Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Posterity of Gaymore and Esther Wall
As of the day before the funeral, dad and I had the older and youngest great-grandchildren: Jarek and Beckham. Seth Woodland and his wife then had a new baby that week.
Well, I scanned it, but it won't let me post it here. I think all 4 kids got a copy, but if you want one, let me know and I can email it to you.
Leslie is now trying to update it with birthdates and wedding dates. I can send you her list as well.
Well, I scanned it, but it won't let me post it here. I think all 4 kids got a copy, but if you want one, let me know and I can email it to you.
Leslie is now trying to update it with birthdates and wedding dates. I can send you her list as well.
Dad Wall's death & funeral, mom's version
The night of hurricane Sandy, we received a phone call that Gaymore had had a massive heart attack. A week later, the night of our Noreaster, we rec'd word that he had suffered a major stroke. There are two very good stories by Ralph and Leslie explaining his death in good detail if anyone wants to read them.
Dad cried most of the night, and I felt his sadness, as I still can easily recall the death of my father in March of this year. I still come to tears when I think of him, and see things that remind me of him. Dad did not think he would miss him, as he only sees him once a year, but, it is a hard thing to know that you cannot call or see him again here on earth.
We extended our already planned trip to Utah and Idaho to include the funeral and viewing plans. Patty had decided that holding the funeral quite a bit later would make it easier for more people to attend. Dad had 43 grandchildren, and over 70 great- grandchildren. I will post this list on here for reference.
It was hard on dad to know that 7/9 kids were all together at the death and planning things, and he had to wait, go to work, and live life like normal. I think he wished he could get on a plane and go there and not have to wait.
We flew out on Thursday, and stayed at Bonnie's, the first of many nights of moving around from family bedrooms to hotels in Idaho, Centerville, Provo, and Idaho, back and forth.
Both dad & I were very pleased and glad all 4 of our kids came to be with dad and show their respect to the family. Thank you all for coming, and all you spouses for letting them come.
The Fairfield Inn in Burley was suggested, and we had no idea so many others in the family were going to stay there. That was fun, but yet, overwhelming.
The hotel itself was very nice, and we had 2 adjoining rooms. This worked well for Kathy and Lexi.
We didn't get a chance to use the pool or spa, but I did get to go walking one morning on the treadmill.
The viewing was an opposite of my father's. It was more like people happy to see each other, much less reverent, and I kind of felt like Gaymore was not even the focus.
Patty ordered pizza to be served at the hotel, which dad & I skipped, and went by ourselves for a quiet peaceful unhealthy meal and yummy eggnog milkshake at the nearby McDonalds.
This is a good time to mention that Don's brother, Dean, who the family had not seen for over 10 years, came up to attend the events, and stayed at the hotel. There was great rejoicing in seeing him and stories and memories were shared between the siblings.
The next day, the funeral was at 10 am. The talks were both longer than they should have been with that many children in the audience. Ralph gave the eulogy, and Mike gave the talk, which was more like a presentation about Job. I enjoyed it, but felt it was not really funeral material or appropriate. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren each sang a song. There is a CD version of the funeral if anyone desires to have it.
We went to the graveside service, where dad gave the blessing on the grave prayer. Later, I overheard people saying they wished there had been more time spent at the cemetery. I disagreed with that. With all the kids romping through the cemetery, I was glad it was quick. It was a nice sunny day, and the view was beautiful, and I loved watching Lexi follow other kids around. I did my best to keep her from climbing on the gravestones. I felt it was disrespectful, even of little children. Some mothers agreed, some did not.
Back to the church for the typical but delicious meal of funeral potatoes, ham, rolls, and jello. Really.
Lots more chit-chat, and some photos were taken.
I have all the photos that Craig Christensen took if anyone wants them.
Then the 9 children were asked to go to Gaymore's house to go through things. This was hard, as we were all tired, and I just wanted to be with my own 4 kids by then. Dad felt it was awkward and he almost felt like we were intruding on dad's privacy. It was strange, for sure, and slow-going, as most of the siblings just didn't really want to go through things. In the end, dad did take 4 or 5 pictures he had painted, which he send home with Tommy. He thinks 3 of them are not worth keeping - since some of you have requested owning one of dad's paintings, he is asking Tom to bring them to AZ for Christmas, and you can choose one if so desired.
