JNG GLENNON

I'm convinced...

2010-02-09T12:45:00.000-08:00

I'm convinced that Grace is the sweetest & cutest girl in the world! In the past week or so, here are some of the things that she has done.. She was at her gymnastics class at the YMCA and the teacher had the kids working on their balance by putting their arms stretched outwards and walking along a balance beam. Grace took her turn and she did a great job, the girl behind her was having a hard time staying up without falling off the beam and Grace went back to her and held her hand and helped her across. I was so proud of her, she is just so sweet. Another day, I had worked about a 12 hour day and came home and was a bit tired. It was about 9:30 PM and Grace had just gone upstairs to brush her teeth and when she was finished brushing she came down to say goodnight. On her way downstairs she saw me laying on the couch and saw me yawn. Now obviously if I'm laying on the couch and yawning then I must be ready to go to sleep too right? Grace came over to me and put a blanket over me and pulled up her chair next to me and started singing me to sleep. After she sang to me she gave me a kiss on the cheek and said I love you daddy, goodnight. It was just one of those moments that was just precious and that I probably won't forget. Those are the things that I love the most about being a daddy. Yesterday we were playing in her play room and she asked me if I wanted her to tell me some stories and I said of course I do.. She just started looking around the room and included whatever she saw into her story. She has such a big imagination. After telling me a couple of stories, she came over to me and said that she really misses Grandpa. I asked what she misses the most about him and she said that she misses how he would always play with her and then her eyes started to tear up. I told her that Grandpa used to love to play with her and then she got a smile on her face and said that she knows and that he is with God now and that he is her angel. It is really cool how she is only a couple months shy of 4 years old and she thinks of her family so much and loves them all so much. My family lives on the East coast and we only get to see them for about 1 week per year and Grace still knows who everyone is and talks about them. The other day she started talking to me about our last trip out there and the fun she had with her cousins, aunts, uncles, Nana and Papa.. She told me that she wants to get on an airplane tomorrow and go see them again. I love that she has such a big heart and that she loves her family. ~02/09/10

Happy 30th Birthday Nicolette!!

2010-01-21T01:41:00.000-08:00

So Nicolette joined the 30 club! For her birthday we went out to one of Nicolette's favorite restaurants which is called Iron Chef. It is such a cool place to go.. the guy who cooks our food does it right in front of you but before he does he puts on a show for you. There are about 6-8 people sitting at the table which surrounds the flat stove that he cooks on . The first thing he does is takes your order and then he starts flipping his cooking utensils around and throwing them up and catching them, lighting things on fire and things like that. It is really a cool thing to see, I wish I had a video clip of it to show. Anyways, we ordered filet mignon steak, lobster, rice and shrimp. I don't normally eat steak but I can see why filet mignon is so expensive! That was without a doubt one of the best meals I've had in a long time. If anyone ever wants to go, make sure to call me first! Earlier in the day Grace and I had filled out birthday cards for Nic. I asked Grace if she wanted to give the cards to mommy and she said yes.. When she got upstairs to give her the cards she opened the door and started singing happy birthday to her before she gave her the cards. It was so cute. I was not expecting her to sing and did not tell her to do it. She just does the most awesome things. After dinner we were planning on going out to see Avatar in 3D at the Imax theater but ended up going home because we were a little tired and the show was a late start. (see, those are the things that happen when you get OLD) I hope that Nicolette had a great birthday and that she knows how much we love her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! ~01/21/10

30 Things I Love About Nicolette

2010-01-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

One of the things that Nicolette's Uncle and his family does on their family's birthdays is say the things that they love about eachother and I think it is a pretty cool thing so I decided to steal that idea from them. Since today is Nicolette's 30th birthday, I decided to make a list - here are 30 of the many things that I love about her.

1. I love the way she loves her entire family.
2. I love that we have been together for 14 years and she still tells me every day that she loves me.
3. I love the LOVE that she has for Grace.
4. I love that she supports me in whatever I do, even when it is crazy and doesn't make sense.
5. I love the way she smells.
6. I love the way she does Grace's hair and always makes her look so cute.
7. I love the way she decorates our house.
8. I love her selflessness.
9. I love her beautiful smile.
10. I love the way she works a full time job and still never complains about coming home and doing as much as she does around the house (we appreciate it all)
11. I love how she still holds my arm or my hand when we go out, like we did when we were still teenagers.
12. I love how organized she is.
13. I love how she puts up with me when I'm being grumpy.
14. I love how she is on top of everything all the time.
15. I love the way she dances when there is a song on that she likes.
16. I love how she helps teach Grace how to count and do her ABCs.
17. I love the fact that she'll do things with me, our friends & family that a lot of girls wouldn't do.
18. I love that she goes to baseball games and other sporting events with me even though she is not a huge sports fan.
19. I love that she lets me dress up Grace in Patriots gear on Sundays - and that she wears them too.
20. I love how she irons my clothes so I don't have to do it myself (thank you for that!!)
21. I love how she goes into a store and looks for stuff for Grace first and never thinks of herself.
22. I love watching her with children.
23. I love the way she looks first thing in the morning just as much as I do when she's all dressed up to go out.
24. I love watching her dance with Grace.
25. I love the way she cares for her friends and does whatever she can to help them.
26. I love the way she sings Grace to sleep.
27. I love that she is my best friend.
28. I love that she is a wonderful wife.
29. I love that she is a wonderful mother.
30. I love the beautiful person that she is - everyting about her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIC. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

~01/20/2010

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-29T16:55:00.000-08:00

Nana Grace's ornament

Hanging it with Gracie

Christmas tree!

