07/19/24 Dad Laurito 86th birthday celebration and a visit with the kids

Dad Laurito turns 86 on July 23. Since we couldn't be there for his birthday we had a birthday dinner the Friday before. Ruth and Chris made chicken and veggies and chips and dip and pumpkin cheesecakes. It was delicious! We did an all adults party -- Ruth and Chris, Becky and Kevin, Shelly and Andy and Suzanne and Ray at Ruth's house.

I made a book for him because he was recently diagnosed with Lewie Body Dementia and it is helpful to remind him of his past. His book starts when he was a boy, got married, job, kids, grandkids and Suzanne. It was col and I thnk he really enjoyed it.

Our diner lasted about 2 hours and it was nice to just hang out and visit with the siblings! Love to see my sissies!

Since we were up for the weekend we spent the day at Dallas and Bryce's house (back and forth). Dallas' kids were sporting runny nose and coughs so Mo and Bryce and Marlee didn't mix too much. Also since they were sick we thought it would be better to play outside to let the germs be less concentrated.

So early in the morning Bryce and I got up and did a weeding project along the front of his property.

Then Dallas and I and the 4 kids loaded up the stroller and walked about 1 mile to the park. We let the kids play and McKayla joined us after she finished her walk.

We went back to the house and got out the sprinkler pad and played in the water for awhile.

Holly, Bryce, Andy and Shelly did our Salt Lake favorite shopping...Trader's and Winco.

We had dinner at Italian Village (takeout) and then called it a day. Afterward we sat and talked on the back patio and made smores. Yum.

It was a fun quick visit with the kids and the grandkids.

Comments

06/14/25 Pre-Yellowstone

Last year for Christmas I purchased a vacation to Yellowstone for the kids and us. The dates for the Yellowstone cabin were June 16-June 20. We decided to break the trip up a little and drive up the weekend before and drive home the weekend after. Also, because Katie got married, and Dallas has limited time off, he was unable to take his family on the trip. We stayed at his house and got some twin time in before we continued north. Aspen and John moved to Pennsylvania and are in Utah for the summer. On our way up north we stopped at Becky's house to see them and their sweet new baby. Erik recently got a new job so he was also not able to join us on our trip. Holly became our little girl again and traveled with us. Holly and Millie My dad's been in the care center so we stopped by to visit him. He's being well cared for. He is struggling to put sentences together. We came and went to church with him at the care center. He's been asking for a really good pizza. So we w...

07/10/2025 Dad's Passing

Dad's stay at the care center ended up being 35 days. He had a care giver that really connected with him named Michael. Michael cared for him when he was living at home and then came out a couple of times to the care center before he died. He really appreciated those visits and lit up when Michael came to visit and help care for him. I'm thankful that I was able to see him the two weekends about two weeks before he died. He was still able to smile and sit and eat at that time. I'm so glad that Ruth and Becky were able to take the time and spend quite a bit of time with him the last couple of weeks before he died. His condition continued to deteriorate and it was not easy to see him that way and spend so much time there. But my sisters and Suzanne did what they could to make him comfortable at the end. He was found dead in his bed on the morning of July 10. Rest in peace, Dad. I love you!

06/16/25-06/20/25 Yellowstone

We had a really great week on our Yellowstone trip. We stayed at a VRBO cabin in a remote cabin in Ashton, Idaho. It was just right for our group. We were able to go to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Mesa Falls, the Yellowstone Playhouse, Lava Hot Springs Pools and Slides. We drove lots, played games, did puzzles, roasted hot dogs, made s'mores, enjoyed picnic lunches, ice cream at the frost top, dinners together made by each lil family and so much more. Loved it! (There are lots more pictures in our shared Yellowstone google album. Also, these pictures are not in order of happening. )

Griffin Family

Search This Blog