Thursday, December 27, 2012

Extra special Thanksgiving

So as the title suggests, this Thanksgiving was extra special for us because...my mom and dad came to visit! They haven't been out in 4 years so it was great to have them! Some of the highlights from their trip include...

Home improvement projects by my dad and Ryan

Extra naps! Who doesn't love those?!

Several movies, shopping, football watching and good food. And that was all before Thanksgiving!


Come Thanksgiving my mom and I spent 8 hours cooking! I couldn't believe we would actually need that much time but sure enough, we did. It turned out great though!

It was a sweet memory to use my Grandma and Grandpa's dishes that my parents brought out. It was also nice to share our meal with our neighbor Tom. The meal turned out perfect and the company was superb!
I'm thankful for all the help I had to prepare the meal, even the ever so faithful clean up crew :)


 The day after the holiday my parents helped us put up our Christmas tree which was fun and appreciated.

Their trip went by quick but it was great to have them and we hope they come back soon!!!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Grandpa Bezzant

On October 25th I was checking my facebook page when I saw a post by Ryan's cousin that said something to the fact of "My Grandpa fell and is going to the hospital!" I tried to call Ryan but couldn't get a hold of him. Then more posts started popping up from his cousins on facebook from "Gramps is getting a CT scan" to "It's not looking good" to finally "All Bezzants should get to the hospital tonight to say goodbye to Grandpa." Talk about feeling helpless! I'm watching all of this unfold on social media 1600 miles away, not able to get a hold of anyone for more information and when I finally got in touch with Ryan he couldn't get anyone to answer either! When we finally got more information we learned that Gramps had fallen down a few stairs at home, hit his head, sustained brain bleeding, and was on the ventilator. As I nurse I know the outcome of that kind of situation and my heart was breaking! I was at work while all of this was happening and I wish I could have been home with Ryan or better yet at the hospital in Utah!

Ryan decided he didn't want to rush home to see his Gramps before they let him go but to remember him how he was. After Nancy's siblings arrived the next day they turned off the ventilator and Grandpa Bezzant passed away that afternoon of October 26th 2012. It sounds like all the family that was able had been to the hospital to be with him and that it was a very peaceful passing.

We arrived in Utah on the 28th. There were several family get togethers at the orchard house where Ryan's Grandma and Grandpa used to live before she died in 2003.. It was so great to see so many people packed in that home that they all spent so much time in as kids. Everyone was reminising about Gramps. Most of the time laughing to the point of tears while sharing their stories.
 Such a warm feeling in that home!

 

 
The view of Utah Lake from the orchard house.
 

The viewing was on the 29th at Olpin Mortuary in Pleasant Grove. I was later informed it used to be a chapel and it was where Jim and Mary had their wedding reception! Talk about a full circle to have your wedding reception and viewing at the same place! Gramps looked good, it was good to see him.
The family set up several beautiful displays to remember Jim which wouldn't have been complete without remembering his life as a fruit farmer.



The next day was his funeral at a chapel in Orem. There were so many people there and the service was beautiful! Nancy and her brother spoke and I loved learning new things about Jim and hearing about the wonderful man that he was. Ryan must have saved his emotions for the funeral because he finally let them out. I'm so glad he did and that I was able to be there to help him through it.
What a beautiful day, inside and out!
 

 
 Buried with a view of the G which those Bezzant's are so crazy about!

The whole Robert and Nancy West Family
 
Ryan took a minute to remember his Grandma and Grandpa West who are buried nearby.
 

One thing that I loved is after the funeral on our way back to the church for lunch we stopped at Hart's for big chills in honor of Grandpa Bezzant who would stop there everyday for a Dr Pepper before work. Funny enough, when we got there there were already several family members inside doing the same thing and then more showed up after us! It was like Bezzant day at Hart's :) Pretty cute to see all the big chills on the tables at lunch. I'm sure Jim was chuckling.
 

The next day was Halloween and were were able to spend more time with Ryan's family which was great. We went to the kids Halloween parade at school and trick or treating with them later.
(forgive the crappy pictures, time to get yet another new camera)
 
 
 

We also stopped by the cemetery again so Ryan could leave a little something for his Gramps.

We also stopped by his Grandma and Grandpa West's site to drop off some fall flowers.
 

The next day we went back to Salt Lake and went to my sister's kids Halloween parade and enjoyed some short but sweet time with my family as well.
 
  
 
 

 We headed home the next day but not before a trip to Corbelly's.
 