Christmas tree

Looking cute in her shades!

Time to open some presents!!

My little pony toys

Babies from Nana & Papa

A swing for Gracie's babies

Grace holding Alan's dog Maxine

And yes, the dog is wearing shoes

More presents - camo monkey pants

Annette getting an ornament with Richard on it. We miss you.

Grace's recliner that matches our couch

Grace's new bike!!

Helmet and pads on and ready to go!

Look daddy.. I can ride my bike!!

After a long day of fun Grace CRASHED!

Well, we got moved into our new house a couple of days before Christmas and so far we are about 90% moved in. It is funny how excited Grace was to get into our new place. The day that we were moving she looked sad and said daddy, I'm going to miss this house as we were getting all of the stuff put onto the truck. Later when we got to the new house I asked her if she was still sad that we were moving and this time she said no, this house is bigger so I'm not going to miss the other house. I thought it was pretty funny. She was very ready for Christmas. We ended up putting up our Christmas tree before we finished unpacking all of our stuff. We still have some boxes in the garage that need to be unpacked but we'll get it done. I'm very glad that we were able to get moved in before Christmas so we were able to have people over and actually have the room to make people feel comfortable. Christmas was nice, we started the day off with Annette and Nicolette making breakfast for everyone.. they made eggs, sausage, waffles, fruit, toast, juice.. you get the point. After a while of talking and hanging out, it was that time -- time to dig into the presents! I don't know who was more excited, me or Grace. I was excited to see her open her presents like I always am. She got a lot of presents from mommy & daddy, Nana & Papa sent some really nice things to her, Grandma, Alan & Bobbi, and Peter and Nicole. (Sorry if I left someone out) She really loves the stroller that she got to push her dolls in and the bike that she was given. The holidays have been great this year. I really missed my family with them being so far away, although it was great to go home and see them in November! We all missed Richard this year during Thanksgiving and Christmas. With the holidays here and me missing my family and Richard, it was still very nice to have the company of the people who were here. I have realized very much this past year how much of a blessing each day is and to really cherish the time that you get to spend with your loved ones and your friends. Maybe next year I will take Nic and Grace to spend Christmas on the East Coast. That would be great! ~12/29/09

Moving day in 2 days!!

2009-12-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

So we are finally about to move into our new place. We are going to be renting a house with the option to purchase it if we want to. I will be happy just to have the extra room. Our current house is getting smaller by the day! The home that we are moving to is a shade under 3,000 sq ft. which is a bit bigger than the one we are living in now. It will be a lot easier to have people over and not be sitting on eachother's lap all the time. We have a large kitchen, living room and play room for Grace. The back yard is very nice! It is big and has a fence all around it so Grace can go play outside and we won't have to worry about her quite as much. There is a big shed with an attached playhouse for Grace to play in. We are all very excited about living there.. not so excited about having to move! We are lucky to have some of Nicolette's family there to help out. Bye for now, just wanted to make a quick post before I take down my computer. ~12/16/09

Thankful

2009-12-13T01:28:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to write a quick note to say how very thankful I am for the health of my family. Nicolette and I just got done watching My Sister's Keeper and it was one of the saddest movies that I have ever seen. It was a movie about a family dealing with a little girl with leukemia. As I was watching it I started to think about Grace and what I would do and how I would feel if we were in that position. The movie brought tears to my eyes and made me think about how precious life is and how thankful I am that my family has good health. That is about all I wanted to say, I was just really moved by that film and figured I'd post my thoughts on it. I recommend watching it if you haven't seen it. Just make sure you have your kleenex! ~12/13/09

Grace's 1st time bowling!!

2009-12-11T22:29:00.000-08:00

Grace playing in the arcade at the bowling alley

More arcade guns..

Grace and Mommy making a build a bear

Grace sewing up her bear

What a goof ball

Waiting to see how many pins she knocked down

Grace and Daddy bowling!

Good job Gracie!!

Best day I've ever had bowling!!!

Grace bowling

Grace getting her bowling shoes on

On December 6th after we went and visited Richard's grave site for his birthday we went down to Narrows Plaza Bowl to celebrate Ahna's 4th birthday. This is the first time that Grace came bowling with me and it was AWESOME! Every week that I go bowling for my league she always says that when she gets bigger she will come bowling with me. We had a lot of fun and she was so excited. She was in such a rush to get her little bowling shoes on and get down on the lanes to bowl. We got her a 6 pound ball and I went up to the foul line with her and we counted to three and threw the ball down the lane. I loved watching how happy she was to watch the ball go down and hit the pins. This kind of thing is the best part of being a daddy! After a couple of games she got a little tired and wanted to stop and go play in the arcade where we played for about a half hour. Next it was back to the party where the kids were all making little build a bear type stuffed animals. Grace and Mommy made a little panda bear. It was a great day! We had such a good time bowling that I took her back a couple of days later and we did it again. I told her that the next day that I have off of work that we would go to the bowling alley and bowl a few games and then go to a movie and after that I'd take her to lunch. I don't know who is more excited, me or her. I love my little girl! ~12/11/09

Remembering Grandpa on his birthday

2009-12-11T22:12:00.000-08:00

Richard's grave stone

Annette placing wreath ornament on his grave

Happy Birthday Richard

We miss you!

