I love this picture. It says a lot about my grandparents. About their personalities and marriage. I love them both so much.
I’ve written before about the sadness that I’ve felt watching mine and Joey’s grandparents grow old. We’ve lost nearly all of them, adding Grandpa Vern just two weeks ago. I miss him already.
I have a lot of good memories of my grandpa because he was such an amazing man. Because my Aunt Connie is herself such an amazing person, she had the foresight to compile a book about grandpa containing all of our memories of him. She completed this book a couple years ago, in plenty of time for him to read and know how we felt about him. Here’s a bit of what I had to say about him:
Grandpa’s Garden: Grandpa has always had an immaculate yard. Nearly every time that we visit, he is out in the yard. He grows some of the best fruits and vegetables that I’ve ever tasted. Everything is so perfect and well kept. Even when he doesn’t feel well, he makes sure that his yard and garden are taken care of. He’s a great example of hard work and dedication.
European Vacation: I had the great opportunity to travel in Europe with Grandma and Grandpa. We had so many fun times. Grandpa could always be found with his camera, taking thousands of pictures. I’ll never forget hearing the buzzing of his hearing aides as we drove to our destinations. Grandpa was so fun to be with. He was never in a bad mood, even when things were difficult. He and grandma were both able to laugh in trying situations where others might not have.
Thumper: Grandpa raised rabbits for a few years. He had about a dozen or so that he kept out by the garden. One Easter, gradpa gave us a rabbit and we named her Thumper. We loved Thumper, but eventually we got sick of taking cared of her, like kids often do. So, we gave her back to Grandpa. Well, we ended up eating Thumper without knowing it. Turns out that grandpa raised rabbits to eat them!
Techno Grandpa: Grandpa is very technologically inclined. I have never met an older person that is so hip in the ways of new technology. He fixed and gave me my very first TV when I was five. He fixed TVs for a living, but it didn’t stop there. Grandpa is always investigating the newest in computers, cameras, etc. You name it, grandpa probably knows how to run it, fix it, and build it. He is never afraid to try the latest technology. I’ve always been so impressed by that.
Naked in the Jacuzzi: I’ll never forget one visit to grandma and grandpa. I guess that my parents had forgotten to call ahead to tell them that we were coming. We knocked at the door, but no one came. We let ourselves in and proceeded to search the house for them. We found them in the hot tub….NAKED!!! My dad’s face was so red. It was really funny to think that grandma and grandpa would skinny dip in the hot tub.
Golden Eagle: When I was little, I loved to go to grandpa’s TV repair shop to visit. Whenever we would to, I would always visit the golden eagle that grandpa had stuffed. They would tell us how it was illegal to have a stuffed eagle because it is the national bird. Grandpa would say that he had to have special papers to say that it was stuffed before it became illegal. I don’t know what happened to the eagle. I miss him.
Love for GeGe: I have always known by what grandpa says and does that he loves grandma. He is so patient and kind to her. It has always been inspiring to see them together. I remember the speech that grandpa gave at their 50th wedding anniversary. He talked about when they dated and when he fell in love with her. He said that he realized that he was in love with her in the rain and that now he always feels romantic when it rains. I remember thinking how sweet grandpa was and how I wished to have that same kind of love with someone one day.
Well, there are a million other great memories contained in that book. He affected so many people in his lifetime. What a life he led and what a privilege it’s been to be his grand-daughter. I love you grandpa!
When we got home, we all knew that we would have to give this t-shirt to Grandma Ge Ge. It was just the right thing to do.
We’ve been lucky to have a backyard pool for the past three years. It is sometimes a pain in the but to keep up, butt for the most part, we’ve really enjoyed having it. Our favorite times we’ve had are when friends and family come and join us in the fun. Sometimes it’s been hard to get them to drive all the way to Bountiful and to set foot in an un-heated pool, but occasionally, we talk them into it.
The Koldewyn side of my family gathered together on Memorial Day to help week Grandma’s yard. With all of the help, it didn’t take very long at all. Afterwards, we had a BBQ at Aunt Connie’s. Even though I was tremendously busy trying to clean up and fix my own yard, it was rather nice to take a break and congregate with my extended family. 
