Grandpa

My grandpa died on Christmas after living for almost 93 years. We all new it was coming so it was not a surprise. My grandpa was 70 when I was born, so I do not know him as well as my older cousins do. A video of my grandparents' 50th anniversary party shows my grandpa holding me with all my cousins around and my older sister, and well everyone is smiling, I'm screaming my head off because i was so young. I love watching the video though because my grandparents look so much younger and agile. They are so cute as they dance together. I wish I had been able to know my grandpa for longer, but I am so grateful for the time I had with him.

I remember all the trips my family would make to drive up to my grandparents house on "Cramer Mountain" in the Sierra Nevadas. I loved their house because it was surrounded by pines and all of the christmas trees. My grandma made the best grilled cheese sandwiches and my siblings and I all fought over the bear mug when it was time for hot cocoa in the morning. My grandpa was a great numbers guy. One of the stories my dad would always tell me was how when my grandpa was only about 8, he was working in the grocery store and he could add up the customers amounts faster than the calculator. People would come to the store just to watch him do it. My grandpa grew up during the great depression and was one of 11 kids. I know that he was the middle child and always looked after his youngest brother, Dick.

My grandpa worked hard his whole life. It is sad that he never had the opportunity to go to college because if he did, he could have been a great engineer with his math skills. But he did always find work in manual labor. He was a boxer and even has a nose that you can punch without breaking because it has more cartilage than bone (my brother has this same nose). He would box in matches for the soldiers during WWII and he worked in a scrap metal yard. I know that my grandpa was drafted into the war right near the end, but luckily WWII ended soon after, so he never had to fight. I know that my grandpa has worked for Budweiser for a time. When he retired, he and my grandma moved up to Alta, CA to their christmas tree farm in the mountains. My grandpa loved taking care of the trees and he built their house there including the water tower that supplied all their water. My family moved from NC back to CA to be close to my grandparents so we could help them out. Being as independent as they were, they did not like asking for help. So we moved to Nor Cal. I did not like it at the time, but now I am so glad that we did because I was able to get to know my grandparents. When we would go up to visit we would always play card games and my grandpa would always be scorekeeper. Our favorite game to play were Dummy Rummy. My grandpa also taught katie and I to play kings corner and dice (which was my grandma's favorite). When we weren't playing cards, I would go for walks among the trees with my dad and grandpa. I liked being outside and watching the trees grow. My grandpa would give me several colored tags each year to go and mark my christmas tree. My dad would leave the choosing of the christmas tree to me because I loved it so much and always wanted to find the perfect, full, and tall tree. I would tell grandpa that I should get miracle grow to help the shorter trees get bigger, and he told me that I could do whatever I wanted. One summer, we went up and helped my grandpa plant baby trees. It was fun and I learned a lot of caring for the trees from my grandpa. We had to plant them and then put a slat of wood against them to block the afternoon sun.

I have always kind of been a shy kid. The summer before we moved to NorCal, it was the Atlanta summer olympics. I remember we were visiting my grandparents and I would sit there by myself. My grandpa would then call me over and sit me on his lap. He would talk to me and pay special attention to me. That was the summer when I became really close to my grandpa. He seemed to know that I really needed him. My grandpa called me his girl. Everytime my family went up to visit them, he would pull me over to him and ask "How's my girl doing?". He always asked me about school and encouraged me throughout college. I am so glad that my grandpa was there for my wedding. It meant so much to me to have all of my grandparents there for that important day. My only regret was that I didn't get a picture taken of me and my grandpa that day. The summer after Brad and I were married, my grandparents celebrated their 70th anniversary. A month later, my grandpa slipped in their house and broke his neck. He did not die, but he became virtually paralyzed. Being the independent man that my grandpa was, this was hard for him. After he had gluacoma and skin cancer problems, which took away some of his eye sight, it was hard for my grandpa and he became slightly depressed because he could not do as much. But he did manage. However, after breaking his neck, my grandpa really struggled and we began to see that he would not be around much longer.

I am so grateful for every moment I have had with my grandpa. He really made me feel special and loved. I am so grateful to have had him as a grandfather and am proud to say that I am a lot like him. I love you grandpa! I am so grateful for the doctrine of eternal families because I know that I will see my grandpa again. I know he is happier now that he is not trapped in his body that was holding him back in so many ways. Knowing that he is happy and that I will see him again helps me to be happy and filled with hope.

