Families are Forever

My Grandpa's funeral turned out to be a beautiful family reunion!
All 6 of his children participated in the services and it was great to hear their memories of their father.
The great-grandchildren all sang "A Child's Prayer" and Aaron even got up there even though he was much older than all the Primary children.
All of Grandpa's grandchildren were there and it was so much fun to visit with all of my cousins!
Here are a few pictures:

Mom & Dad before the funeral service

Evan at the graveside service

Marianne at the cemetery

Me and my sibs

Four generations of strong women!

To Grandpa

My Mom called my cell phone before 7:30 this morning.
She knows that I am up early, but I was surprised to hear from her at that hour.
After years of getting up early with her family, she is finally at a stage where she can sleep in when she wants to!

She was calling to tell me that my Grandpa had passed away in the wee hours of the morning.

My Grandpa, Herman Arthur Zobrist was 88.
He is the father of 6 children, 34 grandchildren
and well over 100 great and great-great grandchildren!

Here he is with some of his posterity at our family reunion in 2007.

And Grandpa had an impact on thousands of other families!
He was a sealer in the Las Vegas temple and he performed an incredible number of ordinances as he served in that capacity. Before the Las Vegas temple was built, he and my Grandma used to make the drive to St. George, UT to serve in that temple.

Grandpa loved the temple!

I think that one of the saddest days of his life was when he had to give up temple service for health reasons.

My Grandpa called me "Moni"
Family legend has it that my cousin LaRae couldn't pronounce my name and so I became "Moni". The rest of the family gave up the nickname when I was still a little girl, but it stuck with Grandpa!

My family lived with my grandparents the summer that I turned 11.
I'm sure that it wasn't easy having three kids around 24 hours a day, and I'm sure my grandpa was grumpy.
But that's not what I remember.
I remember having a great time swimming in the pool, eating lots of Hostess snacks, reading books, magazines and The National Enquirer, riding in his Lincoln Towne Car, admiring the Blue Marlin hanging above his couch & watching lots of TV with Grandpa (as long as we were quiet!)

10 years later when John and I got married, he bought the diamond for my wedding ring from my grandpa. During our honeymoon we stayed at my grandparent's condo in Hawaii. Grandpa always had a special connection with John. He really enjoyed talking to him. One of the last times I visited Grandpa, it was just the kids and I. Every few minutes Grandpa would ask me, "Where's John?" or "Why isn't John here." And he was genuinely disappointed every time I explained that John was at home working.
"Oh, I know," said Grandpa. "It's hard to get away." And he proceeded to ask me all about John's family and how they were doing.

It was a sweet thing to see Grandpa soften in his later years.
My kids always enjoyed seeing him and getting a big kiss and hug from him. He even let them ride his "jazzy" a few times. During one of our last visits he told my boys that they shouldn't be focused on money and that family and the temple were the most important things.
And although he couldn't remember what he had for lunch, he amazed us all with a geography lesson about the Swiss alps!

I am grateful that my children have had the blessing of knowing their great-grandparents in this life. I look forward to the day when we will all be together again.

Moni misses you Grandpa!

It's A Holiday!

Did you know that this Saturday is World Card Making Day? It began in 2006 as National Card Making Day but has now expanded to global proportions!

How do I know this? Well I have a card maker living in my home! Be sure to check out Marianne's card blog at: Cardz4U She has some great new Halloween & Fall cards!

I am officially a mean mom!

I don't buy over-the-top sugary cereals. But I do buy cereal like: Frosted Mini-Wheats, Honey Nut Cheerios and Honey Bunches of Oats. I guess that words like "wheat" and "honey" make me feel like the cereal is at least remotely healthy.

While I am being nominated for mean mom of the year award, Ryan is a finalist for "Brother of the Year"!

Today Evan received a package from his big brother. Can you guess what was inside?
A box of Lucky Charms sent all the way from Rexburg, Idaho.

Ryan, if you're taking orders, Marianne wants Cookie Crisps.

What's Your Favorite Treat?

I had a real treat this weekend.
It was better than chocolate.

I got to spend the whole long weekend alone with my husband!
We took a trip to Portland and had a fabulous time.

We got to the car rental agency about 1:00 AM. They only had 3 cars left: a 15 passenger van, a Hummer and this Chevy Trailblazer. I probably would have picked the Hummer (especially once I saw that it was RED) but I'm sure the Trailblazer was more comfortable. John was so pleased because we got the Trailblazer for the economy car rate of $12 a day. (I must say he finds amazing deals!) In the parking garage it looked black and we were surprised the next day to find that it was actually eggplant colored. I named her "Eggie" and she was a great ride. I won't even mention the flat tire, except to say that it happened right next to a Firestone dealer, and it gave us just enough time to eat lunch at a great little Thai place while they repaired the tire.

Eggie took us to the beautiful Multnomah Falls.

We walked up to the bridge and then continued the hike up the mountain to the top of the falls.

