Unexpected Utah Trip

Warning: This is a very long blog post with a detailed account of 4 days of my life it may come off very boring, but hey what the heck..here i go..

On Saturday July 25^th I received a text message from my Mom that Larry LaDue, A very close friend of the family had passed away. Larry was like another Grandpa to me. Growing up in Nuevo, He and Shirley lived about a mile away from my parents home. When I was old enough, I used to water their plants while they were gone on vacation. I remember Larry helping work on my 66' Mustang with my Dad and I tuning it up. The last time I saw Larry and Shirley was on my wedding day. They drove from Utah on their 50^th wedding anniversary (Dec 26^th) to be at my special day. They loved me and my family that much, what a sacrifice. Larry was 72 years old and passed away of a heart attack on the evening of July 24^th. My heart was immediately sad for Shirley and the family for their loss. Death is a tough thing. It really is. Having the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life gives great comfort knowing of the after life and that eternal families exist and that the covenants made in this life carry to the next, but then again knowing these precious truths does not make death any easier to cope with. After finding out about Larry, I couldnt help but feel sadness in my heart. I was told when the funeral would be and immediately started looking for plane tickets to Salt Lake City, UT. I wasn’t finding anything affordable, more like extremely outrageous. Evan had woken up earlier when I first found out the news, he hugged me then he fell back asleep. Ev woke up and after talking it over with him and asking what I should do, Ev said for me to just use our Hawaiian miles that we had saved up for our trip to Utah in October for Conference.(Neither of us have ever been to Conference and wanted to go to our mission reunions as well, we actually waited for some reason unknown to me or Ev) It was a blessing that we didnt already book our tickets to Utah because I was able to book my ticket for the funeral. Ev was just starting school and unable to leave so it was just me going. I am grateful to my husband for supporting me during this time and allowing there to be a change in plans and work something out so that I was able to attend the funeral which all my siblings attended. I left Hawaii Tuesday night at 10:15 pm and arrived in Las Vegas, NV Wednesday morning at 7 AM where the temperature was already 90 degrees..yuck. I had pre-arranged with my sister-in law Nicole to kick it with her, Tyler and the boys, while I waited for Josh to pass through Vegas to pick me up to head to Utah. So my brother-in law picked me up at the airport and we went back to their house to chill. The flight was wretched. I got about 2 hours of sleep because I just cannot sleep on a plane unless I am laying down. But anyways I survived the long ride. I went to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay with Nic, Tyler, Brad and Jake. We had such a good time. I was so glad that I got a chance to spend time with them, they are so fun and I love them so much. Thanks for such a fun day guys!

Jake and Brad

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Josh, Britt, and Rubi picked me up on their way through Vegas. We headed to Utah and we had such a good drive. We talked, laughed and had a good time. Josh’s farts stunk so bad though, I’m thinking I could have gone without those =) We made it to Utah and went to dinner with the rest of the family that arrived in Utah that same day, My parents drove up with Jenn and Corey Wednesday, Jess flew in from Portland to Salt Lake City, and Tony, Michelle and the girls picked her up since they were already in Utah for a family reunion. It was nice to see my family again despite the circumstances we had a great time visiting with each other, driving with my mom while she ran over curbs and parked with her huge car between two other cars when there were 10 other available parking spaces =)good times... We attended the viewing, funeral and memorial on Thursday and it was very touching. To feel of the deep Spirit that was comforting those in need of comfort. There were so many wonderful things said about Larry. How much he “fixed things that were broken” whether it was one of his four girls hearts, a broken car, bad news, anything he could do. Larry was a quiet guy, but he had a BIG heart. No matter what our family needed we could always call upon Larry. After attending the funeral and bawling my eyes out for the loss of such a well loved man, I began to think how precious life should be to each one of us. I grew up understanding that people are born and eventually they will die… No one wants to lose the ones they love. It’s a fact of life that becomes a very hard reality to face. Being with my family, all together, was a sight that I hope to eventually see in the after life. I love my family so much. No matter what our flaws are as a family, we are who we are and I couldn’t ask for a better, more loving, supportive family. Together Forever because that’s what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about. It gives us the greater understanding of life after death. I hope I can always be kind to my family members, always express my love for them, especially my husband and best friend. I love my family so much and my heart, thoughts, and prayers go out to Shirley LaDue as she endures this great trial. May she endure it with great comfort, may she endure it with great peace, and may she endure it knowing how much she is loved.

Got to go to dinner with cousin Benji too!! Now that was a funny dinner...

I headed back to Las Vegas with my parents and Corey and Jenn. They dropped me off in Henderson at one of my mission companion’s house, Sister Jecia Hutchinson. We were re-united after two years! We actually went and cleaned the Las Vegas Nevada temple together, which was pretty awesome. We were the only ones dressed in skirts and I loved how everyone thought we were Sister Missionaries on our mission haha good times. It had to have been the neatest thing to walk around the Lord’s house talking about our mission and the funny memories we had and the people we invited to come unto Christ. We got a chance to catch up and I already miss that girl. Thanks Jecia!! 1-4-3

I left Las Vegas at 2:45 AM and arrived in Hawaii at 5:45 AM. My wonderful hubby picked me up and took me to breakfast at Liliha Bakery. Thanks Evy! Love you so much! You are the best person in the world for me!! After being in four states Hawaii, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah in two days it was an exhausting trip both physically and spiritually. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to support the LaDue family. One of the greatest lesson’s I learned on this trip was the way to fix things that are broken are through love, kindness, and effort. That when we sacrifice we in turn receive more than ever expected. Death often comes so unexpectedly, but the most important thing to remember is that it has to happen in order for the rest of God's plan to proceed. There is no right way to deal with death, no way to fully understand it as we go through the pain and loss of our loved ones and really no way to make it okay in your life or bring that person back, we will all eventually pass onto the next life and it will all make sense when we experience even greater joy than we have ever experienced as we are reunited eternally.