MOTHERS/FATHERS

This year for Mother's Day we had a party at our new home. It was a lot of fun & a little bitters sweet since it was our first one without Esther. We were missing quite of few others as well because they were too far away. :( Still fun though! We love our mothers!!

We had another party for Father's Day at our house as well. We actually had to speak in church that day, plus I taught in Relief Society. Busy, busy day!

What else can I say? We have the best Mom's & Dad's in our families! We love them all!!

SWEET ESTHER

ESTHER RUTH PARKINSON
July 27, 1945 - June 7, 2010

Erik's sweet mom Esther passed away on June 7th. It's been quite the whirlwind. So many emotions. She has been sick for most of her life. She's been in a lot of pain the past few years. It's nice to think that she is no longer in pain, but it's still hard for the rest of us. Erik was very close to his mom, so it's been hard for him.

She got sick about 4 months ago with a really bad infection & we thought we were losing her then. She pulled through after a couple of months & ended up losing sight out of her left eye in the process. Erik was excited that she seemed to be getting better & trying harder than some of her previous surgeries. She went in for a pre-op check up to do plastic surgery on her eye. When she was in the hospital for her infection a lot of the infection rested on her face & especially her eye.

After a couple of surgeries to release the pressure it was just too much for her eye & she lost the sight in it. Because of this it drooped a little & they wanted to fix it so it wasn't so noticeable. At her appointment they told her she wasn't a candidate for surgery due to the fact that she had 2 leaky valves in her heart & she needed to get those taken care of. That was on a Friday. She went into the hospital on Sunday night because she wasn't feeling well. They wanted to do surgery to correct the leaks, but couldn't just yet. They didn't know what was causing it. Whether it was a blood clot or an infection in her heart. Until they figured it out they couldn't do surgery & they didn't feel like she would make it through at this point.

Monday morning Pete, Ron, Nikki & Andrea were with her & she was talking & doing fine. Pete headed to work. About an hour or so later 8 doctors rushed into her room kicking Ron, Nikki & Andrea out. Apparently she went into cardiac arrest. They worked on her for 40 min, but her body was done. In many ways it was a blessing that she didn't have to go through a bunch of surgeries again.

The worst part, I think, is the fact that we were in St. George through this whole ordeal. In fact, we didn't even know anything was wrong until Sunday night. We planned on heading home early on Tuesday so that Erik could be available to help & be with her in the hospital. We were told not to rush home - she'd still be their in the next couple of days. Erik had to find out over the phone a state away that his mom had passed. That just sucked!
{Erik, his Dad Pete, his younger sister Andrea & older brother Ron}

We drove home first thing Tuesday morning. What was the use at that point rushing home Monday night? Once we arrived home Erik headed straight to his Dad's to help with the planning. Most of the planning was already done. His Dad was extremely blessed. Things went so quickly & smoothly. Completely different experience compared to my brother Michael's arrangements. It seemed like that was an overwhelming stress. This was so smooth it made me nervous the whole week. But, it turned out lovely! The funeral home {Falconer Funeral Home} was amazing!! If you ever need to use one, I hope you don't, check them out. They were truly wonderful!

We had her viewing on Sunday night & the funeral on Monday morning the 14th. All of the grandkids sang at the funeral. It was beautiful! The poor kids had a rough time, but it was beyond touching. Esther loved her grandkids more than anything. She would do anything for any of them.
{The only grandkid missing from this picture is our nephew RJ. He's currently serving in the Guayaquil, Ecuador Mission.}

Ron told me hilarious story that I've never heard before. One Saturday they were outside playing ball. He was batting {with a wiffle ball bat} and got too close to her. He smacked her right in the eye somehow & she had a massive black eye. This Saturday happened to be the day before Mother's Day, so she showed up at church on Mother's Day with a giant black eye from her loving son. She will be missed. Her smile, her generous heart, her love of sports {not to mention screaming at the TV when refs didn't call things the way she thought they should go} are just some of the things we will miss most!!

RINGTAIL

This is my mom's newest pet...

His name is "Moki". My mom & Alan caught a ringtail cat awhile ago that was pregnant. They took care of her & her babies when they were born. They sold the othe babies & kept Moki. Kylie's class just recently did a report & learned about these animals. Her teacher asked if we would take pictures for the class & even asked Kylie to interview my mom about it. Everyone took a turn holding Moki....

He was fascinated with my glasses. Or maybe it's my red demon eyes that I'm too lazy to fix in photoshop. Gotta love overly large pupils!!

St. George

Last weekend I had the priviledge of tagging along for a quick trip to St. George. When I say quick - I'm not exaggerating. We left early Saturday morning & came home on Sunday! It was crazy, but lots of fun. Mimi was driving with her friend Kathy that had been visiting in AZ back up to St. George. It was perfect timing because Steele & Amy had just had their baby, so she was able to go see little Max Steele Hallows! It was also my mom's birthday on Sunday. Which was my main reason for going. Although I was pretty excited to see my newest nephew (& he's pretty dang cute!!) it was nice to surprise my mom!