Gracie's balloon for Grandpa

Grace

Annette writing a birthday message to Richard

Nicolette writing to her dad

Grandkids visiting Grandpa's grave site

Releasing the balloons for their Dad/Grandpa

Off they go..

Balloons going to heaven for Grandpa

Well it has been a while since I've posted anything, so much has been going on.. On December 6th, 2009 it was Richard's 56th birthday. We all took the day off and remembered him and thought of him. It is hard to believe that he has been gone for 2 months now. We all went up to Tahoma National Cemetery where he is buried and saw his grave site for the first time since his funeral and saw his headstone for the first time. Desiree came up with the words that are written on the headstone and they say, Full Of Wisdon And Generosity, it was very nice. It was a good day to remember him. The only knock on the day was that it was VERY COLD! I'm getting a little tired of this cold front that we are getting lately.. For his birthday we all had balloons that we wrote a little message on for him and we released them for him at the same time. It was pretty neat. Grace said that we were sending the balloons to heaven for Grandpa, she is so sweet. It is kind of funny though, every time she sees a balloon now she wants to get it and let it go outside so it can fly up to Grandpa. ~12/11/09

Wedding Bells!!

2009-11-26T01:43:00.000-08:00

Me and Peter

Jeremy and Immer

Dusty and Shirley

Grace looking beautiful!!

Nicolette and Grace dancing - how cute!!

Mr. and Mrs. Salmond!! Peter and Nicole's 1st dance

Grace getting her hair done

On November 14th, 2009 Peter and Nicole got married!! It was such a beautiful day with some memorable, crazy, funny and not so funny moments.. Because I was out of town for the week leading up to the wedding I didn't have time to get my tux until the night before the wedding.. you can see where this is going already.. So Nicolette, Grace and I were in Boston and flew in on the 13th, went and picked up my tux and then went to the rehearsal dinner and when that was done we went home and we all crashed. The next day was the day of the wedding and when I showed up to get dressed and do pictures and everything I quickly realized that my shirt was about 4 sizes too small! The sleeves barely went past my elbows so I had to keep my jacket on all night. My jacket, by the way, was about 1 or 2 sizes too big.. you think that is all? Guess again.. My shoes were about a half size too small. So besides the fact that my feet hurt a little bit, my shirt was way too short and my jacket was a bit too big, everything else was just great! The day started off with pictures which I thought was funny sometimes because the photographers were a married couple and they spent most of their time fighting with eachother and giving us some cheap entertainment. During the photos, one of the flower girls Sarai got a little sick and threw up shortly after her pictures and before the wedding. She was bummed out that she wasn't able to participate in the wedding. Nicolette and Grace came out to do their pictures and they both looked so beautiful!! Grace looked like a little princess with her hair all done and her little tiara on her head. Nicolette looked amazing in her green dress and her hair and makeup all done up. During the wedding everything went smoothly and everyone looked real nice. It was a happy day. We had a chair right next to Annette's chair in the front row reserved for Richard. We had a white sheet over the chair with his picture on it. Although he was not there in the physical sense, I believe that he was there watching his son get married. After the wedding was over we all went to the hotel where Peter had the ball room reserved for his reception. It was so nice, they had it done up really nice. The DJ for the evening was absolutely terrible.. He kept on screwing up during the introductions and when it was time to introduce Peter and Nicole for the first time he said the wrong couple's name.. Oh well, we didn't let it bother us or ruin the evening.. there was too much fun to have!! We had a chance to catch up with our friends Dusty and his wife Shirley and also Jeremy, Immer and their kids Naomi, Andre, Arianna and Isabelle. It is always good to see those guys! Grace loves playing with the kids and always has fun when she sees them. It was really a neat day to watch Peter get married. I can't believe that he is married now with a kid on the way. I still remember when he was a little guy and we would goof off at his mom's house just doing dumb stuff together. It is going to be really cool to watch him become a father. I am very happy for Pete and Nicole. I really do wish them all the best and all the happiness in the world! ~11/26/09

Some old friends & goodbye to Boston

2009-11-26T00:52:00.001-08:00

Nicolette and Grace in a Christmas store
Grace and a Daisuke Matsuzaka statue
Grace and coach Red Auerbach
Nicolette and her friend Jennifer Dermody

Well since we returned home from our Massachusetts trip on the 13th, this is the first day that I have had off of work so to be honest I've just been too tired to write anything.. While we were at the condo in Rhode Island we had a great visit from Bill and Jennifer Dermody. They are friends from Utah who we have not seen in years! I think the last time we saw them was when we were moving to Washington from Utah in 1999 and now they live in Massachusetts. Even though it was a couple hour drive for them to get to us, they packed up their kids and hit the road. It was a lot of fun to catch up and hear some pretty funny stories (that I promise not to tell anyone) and to play some games and just enjoy their company. We played a game called catch phrase where you have to get your team to guess the word that is given by giving clues.. We learned that a horoscope can also sometimes be called a "whore-o-scope" which we all thought was pretty funny. For dinner we all had some "pre-garbage" lasagna and turkey left overs topped off with some very good dessert that my cousin Nikki made. It is too bad that Jen, Bill and their family don't live closer to us because we would have a lot of fun together.
The day before we left to go home we spent the day with my Mom, Glen and Jess and spend our last day in Boston. We went to Quincy Market, shopped a little bit and just hung out. I love going to Boston because it is such a fun city. It was fun to watch Gracie go in and out of the stores because she is growing up so fast and it is fun to see her experience everything. She was having some fun with some of the things in the stores that we went to. It is pobably a good thing that I am not rich because I would end up buying a lot of stuff that she was playing with.. If my parents end up moving to Florida like they are hoping to do, I don't know how often I will make it back to Boston to visit so this was a bit more sad when it came time to leave. On the plane ride home I was thinking that it might be a while before I get to see my brothers and sisters again. I try not to think about that stuff because it just bums me out. This is why it sucks that we are all so far away. After spending our final day in Boston we drove home and had a dinner with my family which was real nice. This was one of the best visits that we have had because we got to spend a little more time with my family than we normally do. I loved meeting Avery and Riley. They are both just way too cute!! I can't wait to see them again. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what next year brings.. Either we will be flying to Massachusetts again or we will be flying off to the sunny beaches of Florida! Either one works for me!! ~11/26/09

Family Vacation!

