Dearest Grandpa

My grandfather, Emerson Powell (my mom's dad) passed away on the 8th of May. As sad as it is that he is no longer with us, I know that he is now in a better place - with his wonderful wife who he loves dearly. She passed away about seven years ago, and he has been ready to go ever since. There were many events and miracles surrounding his passing that are so special to me. His health wasn't too good over the past few years, and we knew his time was limited. About a month ago, I was talking to Mom about him and how he was doing. She suggested that I write him a letter telling him what Janet and I have been up to. I felt strongly that I should do it, and sent the letter within a couple of days. He passed about a week after. I wasn't sure if he received the letter, and Janet and I were hoping that it got to him. I found out later that he got to read it right before things turned south, and it was the last real communication with family before he passed. To me it was such a blessing and a miracle that Mom was inspired to tell me to write to him, and I did so in time for him to hear from Janet and I. I love my grandpa, and wish that I was able to get to know him better. It was so wonderful hearing everyone talk about him - their stories with him, and describing what he was like. There were two qualities that really stood out to me, and I really want to be sure that I reflect them in my life as well:

• He loved his family more than anything, and always took time to tell everyone about all of his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, their accomplishments, and how much he loved them. I remember him always showing me pictures of his family in his front room and telling me about them - especially his wife, Wanda, after she passed. He would tell me how much he loved and missed her.
• He had a way of disciplining that made you want to be a better person. He wouldn't yell, or berate. He would explain why he was disappointed in you, and then make sure that you knew he loved you, and that you could live up to his expectations.

I love you grandpa, and hope that someday I can be like you.






Janet and I were greatly blessed that BOTH of us were able to fly to Utah for the funeral. My boss was extremely generous and made sure that we both got there. We were blessed as well that I was able to make it in time to help my father and uncle Jay dress Grandpa. That was a very solemn and spiritual experience for me that gave me greater respect for Grandpa, for the plan of salvation, and the teachings, ordinances and covenants of the gospel.


It was SO good to see family, and I'm SO happy Janet came too. She hasn't had too many opportunities to get to know my family since we live so far away. Most of my siblings she only briefly met at our wedding. We had so much fun with everyone and were so sad to leave. Here are some pictures of our activities with the fam =)

Wes, Emma, and Rachel singing a song with cups. Wes really took to Janet, and kept flirting with her the whole time - it was so cute!

Practicing to sing at the funeral.

Janet helping Todd with his boutonniere.

Evie and Laney enjoying the soft grass - quite a change to Arizona's rocks.

Reagan, Brooke, and Lauren. Lauren was my little friend during this trip :)

Kenny was upset until he saw a truck - then everything changed. :)

It's hard to get us to stop laughing when we all get together.

Lauren took our picture!

red rover

Everyone crammed into Mug's house!

We visited temple square

Playing at McDonnalds with Todd and his kiddos :)

My beautiful wife!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Just wanted to wish our special beautiful Mothers a very Happy Day!! I wish we lived closer to Jon's mom so that I could get to know her better. Jon is so sweet to his mom. He calls her Mama and is just so kind and helpful to her. It is one of the many things that attracted me to him because I knew he would treat me similarly, and he does. I don't know Jon's mom very well but I can tell she is incredibly patient, loving, and hardworking. I remember her giggling a lot one time when we were visiting, probably because Jon's sister's were making her laugh a lot. I thought it was so cute! I am very grateful we get to live near one of our Mothers. I spent 6 years living far away from my mom and it is so nice to see her more regularly. My mom even still mends clothes for me! My mom is very patient, loving, and self-less. She is always doing for others and never ever stops. Jon and I always joke that my mom is "addicted" to her phone, computer, and iPad...but she uses them to work, not play. She is always busy and working hard. My mom's mother died when my mom was in her early twenties so I am especially grateful I get to have my mom still. I always tell her she better not go anywhere! Both Jon's mom and my mom have both been piano teachers. They seem like they have a lot in common and would probably get along great if they lived closer. We are so grateful for our moms and love them so much!!!

Make Note of It

Best Memories in our Marriage so far....

1) That one time Jon's car was in the shop and I had kept talking about wanting to carve pumpkins so Jon rode his bike to the shop and brought home two giant pumpkins in a duffel bag. He had to ride on a really busy road with no shoulder. I came home from work in shock. I laughed and cried. It was one of the sweetest things ever.

