A Covid New Year's Eve

I was so glad to say goodbye to 2020.  It was a huge dumpster fire.  

2020 started out so promising.  I had so many things I had planned on doing, had enough leave saved up for it, had money saved up and all I had to do was wait until those events happened.  I was so excited for my trip to Peru and Ecuador in March, the TriCities Geocoin event in June, our concert with Lindsay and Justin in July, the two huge geocaching events in both Seattle and Abbotsford, Canada in August and a possible trip to New Mexico to visit Ben's aunt and uncle in the fall.  My two personal leave days were set aside, we were going to do more hiking and exploring and none of that happened because of stupid Covid.  I know my stuff is pretty trivial to those experiencing worse things but this was my life, my reality and my stuff I was looking forward to.  This is why I have a job; to travel and experience things with family and friends.  Not to sit at home working my life away.  The entire year was wasted and we won't get that time back.  It was so frustrating!

Anyway.  

Ben and I still wanted to celebrate New Year's Eve since we won't be doing it with our friends this year like we always do.  Last year, we didn't either because we spend it at his mom's house because she asked us first.  This year we asked her if she wanted to come over and she was hesitant because we had also asked Josh and Heather to also come over and they had Covid about two months ago.  We eventually talked her into it and she brought Ed and they were going to spend the night in the guest room.

I told Trish that we would wipe down everything and to make sure that Josh and Heather knew that she and Ed were coming and not to be offended if  they kept their distance and wore masks.  Josh and Heather didn't care, they were just happy to go spend time with friends and such.  We discussed what kind of food was going to be made and divvied it out accordingly.  Josh and Heather wanted to make two meat dishes, one was a chicken dish you ate with homemade tortillas and the other was Josh's famous BBQ short ribs.  I told everyone we would make a bunch of rice and Trish said she would bring some mac and cheese.  I had an assortment of cookies and chips as well.  The food was all set and all we had to do now was wait for that evening.

I had some fireworks leftover from previous 4th of July's so I dug those out.  Trish said she would bring some stuff and Josh and Heather also had a couple things they were going to bring.  I said there would be some games and if anyone wanted to bring other games that would be welcomed.  

That day, Ben and I worked the whole day.  I decided to just work the whole day so I could save the hours for when we got to travel again.  When I logged off, my friend Alicia stopped by to pay me for watching her dogs during the Christmas weekend while she was gone.  She handed me $100 in cash stuffed inside a bank envelope.  We chatted for a few minutes and then some thank you's were exchanged.  I left and did our weekly shopping trip.  I made sure we had enough rice and such for tonight but I mostly went for our normal every day things.  I got back after Ben got home.  We cleaned up the house a bit and vacuumed.  I made sure the extra bedroom had clean pillow cases, sheets and blankets.

Trish and Ed arrived early followed by Josh and Heather.  Lilly decided to go hang out with friends.  The rice was done so we got out plates and silverware, heated up the mac and cheese in the microwave and noticed that Josh and Heather had brought a ton of food and drinks.  Since Heather works at Costco, she had with her at least three bottles of champagne, two bottles of pop and about 8 jars of individual crème brulee's.  We set it all out on the table and we dished up.  I was hungry and looking forward to the food.  We dished up and the food was mighty impressive since I've only had Josh's short ribs once.  The chicken dish was very tasty as well.  He said both were staples on Guam and he hoped that when he finally has his food truck, some form of them will be served on the menu. 

We ate food, chatted about what was going on in each other's lives which was not that much since we were now into month 10 of dealing with Covid.  We've all been basically working, going to school and getting stuff done that we've been putting off.  In the background on low, the television was streaming various programs and NYE celebrations of other time zones who have successfully made it into 2021.

We tried to play games.  Josh and Heather had brought some new games to try but Josh and Ben weren't that into it and Heather was getting tired since she had to start work at 5 a.m. this morning.  We decided not to play those and to play some of our usual games for a bit while we waited for midnight.

As it got closer to midnight, we got all of our stuff ready, watched the ball drop on television, kisses and hugs were given out and then we all went outside to light sparklers, set last year's hats, noise makers and paper glasses donning 2020 on fire in the yard... at least that's what Trish did.

