Grandma Yardley

For those of you who don't know, my grandma Yardley passed away around 3 am on Monday morning. (Yes, just a few hours after we GOT BACK from Utah) She was 97 years old and had been going downhill for quite sometime...but you can't ever really prepare for something like that. Saturday morning, on our way out of Beaver (to head up to Provo to move out of our old apartment and into a new one) we stopped to see her at the rest home. Part of me was wishing that wasn't my last memory of her. She looked like she had been through the Holocaust and it was really, really hard for me to see. So glad Brandon was there to help me stand. But I am really glad that I got to say goodbye. If you never knew her, my grandma was an AMAZING woman. Tomorrow (Friday) we're heading back down to Beaver, and the funeral is Saturday. It will be such a sad day, but I am glad I get to see all my siblings and a lot of family. I wanted to post a few of the things that I will never forget about her...

• That I was her favorite (no really, I was..she told me ;) she has pictures of me as a baby all over her house ;)
• I think I was mostly her favorite because I was her youngest granddaughter and I had hair down to my bum when I was little that she just loved to braid
• Every morning she would make us "eggies" and we would have races to see who could finish theirs first, and the prize was an Andes mint
• Every time we pulled up to her house she would be waiting outside under the trees with Grandpa (who died in '07, his funeral on his 100th birthday), wearing her huge sunglasses
• When she would sneak me half pieces of Double Mint gum during church
• How she always had to drink Pepsi from a straw...that was always covered in lipstick
• That she wrote an article in the Beaver Press every week
• Her amazing memory. I remember her telling me (in her 90's) about how she went on a date with another guy the night that my Grandpa proposed!
• Her homemade pies
• Her "poses" she had to make in every picture
• When she would have me drive around town with her to run Christmas presents to people
• When she would take loooong Greyhound bus trips down to Phoenix for our dance recitals
• Playing "button, button, who's got the button?" in the front yard

And so many more memories that I will never, ever forget. My grandma had an amazing impact on my life and was a great example to me. She has left quite the legacy.

I miss her so much sometimes it's hard to breathe. But I know she is in a better place and reunited with her Cowboy :)

(Sorry no picture of her, will try to post one when I get it)

Pioneer Day!

Ever since I was born, we would drive the 8 hours to good 'ol Beaver, UT (where my mom grew up) and spend pretty much the whole summer up there. The best part was the 24th of July! Brandon and I decided to make the 6 hour drive this year so we could be with some of my fam.

The day started off bright and early when my brother Trevor and I ran in the 5K. This one was MUCH easier for me than the one in Lewiston. (Maybe cuz it was almost all downhill ;) I beat my time by almost 3 minutes with 30:02. I was so mad at myself that I didn't push just a little bit harder to be under 30 minutes! Trev got 26: something.

Here we are with John Beck, old BYU quarterback, now playing for the Baltimore Ravens. His grandma lives across the street from my grandma's house.

Some of the crew at the parade!

2nd cousin McCoy riding a horse

Single's Ward float reads: "We can't even commit 2 ride our float!"

Classic.

Jo Jo!! I really missed my lil bro, who is now taller than me, I might add.

Chels and I with our only Beaver friend. The famous Lindsey Black! (Her dad owns the Chevron/Dairy Queen)

After the parade and traditional Kan Kun for lunch, my dad took us out to the reservoirBeautiful 2nd cousins, Baylee and Britain (sp?)

Cute 2nd cousin Braden and nephew Brady who said "we have to ride together cuz we're both 6 and the same size."

Brandon, Jordan, Britain and cousin Alan

Brandon and Trevor had a crazy battle. Brandon lost cuz his pants were around his ankles ;)

Then my cousin Chis and Nancy had everyone over for a BBQ and some great fireworks! Sorry no pics :)

So grateful for the Pioneers!

Stolen pics from the 4th

Brandon chose to wear his basketball outfit instead of his cute 4th outfit for the parade ;)

I love lil Lolly!

Fireworks from Brandon's parent's backyard

Thanks Robbie! Isn't she a great photographer? She'll be makin the big bucks some day

July of the 4th

For the 4th we drove down the night before to Lewiston, Utah (close to Logan, where Brandon's sister, Holly, and his Grandma Andersen live). At 7 am me, Caroline, Gwen, and Robbie all ran in the 5K! Pretty much against my own free will, I might add ;) The race goes alllllll the way to the Idaho border and back. It was probably the hardest thing I have ever done, and I hated it most of the time while I was running, but once I finished, I was so glad that I did it! I kept up my pace and never walked, making my time 32 minutes which I was very pleased with. It's such a great way to stay in shape, and I really want to keep running until it becomes "fun" for me, like it seems to be for some people...

Group picture! The little girls ran in the one mile

So supportive :)

I was SOOO nervous!


Vogue.

Where's Lindsay??

Of course the battery on our camera died right after this, without warning. So I'll have to steal some pics of the rest of the day from others. But after the race we watched the Lewiston parade. Then Brandon and his 3 brother's played in the 3 on 3 tournament. Then we had a fabulous picnic. Then Brandon and I shared a snow cone, Tiger's Blood of course. Then I took a nap under a tree. Then we went to Burley and boated. Then watched fireworks and roasted mallows. Then I spent the late night drive back to Twin trying to keep my husband from falling asleep at the wheel ;)

What a day! God bless America!

"If those don't have Mexican written all over them, I don't know what does"

Brandon has been playing for a softball team down in Burley. (Yes, we drive the 45 minutes at least once a week) Their name this year is Robollozo Trucking and you don't have to look twice at their uniforms to know that Brandon is one of the very few white guys on the team ;) But, they are really good! Undefeated, actually! It's been really fun to watch him play. I'll try and get some better pictures later.

#1 fans!

Me with Brandon's mommy

Indian Springs