Highlights

Sorry, all, for the radio silence. I've been back home with family for the past week-and-a-half. My (very healthy) grandpa unexpectedly died in a scuba diving accident, so we went back for the funeral and Dorothy and I were able to stay longer. I'm too lazy to upload pictures right now, and we're turning around tomorrow morning and driving to Maryland to spend Thanksgiving with Dallin's sister, so it'll be a while before I get around to it. But, here are some of the highlights... It's long, so I will Bold the topic of the blurb. Feel free to not read everything.

-Seeing my family! I've missed them. A lot. We even got to see my Mom's dad, Grandpa Allen, who hadn't met Dorothy yet.
Dorothy keeps talking about "Bugga Lewlis" (meaning both Grandma and Grandpa) and "Bugga Caffy and Cott". Here's how it goes: The typical scenario has Dorothy holding my cell phone and dialing random numbers. Most recently, it was Bugga Cott, so we'll use that example.
"Hi! Hi Bugga Cott! Yeah...Yes...No. You so NICE! So NICE Bugga Cott! Yeah...Yeah. So silly! OK, I love you! You're so cute! Bye bye!"
I love the things she says lately.

-Powell's Books and Fabric Depot. I've changed my ways since getting married and I really don't like clothes shopping all that much anymore, but I could (and did) spend hours and hours in those two stores. Fabric and books-- I could spend the family fortune on you. And those two stores are the enormous, discount Meccas of both. Thank you Grandma Cathy for the free babysitting. Oh, and I do like consignment stores in Portland. I got the greatest coat for the winter here.

-Seeing New Moon with my Mom and sisters. I'm embarrassed that I like the Twilight Saga so much, but it is just so fun. And it is such good womanly bonding. The movie was TONS better than the first one, though it did still have it's moments of giggle-worthy, over-the-top cheesiness. That being said, it was like a teenage Chippendales. They stuffed a shirtless hunk into a scene every chance they got, really totally unnecessary shirt removal. I was waiting for Matthew McConaughey to jump out at any second, it seemed like his kind of movie. Seriously, shirts flying everywhere. "Oh, you have a cut. Here, let me artfully peel off my shirt to dab at the blood."... Oh brother.

-Grandpa's funeral. The Hansens do a good job of not making funerals a completely miserable experience. There were some really good laughs, and some great stories about Grandpa that I had never heard before.
There was one awful part... they had all the grandkids get up to sing "Families Can Be Together Forever", then brought the grandkids' babies up for the second verse. Seriously? Did they just want us to get up there and cry? I did my best to become a singing robot for that part. I really don't like crying, especially not in front of 800+ people. I know that song is significant, and that singing it wasn't for us the grandkids, it was for the audience. But I just don't like doing that kind of thing. Not my cup of tea.
His military burial service was the coolest part. He is a veteran, so they fired the three shots and played Taps. I found out later that the soldiers doing it were volunteers, and that when they handed Grandma Becky the bullet cases and the flag, that they had tears in their eyes. It was really a beautiful, touching ceremony.

-Also, Dorothy did fantastically well on the plane, and with changing time zones. Thank you, you blessed blessed child.