LeRoy Cramer

January 12, 1917 - December 25, 2009

Thanksgiving Week

So this thanksgiving week was busy for us. To start off, we celebrated our 2 year anniversary! Crazy right? Well I had to work on Tuesday, but after I got off, we drove up to Salt Lake City. We had dinner at Olive Garden (so yea it's not really fancy, but I was craving their salad and breadsticks) and stayed at the Anniversary Inn. Our room was the Swiss Family Robinson room which was really cool cause the shower was a waterfall and the bed was in a tree.
Plus we got free cheesecake which we both really liked. Wednesday we had my ring cleaned, did some shopping, and then drove up to Kaysville to spend Thanksgiving with Brad's family. I made my "famous" cranberry sauce that Brad's family all really likes, which is why Brad calls it famous. We played lots of games, watched some football, and did a puzzle. It was fun. Then on Friday we went shooting because Brad felt I needed some gun education. It was a lot of fun. I have only shot a rifle at girls camp before this and that was with the rifle sitting propped on a table so all I had to do was point and shoot. Now I know how heavy those guns actually are. I shot a pistol/revolver and two different .22 rifles and a shot gun. I actually did shot a can out of a tree and I provided a lot of entertainment for everyone when I fired the shot gun and was surprised by the punch to my shoulder.Finally on Saturday was the BYU - Utah game. We had 2nd row seats which was awesome. The game was intense and I really thought Max Hall was gonna blow the whole thing, but thank goodness we had guys who can catch a football. And Andrew George caught the winning touchdown right in front of us! And then we stormed the field and a BYU cop tried to tell us to get off, but we walked around him. So all in all it was a good and busy week

Brad's 25th Birthday

So here is my first attempt that this whole blogging thing. Our most recent adventures were all about Brad's big 25th birthday! We weren't able to do much for Brad's birthday cause I work late monday nights. But Tuesday (Nov. 3), we did go to Wingers with his parent's and Melissa. I loved it when his mom told the waiter that it was his birthday and he had to sit there while he got sung too. I laughed so hard cause he put me through that for my graduation and my birthday.

Then, Saturday (Nov. 8), we had wing night with a bunch of mission buddies: Wilding and Joni, Doug and Natasha, and Danny. The boys all had a lot of fun. Brad loves making his hots wings and Wilding and Doug love eating them. I made a veggie tray for us girls and to help cool down the boys' mouths. It was a lot of fun and I'm so glad we have a bigger kitchen and living room so we can easily fit all those people inside. After eating, we all played Disney Scene It and worked to keep Doug and Natasha's son, Stetson, entertained and out of trouble. Brad and I had a run for our money with Wilding and Joni cause Joni knows her disney! But it was a ton of fun and laughs. Brad brought out our nerf gun for Stetson cause that kid LOVES guns. It was pretty funny when Stetson chased the laser beam everywhere. Overall, it was an awesome night and I know Brad loved it. It was really nice to get to catch up with Natasha and get to know Joni even more. Plus, we laughed at the boys a lot as they went crazy about the wings. Its hard cause we don't get to spend a lot of time with these friends since Doug and Natasha live in Vernal and Wilding and Joni are up in Salt Lake area. So it was definitely nice to have them all together, especially since it was right after Brad's birthday and a little before Doug's birthday. Brad now only regrets giving Wilding so much of his hot sauce.

Finally, on Tuesday (Nov. 11) we got to go to Tucanos with Ashley and Sean. A while ago we had gone up to Rodizios in SLC with them. Brad had great memories of Rodizios, but after having Tucanos, we both felt Tucanos was better. So that's when we told Ashley and Sean that they needed to come down and go to Tucanos with us. And what better time to go then for a free birthday meal! Because it was Tuesday night it was not busy at all and our meat server kept pilling the meat on. We finally got to be more picky and pretty much told him all we wanted was the pineapple! For anyone who has never been, their pineapple is brown sugar glazed and delicious! I love their cooked pineapple!!! Sean told Ashley she should put some in her purse. I ate a ton of salad, pineapple, and meat! I swear, my favorite meat changes every time I go there. I just love all the choices! It's prefect for indecisive me. So all in all, we had a lot of fun and laughs as we all joked about stuffing our faces with as much pineapple as possible. Oh if only I had brought the camera! I think Brad had a good birthday, as much as he tries to act like it's not a big deal.