There were 7 guns to be dispersed of. This didn't happen that day because of many disagreements. Later, Ralph took them all to his house. On Thanksgiving, dad did get to take one of the ones he wanted.
We got back to the hotel, and I went with the kids to Arby's. Dad was really upset and tired at this point, and wanted to be alone.
Tom and Jacob went to a movie, and there is some secret story out there about Jacob losing his phone, and Tom being pulled over by the police.
Kathy had a hard time getting Lexi to sleep, so in the end, Lexi slept on the bed with her. I slept on the other queen bed in that room that night, as we were so glad Tom decided to stay overnight with us. I felt it was so cute how he was worried about leaving Holly and the new baby, and she was worried about Tom driving home alone late at night. They are so good to each other.
Sunday the kids went home, and dad and I attended the Boise temple rededication. Very nice.
Patty had tons of her kids and us over for a dinner after that neighbors and ward members provided. More talking and stories and memories. We stayed there that night after most of the people left. At one point, I marveled at the mess that many kids could make in a basement, but, with the good, responsible kids Patty raised, all was cleaned up and put away without Patty even lifting a finger or saying a word. I was amazed at her focus on her siblings and kids amidst basically chaos running around and throughout the house. Think over 30 kids of all ages from 1- 10 all in one house for hours.
Michael John, Danny, and Martin Woodland all took the time to come talk to me individually, which I loved.
I love being on the farm and the view is amazing!
We woke to no power, so, instead of staying over one more day, I was anxious to go down and see Beckham!
He is adorable, Holly looks great, and we attempted to make them dinner with fresh Idaho potatoes. That did not turn out so good.
Tuesday we visited Dean and his wife's place in Bluffdale. Cool place with another beautiful view!
Back to Tom's, Bonnie's, then Ralph's for Thanksgiving. That was fun. Leslie, Dean, Debbie, and others came. I played pool with Martin Wall and Jason Wall, and cards with Andrew and his wife Kim. Really fun and great food.
Back to Tom's on Friday, then went to a BYU basketball game on Saturday, which was my first one, and I loved it!
Loved Tom's ward on Sunday. He did a great job blessing Beckham, and Holly's brother also blessed their baby in that ward too. We had lunch at Clayton's place, and dinner at Tom's, well, actually, we werent' hungry, so we skipped dinner. I have the words to the blessing if anyone wants them.
Sunday night we stayed at the Ketcheson's. Love them and miss them.
Monday, dad had his own day to enjoy Utah. We went to the Tracy Aviary, his old house, past his old schools, lunch at Iceberg, past our old house on Millbrook, saw the Lincoln movie, and went to temple square to see the lights. Dad was in a happy mood all day!
Got to the airport 3 hours early because dad was worried about bringing the gun on the plane.
Took the redeye home, and that was not so fun. Snow, traffic, and an off the road accident made it so we didn't get home till 10 am and we had landed at 5:30 am.
The trip was long, and a strange mix of emotions, but fun to see so many family and be with my kids and Lexi. Glad to be there for the baby blessing! and glad to be home.
Dad cried most of the night, and I felt his sadness, as I still can easily recall the death of my father in March of this year. I still come to tears when I think of him, and see things that remind me of him. Dad did not think he would miss him, as he only sees him once a year, but, it is a hard thing to know that you cannot call or see him again here on earth.
We extended our already planned trip to Utah and Idaho to include the funeral and viewing plans. Patty had decided that holding the funeral quite a bit later would make it easier for more people to attend. Dad had 43 grandchildren, and over 70 great- grandchildren. I will post this list on here for reference.
It was hard on dad to know that 7/9 kids were all together at the death and planning things, and he had to wait, go to work, and live life like normal. I think he wished he could get on a plane and go there and not have to wait.
We flew out on Thursday, and stayed at Bonnie's, the first of many nights of moving around from family bedrooms to hotels in Idaho, Centerville, Provo, and Idaho, back and forth.
Both dad & I were very pleased and glad all 4 of our kids came to be with dad and show their respect to the family. Thank you all for coming, and all you spouses for letting them come.
The Fairfield Inn in Burley was suggested, and we had no idea so many others in the family were going to stay there. That was fun, but yet, overwhelming.
The hotel itself was very nice, and we had 2 adjoining rooms. This worked well for Kathy and Lexi.