We did confetti string poppers, took a few pictures and Ben and Josh had cigars.  We were outside for about 20 minutes or so hanging out and listening to fireworks go off in the neighborhood.  I would be blowing up fireworks but I used the good ones up in July.

Everyone was getting tired, since most of us worked that day and all got up around 5 or 6 that morning, so we decided to call it a night.  Heather was barely awake, Josh and Ben were a little tipsy, Trish, Ed and I were doing alright but could start getting ready for bed.  We thanked Josh and Heather for coming over and spending some time with us and they headed home.  The rest of us got ready for bed.  It was a long day and I was so going to sleep in.

Happy 2021 everyone!  I hope it is much better than 2020!

Next Adventure:  A Mini Winter Adventure:  Lacey to Leavenworth

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Christmas Eve

Last year I had to do both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and it was a lot of work.  I didn't really want to do it again so I asked Doug and Jenn if they would like to host Christmas Eve and they said they would.  I told them they could have it at whatever time they wanted and make whatever food they wanted.  They would just have to let us know what time and if we needed to bring anything.  Jenn said she would keep us in the loop.  

As it got closer, they got their tree, this time from a lot in town since Gerrit's Greens was closed this year, and got it decorated.  Jenn told me she was going to make prime rib, veggies, rolls, potatoes, salad etc.  I told her all of that was fine and if she needed help with anything.  She asked if I had a rack she could use and some more chairs and I told her I would bring those by.  So on Wednesday after work, I drove to their house with the chairs, presents and the rack to put the meat on.

On Christmas Eve, work was light so I logged off at 1, got my stuff together and drove out to Rainier to help Mom frost cookies because I told her I would.  She made a bunch of different types of cookies this time but only needed help frosting her sugar cookies and the gingerbread cookies.  She had a bunch of mugs with her powdered sugar and milk mixture with random food colors inside each one so we started with the sugar cookies first then moved onto the gingerbread cookies next.  Those were more challenging because Mom wanted me to put faces and buttons on them with icing squirted from a piping bag.  

We put a few of each into a tin and told me to take it to my co-worker Debbie, since Mom saw on one of my posts that she wanted some cookies.  I helped Mom clean up and then told her I had a bunch of stuff to take care of before going over to Doug and Jenn's for dinner and presents tonight.  She said she would see me there.  I left and headed to Tumwater.

I've taken Debbie home a few times over the past two years so I knew where she lived.  She decided to work the full day so I knew this visit would be short.  I parked near the duplex and knocked on her door.  She answered it and was very excited to see me and the cookies.  I literally haven't seen her in person since March 25th.  We chatted for about ten minutes or so and then she had to get back to work.  I told her happy holidays and got back in the Escape and headed to the cemetery, since the weather was decent and it wasn't getting dark yet.

I stopped by to chat with Grammie about the stuff that has been happening and I wanted to come either on Christmas Eve or Christmas because I miss her so much during the holidays.  They have been just not the same without her and with Covid the holidays have been even worse.  I missed her so much and these years without her have been emotionally hard.  I thanked her for watching over us and told her about some of the plans we had for Christmas this year.  I brought her a full sized Christmas wreath this year.  

I went home to finish cleaning up the house and had Ben help me.

As it approached 6, Ben and I got ready, grabbed the salad dressings we were suppose to bring and headed over to Doug and Jenn's house for dinner and presents.  I was so glad I brought the tables, chairs and presents over the day before.  We arrived and got comfy while Doug and Jenn put the final touches on the dinner spread.  Some of us hung out on the couch with Charlie while a few of us helped get stuff on the table.  I got the salad ready and got the dressings out.  We put everything on the table in the kitchen and told everyone is was time to eat.  Everyone sat at the dining room table in the extra room while Jenn and I ate at the table with all of the food on it.  If they are going to host stuff in the future, they seriously need to get another table and some chairs.  The food hit the spot and we all probably ate more than we should have but isn't that what you're suppose to do during the holidays?

