Shaybee's Space: Thank You Grandma Bev

Our trip to salt lake was unexpected, spontaneous, and wonderful. The unexpected part was hearing of Grandma Bev's passing. She was a remarkable woman and she will be missed. But I feel most of us wanted to see it as a celebration of sorts instead of something sorrowful. She was in a lot of pain everyday near the end. Her body hurt and nothing worked the right ways anymore and it was a huge relief to know she felt none of that now. We were traveling to Salt Lake for the funeral when we spontaneously decided to go through the Payson Temple. I had read and heard that it would be open during this time. I had been watching because of a bit of back story that comes with this temple. That is:
Some time ago, Me and the kids tagged along with some of the Snodgress family to Grandma Bev's home town. The Snodgress' had planned the trip so that we could record Grandma's life stories along the way. Rick had to work, so I went without him. I felt it was important and I wanted the opportunity to get to know grandma more. On the way, just as we were passing by the Payson Temple, I looked over and saw them placing the Angel Moroni on top of the Temple. We sang, We Love to See the Temple, and watched as it was placed perfectly a top. The feeling that came in that moment was special and clear. It was the reassurance that families can be together forever and it reminded me of the importance of Temples. It was a special and sacred moment for me and I will forever be grateful for it. That's why I thought it ironic that we'd be passing by this temple once more in honor off Grandma Bev and the fact that it was the first Open day was just the cherry on top. The temple was absolutely beautiful and the feelings that came with it were undeniable. The kids thought it was one of the coolest things they had seen and it turned out to be the most perfectly spontaneous stop on the way.

It only takes several selfies to get an Okay pictures of us :)

Once we arrived, Our time was spent with family. It was wonderful in every way.

Penny enjoyed trying on every pair of shoes she found around the house. The funeral service was wonderful and close to a place Grandma once lived that has held a special part in each of her grand kids lives. We all walked there together and saw so many quail along the way. That was no coincidence as well. Quail are grandma's most favorite.We had a big family dinner after and spent some wonderful quality time Together.

Thanks to my back, we ended up spending one more day in Salt Lake and got to spend more time with the Richards which was exceptional. I had been packing up our van and just as I put our last bag in the van, I tweaked my back. At first, I could still move around just fine but just felt a bit sore from it. I thought it was weird but nothing I couldn't deal with until only minutes later while trying to stretch it out, it really got ouchy and I found myself, unable to move. I have never experienced back pain like this in my life. Thanks to Don and his stem machine, I felt a little better but I definitely wasn't ready to travel back to St. George just then, so I convinced Rick to stay one more night. I felt a ton better the next morning. I was still a bit stiff and uncomfortable but well enough to walk around and move a bit from side to side.

And well enough to hike up Ensign Peak. We decided to do one last thing before heading back to St. George and I'm so glad we did. The view was beautiful and the air was crisp and clear. Lizzie tagged along with grandma and I. Linc talked grandpa's ear off and never let go of his hand and Penny enjoyed the piggy back rides 90% of the way up and back. We stopped a few times along the way which only made for some fun pictures and a little bit of rest, I suppose.

These were the best we could get of everyone

These three littles are my favorite!

On the way back down from our hike, a quail ran across our path. It was special and wonderful. We all saw it and recognized it for what it was and no doubt we were all thinking the same thing as well.

The trip home went well and as a bit of a family fun thing we do, We pulled into Diamond Valley and then immediately rolled down all the windows and blew out our children. Rick and I love the squeals and giggles that come with it. I just happened to grab a few pictures of the excitement that comes with it. They aren't great pictures, but the memories these pictures bring to my mind are great and wonderful.