Here's Kathy, Mimi & I with our matching head wraps.....
I have a friend that makes these cute headwraps & they were a hit on our drive up. Check out my friends blog HERE.


When we arrived into town I called my Stepdad Alan to let him know I was their. He came into town to pick me up. He told my Mom he had to go into town to pick up a present for her birthday. They had had a long day & she told him not to worry about anything. He just told her to trust him & that she wouldn't want to take this present back.


We then made the journey (all of 15 minutes) up to their home in Dammeron Valley. When we walked in the door Alan announced that he was home as I hid behind the wall of the dining room table. My Mom walked right past me & then I jumped out at her. She jumped about 20 feet & then started balling. It was great!! Totally had her surprised & it was wonderful to spend some time with her on her birthday!

Sunday morning came & it was time to leave already. I said my good-byes as Mimi picked me up @ my Mom's. We then went back into town so I could meet little Max Steele.....


My niece Abi is one of the most hilarious kids you will ever meet! She was telling me all kinds of things. She asked me if I knew where her baby ate from? Well? Upon my not answering she informed me that he ate from his Mommy's tummy! What a nut! The best story is this one though..... (try & read this with the thought of a little girl with a high pitched voice saying these to me & OVERLY animated)



Abi: Did you know I came out of my Mommy's tummy once?
Me: Yes.
Abi: When I came out of my Mommy's tummy, I came out her throat!
Me: How did you do that?
Abi: I jumped!



I just about died!! Where did that come from? She's so funny. There's just no way to describe her & how funny she is. You just have to meet this little one to fully understand.

Then, we headed out to drive home....already. We came home in Steele's Pilot with Steele. He was heading back to AZ to finish some work on their house. Here's Robin & Steele jammed in the back seat...

We had a fun little adventure in between Mesquite & the Valley of Fire area with this turtle....

First, we heard a weird noise & saw items flying out the back of the car. We got out of the car & saw that the turtle was open & Steele had a bag of stuff that had flown out. We scoured the side of the highway for shoes, gloves & other misc stuff. Dodging speeding cars trying to get stuff out of the middle of the highway with Mimi just about having a heart attack watching us. Steele ahd some tape in his car, so he taped the turtle shut.



Second, we had a car drive up next to us pointing up & then Robin caught a glimpse of the turtle in their windows wide open. (This is within 5 minutes of our last incident.) We stopped again & tried to figure a better way to secure it since the tape snapped. Steele went scouring the side of the highway for rope while Robin & I put together 2 luggage straps & wrapped it around the turtle. Finally, we got Steele back in the car & were off again.

Then, (5 minutes or so later) we heard a noise & the strap was flapping in the back window of the car. The hinges had broken off the turtle & it was not staying together AT ALL! At this point we loaded all of its contents into the car & took the turtle off. We then looked for a hiding spot for Steele to stash it....

He stashed it & we were off. We made it home safely & all was well! Apparantly, Steele, drove by this spot on his way back home to St. George & found the turtle still their. He was able to take it back home to his in-laws! Fun times were had by all & we now find ourselves with a few more inside jokes like.....

"That trip was not real. That did not happen. And, no, they really had a girl!"

MONTICELLO PART 1

For the 24th of July we headed up to Monticello, UT for a Carroll family reunion. My Granddad Carroll & his brother quickly pulled together a reunion & I was excited to go! This is my Mom's dad & a side of my family that I don't know very well. It was fun to meet people & to see some I haven't seen in years. We were one of the first to arrive into town. My Granddad pulled into town close after us, so we decided to meet at the temple & we would follow him to where we needed to go. It was fun to walk around & it was the first time I had been to a small temple. It was small, but really pretty!

The first night we just hung out & had dinner up the mountain. My Great Uncle Bob's kids all had rv's & were camping on the mountain. We headed up to them for dinner.

The next morning we headed to Uncle Bob's & Aunt Vee's house for breakfast. (This was our general meeting spot.) After breakfast was the "geneology time". While I uploaded pictures, etc. for my Granddad the girls had fun playing outside. My Great Aunt Vee has an awesome garden (at her neighbors house because her beautiful flower garden backyard ran out of space) & she let the girls go pick cherries, apricots & apples. As sad as it is - I was excited about the cherry trees. I'm not a fan of cherries, but I've never seen a cherry tree before. Ah - the little things in life!

After breakfast & geneology time was over we headed up with my Mom & Alan to the Arches in Moab. Yet again, another thing that I've never seen. I have to say - it was cool, but for some reason I was thinking things were bigger & closer. We didn't do any hiking, so I guess that probably made the difference. Don't get me wrong, it was still neat - just not what I had envisioned. Delicate Arch....

