A Morales Minute

On Thursday February 21st while Jaime and I were out of town for my grandma's funeral, actually we had just landed and hadn't even gotten out of our seats on the plane, Jaime got the call that his grandpa A.C. Morales had passed away. Yesterday we attended his memorial service. He was a man with a good work ethic, golden heart, and cherished family. He's passed on these wonderful traits to Jaime and many others in his family. On Grandpa's 87th birthday Aidan and Tyler sang to him in Spanish. He loved it and kept asking for the "quates" (twins) to come and sing again. He loved his grand and great grand children. 

Tyler and Aidan had fun at the derby. Tyler placed 4th and got "most realistic car." His was painted like the Infinity gauntlet from Avengers. Aidan placed 8th and got "judges favorite car" again. :) His was painted like Black Panther.  It's a good book! He's been sitting there for over two hours and still going strong. It's so good it's got him at the edge of his seat! We still have a good layer of snow. Winters seem to last longer around here than they used to. Sometimes I really enjoy it. As long as the roads aren't too bad.   

After a long day of emotions it's good to be able to unwind and relax with family. We stayed in the same hotel so we could hang out and play games and visit.  Late night visiting, laughter, and fun games helps release a lot.  It was fun teaching my family to play Cover your assets.  Before Jaime and I flew home we stayed in a hotel in Utah. Mike, Denise and his girls brought us dinner and visited with us in the lobby. We got out Cover your assets to play with them too. They really enjoyed the game. It was fun to spend some time with them.   

Grandma's service was beautiful. Wonderful memories shared and beautiful music. What a tribute to her.  Where Grandma and Grandpa are laid to rest is such a gorgeous place  with the snow covered mountains surrounding them.  Makaela, Mike, and me. It's been so long since I've seen these cousins.  Warm hearts, warm smiles.  It was so cold! 25 degrees with a wind chill in the teens. However, the spirit that was felt while we remembered Grandma with so many family members around helped warm our hearts.  After the funeral we headed to the church for the luncheon. It's always good to spend that time catching up with family you haven't seen in so long.  My dad and his brothers.  Keven, Craig, Curtis, Laurel, Michele, Mary - all of the Hyrum and Rae Naylor children.  Funerals also mean reunions, on both sides. <3 So grateful families can be together forever.  Before we left Malad we stopped by the house that will forever be known as Grandma and Grandpa Naylor's house

Another teenager is in the HOUSE! Happy 13th birthday to my Olivia. Liv, Livie, Livluv...the brown eyed beauty. She's still as responsible as can be. She's quite the mother hen who wants to make sure everyone is doing what they're supposed to be doing. She's a devout friend to those she really cares about. She's as funny as all get out, which I love. Jaime and I are flying out of town today so we celebrated Olivia last night by going to Shaky's and having ice cream sundaes. I love her! She may have outgrown those chubby baby cheeks but she's still quite the cuddle bug when I'm tucking her in to bed. She lets me feel like she still needs me. :) She doesn't hide emotion well. When she's happy you know she's happy. Look at that face. :D Someone likes to sing karaoke. 

  Calla Lillies are my favorite. Pair them with deep red roses makes the arrangement look so royal. So beautiful.  I love the flowers from Jaime and the card from Lindsey.  I treated the kids to some amazing chocolate covered strawberries for Valentines Day.  They devoured their treats. It wasn't long till that box was empty. I got Jaime chocolate apple donuts and chocolate pineapple hearts since he doesn't care for strawberries. He shared them with me, which I was very grateful to him for. They were so good! Lindsey was so cute watching us. She said we were too cute and took our picture and added the little heart details.  Valentines Day dinner is always a fun activity for the family. This year I did fondue. I made cheese fondue for bread, meat, and veggies. Then had the chocolate fountain for fruits and desserts.  Dinner was a hit. I hope my kids will always remember that their mom made a tradition of making this day one to celebrate all her valentines.