The Funeral

ksl.com - Orem soldier laid to rest (Gallery Viewer)

Funerals are strange things. They have all the ingredients of a great party; old friends you haven't seen in awhile, nostalgia, photos, pomp and circumstance. The only problem is, you can't give the guest of honor a really well needed bear hug. Some things will have to wait.
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Matt's funeral was my first military funeral. I was worried I wouldn't find the building, but the hundreds of American flags not only cued me in, but also took my breath away. The Patriot Guard was there. They are a group of bikers that dedicate themselves to honor fallen servicemen and women by attending the funerals, helping in anyway they can and shielding the family from any protesters. Walking by this rag-tag, leather wearing group, I felt the spirit so strong I got goose bumps. Their love and respect for those who sacrifice their lives for freedom was a palpable thing.
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All of the many speakers echoed Matt's kindness and willingness to go above and beyond for all he came in contact with. The last speaker summed it up perfectly when he said there was no way of saying what Matt meant to him and his family in a little speech. The only way he could figure out how to honor him was by continuing his legacy of helping people without needing to be asked. Easier said than done, but I will try to do so as well.
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There is great healing power in the military rituals. The helicopter flyover, the 21 gun salute and the flag folding ceremony fill you with strength. In the end though, laughter truly is the best medicine and the most cathartic moment came when Matt's father interrupted his own speech to talk to Matt for a second, because he had just remembered to tell him Utah Sate beat BYU 31-16!!! The timing couldn't have been better for that one. Talk about your tender mercies.

Big Matt

I'm sure Big Matt got his nickname because of his rather large stature. If he got his nickname because the size of his heart, he would have been Gigantic Matt or Gargantuan Matt. I'm so very sad to say, I will be attending his funeral tomorrow. He died flying a Black Hawk helicopter for the US Army in Afghanistan. It didn't surprise me Matt joined the army after college. He had an amazing habit of taking care of people. I came to know this first hand at Utah State University, where he literally picked me up and removed me from more than one bad situation. As a 17 year old, 85 pound, college freshman, I had an inflated idea of my own strength and thankfully Matt was there to be my muscle.
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I hadn't seen Matt much since our college days and was happy to reconnect with him on Facebook. His updates on how miserably hot it was there, would put into perspective my complaints about Salt Lake's summers. I knew Matt was serving in a dangerous place, but seeing him write on Facebook, made it seem like he was doing what everyone else was doing. Which is part of the reason this has been so hard to process.
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Matt was serving in the 101st Division, which has spearheaded every major conflict since WW II and was the longest serving division in Viet Nam. Matt died doing what he loved, flying, but more than that, taking care of people. You guys might not have known him, but having Matt get our back is something we all have in common.
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Till we meet again...


http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/deseretnews/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=145755889

Ketchup

Hi guys. It's me River. Mom says I better hurry up and tell you about being eight months, because before you know it, I'll be nine months. I gave her this look to say, I KNOW, but I don't think she understood, because she just pointed to her nose and said Mama's nose.

Anyway... this is the only picture of me on my eight month birthday. Pretty sweet right. I love football... Go Chiefs, Mizzou, Utah State and Wyoming! This picture was taken at my Grandma's house in Wyoming. It was hard for me to remember where I was, because I spent this whole month traveling.

See... I wasn't lying!

Wow... These pics are all over the place. Someone needs to teach my mom to make a collage already. I am really good on planes, as long as I get to nurse on take off and landings. It also helps to have a whole row of seats to just mom and me. That happened on two of our five plane rides.
Sometimes I even sleep on the plane. I have to cover my face, because the lights are so bright. This is something I won't do on road trips. I can't sleep in a car seat anymore, so I just get really tired, fussy and loud. Thankfully, only the last part of this trip involved a car.

We went to Texas, New Mexico, Missouri, Colorado and Wyoming. New Mexico was fun, because I got to roll with some big kids. Mom's friend Becca has four. I'm a little sweet on Hannah, but I don't want to say anything until I can crawl. I'm still working on my moves, but one day soon...

