My Grandma passed away yesterday. I am going to miss her so much, but I am so happy that she is finally with my Grandpa again. Grandpa passed away 5 years ago. Almost every time I talked to my Grandma after Grandpa died she would say how upset she was at him for leaving her. She always said that when she got to heaven she was going to punch him before she hugged him and I am sure she did...Grandma was spunky like that.
I grew up thinking that everyone had grandparents like Grandpa and Grandma B. It wasn't until much later in life that I began to realize how lucky and blessed I have been to have them in my life.
We spent a lot of time at their house. We would have several sleepovers at their house every summer. The girls usually slept downstairs and the boys upstairs. 10+ grand kids could cause quite a ruckus, but G-ma and G-pa never complained (well not too much anyway!) Before going to bed at these sleep overs we would ALWAYS play a game with Grandma. I think her favorites were Phase 10, Skip Bo, and Dominoes. I think my favorite was Skip Bo...I especially loved Grandma's special rules. If you had a skip bo card on the top of your stack you could peak at the next card.
Whenever we would visit Grandma and Grandpa's house they always had their downstairs freezer stocked with cheese sticks and popsicles. I remember that you never had to ask permission, just help yourself. Grandma LOVED coke. I loved how she called it "Shame-Shame."
Every summer Grandma and Grandpa would also take all of the grand kids on a fishing trip. They would take the girls and boys separately. Fishing with the girl cousins in a treasured memory. I had no idea how much work went into those trips until I took my own family camping. Grandpa would get a little grouchy sometimes, but Grandma was always happy. I later learned that she didn't love going out in the boat on the water...she was a trooper!!
Every Christmas she would make all 25 grand kids AMAZING gifts: bear rugs, stuffed animals, doll houses, quillows, cross stitched animals on sweatshirts, just to name a few. As I got older their house became a half way point when I would travel to and from SUU. I LOVED staying there. I knew I didn't need to call ahead. I was always welcomed and we always played cards.
Grandma started teaching me how to quilt (I still have the quilt we started...) She always had an Easter egg hunt and a huge picnic. We had tons of water fights at her house. Grandma and Grandpa served 2 missions and several years as temple workers. I am forever grateful for their examples. I am so grateful that I was blessed to have grandparents that went way above the typical grandparent requirements. I knew they loved me.
Family was so important to my Grandparents and they worked very hard to create amazing memories and traditions that we still carry on. I remember writing a paper..I think it was in high school. The assignment was to write about our hero...I wrote about Grandma B...she is my hero and I hope I can grow up to be just like her.
I love you Grandma!
