Well, before we took the big trip back to the states, the USO put on a live Sesame Street show for the kids here in Misawa. Kyle had to work late, so I decided to drag the kids to the convention center to go to the show for a fun family night. I didn't know how the kids would do, and was worried I was going to regret going, but the kids LOVED it! They received stickers, a spinning light up toy, and got to watch and sing a-long to Elmo and friends sing about making friends every time you move to a new base. It was a great show and now Abby is obsessed with Elmo. Looks like more Sesame Street shows will be in our future.
Feeling blessed that we had a second chance to get back to the states, we boarded the KC-10 on Wednesday hopeful, and excited to be heading back to the land of the free. Abby was so excited to be on the "big airplane." She literally was shaking from excitement that the crew couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm. The kids could move about the plane and it seemed as if it was working out better than the patriot would have been... or so we thought. About 3-4 hours into our flight they announced that there was an oxygen malfunction in the cabin and that we were diverting to Alaska. Alaska?! ALASKA?!
So another 2 hours or so on the plane we finally landed in Anchorage. It was 2:30 in the morning so there were not a lot of options on what we could do. The KC-10 wasn't going to be fixed for a full 24 hours, and at that rate we would miss the funeral completely. So, we put our big boy panties on and went with plan B. We quickly took a taxi to the airport and got somewhat military discounted tickets to fly to Seattle then Salt Lake City through Alaskan airlines that same morning.
The kids were exhausted, we were cranky, and all I wanted to do was brush my teeth! But after 2 very long flights we made it to Salt Lake City. The only problem was we still were not to our final destination. We had one more leg to the trip and that was the 2 hour car ride to Burley.
It was weird being back in the states. The first thing I noticed was how fast everyone drives. Then I remembered we were on the opposite side of the road from what we were used to in Japan and had a couple panic attacks. And I noticed how spacious everything was from the large cars to the wide lanes and open landscape. It really was a culture shock coming back home to America.
We were told we would help in singing the opening number and needed to go to the chapel to rehearse right before the funeral started, however on our way we got side tracked. We walked passed the room where grandpa layed for the viewing. Kyle stopped in his tracks, took my hand and together we went in to see grandpa. It was a very tender moment as I watched my sweet husband grab his beloved grandpa's hands, and give a smile as a couple tears rolled down his cheeks. I will never forget the words that came out of Kyle's mouth then, "it doesn't even look like him. Grandpa is gone. Isn't it amazing how much the spirit makes the person?" After some time with grandpa we realized we were late to rehearsal and ran to join the rest of the grandkids in the musical number.
After the funeral, and lots of family time and Dairy Queen runs, we decided to stay the extra week since Kyle got approval already to do so. So that way we could attend Kyle's cousin Sarah's wedding, and grandpa Don's burial in Cedar City. Besides, we were still exhausted from the trip to the states that we hadn't "recharged" our batteries yet for the trip back to Japan.
The wedding was beautiful, and it was so nice to be in the temple all together as a family. We could all feel grandpa there with us. And the burial was very nice. Kyle was a paul bearer and assisted with bringing grandpa to his place of rest. Our biggest concern is grandma Ruth now. When this is all over and family leaves and she is all alone in her home in Idaho, will she be ok? Kyle wants to take time off next summer to take a trip just to visit grandma. He would love to go to the fair and participate in pinning again like he did in his prime with grandpa. So more than likely we will be back next summer to check up on grandma.
For the rest of the week we got to play and relax in St. George, Utah and Vancouver, Washington. We just loved all the family time cause we don't get that in Japan! Nothing like a funeral to help put things into perspective for you as to what REALLY is important in life.
In Vancouver we were there the same weekend my parents moved into their new home. As stressful as I'm sure it was for my parents to move and house us, we were excited to see their new place. With a few tweaks here and there I think they will make that home theirs and it will be just perfect for them. We just hope they are happy out in Richfield.
We also went kayaking. When in the Pacific Northwest, right?! It was a lot of fun and Abby loved it. I foresee that being a fun tradition my kids will want to go do every time they go see grandma and grandpa Mac.
I was especially glad I got to see my grandpa, Boopa, again. My Boopa was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal liver cancer back in April, and was only given a couple months to live. He has decided to forgo any chemo treatment and to just enjoy the remainder of his time on this earth. I love my Boopa so much. When I was informed of his condition back in April I was devistated. As difficult as it has been to watch him go through this, I truly feel it was a tender mercy that we were able to see him one last time to say our good byes.
He is a wonderful man who has gone through a lot in his life. Ran away from home at 17 and enlisted with the Navy, married his sweet heart and had 2 kids. He worked so hard to provide for his family in which he had many successes and failures. And perhaps the most important thing of all is he, with my grandma, mom and uncle, were the first in our family chain to hear and accept the gospel. I am grateful for their conversion for it has impacted my life and my kids lives and future generations for the better. I am so grateful my kids had the chance to meet their great grandpa in this life and I can't wait to share his legacy with my future kids and grandkids. He is such a wonderful example and such a loving and supportive grandpa. I am grateful that we were raised with them living just 20 mins away, and for all the wonderful memories I will cherish. More importantly I am grateful to know that I will get to see him again after this life!
On our way back to Seattle to make the treacherous flight back to Japan we were able to catch up with some friends. The Stahelis were our good friends from our Provo days, and it was so fun to meet up for dinner and have a couple of good laughs. Hopefully we will get to see them more in October when we come back for James and Amanda's wedding.
Both Kyle and I have lost or will loose our grandpas this year, and as hard as it has been on both of us it has also brought us closer together. We are both going through the same trial of loosing a close loved one to us, and I am glad we can go through it together. Being far away from family has its challenges, but I am so grateful for my little family of Kyle, Abby, Connor, and yes even Sandy. We have already gotten so much closer being over here in Japan all alone and I will forever be grateful that!
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