Dancing in Heaven

I don't want to say this is a sad, so I'll say different note.
My grandma Scofield passed away in late September. She came down from my uncle's house in American Fork to live with us when school started and we expected to have her for at least a few months before she passed but I guess Grandma decided she didn't want to wait that long. So about three weeks in to her living with us she decided one morning she didn't want to get out of bed and in four days she was gone. It was bitter sweet.
Grandma has been switching off living with us and my uncle for the past few years, switching every six months. And I'll admit, with her deteriorating memory it was a little hard to always be around her. I feel terrible now when I look back and realize all the things I didn't do to help her or just to be there for her. When she came in August, I knew that I needed to change that and to be there for her every second that I could. I'm really happy that I did that and I felt my bond with Grandma grow so much in that short time.
When she went down my mom and I switched off sitting with her and holding her hand and talking to her. I think there was maybe three or four hours that whole time where one of us wasn't by her side, and that was only because mom and I both had school.
We read Grandma her old love letters between her and Grandpa before they got married. Nobody had ever read these before other than the two of them. They were beautiful, and I cried at almost every one. People don't talk that way anymore.
I got to watch her pass at four in the morning when she died. It was so sweet and special. I've always been very cynical about dying at an old age, now I can't think of a better way to go. I've never seen a greater look of peace on anyone's face than on her's when she left this life and joined her sweetheart and her parents in the next. It was beautiful, and something I'll never forget.
The experince of being there with Grandma also made me think of some new fields in nursing I might like to check out. With my outlook on geriatrics and death being so awful, I've never considered that as a field of interest. Then I got to work with HOSPICE at my house and I realized that I actually enjoyed it. I'm not sure that I want to work for HOSPICE or in geriatrics but it has given me some surprisng insight that I would probably have never gotten before. Trials really do give you perspective and blessings that you can't even begin to imagine. 
Her funeral was a very sweet goodbye. It was surprisingly hard for me though. It is a lot different to say a goodbye to someone who is warm and in a bed rather than cold and in a casket. My cousins, mom, and aunt made it beautiful though and I helped with what I could.
Random blurb of information which I feel kinda bad about now, I skipped out on a little of the viewing so the mortiton could take me to go see the lab with the bodies. It was way cool, even if it did make me a little sick when I realized what I was seeing. I higly recommend the experience, just maybe not at a loved one's viewing/funeral.
I love Grandma, I'm so happy for her and all of the things she gets to do now. I know she is dancing in Heaven.

And Then.....

Wingappo all. Boy oh boy what a crazy and sweet month it has been. So many adventures and sweet, special, and spiritual moments. The perfect way to start a new chapter in my family's life.

 As we all know, my brother, Dan, was called to serve as a missionary in the Oregon Eugene Mission about three months ago. We dropped him off at the Missionary Training Center on Wednesday. It was a very sweet and special experience, though short. Basically, we got out of the car, Clayton and Dad got his bags, he gave us each a hug and a nice missionary boy came and got one of his suit cases and they walked off. And Dan didn't look back! I'm so proud of him. He has such a unique testimony, and it will add a lot to his mission I'm sure. It took him a couple years longer than usual for a missionary to leave, but he went when he knew he was ready and he knew why he was going. I'm so excited for him. I love you, Dan. Miss you already.
We went on lots of exciting adventures with Dan before he left, we went hiking in Zion and up in Kanaraville and up Cedar Canyon. We had lots of fun games we played and went shooting and soda golfing and made oh so yummy food and launched water balloons and went swimming and even just sat around and talked a lot.
It's still really weird though not having him around, it's more like he's just on a trip rather than a mission.
We did get letters from him today, he says his companion is cool and the MTC is the hardest thing he's ever done, and he's only been there a short while. But he shared his testimony of what he is doing and reminded us all that he will be home in two years, no sooner. :')

Not a ton else to report. Clayton and I are hanging out with each other mostly and I enjoy spending time with him. I depend on him a lot more than he knows. I love you, Clayton.
Mom and Dad are happy and producing a MONSTER SIZED garden. No joke, it is ridiculous. I'm pretty sure it could eat me before I get the chance to eat it....
Well I hope all is well with everyone and you all are enjoying the end of your summer :) More updates to come soon.