2009-11-15T22:59:00.000-08:00

We just got back from our annual vacation to Massachusetts to visit my family. It was such a good visit! Gracie was so excited to fly on the airplane and to see Nana and Papa, that is all she was talking about in the days leading up to our trip. We arrived on the 6th and Leia picked us up from the airport - it was so awesome to see her! We stayed in a hotel for the first night because we got in late and our condo that we stay in was not going to be ready until the next afternoon. Saturday was great because I got to see my mom, brother, Jessica and we finally got to meet Avery (Glen & Jess's baby). It was so good to see them all and Avery is so adorable! On Sunday we had a get together with lots of family. It was so nice to see everyone that I hadn't seen in so long. It was awesome to see my dad, I really miss him throughout the year. I wish that his boat was still in the water so that we could have gone out and done some fishing, the weather was great and it would have been nice to get out on the water. My mom did a great job preparing dinner for everyone, she made a full Thanksgiving dinner and lasagna. It was very nice of her to have purchased and prepared all of the food and drinks and getting the condo for everyone to stay in for the week. In addition to meeting my niece Avery for the first time, I also got to meet my other niece Riley for the first time. She is my brother Sean's daughter and she is absolutely beautiful! It was nice to see Sean, Lissha and Morgan too. It was just great to see all of the family who drove down to see us and spend some time together. I really love the time that we all get to spend together but the trips never seem to last long enough. On Monday I finally got to go bowling with Glen again. I think it's been about 12 or 13 years since we've gone bowling together. He is the reason why I love bowling so much and I have been waiting a long time to go with him again. It would have been better if I didn't have to use house balls and shoes though.. It was a great time either way and I can't wait to do it again. A couple of days later we went to see my sister at her house. Let me just say that I am completely jealous about the view that she has!! She has a deck outside her door that is right on the water and you can see Boston from across the harbor. I wish it was a bit lighter outside so I could have gotten some pictures, maybe next year. During our trip we also went to see Nana Grace's grave site. I like to make it down there to say hello once during our trip. I want Gracie to know who we named her after and to know how much Nana Grace meant to me and to know about the times that we shared when I was a little boy. I'm looking forward to when Grace gets a little older and we can let her stay with Nana and Papa for 1 or 2 weeks a year by herself so she can build the same type of relationship with them that I had with my Nana. I can't believe that she has been gone for 15 years already. Overall, the trip was VERY good! We had some great times with my family and I can't wait to do it again next year!! ~11/15/09

Trick or Treat and VACATION!

2009-11-05T23:55:00.000-08:00

Well Halloween was here again.. Once again, time for costumes, candy, sugar highs, candy and more candy! This year Grace was a princess. We asked her what she wanted and that was what she said. Halloween started off with Nicolette taking Grace and her friend Anna to the YMCA where they had a bunch of games and candy for the kids, I was not able to go because I was at work. It was really cool because Anna got her prosthetic legs right before Halloween and was able to walk around with Grace. They were both so excited. I think it is awesome that they are such good friends, I hope they remain friends for a long time because they really like eachother. After I got home we went to the church where they were doing the "trunk or treat" again. That is nice because it is in the parking lot and people open their trunks of their car and the kids go from car to car getting candy. After doing that for a little while Grace said she wanted to leave so we took her to the mall and let her walk around a little. That was nice because there was a lot of kids there and she was able to have a little more fun and get, what else, more candy. Right now it is after midnight and is officially the day that we will be flying to Massachusetts for our annual trip home! We are all so excited to get there.. not so much for the plane ride though. I can't wait to get home and see everyone. I miss my family so much and hate that I only get to see them once a year. This year will be extra special because I will finally get to meet Glen and Sean's daughters. My sister is going to pick us up from the airport again. I'm so excited to see her again. We will be staying in a hotel tonight when we get there because we arrive around 11:00 PM. We go to the condo in Rhode Island on Saturday where we will be staying for the week. On Sunday we are going to have a full house. We are having a big get together with a lot of family and some friends. Nicolette's friend Jennifer who used to live near us in Utah and now lives in Massachusetts will be coming down. Nicolette doesn't know that she is coming so that will be a nice surprise for her. I am just looking forward to a week with my family and a welcome break from the daily routine. It will be nice to see family and a nice view of the ocean instead of the 4 walls of my office at work every day. I wish my dad's boat was still in the water so we could go out, he had to take it out last week. What a bummer.. I love going fishing with him. It is nice when he decides to keep the boat in the water though but that is a story for another day. (Sorry dad, I had to.. you know I love you.) Well, that is about enough for now. ~11/06/09

Happy Birthday Dad!