We didn't get a chance to use the pool or spa, but I did get to go walking one morning on the treadmill.
The viewing was an opposite of my father's. It was more like people happy to see each other, much less reverent, and I kind of felt like Gaymore was not even the focus.
Patty ordered pizza to be served at the hotel, which dad & I skipped, and went by ourselves for a quiet peaceful unhealthy meal and yummy eggnog milkshake at the nearby McDonalds.
This is a good time to mention that Don's brother, Dean, who the family had not seen for over 10 years, came up to attend the events, and stayed at the hotel. There was great rejoicing in seeing him and stories and memories were shared between the siblings.
The next day, the funeral was at 10 am. The talks were both longer than they should have been with that many children in the audience. Ralph gave the eulogy, and Mike gave the talk, which was more like a presentation about Job. I enjoyed it, but felt it was not really funeral material or appropriate. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren each sang a song. There is a CD version of the funeral if anyone desires to have it.
We went to the graveside service, where dad gave the blessing on the grave prayer. Later, I overheard people saying they wished there had been more time spent at the cemetery. I disagreed with that. With all the kids romping through the cemetery, I was glad it was quick. It was a nice sunny day, and the view was beautiful, and I loved watching Lexi follow other kids around. I did my best to keep her from climbing on the gravestones. I felt it was disrespectful, even of little children. Some mothers agreed, some did not.
Back to the church for the typical but delicious meal of funeral potatoes, ham, rolls, and jello. Really.
Lots more chit-chat, and some photos were taken.
I have all the photos that Craig Christensen took if anyone wants them.
Then the 9 children were asked to go to Gaymore's house to go through things. This was hard, as we were all tired, and I just wanted to be with my own 4 kids by then. Dad felt it was awkward and he almost felt like we were intruding on dad's privacy. It was strange, for sure, and slow-going, as most of the siblings just didn't really want to go through things. In the end, dad did take 4 or 5 pictures he had painted, which he send home with Tommy. He thinks 3 of them are not worth keeping - since some of you have requested owning one of dad's paintings, he is asking Tom to bring them to AZ for Christmas, and you can choose one if so desired.
There were 7 guns to be dispersed of. This didn't happen that day because of many disagreements. Later, Ralph took them all to his house. On Thanksgiving, dad did get to take one of the ones he wanted.
We got back to the hotel, and I went with the kids to Arby's. Dad was really upset and tired at this point, and wanted to be alone.
Tom and Jacob went to a movie, and there is some secret story out there about Jacob losing his phone, and Tom being pulled over by the police.
Kathy had a hard time getting Lexi to sleep, so in the end, Lexi slept on the bed with her. I slept on the other queen bed in that room that night, as we were so glad Tom decided to stay overnight with us. I felt it was so cute how he was worried about leaving Holly and the new baby, and she was worried about Tom driving home alone late at night. They are so good to each other.
Sunday the kids went home, and dad and I attended the Boise temple rededication. Very nice.
Patty had tons of her kids and us over for a dinner after that neighbors and ward members provided. More talking and stories and memories. We stayed there that night after most of the people left. At one point, I marveled at the mess that many kids could make in a basement, but, with the good, responsible kids Patty raised, all was cleaned up and put away without Patty even lifting a finger or saying a word. I was amazed at her focus on her siblings and kids amidst basically chaos running around and throughout the house. Think over 30 kids of all ages from 1- 10 all in one house for hours.
Michael John, Danny, and Martin Woodland all took the time to come talk to me individually, which I loved.
I love being on the farm and the view is amazing!
We woke to no power, so, instead of staying over one more day, I was anxious to go down and see Beckham!
He is adorable, Holly looks great, and we attempted to make them dinner with fresh Idaho potatoes. That did not turn out so good.
Tuesday we visited Dean and his wife's place in Bluffdale. Cool place with another beautiful view!
Back to Tom's, Bonnie's, then Ralph's for Thanksgiving. That was fun. Leslie, Dean, Debbie, and others came. I played pool with Martin Wall and Jason Wall, and cards with Andrew and his wife Kim. Really fun and great food.
Back to Tom's on Friday, then went to a BYU basketball game on Saturday, which was my first one, and I loved it!