Being There

Hi all :) I am looking for ways to avoid finishing my AP English over the summer homework so I figured I'd update the blog.
All is well in the little world I live in and love. Summer is a welcome break and I am absolutely loving it.
Dan's mission stuff is moving forward. (Again, he is going to Eugene Oregon) We had the opportunity to go up to Salt Lake last weekend to go see family that came into town and so we got to go get Dan his other suit and a lot of other stuff to get him ready. He has less than a month left before he leaves! I've already started the crying process, but he's doing what is right and I couldn't be more excited for him or proud of him. I love you, Dan!
Clayton is still working at DI and he really enjoys it. It makes me happy cause I can go look at old golf clubs while waiting for him to get off work. I actually found some really good ones a few weeks ago that I'm slowly building a set with. Other than that he usually is at home and up for the adventures that Dan and I throw at him :)
Mom and Dad are doing well. I guess the cat is out of the bag so I'll say what has been up with them the past couple months. Dad retired! Actually.. That isn't exactly the whole story, but we'll go with it. Basically, the day after Dan turned in his mission papers my dad found out his department was being cut because of the city budget (Dad's department is the city's planning department, Dad being the city planner). It wasn't exactly what we had been expecting..This was an undeserved, unfair, and just plain stupid decision made by certain people who really don't even know what they're doing. People ask me how I feel about it... (Haha if you can't tell from the previous sentence) I simply say basically, put yourself in a situation where you see your hero and the very definition of what makes a man treated so..... poorly, to put it lightly. Think of the anger and frustration you would feel towards the people that did that to him. Well, now you know the basics of what I feel. I'm trying to respect my dad's reputation that he has built up in Utah for the past 30+ years and not say TOO MUCH, because he is the kind of amazing man that wouldn't say anything negative, even in the worst of situations. He is so amazing and so much better of a person than I am. This is a very dulled down version of the story, I guess.  I'm not sure how good it is to put all of this on a blog as it is. Anyways, my parents are doing well and we are still a very happy family and this trial has certainly brought us closer together and helped me to realize just a little bit more about how much the Lord is really there for his children. I've also learned a little more about how much my parents really do love me and they prepared themselves for so many of the situation life throws at our family. They have the strength to move on when I often feel that I don't, and the coolest thing is that they pick me up and cary me with them to show me that I can make it. I'm so grateful for such a wonderful daddy who loved me so much to go to school for so long and get up every morning to go to work so that I would have a good life. And I also have such a suppportive mommy who helps me through everything, she really does. I am such a blessed little girl. And my family really is doing fine, we aren't starving or struggling or anything and we don't have a mortgage so no worries :)
So aside from getting Dan ready for his mission and my dad's new situation life has been pretty chill this summer. We've done a ton of work on the garden, which is..... ridiculous.. by the way. If you ever need help starting a garden.... my mother is the perfect woman to ask.... In days her garden pretty much shot out of the ground quite literally and now it's...... ridiculous... It is beautiful and full of yummy foods. I am very proud of my little contribution to it and my whole family's hard work they put into it.
I've been hiking a lot this summer which has been flipping awesome. I absolutely loved hiking this one place called Kanara Falls for several years but last week I went on it and had an encounter with a rattle snake and I almost got bit. So... I've decided to lay off that one for awhile. But I have been to Zions and several hikes up the canyon which I absolutely love. It has been super fun.
Also this summer I shot my first gun! My first two guns actually. My friend was nice enough to take my whole family shooting with his 22 and his dad was nice enough to let us bring along his 12 gauge shot gun. I shot the 22 a lot and I love it. I also took several turns at the shot gun, which resulted in a very bruised shoulder.I had a way fun time the first time and I went again today for a little bit :) way way way way fun and for some reason a bit stress relieving too ;)
My birthday is on Wednesday. Not sure what we're going to do for it yet but I'm sure it will be fun :)
That is the summer so far, I'll update again hopefully soonish. Till then, hope everyone is enjoying the heat and the sun, I know on occasion I am :)