While Grandpa Bezzant's passing was certainly unexpected and sooner than we would like we are comforted to know that he passed quickly and that is the way he wanted. He was such a great man and I will always remember his belly laugh/chuckle, big hugs, and smile. He always gave the kids a hard time and loved to joke around. We will certainly miss him but are grateful for the covenants he made in the temple so many years ago so that his family could be Eternal. How thankful we are for the Plan of Salvation and the comfort and peace it provides. Between the two of us we have lost 6 of our 9 grandparents in the last 9 years and 5 of those since we moved to Michigan 5 years ago. We sure miss them but know we will see them again. We love you Gramps!!

Ryan's memories...My earliest memories of Grandpa Bezzant are of him being serious and stubborn. I had a great deal of respect and fear of him as a kid. He always seemed to be doing something, a man constantly in motion. It seemed the only time he sat still for more than five minutes was on Sunday evenings with a wooden bowl filled with freshly popped popcorn saltier than the Great Salt Lake and Murder She Wrote on the tv. Though Gramps always seemed to be working, he made it a point to attend family events. He was there for baptisms and confirmations, he tried his best to attend school performances and recitals. Every Christmas Grandma and Grandpa Bezzant would make their way over to see what had been delivered and deliver some razzing of his own. Though he rarely vocalized his love, it was abundantly evident in his actions and attitudes. As a teenager I began to develop a deeper relationship with Gramps. Time spent in the orchards working translated into time spent getting to know Gramps.
To be continued...

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

New York: Take 2

Since we enjoyed our first visit to New York to see the Merkley's in 2010 we decided to pay them another visit! We spent a long weekend with them this past October and had a great time (no surprise)! Bianca took us on a little city tour to the cool lookout.
 
That night we enjoyed some authentic NY pizza then were privileged to see Bianca in concert at a local cafe. I've always been a fan of her and her music so it was a treat to see it live!
 I always enjoy seeing the city at night (but not necessarily the night traffic where Joseph gets to show off his
  mad NYC driving skills).
 

The next day Ryan and I headed into the city to do some more exploring of our own. We got tickets to see the new World Trade Center site.
 
 
The memorial isn't quite finished yet but we still got to see the reflecting ponds with all the names of the victims etched in.
 
We also saw the progress on the new WTC buildings.
I really enjoyed learning about this tree (the center one in the picture with the railing around it).
 
It's called the Survivor Tree and is the only one that survived 9/11 and was nursed back to health then replanted in its rightful spot.

After the memorial we made our way uptown. Took a stroll past the beautiful Central Park.
 
Made a short visit to the Museum of Natural History.
 
 
Then met up with Joseph and Bianca again. Joseph's parents (Ryan's aunt and uncle) were also in town so we all had dinner together at The Meatball Shop. It was great!

After dinner we went to a World Series playoff game between our own Detroit Tigers vs the NY Yankees! The boys were stoked about this and us girls enjoyed it too (except the part where we got cussed at/heckled/had candy thrown at us)...Very cool to see Yankee Stadium though and even better to see the Tigers win!


 

The next day we enjoyed church together under the direction of Bishop Merkley himself then shared a yummy dinner with everyone. And what visit to the Merkley's would be complete without a game of Ticket to Ride :)

The next day we shared the train with Joseph for awhile until we said goodbye and headed to the airport.
Another awesome trip, thanks for the good times Joseph and Bianca!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Camping, Cat and Class

Time to catch up...again! So a few weeks ago we finally took our one and only family camping trip this year. We tried a new place 2 hours north called Mud Lake State Forest Campground. It was great!



There were only 8 sites in a loop, right on a lake, very nice outhouses with NO smell, and quiet!

However, with lakes come snakes! I ran into this guy while I was looking at the water!

We didn't bring the doggies but they would have loved it.

We went on a little hike nature walk but couldn't find the rest of the trail so walked back to camp on a dirt road :)


We did catch this pretty view on the way back to the campground though.

This is one thing I love about Michigan, the GREEN!

The next morning I of course got up early and walked down to the lake and just stood there taking in the quiet and staring at all this fog. It was beautiful and creepy all at the same time!




I haven't said much about Jack lately so I thought I would include a current picture.


This is what he does for a good portion of his day during the warm weather. Either stalks/pretends to hide in the grass, sunbathes on the porch, or sleeps in the wood chips we layed in the flower beds. His killing spree hasn't been too bad this year, thank goodness for that!

And last of all... Thanks to being unpredictable outside our house (lunging, snarling, mean barking) Miss Baby has earned herself a spot in Naughty Dog School. Her 1st class was tonight. She did pretty good!

Don't be fooled. She may appear to be laughing at my attempt to train her but she will not win this battle!