2009-10-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

Today is my dad's birthday. He is 62 years young today. Just like I said last month when it was my sister's birthday, I hate being so far away the most on days like this. When you live across the country from your family it is really difficult during holidays and birthdays and things like that. My dad is in Florida today looking at houses with his real estate agent. Hopefully if things work out as planned, my mom and dad will be moving to Florida. I think they are going to be moving in the spring but we'll see. I called my dad today to wish him a happy birthday but he was inside one of the houses he was looking at and told me that he would call me when he gets back to his hotel room tonight. I can't wait to hear about the places he has seen and what he thinks so far. I wish that I could be with my dad today but I will be flying back to Massachusetts in 9 days with Grace and Nicolette for our annual visit so I guess that will have to do. I can't wait to get there!! I miss my family very much and can't wait to meet both of my two new neices. Well dad.. Happy Birthday! I love you and can't wait to see you. Gracie said to say hi Papa. ~10/28/09

All better... finally

2009-10-27T00:08:00.000-07:00

During the past few weeks with all that was going on here there have been quite a few things that have gone on that I have not wrote about and I figure that now is as good a time as any to write a few memories down. While Eric and Mary were here a few weeks ago we all went down to the doctor's office and FINALLY got Grace's cast taken off. She was nervous and scared to have it come off. I think it got to be a security thing for her because she was running all over the place during the last 5 days or so that she had it on and once it came off she did not want to move. The doctor said that is pretty normal but to keep an eye on her. I thought it was pretty funny that her leg was almost as hairy as mine when the cast came off.. She said look daddy, my leg is hairy like yours. It was pretty funny. I was getting a bit concerned because she was not walking on it very much at all for the first couple of days and when she did it was very little and with a pretty bad limp. A couple of days after she got the cast off we had some of Nicolette's family over to play some games and somehow Grace hurt her leg and it swelled up pretty good and was really black and blue. Mary suggested taking her to the doctor's office and Grace did NOT want to do that. We told her that if she could not walk that we would take her in and she did her best to walk to avoid going back to the doctor. We did not take her but really kept an eye on her that night. That was the only time that I thought that she might not have healed yet. It has been about 2 1/2 - 3 weeks since she got her cast off and I think she's doing pretty good. So far she is not walking with too much of a limp anymore but she favors her left leg a little still and doesn't always walk with her foot straight, she tends to have her toes pointed away from her instead of straight ahead. I guess because I've never broken a bone that I just don't know what to expect for the recovery phase, that and no father likes to see his child in pain. I wished every day of it that I could take her pain and discomfort away and let her leg be all better. All she wanted to do was go swimming and go back to the YMCA and play with all of her friends again, all except for that little boy who jumped on her. That is what she would say, how funny is that! She just started going back to class again. She is in swimming class, little gym (which is just open play time with other kids and toys and things - this is where she broke her leg), she is in gymnastics and also a cheerleading class. I haven't been able to go to any of her classes because I've been working every time she has had them so far but I am really excited to go tomorrow. I love going and watching her play and have fun. Now that things have settled down a bit it will be easier to get on here more frequently and write down some of the things that have been going on. Life just goes by so fast and I want to make sure to write down all that goes on so I can have those memories later on. I will get some pictures posted of Gracie getting her cast off and some others when I get a chance. Until then.. bye for now. ~10/26/09

