for my brother

There are times when you need to be there for your loved ones, and this was one of those times. My brother's wife passed away and I needed to be there for him, so off we went. Matty and I drove all the way up to my cousin Shell's house in Utah (11 hours) in one day... and a few more hours the next day to the beautiful cemetery in northern Utah where most of my family is buried. 

~

The above photo is a rainbow we encountered on the long drive up, during one of the many thunder showers we managed to get caught in. I thought it was a poignant beginning to our trip.

 Some of the many beautiful flowers Shell got ahead of time to take to the cemetery -

as always, she was such a help and comfort to both my brother and I :) 

 A lovely casket arrangement brought by my brother's pastor and his wife - such a thoughtful gesture :)

 My brother Ric (far left) and a few close friends who we so kind to make the drive.

(and my cousin Shell of course, and Matty on the far right)

 Ric and I - I really love this pic :)

 The Ben Lomund Cemetery in north Ogden Utah is so beautiful sitting there below the mountains.

 My maternal grandfather (left), my aunt Lola - my mother's older sister who died as a child (center), and my maternal grandmother are all buried here. Many other ancestors are here as well.

And of course my mother and father are both buried here.

My mother passed away just 4 years ago, and my father back in 1996. I really miss him.

My cousin Shell and I designed their headstone and that means a lot to me :)

It was an exhausting day, but a very, very lovely one as well. Such good people and family.

I want my brother to know how much I love him - xoxo

SNOW!!!

I'M LIKE A KID IN A CANDY STORE!!!!!

(Shell is not thrilled)

Utah spring

All right, all right..... no more poking fun at Utah. Actually, I think Utah is beautiful, especially it's mountains. Flying into Salt Lake City is one of my favorite things - and that's coming from someone who hates to fly - because I can't get enough of it's ginormous mountain ranges. And if they are still snow-capped, against a turquoise sky, it's almost too much for me to take. Utah's mountains are so large they're like an optical illusion. Even at night when it's dark, you can still sense their huge blackness looming like a blanket.
Spring and fall are my favorite seasons in Utah, and this spring was beautiful. Unfortunately, my camera was on the wrong setting. Even though I was frustrated as to why my close-ups were not turning out, I was ridiculous enough to chalk it up to my fuzzy eyesight. Consequently, I had to delete something like 80 photos (!@#$%^&*!)
I don't know what kind of flower this is - anyone know? My cousin Shelly loves these but neither one of us know what it is called.
I stood in the middle of this huge tree, surrounded by all these heavy boughs to get this photo - the scent was exquisite :)
Shelly and I drove by this paint horse grazing in it's meadow two days in a row to get this picture. Love, love, love it. I could have sat here all day :)

Poking Fun

Oh, Utah. Utah is with their soda, as Washington is with their coffee. What you see before you, is an average example of a Utah mini-mart, complete with a 20 selection soda fountain - yes, I said TWENTY - and mug offerings in sizes of up to a 100oz. Yes, ONE HUNDRED OUNCES of liquid fizz. Enough caffeine to freak you out about things that haven't even happened.
Here is my cousin Shell, filling up what I love to refer to as her VAT. This is her evening ritual. She is being a very good sport to let me poke fun at her. But that's one of the many reasons I love her.
64oz of insulated diet Coke. Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout. Have mercy. But I can tell you right now, if I showed up in California with one of these vats, I would be stared down until I had more holes in my head than I already have. And we're big on diet Coke here! I mean BIG! But heaven forbid a Californian be seen with one of these. The very thought.
I snapped this photo of these 3 vats waiting to be refilled before the woman who owned them knew what I was doing. They were sitting on top of the hood of her car while she was renting a DVD. You can tell they've been around the block a few times. People become very attached to their vats. Shudder.

hi from Utah

Hi peeps! Just a quick hello from my cousin's house in Utah! I've been here visiting for a few days and having a wonderful girlfriend time - ahhhhhhhh :)
These tulips were sent to my cousin from one of her girls for Mother's Day. She has five wonderful grown children (!!!) and six precious grandchildren (!!!) with 2 more already on the way (!!!)

So this photo is very fitting and I love it :)