Visiting Grandpa & Grandma Favero in June

Over Father’s Day weekend I had the awesome opportunity of flying down to L.A. and going to see my Grandma & Grandpa Favero in Bakersfield. I had not seen them in 2 years. Since then Grandpa had suffered from a fall where he hit his head and became unable to fully control the right half of his body. When he speaks we cannot understand him (though he does not recognize it). He thinks he is speaking normally and is frustrated when we fail to respond properly to his questions/requests/demands. Though I have heard him say “No” “Yeah” and “Wow”, most of his communication is in the rhythm of normal speech but with the varying use of what sounds like “Wah, wah”.
So while there I took a few pictures and videos.
This one is when he sang hymns while my Aunt Dayna played the piano. He sang in correct tune and rhythm – and even sang tenor or bass on some of the songs!

It was fun making him laugh because that is the Grandpa I remember. Since I couldn’t always understand what he was saying, it was usually easier to tell him stories and fun memories I have with him.

Here are a few more pictures during my stay with them in Bakersfield.

Ater a shower and shave and after Grandma trimmed his hair.

Grandma made us some fried apples – she had been talking about them for a couple days and they just sounded so good! Besides, even after her cataract surgery that week it was pretty hard to get her to keep still. Always gardening or doing something around the house. This was a safer activity (no bending over as the doctor had outlawed).



Linda & Darwin stay there 5 days a week and help Grandpa with eating and getting around. It is a big help to Grandma.



I got to spend my last day there with my cousin, Tyler. I hadn't seem him for 5 years! These are his adorable kids, Carter and Lucy.

We drove to L.A. and I saw a bunch of things I had never had the chance to see: the tar pits, Chinatown, Hollywood, farmer’s market, the Santa Monica pier. It was a blast!

So, back in April...

We took advantage of a sunny day and drove to the ocean! It was a bit chilly but, yes, I (Jeff) still jumped in for a quick dip in the Pacific Ocean. How could I possibly pass it up?

Also, I drove a little fast on the way there and got a $245 speeding ticket...doh.

So here are the only pictures to record the grand day out – hopefully Teresa doesn’t get mad at me for posting our goofiness! But, hey, you know us – we’re kinda goofy.

January–snow caves with the scouts

Yes, I am actually updating the blog monthly now! We’ll see how long it lasts...

Anyway, it was a beautiful day when we took our 11 year old scouts over to Mount Hood to build snow caves.

Brother Jentzsch built a fort next to a tree, and the rest of us just dug into the hill and built some pretty impressive caves. It was a practice to prepare the boys for the day when they actually sleep in one – a different experience altogether.

 

 

Of course, the best part was destroying them!

 

And it was a gorgeous view – especially when the sun began to set and throw shadows across the snow.

December – Utah for Christmas!

In October, I had a feeling that it would be good to go home for Christmas. Teresa only had 1 day off work and we hadn’t thought it would really be possible. But I followed the feeling and looked up flights. That day ended up being very difficult for Teresa and I helped her feel better by saying, “We are flying home for Christmas!” Yeah, I scored big points for that.

Anyway, here are some pictures from our visit home. We made it just in time for the Spilker Christmas Eve.

And on Christmas day we made it to the Favero home just in time to hear my brother Joe call home (over Skype) from his mission in Belgium/Brussels/Netherlands.

Here we all are – gathered around the laptop talking to Joe.

When Becca put Fia on Granny’s lap she said, “Get that ugly baby with it’s ugly face off me....she looks like her dad.” Her dad, Jon, pointed at himself and raised his eyebrows(like “what’s she saying about me?”).

Yeah, she wasn’t feeling all too great – but I’m glad she came!

This one is for Mom – thanks for the sweater!