A Touch Of Tyrell

Since bringing home some of my dad's physical possessions, we've had to make room to store them. Dad had been cleaning house and had been getting rid of things often so he really only had the essentials and things he really liked.  But still, I wanted to make room for the things I brought home. So we've been cleaning house too and have been getting rid of so much. It feels great to get rid of things. Old clothes, toys, decorations.  After cleaning house all day Saturday we needed to make a trip to Home Depot for all the little odds and ends for around the house.  Everett found the selfie stick and documented us getting ready.  The girls and I ended up buying sunflower seeds, houseplants and soil while the boys were buying screws, wood and lightbulbs.  When we got home, Roxy helped me plant the houseplants. She was pretty happy with her duties :)

Jake and I were lucky enough to find time for a date night. I love going out with just him.  There was an hour and fifteen minute wait at firebirds so we went next door to Living Spaces and I took him on a tour of all the things I've been eyeing.  Specifically a guest room bed. Slowly we are getting things the way we like.  Speaking of things we like... we had bread, wood fired salmon and then dessert.  I could re-live that date night several times and be happy every time 😋

We know that life doesn't stop for anything... so we just keep going.  I couldn't be more grateful that this is the time of the year where it's much more comfortable to be outside. It's therapy for a person like me.  I'm grateful my days are spent with Roxy. She's such a cute little person to be around.  She's an absolutely terrible shopper, but the things she says and the way she communicates are beyond adorable.  I'm her best bud. We do everything together.  For months Breckie and the neighbor girls have been playing together everyday after school. I'm so glad we have neighbors our same age. They have a lot of fun together. Emily is helping me quiz Breckie on her sight words.  There are six (very adorable) kids in the family next door. Often all of them are over playing in the house and jumping on the trampoline. I'd really love to get a swing set for the backyard. I think that would be...

Saturday was a long day.  We woke up early and packed everything for the memorial and drove to Springerville.  Montana and I drove together with all of the things to set up. We planned on getting there a few hours early and Jake was coming later with the kids.  Montana and I talked about a lot of our feeling revolving around Dad and our childhood in general. It was a very bittersweet feeling. In a huge way, Dad was ready to go. He was in so much pain and he was lonely. He told Kelly several times on Friday that he wasn't afraid to die.  But nobody expected him to.  There were a few hiccups, but the memorial went well. (Like how Breckie puked all over Jake and into Roxy's blanket RIGHT before the service started.) Aunt Deanna and Uncle Doug talked about his younger/teen years. It was hilarious to know how little he'd changed! Aunt Deanna talked about how he was very honest and how sometimes it would have been better if he kept h...

Thursday the 10th was spent finalizing things for the funeral, making arrangements with the hospital and Montana was taking care of where to take my dad after the organ transplants were completed. There was so much to do and thankfully Jake and Montana did so much of it. On top of everything else, I was helping Wesley's family make arrangements to get back to Montana State. There was just so much going on. Friday only added to the disaster. It was a really awful day. Wesley's one and only concern was taking care of dad's things and cleaning out his house. I must have mentioned 15 times that if he just took what he wanted, that Jake and I would take care of the rest later because this was NOT a time sensitive thing. We had a funeral to get ready for. We were having the funeral in our hometown which was a three hour drive and we were trying to coordinate everything long distance and get ready for the funeral THE NEXT DAY. He spent 30 years living and wor...

On Wednesday, I just needed to be a mom and be home. I hadn't been home basically since we left for Colorado. Our Christmas trees were still up, Christmas decorations all over the house, gingerbread houses and everything.  *Breckie and I made this one *Jake and Everett made this replica of our house. *Breckie and Grandma Pam made this one.  Time had stood still since we got the phone call about my dad.  By the end of the day I had put Christmas decorations away, unpacked suitcases, did loads of laundry, put away snow gear, made dinner for our family and felt grateful to have been able to stay home.  In a quiet moment I found myself looking through my dad's senior year book. Montana resembles his yearbook pictures SO MUCH! Their eyes especially! It was nice to read through some of the things people wrote about him. It sounds like he's always been really kind, sincere, nice and people enjoy long talks with him. ...