Loved Tom's ward on Sunday. He did a great job blessing Beckham, and Holly's brother also blessed their baby in that ward too. We had lunch at Clayton's place, and dinner at Tom's, well, actually, we werent' hungry, so we skipped dinner. I have the words to the blessing if anyone wants them.
Sunday night we stayed at the Ketcheson's. Love them and miss them.
Monday, dad had his own day to enjoy Utah. We went to the Tracy Aviary, his old house, past his old schools, lunch at Iceberg, past our old house on Millbrook, saw the Lincoln movie, and went to temple square to see the lights. Dad was in a happy mood all day!
Got to the airport 3 hours early because dad was worried about bringing the gun on the plane.
Took the redeye home, and that was not so fun. Snow, traffic, and an off the road accident made it so we didn't get home till 10 am and we had landed at 5:30 am.
The trip was long, and a strange mix of emotions, but fun to see so many family and be with my kids and Lexi. Glad to be there for the baby blessing! and glad to be home.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Idaho Adventure
This last weekend I attended the funeral of my paternal grandfather in Burley, Idaho. It was great to see my family (many cousins and aunts and uncles). The trip was quick, but good. It was also fun to travel with my brother and sister. The best memory of the trip will be the following sequence, which I wanted to record.
----
I never miss flights. I am proud of my good karma with traveling via plane. So I really was tempted to leave later that morning. Our flight was at 2 PM and it was only a two hour drive to Salt Lake City. But I thought we should be conservative as we had a baby with us and then we would have time to eat some lunch. We headed out of the hotel and said our goodbyes. I lead out in the rented Ford Explorer and was followed by my brother Tommy (or Tom as he likes to be called now; as if having a child makes him a man) who lives in Provo.
The hotel is literally right next to the highway that goes to SLC. I get on the highway and we chat it up like siblings do while doing 80 on the freeway. About 40 minutes later I get a small thought about why I haven't seen any signs for Utah. We should be close to the border by now. My mind starts computing. Could we be going the wrong way? No, that is impossible. How could I have turned the wrong way? Wouldn't Tommy have said something? The scenery looks familiar, right? Wait, did we see windmills on the way up? Then I look at the compass on the dashboard. It has to be lying. How can we possibly be going North?!?!
All of this happens in my mind in about 3 seconds. We are going the wrong way; the opposite way of the airport. We have been traveling for over 40 minutes. I tell my brother to confirm this on his phone but immediately begin turning off on the next exit. He confirms it and I tell him to call Tommy. Tommy mentions he thought we were going the wrong way but didn't say anything because he thought maybe we had a short cut or something (what faith younger brothers have!).
We turn around and try to determine if it is even possible to make the flight. I am determined we will make it. I am worried about speeding, though, as I had seen many cops on the way up. So we stay about 10 miles over the speed limit to minimize our chances of getting a ticket. We need every minute to make up the time. We are just about back to where we started when Jacob says he has to pee. Really? Now? He can't wait, so we have to pull over. This seems funny, especially when about 90 minutes later he says we have to stop again. It is like going to San Diego with Jimmy all over again. He hasn't even had anything to drink since our last stop. How small is this kid's bladder? We are cutting it close, but when you gotta go... I even take advantage of the stop to empty mine. Why not? The best part is when we stop at the Taco Bell to go in, the men's bathroom is closed for repairs. How typical. We easily remedy this by entering the women's bathroom together. I'm sure somebody will get a kick out of that security video.
The baby (Ms. Lexi) hasn't enjoyed the detour through Idaho. It literally sounds like she is trying to kill herself by a mixed cry/choking routine. Kathy does a good job of not getting stressed. It's not big deal to me; I'm completely focused on looking out for cops and willing time and space to bend to accommodate our flight back to Phoenix. Kathy eventually stuffs something down Lexi's throat (I am sure it was legal) and she eventually calms down. Jacob continually updates us on the time and miles to the airport. 35. 32. 15. We are almost there. I have to return the rental car, but in SLC the rental car place is at the airport, which is nice. We get to the rental car place and I send the other three on their way. I think we have time, but let's not risk all of us missing the flight. If I have to stay behind, that is fine. I'm nice that way. Sacrifice for the good of the group sort of thing. All big brothers are supposed to do that. Of course, there is a huge line at the rental place. I wait patiently trying not to get frustrated. Others in line are doing that for me. Eventually I get there and they charge me nearly double of what they said they would. I question this but realize I don't have time to argue with them. I'd rather lose $50 and make my flight, so I ask for a manager's number to call and rush to the airport. I get a call. All is good. We have time. There is no line for security and we even have time to buy something to eat (well, Jacob takes this time to use the bathroom AGAIN). I get some green machine drink and Kathy and I arrive just as they ask families with babies to board. We made it.