The hike was quite steep, but we had some incredible views of the Columbia River along the way. We were surprised to see so many people brought their dogs along. One man even had his cat on a leash. Those Oregonians love their pets!

After our hike we had lunch at the lodge there. A tour group of senior citizens was having lunch at the same time. They were served a peach cobbler for dessert. It looked yummy so John asked if we could order some. The waitress said it was specially made for the group and there wasn't any available. When we finished eating the waitress came over with two cobblers in her hand and said, "Hey, I have a couple of extras. You can have them if you don't tell anyone."

Next we drove to Mount Hood. It is a volcano and they have year round skiing there because of the glacier. We had done enough hiking, so we didn't head up that mountain! They have an amazing Timberline Lodge which is a National Historic Landmark. It was built during the Great Depression as a Federal Works Project. The craftsmen did a beautiful job and everything was done onsite. The timber and stone is local and even the metal was forged there.

Here's John at Mt. Hood

The next day we went to the Portland Temple. The temple was lovely inside and out.

The flowers were gorgeous and I got a good shot of this bee about to take off!

We had a great time walking around downtown Portland. We loved the wonderful architecture and we saw both extremes in shopping. We went to the Saturday Market which is an outdoor type of bazaar with lots of dreadlocks, loud music and incense. Then we headed over to Nordstrom's where I found this great blouse for only $1395.00. (Yes, I did get the decimal point in the right place.) Oh and we saw people shopping in Nordstrom's with their very large, unleashed dogs.

The Japanese Gardens were so serene and peaceful. And their gift shop was a little more in our price range (as a bonus, there was no incense burning!)

As long as we were in the garden mode, we headed over to the Rose Test Gardens where they have hundreds of varieties of roses. They try them out and decide which ones will be sold to the public. I have never seen so many different colors or smelled so many different fragrances in a garden!

We were also able to visit my Grandpa Jerry and his wife Felicia. Felicia made us a delicious Italian dinner and Grandpa Jerry let us play with his Christmas present--a mini pinscher named Sophie. You can see her below chewing on my foot. And yes, she is a typical Oregonian pet who goes to work with my Grandpa every day.

Thanks to my sweetie for taking me on such a wonderful weekend getaway!

If you made it to the end of this long post, I have a few questions for you:
Have you ever been to Portland? What did you see there?
Which rental car would you have picked?
What is your favorite color rose?
Will you promise not to tell anyone about the peach cobbler?
Have you ever taken your dog shopping?

Happy Constitution Day!

Today is the 221st anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States of America.I am grateful to the founding mothers and fathers of our country. I am grateful to the many people who have sacrificed so that the constitution of our country could be written, ratified and upheld.

Brigham Young wrote,

When the day comes in which the Kingdom of God will bear rule, the flag of the United States will proudly flutter unsullied on the flag staff of liberty and equal rights, without a spot to sully its fair surface; the glorious flag our fathers have bequeathed to us will then be unfurled to the breeze by those who have power to hoist it aloft and defend its sanctity.

How long will it be before the words of the prophet Joseph will be fulfilled? He said if the Constitution of the United States were saved at all it must be done by this people. It will not be many years before these words come to pass.

What are we doing to save and protect the founding document of our country?

Protect Marriage, Protect the Future

Here's the truth: I really don't like talking to "strangers". Maybe my parents trained me really well, or maybe I'm just not very friendly. Either way, I'm not the kind of person who usually starts a conversation with someone in line at the grocery store.

So what am I doing out knocking on doors all over my neighborhood?
I'm trying to be a good citizen, uphold the sanctity of marriage and make a better future for my children and grandchildren.

In the past few weeks while I've been out talking to people about Proposition 8, I've met just a few nasty people and lots of wonderful, friendly folks who may or may not agree with me. I can respect people who say, "I've studied this issue and I believe I need to vote no on prop 8." I completely disagree with them, but I respect them.

The saddest and scariest part has been meeting people who are apathetic or indifferent. I've encountered people who say things like, "Well, I'm not registered to vote. I'm just too lazy" or "I don't care about politics. It doesn't matter to me." Worst of all was a 30 something mom with young children who told me, "Oh, I'm in support of Proposition 8, but I'm not going to vote." When I asked her why, she answered, "It doesn't matter anyway. It won't make any difference. The courts didn't listen to us last time and they won't this time either. " I tried to explain that this time the wording "Only marriage between and man and a woman is valid or recognized in California" will become part of our California state constitution." Because the courts must uphold our state constitution, it isn't something that can be overturned easily. Unfortunately the woman wasn't convinced. "I'm completely disillusioned and I'm not going to vote anymore" she said as she shut her door.

I wish everyone could see that they CAN make a difference. One person can have an impact through her efforts, her example and her vote! I just need to take Thomas Jefferson with me next time I head out to talk to my neighbors.

Here's a great video about protecting our families and the future.