Thursday, December 18, 2008

Thanksgiving 2008

I remember a few years before Ardie, my dad, and my mom died, all of my father's family got together for Thanksgiving dinner at his home in Orem.  At the beginning of the dinner he stood, and with great emotion, expressed how grateful he was to have all of his family together at the same time.  So first, I would like to express my gratitude to John and Miriam, especially Miriam, and the kids for making this a very special Thanksgiving.  As I see my family moving even further apart in the next several years, I wonder if I will ever see them all together again.

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Let the eating begin.  The fellow next to Hed is Bruno.  He is originally from Brazil and his name is quite common there.  I like him a lot because he is a camera buff and I can ask him all my stupid questions.

After dinner it was necessary to burn off a few calories so it was out to the garage and the air hockey table.  It was a single elimination tournament so if you lost, you were out.  Now, maybe it is just me, but I am like, 65 years 153old.  Don't you think my children would have made it single elimination except for me?  You know, give the old guy a couple of shots at it.  But, oh no.  You lose dad.  You're out.  Wow, the hurt of it all.  The in humanity of men towards men.  I have long held that competition is of the devil.  God wants us all to be winners.  I think I have some very substantial proof of my feelings.  Please notice the eyes in the next two photos.

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Sure, I know what you're saying. "Just red eye."  I took these photos to a professional developer and he couldn't even get it out.  H163e said it was something he had never seen before.  He just kept looking at the eyes and after a few minutes he started throwing stuff around and screaming.  I felt it best to leave. 

The competition raged on, without me, I might add.  would it have killed anyone to have given me just a few more chances?  Here are a couple shots of the final match.  Once again, please notice the evil in John's eyes.  Now I need to go back about 40 years.  I am in a small kitchen in Springville, Utah.  There is a 5X8'184 sheet of plywood being held up by the counter on each side of the kitchen.  I stand at one end on the table with ping pong paddle in hand.  Ardie is at the other end.  I am slamming the ball mercilessly at her time after time.  Problem is, she is returning it.  Day after day we played.  Until today I would have thought her the most competitive person on earth.   In the picture above I am wondering the same thing you are.  How does she see anything?

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AND THE WINNER IS????  ARDIE, oops I mean HEIDI.  Always was and I guess, always will be.  The girls in this family want it more than the guys.  Sorry John.  Please notice the great humility with which Heidi accepts her trophy.  You can't get any more Ardie than this.

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I was grateful to see John take his loss with love and kind feelings towards his sister.

Well, the turkey is eaten, the games played, and now for a little napping and the like.  Here is Mirm expressing her gratitude at my taking her picture as she begins her nap. 159160 Here she is coming to take a closer look at the camera.  By the way, Mirm, I talked to the  repairman.  He said it will still be a few weeks before the camera is useable again.  I will send you the bill along with the bill from the doctor who had to remove it from, well, you know.

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Here we are at the Beau Thai restaurant.  Great food197 and even better company.  

I think what Steph is saying here is: "Daddy, they won't let me watch Rainbow Bright."  Does it never end?200

The girls had to check out a few of the shops on the Avenues.207

We were entertained by wonderful music.  Megan and Abigail became very good at their duets.178

One of the happiest memories I have is that of going to the kids choral concerts when they were in high school and college.  I know it also brought great joy to Ardie.  Here the kids, along with Mirm, who also sang in those choirs, sing together.  It was simply like dying and going to heaven.  When they sang, 'Oh Come, Oh Come, Emanuel", I couldn't believe how beautiful it was.  Thanks kids.  It was the best part of my Thanksgiving. 212

Well, all great things do come to and end.  It was time for a few pics of the grandkids and then off to Utah, with a stop in Boise on the way.

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  The "BARFMOBILE" heads out for Utah.  A great time with great people.  Thank you from a very grateful father and grandfather.  Thank you John, Mirm, Aaron, Megan, Josh, and Zach.  And thank you Heidi and Rick, for making your home, once again, a gathering place.  I really love my kids.  Thanks to all of you for making this time so special.

6 comments:

hedrad said...

Dad you are hilarious. I loved reading this post. You're so great at capturing all the fun that we had. You make everything sound so magical. It's so nice having family around. I can't wait for our reunion this summer.

Heidi said...

I am feeling the love tonight! Heather wrote the sweetest blog about the family and now this. Is there a greater family out there?! I loved that you compared me to mom. That has become the highest compliment for us girls. Even if it has to do with how competitive I like to be. I'll take whatever I can get. And your pictures are fabulous. So fun to get another post from you. They always make me happy!

Stephanie said...

That was great! Except for posting unflattering pictures of me, calling me the devil, and making fun of Rainbow Bright. :) That is a perfect post to read in the future and remember how great the day was. And let's have a Christmas airhockey rematch. Anyone over 60 gets a couple extra shots at winning! That is, if I get home for Christmas. I love you dad!!

Mirm said...

Wow, where do you begin? Or in your case you just never know when to end. Next time I will keep your camera and then you will be sorry. Thanks for the line by line and event by event fully descripted caption on the whole vacation. You did leave out however the PINK EYE. Which we did end up bringing back to Utah.

Thanks so much for the personal tour of Freddie's, you know we don't have those here so you just can't pop in anywhere and see that. Kee Kee.
My kids,(well, some of them) still have left over money that you gave to them. Thanks so much. We really did enjoy ourselves and love spending time with all the chillins. I am very fortunate to love my in-laws so much. Not everyone can say that. Thanks for all you do. Love ya tons.

Stace said...

This was a fun post. Made me feel a part of it even though we were not there.

brenda said...

What a great post. Beautiful AND hilarious. We feel privileged to know your family, and doubly so to get to see you for Christmas. Thanks for coming!