We all went into the living room shortly after cleaning up a bit, found some good spots on the couch and chairs and started handing out gifts to each other.  I was super excited about my Santa shark wrapping paper.  I saw Erika found some really cool wrapping paper as well.  It was Christmas unicorn themed.  Yes, there were balled up pieces of wrapping paper being thrown at everyone.  Once everyone was done opening their presents, it was fun to see what everyone got.  I thought I did a good job getting at least one or two things for everyone to open.  Some people are harder than others.  

We took a family picture next to the tree.  We then helped Doug and Jenn clean up the paper all over the house before loading up our stuff in our own vehicles and heading home.  We were probably over there for a few hours.  We thanked them for hosting and I told everyone we would see them tomorrow morning around 9 a.m.

Ben and I got home, finished cleaning up, set up the tables, chairs, put the table cloths on, the plates, napkins and silverware.  We were up until at least 2 a.m. making sure the morning would go as smoothly as possible. 

Ben and I wore our jingle jammies to bed.  We decided this year to get matching pajamas for Christmas since this year was super disappointing.  We got our bottoms from Old Navy and our shirts from Turtle Tee's, an online shirt place I saw on Instagram.

We set our alarms for 8 a.m. and went to bed.

Christmas

Ben and I got up around 8, when our annoying phone alarms went off.  I immediately went into the kitchen and started the breakfast casserole's because they needed to cook for about 45 minutes.  I cut up the fruit and the blueberry muffins.  Meanwhile, Ben was in the bathroom shaving and watching his weird anime shows while he did it.  This is why it takes him like 10 times longer to shave than it normally does.  

Kevin and Karla decided not to partake this year because of Covid, Tracy was going to be late and Grandpa physically couldn't come because he was confined to the care facility after his surgery.  I knew once Grammie wasn't here things were going to fall apart.  It was almost like there wasn't any joy anymore for the holidays and we were just going through the motions almost routine-like.  Holidays in general to me seemed more like a chore than a happy time.

Anyway, as the food was getting close to being done, everyone started to arrive around 8:45.  I had Ben help everyone bring in their gifts and whatnot.  Breakfast officially got done a little bit after 9.  I had the food set on the dining room table so people could grab their plates, dish up and come sit at the table in the living room.  We ate food and chatted about stuff.  Once we were done, I had help cleaning up, shoved most of the stuff into the dishwasher and got it started, the cloth napkins I threw into the washing machine, we wiped up the counters and got ready to do presents in the living room.

We all sat near the couch and a few of us handed out gifts.  We still chose names just because it would cost money for everyone to buy everyone gifts.  This year I had Amy and Doug had me.  Amy was very hard to get stuff for.  I ended up getting her some stuff for her truck and some other random things when I came across them.  I made it work.  Doug did a pretty good job except now I have two Wazzuopoly board games.  My favorite gift was the canvas I had Ben make for me of College Gameday back in October 2018 when the Cougs hosted the Ducks and we won.  An alumni who did go, took a picture of that day and posted it to the Die Hard Coug Fans Facebook page and made it shareable.  I wished I could have been able to go but it wasn't in the cards unfortunately.  

Of course balled up wrapping paper was being thrown at everyone, I picked it up as I came across them and tossed them into a garbage bag.  Our kittens, Wade and Oliver were loving all the torn up wrapping paper.  They played in it as hard as they could.  Erika had gotten Ben, Doug and Dad remote controlled dinosaur cars and we wanted to race them in the cul-de-sac but sadly, it was raining and we couldn't go out and play with them.  Maybe another day.  Dad called Grandpa so we could each talk to him and wish him a Merry Christmas.  I knew he would rather be hanging out with his family than stuck at a rehab facility.  I quickly told him how the day was going and what we had for breakfast.  I asked him how he was, he answered, I told him we missed him and then I had to pass the phone to the next person.

Around noon, I got the ham and the cooker out, made my brown sugar glaze, stabbed it with pineapples on toothpicks and turned the dial to the appropriate temperature.  Trish helped me get it ready.  We finished cleaning up the living room, everyone gathered up their stuff and headed home for a while.  Trish, Amy and Ed stayed with Ben and I throughout the afternoon.  