Saying Goodbye

2009-10-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

The past 2 weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotions and events. When Richard passed away on October 1st, it didn't seem like reality to me until I went to Yahn & Sons Funeral Home to see his body and sit in while Annette and her kids were making the arrangements for Richard's funeral. The reality set in for me when Richard's family started to arrive. His brother John and his wife Shay stayed with us along with Eric and his wife Mary. I was very happy to see them all, however I wish that it would have been under different circumstances. Soon after that, Richard's brother Mike and some of his family and his mother Thora showed up. I can only imagine the pain that goes with burying your own child, it is a pain that I hope to never experience. I could see the emotions in her eyes and I wished that I could do something to help make it a little easier. I can't go through right now and name everybody that came but it was really nice to see how many people came from so far away to say goodbye to Richard. It really does say a lot about him and how many people's lives he touched and how much he meant to a lot of people. The day of his funeral was a day filled with happiness and sadness, rememberance, thoughts and memories. We set out a table full of his favorite things which had everything from his favorite movies, candies, cereal, the figures that he'd paint, computer games and things that he enjoyed doing. Peter and Nicole put together a nice photo collage of him and his family which was really well done, his neice Sharon drew a picture of Richard and Annette which was absolutely beautiful, it was one of those drawings where you only use dots to create your picture. I don't remember what that style of artwork is called but it is very nice and she did a great job. With my wealth of computer knowledge (not really) I put together a memorial video with a LOT of help from Eric and our friend Jeremy Chevalier, I would not have been able to get it done in time if you guys didn't help me out so thank you very much!! There were lots of flowers that were sent from my parents in Massachusetts, Richard's family, his co-workers, friends and the florist that we got some nice arrangements from. At the viewing it was a nice moment for me when Grace went up to the casket to give Grandpa the monkey that she bought for him so he could have something from her to take with him. She reached up and put it next to his arm and said I'm really going to miss Grandpa. It brought tears to my eyes because I know how much she loved him and how much fun they had together. After the viewing we moved into the chapel to have his service where some of his family members got up to speak and say some words for him. Eric gave his "eugoogely". I was really surprised at how good of a "eugoogelizer" he was. That was a quote from a movie which is one of the fun things that we all do in his family which Eric touched on during his talk. Eric read some words on Richard's life which were written by Richard himself. A few years back Mary did a class assignment where she had to profile some family members and Richard wrote about his life. It was really nice to hear how he viewed and remembered his own life. Richard's brother John got up to speak about him too and that was difficult for me to hear because of all the family members that we have in the Salmond family, my little family is probably closest to John, Shay and their kids. From the time that we lived in Utah from 1997-1999, they have been really special to us. As I was sitting there listening to John talk about his childhood memories of him and his brother it got me thinking of my two brothers and my two sisters and the other members of my family and how difficult it would be for me to be on that podium talking about the times we shared and saying goodbye. One by one all of Richard's kids went up to say goodbye to their father and that was another difficult moment. When Desiree went up to the podium she was obviously sad for the loss of her dad and one of the sweet moments of the day that I won't forget was Grace walking up to the steps and turning to me and saying I want to go hug her daddy. She went up to Desiree during one of the most difficult moments of her life and offered some comfort with a little hug. Next when Nicolette went up to talk, Gracie wanted to be up there with her so Nicolette let her stand up there too. When Nicolette was finished talking Gracie leaned into the microphone and said I love you Grandpa which was very nice and then she followed that with an I love you to her best friend Anna who was there too. The service was very nice and it was great to hear how everyone spoke of him. The recurring theme of the night was how generous, thoughtful, caring, selfless and helpful he was. I know that during the years that I got to know him he helped me and my family on numerous occasions and I will be forever grateful for everything that he has done for us whether it was advice, help with daycare, financial help or opening up his home to us when we needed a place to stay. I learned a lot of lessons from him and hope to be able to have such an impact on half as many people that he did. When the service at the church ended it was time to go to Tahoma National Cemetery where he would be laid to rest. Annette and her sons asked me if I would be one of the pall bearers for Richard's casket. She said that although I was not his son by birth, I was still one of his sons and that meant a lot to me. When it came time to leave the church and load the casket into the hearse we were on our way out the door and Grace ran up to me and wanted to help. I told her that she couldn't help carry the casket and that she could stand there with me as we were loading him into the car. The funeral director looked at Grace and asked if she would like to close the door after he was put inside and she said yes. After she closed the door she placed her hand on it and said I love you so much Grandpa and then looked at me and said Grandpa is gone now, I'll never see him again. It was a sad moment for me because I know that she understands what is happening and that she was sad. I told her that although she will never see him again, Grandpa will always be with her and she said I know, Grandpa is my Angel now. The things she does and says amazes me on a daily basis. I love how much love she has for her family and how smart she is. Because Richard is a Military Veteran he had a funeral with full Military honors. I have never been to a funeral like that, I have only seen them on tv and in the movies. He was given the 21 gun salute which was very nice, I got a chill down my back when the guns fired. One of the most moving part of the entire day for me was when the American Flag that was on his casket was folded and presented to Annette. Eric was the one who presented the flag to his mother. That is where most of my tears were shed.. I was sitting two seats away and you could hear a pin drop but I had a hard time hearing Eric. He had to perform the duties of presenting the flag to a woman who was burying her husband while going through the emotions of burying his father. That was truly something I will never forget. I know it was difficult to say the words that he had to say and I am really proud of him for wanting to do that. I know I would have a hard time doing that if I were in his shoes. Another part of the ceremony that hit me was when Taps was sounded. That is when I realized that the day was coming to a close and we were saying goodbye for the final time. When that was finished it was time for all of us pallbearers to bring Richard to the cart that would transport him to his plot where he would be laid to rest. I was at the rear of the casket when we were loading him onto the cart and I felt Grace standing next to me and helping me lift the casket onto the cart. That was another one of those moments from his funeral that I will never forget. Once the services were finished we all went back to the church where we had a catered dinner. Richard's family paid to have Famous Dave's Barbecue catered for us all. That was one of Richard's favorite places to eat and that is why they did that for us all. It was a nice time for us all to sit and talk and remember Richard in our own ways. Although I am very sad that he is gone, I will never forget him and what he meant to us all. His death has really made me think about a lot of things in a different way than I viewed them before. Richard, you will be missed, you will be thought of every day in one way or another and you will never be forgotten. Thank you for all that you have done for me and my family. Thank you for loving Annette and raising such a wonderful family. Nicolette and Grace have been the biggest joys of my life and I thank you for that, for allowing me to be a part of your family. We love you and we miss you. ~10/16/09

What a week..

2009-10-06T21:02:00.001-07:00

So much has been happening this week, I almost don't know where to begin. I will start with the news that even though we all knew it was coming it still hit us all like a ton of bricks. On October 1st Nicolette's dad Richard passed away. He has been in a coma since May 4th when he suffered his stroke. The past (almost) 5 months have been very difficult for all of us. We have gone from being hopeful that he would recover to realizing that he would not and experiencing all of the feelings and emotions of it every step of the way. When he had his stroke I was very hopeful that everything would be fine and wouldn't let the thought of him not making it enter my mind. In a wierd way, I am glad that we had the last 4 1/2 months to prepare for the day that he passed. I think it made it a little bit easier for all of us, it gave us all a way to say our goodbyes and to grieve over time instead of having it come as a surprise. Over the last 5 days since he passed away we have been preparing for his funeral which is tomorrow. It is going to be a difficult day. I have spent time thinking how sad it is and how we are going to miss having him here for different events and to watch his kids and grandkids grow up until I realized that instead of being sad for what he is not going to be here for we should all be very happy for the times that he was here for. A friend of mine who lost her dad told me that and once I started thinking about it, I was more at peace with everything. Now I am more thankful than before for how good of a Grandpa he was to Grace and how good of a Father and a Father-in-Law he was to me and Nicolette. Throughout the upcoming days and years we will think of him often and miss him at times too but we will always have those times that he was here to be thankful for. Today we went to the funeral home to approve his casket and make sure he looked ok for his funeral tomorrow and when Grace saw him she walked over to him and said I miss you Grandpa. It was a very sweet moment that I am glad that I got to see. Gracie loved her Grandpa and will miss the times that they played together and the times they spent together. ~10/06/09

Happy Birthday Leia!

