Monday morning – homework, breakfast, and GAMES with Kevin and Liz’s fam.

We went to the dam and roller bladed!

Cute Girls in the Car

And the VAN IS FIXED so we can pack up and head home! yipee! We decided to pack up and then after dinner we’d drive down to Sacrament to a) test the new transmission b) see mom and Tracie’s new house and c) be a few minutes closer to Home when we start the long drive home. We loaded the car and had a few last hurrahs with K and L and then headed out around 7pm.

It was nice to see moms new place all set up and cute. And the progress Michael had made in his room. And to see John and Tracie and kids and goats! And to give mom one more hug… her world really has been turned upside down! They had their bags packed for their mission and now dads gone! We moved her out of her condo and ward! She is in a new place without her husband – they had been together since high school! I just feel so bad for her 🙁 I’m sad they don’t get to serve their mission together.

We were originally planning on driving home Sunday so the kids could be back to school on Monday but our car was still in the shop so… we HAD to stay. I’m glad we got to stay because Sunday was a really nice day. We did Zoom church together and then we sat and talked about all of the MIRACLES surrounding dads death. We discussed all of the tender mercies that we each experienced. It ended up being about 2 hours worth of thoughts. I loved it.

Most people headed home some time Sunday but it was nice to have that one more day together.

That afternoon we went to the cemetery to put a bunch of the flowers on dads gravesite and on the grandparents.

And the few of us that were left hung out til late one more night:

oh – and you can’t forget the FRIES- these boys made us delicious fries all night long!

We got up Saturday morning and went to Table Mountain! After that we came home and chilled. The big kids went to play soccer with friends. The younger kids went to the bunk room to eat ice cream. And the adults played some games!

We celebrated a bunch of Feb. birthdays and continued to eat too much food.

That night Ben and I went to Rite Aid for an ice cream run! Matt and Jamie wanted to do something nice for the family so they sent money for the Cream Run – – we got lots of the “Chocolate Malted Crunch” that the youngins always talk about.

And then back to the game playing:

We hung out at the house and visited with friends. We continued to remember all the fun times with dad and enjoyed reliving our childhoods. We ate and played games and just enjoyed being together after a loong day.

After the graveside service we went back to the church for a luncheon. The Oroville 1st ward fed us lunch and we sat and visited with them and with other friends that came. We watched parts of the 2 hour dad video and zoomed in with the aunts and a few cousins. Uncle Russ and Aunt Karen were here all weekend so that was pretty neat.

At the end of the luncheon we got the idea that we should do family pictures right then instead of Saturday morning – so we hurried back to the house and put on our Robertson shirts that mom and dad designed for us for Christmas. Kelsey A. brought her camera and we all took some great pics!

It’s still unreal that Dad is gone! On Friday we had the funeral at the Monte Vista Chapel. The very chapel that dad helped build as a young man! We had a family viewing at 11am. We had an open casket and were able to see his body and say goodbye. There were lots of tears and memories and a family prayer from Sean.

The Funeral was at 11am. It was a very nice tribute to dad. So many neat memories and feelings. Each of us 12 kids got to share a memory and there was a lot of love in the room. It was nice to see lots of friendly faces and good friends. Bishop Chris Avila conducted the meeting. And then at the end we all followed the casket out to the car and then up the hill to the cemetery.

Joel dedicated the gravesite and then we each took a moment to leave a flower and a final goodbye to Dads mortal body. We took pictures there which seems a little odd but I guess it’s in remembrance of Dad’s legacy. We have an awesome family and things are going to be different without Dad leading and guiding us like he always has but I do find peace in the plan of salvation. I do have faith in the next life and the chance to be together again. I know that Dad’s earthly life is over but his spirit lives on. I also feel that God must have needed him to have called him home even after healing his body. I would love to KNOW exactly where he is and what he is doing!

On Thursday we hung out with the cousins and waited for all the family to come to Oroville. We ran back and forth between Kevins house and the Stutzneggers. We got set up in our rooms and the girls over in the bunk room. Keith and Susan started the ice cream machine and we played hard. Kevins house is great. The fruit trees are amazing

That afternoon we went over to the church to set up for the funeral. And then we relaxed at the house and made sure that we were ready for Friday. A bunch of people brought take and bake pizza – like 10 different people each brought 2 pizzas to feed us. There was a lot of love and a lot of visiting. Oroville is awesome. The young boys challenged the brothers in some basketball and we had fun all being together. Shannon and Tommi and some Eggers got in at midnight so we were all there except the 2 missionaries.