Tracy showed up around 12:15 and ate her breakfast.  She told some stories, played a few board games for a few hours and then left around 3:30 to head back to Battleground.  I left right after I served her breakfast because I had promised my friend Alicia that I would go check and feed her dogs while she was visiting family in Eastern Washington for the holiday weekend.  I took about 40-45 minutes to go take care of that.  I got home around 1:30ish, relaxed for a bit and then played Jenga with Trish, Ed, Ben and Tracy for a while.  

As it approached 3:45-4, Trish and I went into the kitchen to get the rest of the stuff ready for dinner.  She helped me peel potatoes, we made gravy and stuffing (I called her stuffing "sweaty stuffing" because it was) we got the dining room table set up with the food and tried doing the dishes as we went so it wasn't overwhelming later on.

I had Ben clean off the two tables we were going to eat on, put the new table cloths on, got the plates, silverware and napkins all ready for dinner.   Everyone showed up around 5 which was perfect timing because the food was done somewhat on time.  Ben cut up the ham with the carver Grandma let us borrow that she found in her house just recently so that made it easy this time around.

There was a lot of food for dinner so I was hoping everyone was hungry.  The food was delicious and I ended up eating way more than I should have.  Ham is addicting and so was the stuffing.

We cleaned up, Mom and Trish helped me with the dishes, we cleared off the table and got it ready for bingo.  I had bought a bunch of bingo prizes from the Dollar Tree a few weeks ago.  We all sat at the table and we handed out bingo cards, daubers and markers to everyone and played some very competitive series of bingo games.  I was the caller.  We ended up playing five different games and had several winners for those games.  Just about everyone won a prize or two.

We took some family pictures in front of the tree, everyone gathered their stuff, dished up some leftovers and they headed home for the night.

I was so Christmas'ed out.  I wanted to get everything done and put away after everyone left so Ben and I took a couple hours and completed everything.  When we were done, we hung out the rest of the night relaxing.  We stayed up until about 2.  I watched TV and worked on my blog and he spent time playing his video games with his friends.  

This was the first time in my life both Grammie and Grandpa weren't at Christmas with us celebrating.  It definitely felt different.  Hopefully, this next year will be better for all of us and this ridiculous virus will go away.

Next Adventure:  A Covid New Year's Eve

Figgy Does OMD Yet Again...At Home, Teleworking

Since last year, I've been collecting various props from the Dollar Tree, the Goodwill's, the Value Villages and my grandparent's house so Figgy and Russ could have some different scenes since I started doing this back in 2015.  I start the first week day in December and end on Christmas Eve.  I don't do scenes on the weekend.  This is mostly for my coworkers and my Facebook and Instagram followers.

It's fun but sometimes I have a hard time finding different scenes to do every year.  I try to sprinkle new ones into the scenes I already have.  This year was weird doing it from home but I was able to set it up the night before which made mornings easier.  

Here are the ones from this year:

Instagram post:  Figgy ad Russ are back!  This pretty much sums up 2020 for us this year.  I couldn't find anything to represent murder hornets or having all of our vacations, concerts and work days taken away.  #stupidvirus2020, #wasteofayear, #figgy, #elfontheshelf, #russ, #toiletpaper, #handsanitizer, #workingfromhome, #masks

Instagram post:  Figgy and Russ thought it would be a great idea to get some pool in this morning since we are still in a partial shut down until at least mid December.  The snacks were delicious and there was some serious betting going on.  I'm not sure who won.  #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #stupidvirus2020, #masks, #pool, #bets, #snacks

Instagram post:  Because the stupid virus is still around; Figgy and Russ's Disneyland vacation was canceled so they brought a version of Disneyland to themselves.  The castle was made by @erika.k.larson two years ago from mail boxes, tissue paper, tape and fluff.  Horses, dragons and trolls oh my!  #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #castle, #dragons, #trolls, #horses, #stupidvirus2020

Instagram post:  Figgy and Russ are taking some time today to enjoy some fresh snowfall.  They made sure to bring their hot chocolate, candy canes and some marshmallows to roast next to the warm fire.  I sure hope we get some snow this year...lots of it.  #elfontheshelf, #winterwonderland, #snowmen, #snow, #hotchocolate, #marshmallows, #fire, #stupidvirus2020

