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!

Graduation

On Monday night Aubrey graduated from high school.  She has gone to a small-ish school this year with only 77 kids in her graduating class, so I was hoping the graduation would be short.  I really do not enjoy graduations--even when they are for my own kids.  Love my kids, but sitting there watching everyone else's kids is torture.

Well, the principal got up and gave a 25-minute-long "opening remark."  Then the valedictorians each gave about a 15 minute speech about NOTHING.  Next up, some local scholarships were presented, which took FOREVER.  A favorite teacher spoke for about 30 minutes. Then the choir sang and Aubrey accompanied them on her harp.  The song was actually very beautiful, and Aubrey sounded amazing.  But the song was in French, and not one of those kids could pronounce anything properly.  Aubrey could, but she was playing the harp and cringing at every "dirait on" to come out of the choir.  The director had taught the choir to roll the R like a Spanish R, a sound which does not exist in French at all!  I am a total brat, I know.

Finally came the senior slideshow.  Ever senior had submitted 8 pictures and a 30-second clip of music (another half hour).  At least that part was actually fun to watch, especially when Aubrey's turn came up.  She picked these awesome photos.

And then the students were  FINALLY presented diplomas.  The reading of 77 names went super fast--unlike Abram's last year where there were nearly 400 students!  And then after 2.5 hours we were free...but first we had to maneuver the harp through the crowd and out to the car.

I really think Aubrey is the greatest thing ever.  She is smart, funny, artistic, helpful, observant, grateful, playful, loving, mature and BEAUTIFUL!  We will surely miss her when she goes away to college.

Prom

Aubrey went to her senior prom last weekend, and it was a pretty fun day getting ready for it.  First, I went and ran a 10k with some teacher friends.  I beat them all!  And then we went to Starbucks and sat for 90 minutes talking about school and life.  Heads up, kids.  You aren't the only ones ready for the school year to be over!

I arrived home just as the excitement was beginning.  My niece came by to do Aubrey's hair, and the other 3 girls going in the prom group arrived to start getting fancied up for their big night.

The boys came and we had dinner at our house and took some pictures.  Then the kids went off to the prom and then went bowling in their fanciness.

 Aubrey's dress was pretty dang awesome.  She got it for free at a big used-dress giveaway at a local mall.  There were 5000 dresses, and she picked a red, floor-length strapless number that she knew we could fix up.  At first I was like, "Aubrey, why did you pick a red dress?  We can never match the fabric to fix it up."  Then I remembered that Aubrey never matches.  She picked out some leopard print fabric and drew a design that she wanted.  I think it turned out pretty dang awesome.

Fashion forward

I bought these Sorel sandals this week at the Columbia Employee Store.

They were pushing my comfort zone a little bit--slightly too trendy for an oldie like me.  I found them strangely attractive, and I couldn't put them down.  I tried them on, and as soon as I laced them up, I knew I had to have them.  Seriously, they are the most comfortable sandals (or shoes) I have ever worn.  Plus, I had picked up $80 I wasn't expecting with a last-minute half-day sub job that morning, so I rationalized that it was meant to be.

I texted Aubrey a picture of the sandals on my feet and asked, "Should I?"  She texted back YES!  So I listened to my fashion conscience and made the purchase.

I am a total shoe snob, and will pay top dollar for one pair of shoes that is actually comfortable rather than a closet full of cheap shoes that hurt my feet.  These shoes are heaven for my feet.

I wore them to teach math yesterday.  I had at least 30 high school girls tell me that they loved my sandals.  I asked them if I was too old to wear them, and they told me I would never look too old for anything.  Sweeties.  Kiss-ups.  But I'll take it.