This is me at my Mom's favorite restaurant in Kansas City. It's named Andres. Can you believe she put me on the floor? The nerve. Well I made the most of it and kept biting her leg. That's why she calls me one-toothed vampire baby. I bite her when I give kisses too. She's either a big sissy, or my one tooth is pretty sharp, because I sure hear her squeal a lot.

I'm a little naughty, but I am mostly sweet as can be. I make friends wherever I go. This is Abigail. Her mom Heidi was worried she might not want to share, but no one has been able to resist my smile yet. Well... Mom sometimes... but I'm mostly winning that battle. For proof... see the picture below.

No sugar till I'm one... Pah Leeze! Thanks Pops and Nomee. I knew you would be on my side. Rocky Road from Baskin Robbins, no better way to start my sugar addiction.

Time for bed? Yeah right mom. It's time to party!

Nomee showed me a piano that was just my size. I loved it. Music always makes me think of my dad and by this point on the trip, I was really missing him. I'm glad he was making a movie, but three weeks is like 10% of my entire life. I felt better after playing the blues with Nomee.

My mom's cousin Jason has chickens, but he lives in the inner city... Crazy. I got to meet my second cousins Titus and Asher, but the picture won't load. We really hit it off. I also got to meet their Great Dane Truly and she's truly a crazy pup still, so Pops had to hold her.

Then off to Margaret's in Colorado where I got to take a bath in a copper bathtub. You can't tell from my expression, but it was heaven.

It was so shiny, I had a water twin. He was fun to play with, but I kept bonking my head every time I tried to touch him. By the way, do you know what you clean a copper tub with? Ketchup. Hence the name of the post. I bet you thought it was because I was catching you up on the trip. I would never be so obvious.

The tub was heaven, but my bed... aka this box... was not. I was okay with it, until my mom hung a sign on it that said free kittens.

Then to Wyoming, where my dad drove up and met us. Reunited at last.

No offense to mom, but dad gives the best rides.

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Some eight month stats off the top of my head at this late hour.

I weigh about 20 pounds. I hate meat pureed baby food. I love pickles. I still like my bjourn more than my stroller, but mom doesn't know how much longer she's going to last. I push things away I don't want, I know how to protest and I love dropping things and looking for them over and over again. I am getting a little more cautious about who I get passed too. No offense, I just really love my mom and dad. I love being outside and it will always calm me down. I would be a tv junkie if my mom let me, but that's always been the case. I love animals, especially Noodle and I can't figure out why he runs every time I go for his tail. I still only have the one tooth, but I've had a few bouts of teething and it's no fun. I usually add a few wake-ups at night and need to be nursed to sleep and sometimes I run a temperature. I say dad, dada, daddy and one time my mom could have sworn I said, "I'm gonna tell my dadeeeeee!!!" When I try and say mom, I say bob. It keeps her on her toes. And on that note... Bobs the word.

Mission Accomplished

I mentioned in a previous post that River cut his first tooth on his seven month birthday. This picture may not look like much, but it took me 19 days of solid shooting to get a photo of that darn tooth. The funny thing is, he smiles huge all the time, but somehow knows when I'm specifically trying to photograph the tooth. Then it's mouth clamped shut and screaming fits if I persist. The battle between me versus mouth was epic, but in the end I was victorious and yes mom... I do want a trophy.

Miss Us?

I'll update on the trip later, but for now, I want to sneak in a quick anniversary post while I still have a good forty minutes left to celebrate it. Yes, that's right folks, it has been four years since Bear and I said I do and nine years since I tackled him on the opening day of football season and kissed him first. (It's in print, so it's irrefutable.) My mom told me we should take a picture together every anniversary, so we can scroll through them and see how we've changed over the years. She probably meant for me to have someone else take it, but that's what she gets for not being specific.... a lot of hand held extreme close-ups.



The traditional gift for the fourth anniversary is fruit. We aren't usually the plan ahead big gift givers, so we declared River as our gift to each other, since he is the fruit of our loins.

Did I just say loins on my blog?

Oh and here's some grapes on our eternity donuts, for those of you who don't think loin fruit counts. Okay, what was worse, loin fruit or eternity donuts???

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Seriously though... I love you Robert Bear.