Instagram post:  Figgy and Russ trying to get away from stupid Covid...leaving it in their dust!  No more Covid, no more Covid!  Go away, go away!!  #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #stupidvirus2020, #goawaycovid

Instagram post:  Since we are not in the office to enjoy our trivia shark, Smalls, we get to enjoy Smalls' cousin Bob, eat a diver while being harpooned by Figgy.  Rush watches the chaos in the distance on his pontoon boat.  Covid stull lurks in the background...#elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #stupidvirus2020, #sharkattack, #shark, #ocean

Instagram post:  Smell that?  It's the aroma of fresh Christmas cookies and cupcakes baking in the oven.  Mmmm.  You know you want some.  'Tis the season!  Figgy and Russ might share if you ask nice.  #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #stupidvirus2020, #baking, #christmascookies

Instagram post:  I decided to do a night snow scene with Figgy, Russ and friends.  They brought their hot chocolate and made a small fire to keep warm.  Covid still lurks in the background but hopefully not for too long.  #elfonthshelf, #figgy, #russ, #stupidvirus2020, #snow, #hotchocolate

Instagram post:  Figgy and Russ are so tire of the Covid nonsense they started doing research of their own on it.  They are making pretty good strides.  #figgy, #russ, #elfontheshelf, #stupidvirus2020, #fedup, #research, #randomcoolfishtank

Instagram post:  Ladies and gentleman start your engines!  What kind of race is this?  It's all done with shopping carts.  You race through a supermarket and things go flying into your carts.  It's wonderful, it's wild, it's amazing!  Let's face it, you never know what's going to happen on Super Market Sweep!  Figgy and Russ were selected to participate on this crazy show and they destroyed everyone.  Our host, David Ruprecht, stands by.  #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #shppingcarts, #supermarketsweep, #gameshows, #crazyfuntimes

Instagram post:  Guess what day is it??  Taco Tuesday!  Vacation style!!  I am super jealous of Figgy and Russ right now.  I can't wait to be able to vacation again like we did pre-Covid.  It's looking like there might be light at the end of the tunnel.  #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #tacotuesday, #vacation, #sunshine, #stupidvirus2020

Instagram post:  Figgy and Russ decided to do breakfast in bed after getting home so late from their trip to Mexico the day before.  It's a great day for rest, relaxation and maybe a good book.  #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #breakfastinbed

Instagram post:  I want it to snow so badly that I have to vicariously experience it through my elves and their friends.  I had to mend the igloo @erika.k.larson made two years ago because it was coming apart in some places, otherwise, good times had by all!  #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #snowscene, #snow, #friends, #presents, #miniradioflyer

Instagram post:  Time for some holiday beer pong!!  Currently, Figgy leads Russ by one game but clearly there's real not losers in beer pong.  #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #beerpong, #happyholidays, #stupidvirus2020

Instagram post:  Bob Ross aka Figgy started a painting class this morning.  He and Russ are painting happy little trees and Covid got in the way.  Stupid Covid!  It ruins everything including paintings!  #elfontheshelf, #russ, #figgy, #bobross, #happylittletrees, #stupidvirus2020, #painting

Instagram post:  Russ and Figgy are hanging out at the elf cafe.  They needed a day of rest, relaxation and snacks.  #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #cafe, #snacks, #randr, #treatyoself

Instagram post: It's such a nice a nice day outside for late December so Figgy and Russ decide to take their new motorbikes out for a spin.  Races start at 2:30.  #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #motorbikes, #races, #stupidvirus2020

Instagram post:  Figgy, Russ and the drunk penguin all wish you a happy and safe holiday season.  We have all enjoyed bringing smiles to your faces with the elf posts.  We can't wait for next December when there will be some new scenes mixed with some old ones.  Until next year!  #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #holidays, #uglysweater, #santa, #drunkpenguin, #bsb, #minietchasketchdoodle

Next Adventure:  Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Erika's Unicorn Birthday Party

A couple weekends ago, I was talking to Erika about what she would like to do for her birthday since we still couldn't go out because of Covid.  She said she wanted breakfast or brunch for her birthday food.  I already had a birthday theme in mind since I've been collecting it over the past few months when I went shopping.  

