Arizona for Grandpa Gaisford's Funeral

Before my grandfather had passed away, Michelle was scheduled to go to a transplant conference in San Diego and Drew and I were going to meet up with her later on in the week and spend a few days hanging out with her brother Cameron and his family that live in the area, but those plans had to change.  Michelle still left for her conference mid day on Tuesday leaving Drew at the sitters while I was at work.  She would leave her conference early to catch a flight to Arizona.  I decided to take advantage of my days off and drive down to Arizona along with Drew all by myself.  We left as soon as I could get out of work and finish packing all of our stuff in the car.  Michelle was very worried about how Drew would handle the trip since there wouldn't be an extra person to help distract him.  We did surprisingly well as we made our way to Boulder City, NV, just a few miles from the Hoover Damn, to rest for the night.  Although he only took an hour nap, he was very content and only cried about 20 minutes before falling asleep just before getting to the hotel.  On Wednesday morning we slept in past seven and hit the road before eight.  Again Drew did very well and before we knew it we had made it to my parent's house.  That evening we met up with three of my sisters and their kids at the park next to my parents house and had a bring your own food picnic.  Drew loved finding rocks and pine cones and putting them in his mouth.  He also loved getting to go on the swing.

Thursday I went to my sister Becky's house to visit two of my sisters while we watched Becky's kids while she went to a meeting.  After she returned and my other two sisters had left we ended up making a trip to the mall so she could get a few things.  The night before I discovered that the shoes that we had brought Drew for the trip were too small on him so I decided to get him a new pair of sandals.

After leaving the store we took the kids to the play area so they could release some of their energy before having to get back for dinner.

Becky had another meeting so to help persuade us to watch her kids again she offered to make us a lasagna dinner.  I spent the rest of the evening hanging out with my mom and then taking a short break to rehearse the songs that I would be singing at the funeral.

On Friday I rested in the morning before my sister Rachael arrived from Utah.  I had dressed Drew in one of the outfits that she had given him for his birthday so I had to get a few pictures so I could send them to Michelle.  Drew's new sandals matched the outfit just perfectly.

We then headed over to Emily and Ryan's place for a little while before we had to get ready for dinner.  We ended up going to the park next to Becky's house and had a great time eating some good food and watching the kids play.

Scott's fiance also flew down from Utah for the funeral.  Drew loves playing in the sand and since for most of his life he has either been too young or its been too cold this vacation was some of the few times he's been able to spend a lot of time outside.

After the festivities were over and most people had gone to bed I headed to the airport to pick up Michelle.  It was great to see her again.  She admitted that she didn't like conferences at all.  She would rather be at home with her family.

Saturday morning was the view.  Earlier in the morning I had come to the church to practice my songs once more before returning to pick up Michelle and Drew.  It was good to see cousin's that we hadn't seen in a while and a few we hadn't seen in a few years.  We had an hour long viewing before the family prayer and the start of the funeral.

My Aunt Kay did a great job of putting the paper program together.  It contained great photos of my grandfather, a short time line of his life, the funeral program, and a list of all his kids, grand kids, great-grand kids, and their spouses.  The actual program was very good.  Each of his four children recounted parts of his life and then shared personal stories of what he had taught them during his lifetime.  All of his grand and great grand kids, except for Geoff who lives in Denmark, were able to sing "I am a child of God" for the opening song.  In between each speaker there was a musical number.  I was asked to sing two of the songs, "No Man is an Island" and "Bless this House".  These were two of the songs that my grandfather loved to sing during his lifetime at various events. 

After the funeral was over the casket was rolled out to the hurs and we had time to visit with one another.  Since my grandfather was being buried in a national cemetery and they don't perform burials on the weekend we would wait till Monday to complete the burial process.  We gathered once again in the church to have a meal and watch a slide show of pictures and memories that we had all sent in followed by an open mike session for sharing more memories that we had.

Video

Sunday was a relaxing day.  We went to my parent's ward and were able to hear my dad sing during sacrament meeting.  He has a great voice and did a wonderful job singing "Consider the Lilies".  Once the meeting was over I had a chance to catch up with Chris Udall.  I started babysitting this kid before he was even one  and I was 13 years old.  I ended up watching him and his older brother frequently over the next six years before my mission and then had only seen him a few times since I had been home and living in Utah.  He was now almost 17 and going to be a Senior in High School.  He came up and gave me a big hug and I was surprised he would remember me so well.  After church we visited my grandfather's home a few miles away and looked at what was left of his belongings before they attempted to sell his house.

Our family got together for dinner on Sunday night at my parent's house.  The weather was nice so the kids ate outside while the adults enjoyed talking inside.  We later took Drew outside and enjoyed letting him fight over the mini slide that my parents have.  He is beginning to get quite a temper or he was just tired.

On Monday we got back in our church clothes and made our way to the burial site.  Since my grandfather served in the Army he was able to be buried in the Arizona National Memorial Cemetery with his wife, who passed almost 10 years earlier.  There were quite a few burials that day because of the weekend.  A group of retired service men helped give a lovely little ceremony along with a 21 gun salute.  You will notice that I jumped when the first round went off.  They then folded the flag that was over his coffin and that concluded their part of the ceremony.

My uncle Gordon was then able to give the dedication of the grave.  The cemetery doesn't do their services next to the grave site like most so we were housed in permanent pavilions located throughout the area so the prayer was done from afar.

Video

After everything was done we headed to one of my grandparent's favorite places to eat, Jordan's, a Mexican food restaurant.  Their family started going to this restaurant over 50 years ago.  They use to go there almost weekly.  It was a great way to remember them and the food was great.  There was this billboard outside of the restaurant.  I hope everyone puts it in their planner.  I would hate for anyone to miss it.

Since we were so close to where my grandparents use to live.  We decided to drive by their old house and neighborhood.  It looked the same as it did when they sold it over 15 years ago although I'm sure that it has changed in the inside and I know they have added a pool in the backyard.

To finish off the day we headed once again to the pool for one final swim and to allow Drew to play in the sand at the beach pool.  We headed back home for a quick bite to eat and then we met my siblings at Bahama Bucks for a little shaved ice and ice cream.  It is so good.

On Tuesday morning we packed up the car and said our goodbyes.  We had a great time visiting with so many family members.  It was a sad time, but a really happy time as we joined together to remember a great man in our lives and pay tribute to the legacy he has left behind.