smile & chuckle...I am going to miss that the most.



















- During my college days, we would all (my sister and cousins)head to their house each Wednesday for lunch. Lots of our friends from school even started coming to lunch with us. They knew they would get a yummy home cooked meal :-).

- As one of our wedding gifts, my Grandpa bought me an industrial size bottle of Windex and new broom from Costco...he knew how much I liked to clean.

- he served in WWII & was very proud of that service, as he should be.

- He loved baseball. I can hear the Giants game being broadcast on his stereo, out in his garage. He took me and my siblings along with the Helins and Granquists to my very first Giants game.

- I have wonderful memories of celebrating all of the holidays with him. Thanksgiving and Christmas were my favorite. He was a big helper in the kitchen. He helped with the turkey and his home made gravy was to die for...perfection.

- On the day of our wedding reception, he handed John and I a $100.00 bill and told us to spend it on breakfast(mind you, my Grandparents had already been so generous with wedding presents for us).

- He loved his great grandchildren. Anytime we'd go to visit, he'd check the boys oil...code for tickling them. It never got old.

- He always wore a hat(fishing, cowboy, or baseball). it was his signature piece of clothing or maybe it was his pressed denim jeans :-).

- He loved to sit out on his patio & enjoy his garden and his family...lots of family gatherings were enjoyed out there.

- Can you believe that he never- ever changed a dirty diaper :-)? I love the story that my Mom tells. My Mom & Grandma had gone shopping & left my baby brother, Tyson with Grandpa. Tyson had pooped his pants so my Grandpa simply took Tyson outside & let him play out there till my Mom got back so SHE could change him.

- He was the hardest working man. Don't let the lack of diaper changes fool you :-). He owned and operated a KFC in San Jose for many, many years.

- A year or so ago, he new it was time to give up driving. I don't think he was ready but he knew his body was ready. Just to prove it to himself, he went and took the written test and passed. He carried that valid license in his wallet.

- He made driving through the ugly Nevada desert(on our way to Utah)very interesting. I had the chance to take a road trip with my Mom, Grandma and Grandpa Shore in 2006, He knew so many interesting things about the Nevada desert & it's surroundings...who knew?

I could seriously go on and on about my Grandpa. I am thankful to have had such a wonderful Grandpa in my life. So thankful for his involvement with our entire family. We all knew that he supported & loved us, unconditionally. I am so very thankful for the knowledge & testimony that I have in forever families. I know that I will see him again & for that I am so thankful. I am thankful that he is no longer in any pain. I am thankful that his last day on earth was filled with sunshine and time spent with his sweetheart, enjoying their patio & backyard together. He will be missed but his wonderful life filled with sweet memories will live on forever. In honor of his life, we picked up a bucket of KFC for dinner tonight & remembered him fondly.