Her theme was going to be unicorns!  I had found some paper plates, napkins and decorations at Walmart, Party City, Hobby Lobby and the Dollar Store.  Last year, she mentioned that she wanted to do a piñata for her birthday and we saved it for this year's party. I gave that job to Mom and she was in charge of obtaining a unicorn piñata.  

As it got closer, I asked Erika what kind of breakfast foods she would like to have at her party and she said waffles, sausage, eggs and hash browns.  We came up with a day and a time for everyone to come over.  I called everyone and let them know of the plan.  Everyone thought it was a good plan and told me they were all going to come.

The Friday before, I did my grocery shopping and bought some more eggs, a new bag of sausage patties, waffle/pancake mix and more syrup just in case ours was low.  I stopped by the Dollar Store to pick up a few different kinds of candy to stuff in the piñata.  We were going to host the party on Saturday but that's when Ben's grandma's funeral was and we would be in Puyallup for it.  Erika was flexible and said that Sunday afternoon-ish would be fine.  I asked Dad if I could borrow their waffle iron because I only had the Scooby-Doo one.  He said I could and if I could clean up the one at Grammie and Grandpa's house I could have that one.  He said that it should work.  I also borrowed Mom and Dad's food warmer.  It's got three trays with lids that you can plug in to keep food warm.  Dad said to just take it and keep it at my house.

When we got back from the funeral and spending time at Ben's mom's house on Saturday, I spent some of the evening getting the decorations ready for Erika's birthday since I knew we wouldn't have time tomorrow morning.  Ben helped me with the decorations and moving the tables and chairs into the dining room.  We got everything pretty much done before heading to bed.  I knew we were going to have to wake up at a somewhat decent time tomorrow to start the food before noon.

Ben and I got up the day of and finished getting all the table clothes onto the tables and getting all of the stuff out.  

About an hour before everyone was suppose to be here, Ben and I started the waffle batter, the scrambled eggs and the sausage.  Doug and Jenn showed up early so they could sneak Erika's giant unicorn stuffed animal into one of the back rooms.  Those giant stuffed animals are ridiculous and I am glad I don't have one.  Erika and Zach came a little early so we could also use their mini waffle iron.   Mom and Dad arrived with Grandma while I was busy trying to get a bunch of waffles done and keeping them warm in the oven.  The rest of the food was done and warming inside the warmers.

Once everything was done it was time to chow down!  The waffles and the rest of the food turned out great!  We ate and talked about random things like we usually do.  We cleaned up and then decided as a group how we are going to hang up the piñata in the yard.  I don't have any low hanging trees so this was going to be a challenge.  The last place we lived had some good branches to hang things off of.  We remembered we brought Ben's Bo staff home from his mom's place.  We could find some rope to hang off of the Bo staff and tie to the piñata.  We went out to the front yard and it worked!  Ben held the Bo staff as we smashed the piñata with a baseball bat.  Everyone who wanted a turn got one after Erika took a few swings.

The Seahawks played the Jets that afternoon and I had it on the TV on mute for a while.  I knew we would destroy the Jets but I didn't want it to interfere with Erika's party.

The piñata eventually ripped open but in a "that unicorn piñata has a broken neck" kinda way.  We picked up the candy off the lawn and brought it inside to distribute.

  

We gathered up all the presents and watched Erika open them up in the living room.  Erika didn't want cake or cupcakes since we had waffles instead.  I was okay with that.  That meant I didn't have to make a bunch of stuff.  She opened her gifts and Doug went to grab the ginormous unicorn stuffed animal. 

 

Erika thought it was also ridiculous but she accepted the gift anyway.  She said she has no idea what she is going to do with it.  She thanked us for the birthday party, piñata, food and gifts. 

Since it was Sunday I knew people had stuff to do before the beginning of the work week.  Everyone went home around 3.  Ben and I put everything away, started the dishwasher and watched the rest of the Seahawk game.  We beat them 40-3.  

We did a couple loads of laundry and watched football until it was time to go to bed.  This weekend was busy but we were glad to spend it with family. 