2) Our honeymoon in the smokey mountains- so peaceful, so beautiful and such a great start to our new life. (minus the crazy traffic and the overpriced milk)

3) Our wedding day- I remember being SO nervous but SO calm. We sat in the Celestial Room and talked while we waited to be sealed.

4) The time we went on a walk and Jon stepped on a dead squirrel...twice.

5) Going camping with 2 other guys and Callie and she puked all over the car.

6) All of our road trips together- driving from Utah to NC, driving to Nauvoo, driving to Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, Georgia, and every where else we have been

7) Sleeping in the tent in our living room before General Conference.

8) Getting our Christmas trees together

9) House hunting and building our home together

10) Quoting Nacho Libre

11) Quoting our funny nieces and nephews

12) Kissing in the rain...among other things :)

13) Our crazy crazy dog. She is so entertaining!

14) Praying, studying, and drawing closer together

15) Talking in crazy voices

16) Side walk chalk

17) Valentine's fondue

18) Going on many a walks

19) Taking many a naps

20) Jon letting me watch all of my cheesy movies so I don't have to watch his "boring" ones

21) Getting locked out of the house

22) Talking southern and laughing at southern culture, and then trying desperately to fit in with these peeps

23) Duck Dynasty

24) Prison Break

25) Calling each other the most ridiculous pet names we can think of

26) Sitting in church together and having kids from the ward come sit with us

27) Teaching together in Primary

28) Flying to Colorado for Thanksgiving and our reception

29) Getting my cute Christmas stocking tied up by a scarf

30) Jon bending over backwards to make me happy and to show me that he loves me

31) Going to the gym together

32) Wal-Mart trips together

33) Eating! Especially if it is Panera, Mexican food, Chik Fil-A, or our favorite local joints

34) Gardening together!

I am sure there will be tons more to add, but I wanted to record these while they were on my mind. I can't believe we have known each other for 2 and a half years and been married for a year and a half. Crazy!

Just Stuff

The other night, Jon and I set out on a walk with our doggie. The night took on a series of strange events. First off, we locked ourselves out of the house. Secondly, Jon stepped on a dead squirrel. Then, a random lady ran across the street after us, asking if we could give her a ride downtown because she had a flat tire. We explained that we were locked out so it may take us a while to come back to her. She asked if we would really come back and we said we would. We headed home and Jon stepped on the dead squirrel again, it flopped up and the tail hit him in the leg. We broke into our house through an open window and then Jon and I went to find the lady. Jon ended up helping her fix her flat and she asked if we were religious and tried to pay us. Then we continued with our walk, even though it was a crazy thunderstorm and there was a tornado watch. You probably just think this is a lame story but trust me, it was a weird night. We could not stop laughing about it as we came home soaked from the storm.

Also, here are some things that need to be added to my list of things I love about the South:

• Shopping carts are called buggys
• Purses are pocketbooks
• Everyone tells you to have a "blessed" day. Love that!

Stuffs

My wife is the best. I want to say that. And I love her. I want to say that too. We have fun. It's been a while since we have updated on our recent hap's so here it goes in picture dump form:

Callie's first snow

So pretty!

Us in our Sunday best!

Croquet with our friend Veera, and some super fun girls from the ward.

Janet rocking traditional Indian clothing at her parents house.

Manly men doing manly things.

The restaurant from our first official date! *It has changed from our original date, but still does bbq

We even got in the same booth!

Savvy is so cute!!!

Ready for church

Janet loves cows.

Janet made green eggs and oatmeal for St. Patties!

She also got me an Easter basket!

 Okay, now here are a ton of pictures from our trip to visit Brian and Mandy in VA. It was so awesome!!! We love to see them and their kids!!! I'm so happy to have some family close.

Bedtime stories

Even though Hayden doesn't look happy here, the kids ended up loving the hammock!

They like sitting on the slackline best

Milaya's 2nd soccer game ever. She did awesome even though they didn't win.

Dying eggs

I am cornholio!

Janet trying on a hat at Yorktown beach. She should have gotten it!

The water was freezing!

Hayden playing with his shadow.

We got to spend some time with Janet's parents and our niece Brenna the weekend after VA.

 

 

Janet slacks!

So do the elders!

The end.