Visits With Friends And Family

This year has been really hard for me personally and for my family in general. As I've already mentioned on my blog, I lost my job earlier this year. I have been looking for a new job and have had quite a few interviews. Each time I have an interview and don't get a job offer or even a second interview, I lose confidence in myself.

My dad died in July and the months leading up to his death were difficult. My dad was put on home hospice care about a month before he died, but he wasn't doing well before that too. I came to Utah in May to help my mom and sister with taking care of my dad. To say this year has been difficult is an understatement.  

Although it's been hard, there have been some good things about it too. All of my siblings were able to come to Utah to surprise my dad for Father's Day. I met my great-niece for the first time. I've been able to enjoy some outdoor scenery (going on hikes, taking scenic drives, seeing pretty sunsets, rainbows, and flowers). I've met up with some friends.

We had a family photo shoot on Father's Day. These were the last family photos (with all of my siblings and my parents) before my dad died. 

My great-niece and I. Isn't she adorable?! :) She's my first great niece or nephew and as of right now my only one.

While my dad was on hospice care, it was hard to get myself out to meet with friends or really do anything outside of my parent's house (besides going on walks nearby, running errands, and occasionally taking a scenic drive).  About a month after my dad died, I started feeling like I could meet up with friends again. 

I contacted my friend, Shari, and asked if she'd like to go on a hike. I met Shari in Virginia but she's working remotely and living in Utah now. We would occasionally go on hikes together when we were both in Virginia so it was fun to go on another one together but in a different location. We went on a lovely hike near my mom's house. 

Some pretty flowers on our hike!

One of the views on our hike!

I moved around a lot growing up. Although I only lived in Utah for two years before going to University, I made some good friends in those two years. I met up with some old high school friends not too long ago, Kasey, Amanda, Natalie, and Whitney. 

It was fun catching up with them, reminiscing about the good ol' days as well as updating them on what's going on in life now!

 

A pretty sunset I saw on a walk near my mom's house!

At my most recent job, we had an office in Virginia, but we had some remote workers too. Working in the office, I didn't have much interaction with my co-workers who worked remotely.

During the pandemic, we ended up closing down the office in Virginia and we all worked remotely. Because we were all remote, we started having a weekly zoom call to talk about any questions we had about work and then we usually ended up talking about personal things too.

Because of these weekly zoom calls, I got to know the two people who were working remotely before much better. Janice and Irene were the two remote workers and both live in Utah. I became friends with them and I met up with them for lunch recently. It was fun catching up and seeing them again.

I know Diana from Virginia. She was in town for one of her old roommate's wedding and invited me to breakfast one of the days she was here. 

Diana is one of my good friends. She's been my friend since the beginning of my time in Virginia (so over 11 years). She is awesome! It was good to see her and eat a delicious breakfast at Kneaders. 

Although this year has been really really hard, there have been some good times too. I'm grateful for my family and friends and for their love and support during this difficult year (and always).

Mirror Lake Scenic Byway

Three Sundays ago, my sister, H, and I went for a drive on the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway. We stopped at multiple overlooks along the way and saw beautiful scenery. The main place we wanted to visit on our drive was Mirror Lake. We stopped at the lake and walked around it! 

Enjoy the pictures!

A waterfall at one of the overlooks on our drive!

We arrived at Mirror Lake and walked around it. It was 30 degrees cooler at the lake than at my mom's house and it was lovely.

 

The trail around the lake was about 2 miles around, flat, and gorgeous!

Isn't it beautiful?!

H and I on our walk around the lake!

I'm glad H and I were able to go on this drive. It was really nice to get a reprieve from the heat and the scenery was beautiful!

Dad's Funeral

I've been having a hard time deciding how to write this blogpost. I have so many things to say but don't quite know how to say them. 

My dad was on home hospice care for about a month before he died. We're glad that he was able to be at home in his own bed surrounded by family and friends his last days on this earth. 