----
I never miss flights. I am proud of my good karma with traveling via plane. So I really was tempted to leave later that morning. Our flight was at 2 PM and it was only a two hour drive to Salt Lake City. But I thought we should be conservative as we had a baby with us and then we would have time to eat some lunch. We headed out of the hotel and said our goodbyes. I lead out in the rented Ford Explorer and was followed by my brother Tommy (or Tom as he likes to be called now; as if having a child makes him a man) who lives in Provo.
The hotel is literally right next to the highway that goes to SLC. I get on the highway and we chat it up like siblings do while doing 80 on the freeway. About 40 minutes later I get a small thought about why I haven't seen any signs for Utah. We should be close to the border by now. My mind starts computing. Could we be going the wrong way? No, that is impossible. How could I have turned the wrong way? Wouldn't Tommy have said something? The scenery looks familiar, right? Wait, did we see windmills on the way up? Then I look at the compass on the dashboard. It has to be lying. How can we possibly be going North?!?!
All of this happens in my mind in about 3 seconds. We are going the wrong way; the opposite way of the airport. We have been traveling for over 40 minutes. I tell my brother to confirm this on his phone but immediately begin turning off on the next exit. He confirms it and I tell him to call Tommy. Tommy mentions he thought we were going the wrong way but didn't say anything because he thought maybe we had a short cut or something (what faith younger brothers have!).
We turn around and try to determine if it is even possible to make the flight. I am determined we will make it. I am worried about speeding, though, as I had seen many cops on the way up. So we stay about 10 miles over the speed limit to minimize our chances of getting a ticket. We need every minute to make up the time. We are just about back to where we started when Jacob says he has to pee. Really? Now? He can't wait, so we have to pull over. This seems funny, especially when about 90 minutes later he says we have to stop again. It is like going to San Diego with Jimmy all over again. He hasn't even had anything to drink since our last stop. How small is this kid's bladder? We are cutting it close, but when you gotta go... I even take advantage of the stop to empty mine. Why not? The best part is when we stop at the Taco Bell to go in, the men's bathroom is closed for repairs. How typical. We easily remedy this by entering the women's bathroom together. I'm sure somebody will get a kick out of that security video.
The baby (Ms. Lexi) hasn't enjoyed the detour through Idaho. It literally sounds like she is trying to kill herself by a mixed cry/choking routine. Kathy does a good job of not getting stressed. It's not big deal to me; I'm completely focused on looking out for cops and willing time and space to bend to accommodate our flight back to Phoenix. Kathy eventually stuffs something down Lexi's throat (I am sure it was legal) and she eventually calms down. Jacob continually updates us on the time and miles to the airport. 35. 32. 15. We are almost there. I have to return the rental car, but in SLC the rental car place is at the airport, which is nice. We get to the rental car place and I send the other three on their way. I think we have time, but let's not risk all of us missing the flight. If I have to stay behind, that is fine. I'm nice that way. Sacrifice for the good of the group sort of thing. All big brothers are supposed to do that. Of course, there is a huge line at the rental place. I wait patiently trying not to get frustrated. Others in line are doing that for me. Eventually I get there and they charge me nearly double of what they said they would. I question this but realize I don't have time to argue with them. I'd rather lose $50 and make my flight, so I ask for a manager's number to call and rush to the airport. I get a call. All is good. We have time. There is no line for security and we even have time to buy something to eat (well, Jacob takes this time to use the bathroom AGAIN). I get some green machine drink and Kathy and I arrive just as they ask families with babies to board. We made it.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Hazel Meets a Doorknob...
P.S. The really sad thing is everyone else was on the other side of the house. So we know it was self-inflicted. Poor accident-prone girl.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Tom as a baby
I found some more pics of Tommy. He was sitting up at 6 mon., in a walker at 4 mon, and could hold a rattle at 3 1/2 months. His closeup is still in 1989, so probably about 3-4 months old. Not many newborn. I was healing from my 4th C-section, you know. That will be my excuse.
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