2009-09-26T22:01:00.001-07:00

This is one of those days where I don't like living so far away from my family who all live in Massachusetts. Today is my sister Leia's 29th birthday. I thought about her a lot today and thought that it sucks that I will not be able to celebrate with her and enjoy the day with my family. I was at work today and Leia and I missed each other when I called her and then when she called me. It would be nice if I could see my family whenever I wanted to :( Well, I just wanted to say Happy Birthday Leia!! I love you, I think of you often, and I miss you very much. I can't wait to see you in November. ~09/26/2009

Not so fast..

2009-09-26T20:45:00.001-07:00

On Thursday we brought Gracie in to the doctor to have her cast taken off - finally.. and the doctor said that she was still about a week and a half to two weeks away. Grace was a little bummed out and so were we. I was looking forward to taking her swimming again. Swimming is one of her favorite things to do and when we tell her that once the cast comes off that we will go swimming she gets the biggest smile on her face. She has been walking quite a bit on her cast so it started to wear a little on the bottom so the doctor had to reinforce it with some more cast. She is going to be so happy when this thing finally comes off. She is really excited to be able to play outside and go back to the YMCA and do her classes again. When she broke her foot she was going to a gymnastics class, a swimming class and a general play time class at the Y a few days out of the week. We have been trying to keep her as active as we could for the past 6 weeks or so since she broke her leg but there is only so much we can do. We are just happy that she will be recovered by the time we go on our vacation to Massachusetts in November. I will put up pictures when she is finally out of the cast and all better. ~09/26/09

Football & The Fair

2009-09-19T00:24:00.000-07:00

So the week started off great! On Monday the NFL football season started off with one of the best games I have ever seen! The New England Patriots kicked off their season with a 4th quarter comeback win against the Buffalo Bills in Tom Brady's first game back since blowing out his knee in the opener last season. We had Peter and Nicole over to watch the game with us. We also had our friends Dusty and Shirley over too. It was GREAT to see those guys again, it has been a long time since we hung out and I enjoyed their company. I fired up the grill and grilled up some cheeseburgers and steaks, there was potato salad, pasta salad, chips & dip, drinks.. It was a good time. On Thursday Nicolette took Grace to the Puyallup Fair. I was unable to go because I as at work. They went with Anna, Candi and Anna's mom Kiera. Grace had a great time. She rode on a bunch of rides and saw a bunch of animals. I was looking at the pictures and I just love the look on Gracie's face, you can just see how much fun she is having and how much she is enjoying herself. I wish that I could have been there with her. '

I got an email from my Mom telling me that her and my Dad are most likely going to be moving to Florida. This was a nice surprise because I thought that they were going to end up in North Carolina. I am more than ok with a move to Florida!! I'm ready to hit the beaches when I go to visit instead of freezing my tail off in Massachusetts each time I go out there. Besides, I think it will be cool to take Gracie to Disney World and things like that when we go on vacation. We are all pretty excited about that and hope that everything works out so that they can make that move. Today Grace got another package in the mail from Nana and Papa. It was pretty cool - my Dad got her this mini skeleton to put together so Grace can see how the body works and what happens when a bone is broken. There are little booklets that come with it to help teach her about the human body. She is so excited about putting the skeleton together so that we can break his body as she puts it.. Pretty funny! There was (of course) a monkey toy, a monkey book and some coloring books in there too. But that is ok because Grace LOVES monkeys and she can never get enough.. She is our little monkey!

~09/19/09

Travis Barker of Blink 182 Drum Solo at Endfest 18 at the White River Amphitheatre

2009-09-13T19:35:00.001-07:00

This is the Travis Barker drum solo. He is so awesome!

The week that was!

2009-09-13T12:26:00.001-07:00

What an amazing week! Well, at least it was for me.. I would have to say that the best day of my week was on Thursday, September 10th. Peter, Nicole and I went to a BLINK 182 concert! Yes, Blink 182.. you heard correctly! My favorite band who has been broken up for the past 4 or 5 years or so have gotten back together and was putting on a reunion tour. It was great! Travis Barker did this drum solo that just blew everyone away, he is by far the best drummer alive! This was my 4th Blink 182 show and Peter's 2nd. The last time Peter and I went to a show together was in 2002. It was nice to go out to the show again with him and Nicole. Another highlight of the week was that the NFL season has officially started and with the start of the NFL season is the start of the Fantasy Football season! My team Beantown Beatdown is looking to come back and reclaim my League Championship trophy that Ian so kindly stole from me last year.. oh I'm sorry, I meant that Ian's AUTO DRAFT team stole from me.. It should be fun this year. And finally, my bowling league ended with us taking 2nd place. We are starting a new season this week though and are looking to come out on top. We took Grace to Pike's Place Market in Seattle earlier in the week too. We had a good time even though it was a little wet outside. It made it a little difficult because of her cast but we just bundled it up and tried to stay indoors as much as we could. She was asking if we could go see the water for a few days before so we decided to take her out. It was nice. We went with Peter, Nicole, Desiree and Annette. It would have been better if the weather would have cooperated a little bit so we could have gone on eh ferry, I think Gracie would have liked that. But, we had a good time anyways.. Any day that we get to be together is a good day! Like I said -- an eventful and awesome week! Grace's leg is continuing to improve. She is starting to get more comfortable walking on her cast. She is still a bit nervous about it but she's doing much better. She only has about 2 more weeks or so until the cast comes off. She is so ready to go play and go swimming again. She is really excited for the cast to come off. I'll update when that happens. Bye for now.
~09/13/09