After the Arches we drove by the temple again really fast to show my Mom & Alan. Next to the temple was this awesome field full of wheat stalks & sunflowers. I was all excited to get some cute pics of my girls - but, of course, my battery in my camera died. (Alan took some - maybe my Mom needs to email them to me - wink wink!! :)) I did however get this cute pic of my Mom in the field....

Seriously, this pic doesn't even do the field justice. It was so cool! I'm tempted to make the 7 hour drive again just to do pictures here. I loved it!! After the temple we headed back to our meeting spot & had dinner with everyone. I laughed so hard at my Mom's cousin Kevin. He has a very contageous laugh & funny stories to go with it!

AWESOME PARENTS

Just a quick note to clarify some things. Upon talking to my mom the other week I did my usual remarks at some point in the conversation of, "thanks for that trait mom." She just said, "I know, I know." Then, I just re-read my previous post & realize I actually say that to my Dad a lot as well. I would like to publicly apologize to my wonderful parents! I only say this in my joking, loving way, but want to clarify that I in no way truly mean it. Sure, we get traits from our parents, but that's no excuse for the dumb things I do myself. I am an adult & need to act as such. (Yeah - still working on that one.) If you're not lucky enough to know my parents then, I feel bad for a you a little. They are AWESOME!!

I'm even lucky enough to have 2 mom's & 2 dad's. In fact, the other day Jadyn told me she can't wait until she can have 2 mom's & 2 dad's. At first my reaction was - "Uh, No way!!" But, as I thought about it that was a wonderful compliment that she didn't know she was giving. She just knows how wonderful my parents are & how close we are & sees it as fun. And even though she should not hold her breathe out for her wish - in a way it was sweet.

So, again, I LOVE my parents - they rock!! And they are my rocks. It's not a secret that I'm a Daddy's girl in every way. Now I am the mother of 2 Daddy's girls & I can see how that would hurt my Mom. I think of how close my girls are to Erik & think they don't love me as much. I can see my Mom feeling that way & it makes my heart ache. It's not true - just a different love. (Now, if I can only tell myself that about my girls & truly believe it.)

Just had to share & hopefully this weekend I'll have a chance to catch up on what's been happening this past month with pictures even. Oh - if I could only have a minute to breathe....

BIRTHDAYS

This month 3 of the most influential women in my life have birthdays. So, here's to them..
First, yesterday was my stepmom Mignon's birthday. (aka "Migmommy") She is one of the most hilarious women you'll ever meet. She doesn't mess around - she gets things done. Not to mention the fact that she will do anything for you & rearrange her entire schedule to help people out. She's definitely one of those "give you the shirt off their back" kind of people. I love you muchos Mimi!! **By the way, she rode this horse like no other! You would have thought she was a rancher the way she just hopped up & rode off into the sunset.**
Second, is my sister-in-law Rennie's birthday on Sunday. If you've ever had the priviledge of meeting her then you know what an amazing women she is. I admire her in so many ways & learn from her daily. Many don't know, but this past year has been one of the hardest of my life. Rennie was my rock. She was always supporting me, always worried about me & always helping me out in anyway she could. I only wish that someday I can be as wonderful as her. She's definitely one of a kind. I am forever indebted to my brother Luke for marrying her. Or I know I would not be where I am today! I love you Ren & am counting down for your return! ('Cause you know you have to come back to the valley!)
Third, is my Mom's birthday on the 30th. WOW! What can you say about your mom? She's unbelieveable! She's a true example of faith to me. When times get tough - she may stress quite a bit (Thanks again for passing on that wonderful trait to me!), but she always knows it will work out in the end. She never gives up. This was a hard summer with my brother's passing. In fact, that whole week I couldn't even look at my mom. I just couldn't imagine now that I'm a mother myself what that would be like. But, she's handled it tremendously. I love you mom!!


Lastly, I must end on a more sad note that is completely not related to these birthdays. I was in the kitchen yesterday filling up a water bottle when Jadyn got ahold of my camera. She took a picture of me, looked at it & then said,"Mom, you look like you're fat." THANKS!! That makes my day! As if I wasn't self conscience enough already. I love my kids!

MOTHERS

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! I am lucky enough to have 2 mothers in my life & they are the best! The first picture is of my mom Linda & the second picture is of my stepmom Mignon (aka "Migmommy"). Both are some of the strongest, talented, spiritual & just down right most beautiful women you'll ever meet. They are both inspirations in my life in many ways. I love you both & wish you a very happy day!!

COLD

I'm up in Utah right now visiting my mom & it is FREEZING!! It's definitely fall here. But also keep in mind that if it's below 70 degrees it's just too cold for me. If you want to see my mom's ridiculous house go to this link:
http://www.buysmarttoday.com/parade_25_07.htm
Not to brag by any means, but it's crazy!!! It's a nice place to come to for a little break.