Next Adventure:  Figgy Does OMD Yet Again...At Home, Teleworking

Saying Goodbye to Ben's Grandma Bonnie

The day before Thanksgiving Ben's grandma Bonnie, his last grandparent, passed away in the comfort of her daughter Shelley's home, surrounded by loved ones.  We had visited her at Shelley's house for the last time on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  Ben was crushed.  Since that day, he's been trying really hard not to show any emotion.  I told him, you just lost your last grandparent, if you need to cry do it.  It will make you feel better.  Stop holding it in.

Trish called us and let us know when the service was going to be.  It was going to be held December 12th in Auburn.  Ben made sure he didn't have anything scheduled on that day.  We told her we would be there and probably go to Shelley's house afterwards for food.  Trish said they would do the same even though she really didn't want to because of Covid.

We got up, found our nice clothes (since we don't wear them that often) ate a light breakfast and got ready to head to the cemetery.  We called Trish along the way to tell her we made it onto I-5 and we were in the Lakewood area and to verify which cemetery we were going to.  We indeed had the right one.  Ben wanted to stop at a Safeway to get some flowers and the closest one we knew about was in downtown Auburn so we went there once we got off of I-5 onto Hwy 18.

We pulled into the Safeway and some guy working for King County was handing out free masks so I asked for one and he gave me four of them.  Free masks!  I gave Ben two and I kept two for our vehicles.  We grabbed a bouquet of flowers and some drinks and paid for them in the self service area. 

We drove up the hill to Mountain View Cemetery.  I was telling Ben the last time I drove up this road was about 10 years ago when I came up here to grab a geocache from the park that was also up here.  The name is appropriate because you get a great view of Mount Rainier on a clear day.  We followed the service signs and parked near Trish and Amy who had gotten there a little bit before we did.  The ceremony was going to be outside.  It was a very nice yet cold afternoon.  We noticed people we recognized.   Shelley was getting everything polished before the ceremony started.  We walked around and talked to a few people we haven't seen in a while, looked at the photos, the really cool bear wreath Trish and Amy got for her, the little things on the table Bonnie collected over the years and had a short conversation with Shelley.  She wanted Ben and Amy and the rest of the grandchildren, to read part of the eulogy that Shelley prepared.   She gave Ben his portion and Amy read part of the program we all received. 

The ceremony started and you could hear people sniffling and trying to hold back tears.  Shelley had a hard time talking to us but did compose herself a few times.  Then we took some time and each grandchild read a portion of the eulogy.  

Bonnie Jean Crawford was born on January 11, 1923 in Oregon City, Oregon to her mother Leona Daue and father Anton Heinrich.  Her parents got married on October 7, 1923.  Her parent's settled down in Mulino, Oregon where they started their family.  Daughters Rosaline and Bonnie and son Tony.  They bought a farm with 80 acres and put it to good use growing hay to feed their dairy cows.  They sold milk and cream to the local stores and neighbors.  

Bonnie said she saw herself more as a tom boy.  She found working out in the fields with her father was more exciting than learning domestic chores in the kitchen or playing with dolls.

She loved her father and spent all her time with him.  He taught her what the true value of hard work was.  She started at the age of four where she would sit on the tractor and watch her father plow, seed, and cut the hay.  At the age of five she was taught to drive the tractor.  By the age of 10, she could plow, seed, cut and bail the hay then take it to the barn for the cows.

She made pets out of all the farm animals.  She love her mother's cow, Clara Bell, and a dog named Scotty, that she dressed in baby clothes, put it in a baby carriage and strolled around the yard.

She would make money doing several jobs some with her mother.  She could pick 10 crates of strawberries in a day.  She also would pick raspberries, cherries, green beans, tomatoes and corn for the local farmers.  

At the age of 11, after an afternoon of picking green beans, she met and fell in love with a handsome young man, named Chuck, that she met swimming at the Moalla River.  She knew that someday she would marry him.  In 1952, at the age of 14, she hear he was back n town after being in the military.  She wrote a letter and found his father Harry and asked him to give him the letter.  By 1954 they were married.  She got her man at the age of 16.

