My dad is an angel

When I wrote my Fathers Day post, I never could have guessed the next thing I would write would be his obituary. 

Robert E. (Reb) Breinholt 01000100:01000001:01000100

 

Reb Breinholt, 66, passed away June 18, 2013 in West Valley City, Utah. Our loving dad had a human heart full of super-human love. In his 66 years he gave at least 132 years worth of love to all he met. Born November 6, 1946 in Salt Lake City, Utah, son of Don Verle and Gladys Breinholt. Married Marsha Henrichsen June 9, 1969 in the Salt Lake Temple. His sparkly eyes and infectious smile helped him connect with everyone. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack and has left a void that can never be filled. He was a husband, father, grandpa, example, leader, teacher, tinkerer, Valentine Fairy, mentor, computer collector, fixer and a survivor of colon cancer and liver cancer. He was our super hero. He served an LDS mission to Frankfurt, Germany and had a lifelong love of all things German. He packed more life and love into his 66 years than should have been possible. The world is a better place because of his life. He saw good in everyone and he made us all want to be a little better. He is survived by his wife Marsha; children: Jill, Scott, Jeff, Nancy, Megan and their spouses; 12 grandkids; parents; 9 siblings and their spouses; and hundreds of others who considered him their second dad. Funeral services will be held Saturday, June 22, 2013, 11:00 a.m. at the Hunter East Stake Center, 5000 West Pavant Avenue (3710 S.). Viewings will be held Friday, 6-8 p.m. at McDougal Funeral Home, 4330 South Redwood Road and Saturday at the church, 10-10:45 a.m. Interment, Valley View Memorial Park. 

Abram update

Abram is a good big brother.  If you don't believe me, then you must have missed this video.  He was only 14 months old when Aubrey was born, so he has really never known life without having younger kids around.  As a teenager, he was especially awesome with little kids.  He knows how to be silly with them, how to play what they wanted to play, how to imagine and create things, and basically how to make kids feel like that are the most important things in the world.

All those years he was practicing for the time he would meet this darling little girl in Las Vegas.  She was very shy and didn't ever talk to missionaries, and as her parents returned to activity in the church, she didn't want to be baptized.  But she met Abram, and he used his big brother charms to win her over.  She was baptized with her older brother last Saturday.  I think as excited as Abram is to leave for Mexico on Monday, he will be sad to say goodbye to this family he has come to love.

My dad

 I love my dad.  He taught me the names of the mountains, stars, clouds and rocks.  He taught me how to forecast the weather--my lifelong passion.  He taught me to love science.  He taught me to love languages.  He taught me to love people no matter what they look like. He taught me how to read a map and find my directions no matter where I am.  He taught me how to do wordsearches and how to build a fire.  He taught me to love the music of the 60's, and how to harmonize a song as we sang them in the car.  He taught me the stories of the Old Testament heroes.  He taught me the stories of Br'er Rabbit, The Five Chinese Brothers and the Fisherman and His Wife.  He taught me to ride a bike, to change a tire, to plant a garden and how to type.  He taught me to love camping and hiking.  He taught me to never go anywhere without a first aid kit, and that fanny packs can be cool.  He slept with us in the living room so he could wake us up at 2AM to see the eclipse of a lifetime.  He made my childhood awesome.  And he is doing it all again for my kids.

I am so grateful that he is still here.  He is a colon and liver cancer survivor.  He is tough.  He is awesome.  He is super fun.  He is a super hero.  I love this picture of him with Baby Abram in the high Uintahs.  I have a picture of him holding every one of my kids in either this same position, or the pose at the top of the page.

Good fences make good neighbors

You should know that I think dogs are cute. But I never want to touch one, I don't ever want one in my house, and I get very upset when other dogs poop in my yard. 

We have new neighbors who have a dog. 

The new neighbors put a fence around their yard, which backs up to our 4 acres. The only problem with this fence is the gate they put in it and the arbor welcoming you through the gate. The gate leads right to our property! Also, there is a huge gap between the gate and the ground, allowing their dog to roam our backyard.

Why would anyone put up a fence with a gate leading to a neighbor's yard? Sure, we have a pretty cool backyard with trails and trees and an awesome river view, but that doesn't mean we want neighbors using it like their own park. It has been 12 years of work to get our yard like it is, and we don't like people to wander through it uninvited. 

My solution to this problem was plants. We had previously let wildflowers grow in this area above our footbridge, but wildflowers don't keep dogs away. You know what does keep dogs away? Barberry. Berberis Verruculosa. Longest spines of the bunch. We planted 2 rows of them right along the fence and about 50 Wax Myrtle trees below them.   I threw in 6 magnolias and 2 maples I rescued from a local nursery for a little seasonal flair. 

Good thing we have so many kids to help plant and maintain our yard!