Nana Finally Turns 100!

The morning of Nana's ONE HUNDREDTH BIRTHDAY, Frank and I stopped by on the way to Salt Lake to be among the first to wish her a happy day.  Nana was up, ready to face the day at 100 years old.  Incredible!

I got teary-eyed while Frank was taking this picture, just with gratitude that I get to hug Nana on her 100th birthday.  It's been a long, hard road to get here, and it's a destination that Nana never wanted to reach.  Nevertheless, she has made the journey with dignity, gratitude and joy, and that's how we celebrated.

 This is what happens when your mom buys your clothes.  Twinners!

I love Freestone

Later that afternoon was the party.  We already had the big bash in August, so this was slated to be low-key.  Coco was recovering from surgery, so she moved slowly, but got a wonderful party off the ground.  Many friends from her Bountiful neighborhood came.

These are Nana's former next-door neighbors.  They used to check on her every afternoon at 3.  They are saints.

Bre, Max and Elizabeth

Marilyn with her girls hiding behind her.

The siblings, minus Paul, who was in Montana.  Marla was there, and I didn't get a picture, darnit, and Da was in Thailand.  She is turning one of her apartment buildings into a hotel.

Happy birthday, Nana!  We love you so much.

I Love My Family

My mom and her brothers made arrangements to get together to celebrate their sister's birthday.  Pat, my mom's only sister and best friend, died maybe ten years ago.  Her husband Bob passed away a year ago, and we miss both of them.  That hole in our lives can never be filled.  Thank heavens for the knowledge that we'll see them again.  In the meantime, it was wonderful and cathartic to get together and talk about our memories and the legacy Pat and Bob left.

I often think about what it would be like to be in Nana Ruby's stage of life.  She is so limited by physical restraints.  She knows her mind is "playing tricks on her," not allowing her to remember things or organize her thoughts.  The one thing that's not confusing or overwhelming is having her family around her.  Nana had a smile on her face the whole three hours everyone was there.  She must have slept well that night!

I was sitting with Nana at dinner one night several weeks ago, and my dad walked in the front door.  It was like an electric shock went through Nana.  She said, "Now what is he doing here?  I know him!"  I don't know what is going through Nana's mind when so many of her children are gathered around, but I know it made me happy to be there.  Ruby and I were able to talk to Uncle Paul about Holland, and his connection to the family she will be staying with in The Hague.  It's because of Paul that we know the Onsteins, and he gave us some great background on their family.  We also talked to everyone about Hong Kong, and missions, and how Da wants Golda and all of us to drop by Thailand on the way home.  It's so close!

Most importantly, everyone shared stories about Pat and Bob.  We even talked about the week Pat dies, and how sacred it was, and how the veil was so thin.  Until Uncle Jim piped up with, "So just out of curiosity, who's voting for Trump?"  Ha ha ha!  Allison was quick to point out that the question violates Nana's directive that bans talk of politics and sports.  No matter, there was still plenty to talk about on the topic of "Pets that Were Probably a Bad Idea."  On that note, here's a blog post (click) that covers most of the King animals.  
Here's another one about wild animals we tried to turn into pets. Da will have to write one about their new puppy.  My favorite was Paul's joke:  "How do you get a dog to stop peeing on the front lawn?"  "Shoot it."  Har har har.  Maybe that smile on Nana's lips was due to Paul's jokes.

DeBry Christmas Party

Every year, the DeBry Christmas Party is the Saturday before Christmas. this year, the Vegas Bowl was also the Saturday before Chirstmas, and the two teams playing were BYU and Utah.  The family made a unanimous decision to move the party to the Saturday after Christmas, to avoid bloodshed.

Having the party after Christmas turned out to be fine.  Christmas got cleaned up and put away before I started losing my mind, and it was a nice, relaxed time.  Of course, any time is a good time to have family over.  I love them all.  Da brought me a scarf from Thailand.  She's incredibly generous.  Thanks, Da!

I made Hawaiian smoked pork and the families brought rolls, sticky rice, cole slaw, macaroni salad and desserts.  It was easy, I thought...at least for me.  I'm sure hauling in all that food is a pain, so thanks everyone who brought stuff!

Frank, Danny and Uncle Jim

Uncle Mark and Aunt Marla

Jessia and her boyfriend

Nathan, Ryan and Michael

Parker, William, Matthew, Peter, Isaac and Jacob.  Am I getting all these names right?!

The infamous duo, Josh and Jamison

Nana Ruby with her twins, Mark and Mary

Monica loved Don Carlos

Katherine, Anthony, Monica and Bridie

Uncle Paul, Uncle Jim, Da, Nana, Mark and Marla and Felshaw and Mary

There were kids coming out of the woodwork for this photo.  I'm pretty sure there were still a couple dozen unaccounted for.

Tiffany, McKenzie and her BF

Abe has the funniest faces!

Santa Matthew was great!

Laura, Karen and Ellie

Gordon and David

Grace and Araceli

Michael, Santa Matthew and Nana

Karen, Max, McKenna and Kylie

Scott and Ellie, Jamison and Miles

Anthony, Monica, Christina, Stephanie, Ryan and Nathan

I'm sure glad this one was left over at the end of the night.  I think I'll keep her.