Engaged!

2009-09-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

Today Nicolette's brother Peter called me and told me that he and his girlfriend Nicole have gotten engaged! I am so happy for the two of them. They have been dating for a few years now and have decided to tie the knot. I was thrilled when Peter asked me to be his best man at his wedding. That is such an honor and I am very happy that he thought of me to have such a part in his wedding. Peter was like 5 years old when I met him and over the years that I have gotten to know him he has been like a little brother to me and this really means a lot to me. I am very much looking forward to seeing them start this whole new life together as they prepare for their wedding and then not too long down the road when their little one (who is on the way) is born. Well, congratulations to you both!!

A new cast

2009-09-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Today Grace had her cast removed and had a new one put on. The one that was removed went up her entire leg so she could not bend her leg. We got new x-rays today and her bone is healing nicely. Her new cast goes from her foot to right below her knee and she will be able to walk on it once she feels comfortable enough to try. She is still a bit nervous about putting any weight on it. You can see the pictures of the old full leg cast and the new one that only goes half way up her shin. The bear that you see next to her is a gift that Nana and Papa got for her, if you notice he has a broken leg too.. Grace loves to sit with him because they help make each other feel better. Only 3 more weeks and she will be out of the cast! I'm glad that she will be fully healed by the time we go to Massachusetts in November. I want her to be able to go for walks with Nana and to be able to play on the swings with Papa. While we were at the doctor's office today, she didn't want to have her cast removed, I think she feels more secure with it on and thinks it will hurt again if we take it off. I told her that we were going to take this cast off and put on a new one to help make her leg get better faster and she said no, I'm healing in this one! It was so funny.. Then the doctor came in and she said that she wanted him to leave because he was a stranger and she doesn't know him. She is so funny. ~09/03/09

Recent events

2009-09-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

In the last few months there have been so many things happening, I will mention a few of them.. ~On May 4th, 2009 Nicolette's father, Richard suffered a hemmorhagic stroke and has been in a coma ever since. This has been difficult for all of us. The not knowing if he is going to recover or not has been the hardest part. We all just continue to pray and hope that he can wake up and start to recover soon. His wife Annette has been by his side every day since it happened and we are all very happy that she can be there for him. We will continue to update his status.
~ On August 13th, 2009 Gracie broke her left leg while playing at the YMCA. She was playing in the foam pit and a little boy jumped in and landed on her leg causing a spiral fracture of her tibia (shin bone) When it happened it was extremely painful for her for the first week or so but now she seems to be doing a lot better. She has a purple cast on her leg that starts on her foot and goes up to her upper thigh. The doctor is expecting a full recovery with no lingering effects or future problems. Grace will be in a cast for the next 2 -3 weeks or so.
~ Last week I found out that Eric and Mary are expecting a new baby!! They are a few months pregnant and I couldn't be happier for them. I know that they will make awesome parents. It is just too bad that they live in Florida and not closer to all of us..
~ Adding to Eric and Mary being pregnant, I just found out 2 days ago that Peter and Nicole are also pregnant! I can't believe all that is happening with the babies!! Congratulations to Peter & Nicole and Eric & Mary! We are very happy and excited for you guys!
~ My brother Glen and Jessica had a daughter named Avery on April 11th and I will be meeting her in November when I fly home for a visit. I can't wait for that! (I'm also looking forward to hitting the bowling lanes with Glen for the first time in a LONG time) We are OF COURSE very excited to see my sister Leia who insists on teasing me with her pictures every time she goes to Fenway to see a Red Sox game and my mom and dad who we miss very much!
~ My brother Sean and Lissha just had another baby too. Her name is Riley. I'm sure that Sean, Lissha and Morgan are excited to have another member of the family. I was honored and thrilled when Sean and Lissha asked me to be Riley's Godfather. It meant a lot to me that they would think of me for that. I am very excited about going to Massachusetts in November to meet my new neices.
Those are just some of the biggest things that have happened in the past few months. We will update and write as often as we can. ~09/01/09

Justin, Nicolette & Grace Family Blog

2009-09-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess we will jump on the Family Blog bandwagon. After talking with John I realized that it is a great way to keep in touch a little better with family who is not close enough to see on a regular basis. Also, there is so much going on right now that it is an excellent way to write it all down and have the memories available to us later. We are going to do our best to write something in here as often as we can. I like John's idea of having his blogs turned into a memory book at the end of the year so that is another reason for us to put some of our life events down here, so I guess we will consider this passage the "forward" of our first Family Blog book. What will be written throughout this blog is the events and memories that Justin, Nicolette and our beautiful daughter Grace have and want to keep and share. ~09/01/09