Beautiful Monday

Only two days ago, we said our final goodbyes to my Grandmother, Dorothy. It was bittersweet, but more sweet than bitter. I was so happy for all that awaited her in the next life that I found it hard to be sad. I will miss her though. She was so vibrant!
It is amazing how much you learn about a person once they are gone. That is how her funeral was for me. So much was left untold. I learn more and more about her all the time.

I believe that next to staying righteous and raising a righteous family, her two greatest accomplishments were:
1. Making everyone she met feel like he or she was truly special in her heart...because it was true.
2. Not letting a moment pass her by without thoroughly enjoying it.

Both of these attributes made her the woman we all adored and admired. And as a perfect tribute to her and her near perfection, Monday couldn't have been a more perfect day to lay her earthly body to rest. The temperature was ideal, the sky was clear and bright blue, there was a slight breeze, and the sun shone bright. The Lord had welcomed her home with a gorgeous day!

My grandmother was nothing less than amazing!
You can read her obituary here.

These beautiful flowers came from Monday. There were so many flowers sent to our family, that I got to take them home. They are sitting in my kitchen. I love the reminder.

Lost and Found

Ever wonder what pictures are on your camera?

I sure do. My room has been a disaster since I started "deep cleaning" it...ya know, when you go through EVERYTHING and clean it up? Sometime since the kickoff of this seemingly forever-long process, I misplaced my camera.

Today, I Found It!

Now, I must play catch up.


February

Ali & Sami turned 3!
Can you believe the amazing cake my sister made?
She's becoming quite the chef these days!
Ali and Sami are becoming the sweetest girls. They are definitely best of friends. They do everything together. It is such a joy to see their friendship.



Monster Jam
I went with a bunch of friends to the 'Monster Jam' monster truck rally. I have to admit, I like the demolition derby better than the monster truck rally. But it was still a lot of fun!



Earplugs totally saved me that night! No ringing ears for me!

(With Travis. Ummm...we're not dating. Its just the only pic of me from that night. I guess we were dating then, but not now. :) )

And for your Viewing Pleasure...

In Loving Memory

Dorothy Kimball Keddington Dyer
Feb 16, 1915 - April 13, 2010

This past weekend, I spent as much time as possible at the bedside of my Grandmother. At 95 years old, she has seen so many amazing things happen. Her life was full of excitement, adventure, and fun. She taught her family to seize opportunity by using a single phrase,
"Your IQ Demands It."

It has been such a blessing to learn from her and to be a witness to her amazing life.
Below are 3 beautiful pictures of her.
Her head shot. She was a big time local performer - singing and acting. Everyone who knew her, loved her!
On the beach in California having a blast as always
Her 80th birthday. I hope I can look that good when I'm 80!



For her 95th birthday in February, I compiled several stories and pictures of my Grandma that were sent to me by cousins, aunts, uncles, in-laws, and more. So many lives have been touched by her. It was my pleasure to create this memory book. I learned so much more about her beautiful life. I felt like I was finally viewing a season of her life that was always unknown to me. I am so grateful I had the blessing of getting to know her so much better before her last days.

Click here to view this photo book larger

As sad as I am to no longer have her in my life, I am excited for her. Her dearest Love, Samuel Richard Keddington, passed away nearly 40 years ago. It has been so long since they have been able to embrace. I can only imagine the beautiful reunion that took place when she finally left her mortal body behind. I never knew him, but I can tell from stories that he is much like my own father. With that knowledge, I know the reunion was sweet. Oh the joy!

There is no doubt I will miss her.
She is my inspiration.

Holy HOLI Batman!

Saturday, I spent the afternoon in Spanish Fork at the Hare Krishna temple for this...
HOLI - Festival of Colors

I ran into my all time favorite photographer, Scott Jarvie, at the festival. He took tons of pictues of my friends and posts them all on his website for us to see. I just love his work!

"Jarvie Window"

Try breathing in all that chalk! The scent of all the chalk gave me the worst headache, and my clothes did not come clean! Note to self: next year buy some clothes at the DI before going. But oh how fun it was!

Happy Birthday!

Today, my nephew Ethen is ONE! So exciting! Unfortunately, I don't get to play with him for his birthday because he lives overseas with the rest of his sweet family. But I want him to know I haven't forgotten! And when the day comes that he's actually here for his birthday, we will celebrate!

Happy birthday Ethen!

(I stole the sweet pic of him off my sister-in-law's blog. Thanks Shir!)

Olympic Curling

Every day this week when the stock market closes, the TV in our lobby which stays on CNBC begins to show the Olympics. I love the Olympics!


I find it so intriguing to watch so many difference competitions. The Olympics just have a magic about them. For each sport, only ONE athlete is award a gold medal every FOUR years. That doesn't provide for very good odds which is probably why it is so amazing!

These past few days, at about 3pm MST, curling comes on. Curling. Really? Doesn't anyone even understand the sport? And how is it considered an Olympic sport when majority of the athletes don't even look like they're in prime shape? How hard can it really be? Yes, I have had these questions many times before. I remember being in high school when Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 games. In my PE class, someone came to teach us about curling, not sure why, but they did. I've had respect for it every since.

(ummm, really? These trousers are making it
difficult to keep the respect. Thanks Norway)

That winter, we were given the chance to test run with a practice "stone". It is HARD to get it right! And now watching it every day, things are more different. Curling has drawn me in. I want to learn! I've taken a few minutes to locate information on where I can learn to curl, http://utahcurling.com, and how to play the game.

I've located a video that explains the rules, who the players are, and what is basically needed to make the game happen. It helped me to understand better what I watch each afternoon at work. You should check it out if you've ever had those doubting questions like I did. It can be found HERE.

Long Awaited

After 6 months, I finally got pictures back from my cousin's wedding in July that I was blessed to be able to plan. I got Liz Draper Photography to come for the reception in the Keddington backyard, and for an incredible deal...the perks to having a photographer for a best friend! :)

So bring on the pics!

Mary & Travis Bailey
July 29, 2009

And of course, me in all my craziness right before photos with the wedding party. I had been decorating all afternoon and had about 3 minutes to change into my bridesmaid attire. So here I am running for pictures while still doing the finishing touches...

view the full album HERE

Photos by Liz Draper Photography