It's been a roller coaster of emotions for all of us since he was put on hospice care but especially the last few days before he passed. It was tough (and still is). Sometimes I'll see something that reminds me of my dad and it'll make me teary-eyed or I'll think of something that my dad might like to hear and want to tell him about it but then realize that I can't anymore. It makes me sad. I know it'll get better with time, but it's still hard.

 

My dad's viewing was on a Monday evening. It had rained quite a bit that evening and when we all got back from the viewing, there was a double rainbow greeting us. (The view from my parent's neighborhood.) (It's hard to see the double rainbow in this picture, but the next picture shows it better.)

 

 

The view from my sister's neighborhood about a mile or two away. Isn't it gorgeous?! I like to think that the double rainbow was my dad pulling some strings on the other side to say hello/tell us it'll be okay.

 

The next day (Tuesday) was my dad's funeral. It was a beautiful service and I learned some new stories about my dad that I had never heard before. 

There's one story I'd like to tell about the service. My niece, Cami, gave the closing prayer at the funeral. Before she gave the prayer she announced that she would say the prayer in French (since she served in France on her mission) because she thinks that's what Grandpa would like (since Dad spoke French too). She proceeded to say the closing prayer in French and I'm pretty sure there wasn't a dry eye among our family at that point. (And I think it is exactly what Dad would have wanted.)

At the gravesite, my brothers, brothers-in-law, and uncles (my dad's brothers) were the pall bearers.

 

Since my dad served in the military for a few years, he had a U.S. flag draped over his casket and then the flag was given to my mom.

 

They did a 21-gun salute and played taps. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a dry eye at the grave site as this was all going on.

My dad was a huge BYU sports fan. So we thought my dad would appreciate a BYU casket in true blue color. :)

After the burial at the cemetery, my parent's ward provided lunch for all of our family members who were there. The food was delicious! They had funeral potatoes, salad, fruit, rolls, jello salad, and desserts. Since my dad loved Mountain Dew, they also had some of that there. Although I'm not a big soda drinker, I drank a can in honor of my dad. :)

My mom and those of us staying at her house received a lot of flowers after my dad died. Here's a picture of a few of them. They're beautiful and they really made the house smell good.

I got teary-eyed when I saw who some of the flowers were from... some of my friends from Virginia. Thank you friends!

My parents at a family reunion in Virginia in 2019.

 

My parents and all of my siblings in 2019.

 

I love you and miss you Dad. Until we meet again.

My Dad

My dad passed away peacefully yesterday morning at home. It was really really hard to see my dad take his last breath on this earth, but I'm glad that he's no longer in pain. 

I've been crying on and off since yesterday morning and I'm sure I will continue to cry at random times over the next little while. 

I love you Dad and will miss you dearly! 

 

My dad and I at Chepstow Castle, Wales- February 2016. (I feel like I look a lot like my dad in this photo).

My parents- June 2022

My parents on their wedding day!

Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland- February 2016

Dad and Mom- October 2021.

Dad, Mom, Heather and I in Miami, Florida leaving port on our Caribbean cruise- September 2018.

Kristina, Dad, Mom, Heather and I at a beach in southern California- April 2017.

Dad and Mom visiting Virginia in 2012.

All of us in 1988.

 

All of us in June 2022.

Dad and Mom- July 2019

Thanks for being my dad! I'll miss you a lot Papachka.

Korean Dramas

I really enjoy watching Korean dramas. One of my former co-workers introduced them to me a few years ago and now they're basically the only thing I watch. :) I've been keeping track of the ones I've completed and will give them a rating out of 5 stars once I've finished them. 

I now have a tab on this blog that I will keep up-to-date of the Korean dramas I've seen and the ratings I've given them. If you ever feel like watching one, I will happily give you a recommendation. :) (Also there are all different kinds of dramas so I bet there's a genre of them you might like).

And in case you need an extra reason to watch them, here's a picture of one of my favorite actors, Lee Dong-Wook. :) (I got this picture from google).

And a picture of another one of my favorite actors, Park Hyung-Sik. (I got this picture from google).