They moved to Bremerton, Washington where Chuck worked at the ship yards and had their first child, David.  They moved back to Mulino, Oregon, bought property and started a turkey farm while they had three other children, Joyce, Shelley and Richard.  

Bonnie had to learn now the art of keeping house and cooking.  They had many a burnt meal.  Chuck also taught her how to sweep without putting it under the sofa or bed.

Like the farm she grew up on with her parents, she made pets out of the farm animals.  Glow was her favorite cow and Henryetta was her favorite turkey.  She unfortunately, had to prepare Henryetta for Thanksgiving one year.  She proceeded to pluck Henryetta while alive but couldn't come to put an axe to her so she wrapped the poor turkey in a blanket and put it next to the wood stove so it wouldn't get cold.

They sold the farm and moved to Pacific, Washington in 1962.  They bought their first home in Auburn.  Bonnie worked many jobs, making fishing poles, pressing laundry and selling real estate.  Then she found for forever job working for Boeing for 29 years.  She never lost her skill of being a hard worker.  She received employee of the month more than 10 times and earned many employee awards.

Bonnie and Chuck vacationed in Nashville and she fell in love with a shop that had nothing but teddy bears.  This was heaven to her.

Her biggest love was her five grandchildren.  Aaron, Jason, Ben, Trevor and Amy.  She glowed when spending time with them.  She will now look over them from above.  So remember Grandma is looking down watching you.  Someday in a moment of silence you may hear her saying "I love you this much"!

After the reading of her eulogy and program, Shelley asked everyone if we would go up to the casket with our flower she handed each of us and share a favorite memory or story with the group.  When it ws my turn, I had to come up with something fast.  I've only known her since 2014 so I didn't have very many stories or memories so I shared the Wednesday dinners we used to do at her house.  I added that I thought it was funny when she was eating her food, one bite for her and one bite for the dogs.  I heard a few people chuckle.

Everyone went up and said a few and there were hardly any dry eyes. 

I was glad we were able to have a ceremony during Covid and that we were able to have it outside on such a nice day for December.  We sure lucked out today.  Covid had really ruined it for everyone because we were barely able to go see Bonnie in the nursing home and wasn't able to when she was in the hospital for a short amount of time.  I really feel awful that many people all over the world weren't able to be with their elderly loved ones during their last days because of Covid  and the Covid rules.  What terrible times we are in because we can't get moments with our loved ones back.  Once they are gone, they are gone.  We cleaned up and we all caravanned back to Shelley's house for food.

We stayed for maybe two hours.  The food was delicious.  There was an assortment of pasta dishes, potatoes, turkey, ham, veggies, fruit, rolls and some desserts.  We visited with everyone who came to the ceremony at the cemetery and then it was time to go.  I asked Ben if he could ask Shelley if we could have one of Bonnie's teddy bears to have as a keepsake and she said of course.  She and Ben went to the room and Ben picked one out.  Some hugs were given and we headed out.

Since we drove separate from Ben's mom, sister and Ed, we decided to grab a cache on our way over to Trish's house.  We drove the back way down to the valley.  I checked the geocaching app and saw there was one along the way we could grab.  Mega Mtn View (GC6EY6N) took us into a side neighborhood off of Military Road near a great view of Mount Rainier.  The cache was hidden behind a fire hydrant in the rock wall.  Luckily, this cache was a quick find inside the rock wall.  I got out and signed our names and got a few pictures of our visit.

From there, we continued down the hill onto the Orting Hwy and then got onto McCutcheon and then finally onto Rhodes Lake Rd.  We pulled into his mom's driveway and brought our bag of extra clothes in so we could change into comfy clothes.  Last time we were here, we did a bunch of chores for Trish but didn't have the right faucet for the kitchen sink.  That finally came in the mail...the right one, this time.  Ben took a few minutes to install that and then he fixed the light switches in the hallway and in the office.  We stayed for a few hours playing games and hanging out before we had to head home.

It didn't take us very long to get home.  There, we took the kitties out of their cat room, since they've been in there all day, we still don't trust that they can be in the rest of the house by themselves.  I spent some time getting stuff ready for Erika's birthday party the next day and then we headed for bed.

Next Adventure:  Erika's Unicorn Birthday Party