This ones for you, Grandpa!

On Monday my grandpa passed away and today was his funeral. Because it was in Utah, I obviously couldn't make it to the funeral. It was really hard for me to not be able to be there to say goodbye and to spend that time with my family. I decided that since I couldn't be there, that I would dedicate this post to him.

My grandpa, Andrew Johnson, was 93 years old. He was an incredible man that I looked up to and loved deeply. All growing up my grandparents only lived about 1/2 mile up the street. So we were able to visit them at least once a week and we spent a lot of time up at their home. They had a huge yard that we loved to play in. They used the old irrigation system to water their lawn. So I remember going up to their yard when they would open up the irrigation water and we would run around in our swim suits through the yard as the water soaked everything. We could come home covered in grass, but we loved it! My grandpa has a huge shop at his home. He continued to work in his shop for as long as he could. He is an incredible handyman and loved to do things on his own. He had a riding lawn mower that he loved using and in the winter he would use it to shovel the snow. Even this last winter he would get upset when someone would try to "help" him out and shovel his sidewalks for him. He was such a hard worker. He grew up in Tabiona, Utah and worked with his dad and brothers at the family saw mills. We spent a lot of time at these saw mills. They were a fun place to go camping and 4 wheeling. When he was 41 years old he went to work for the US Forest Service. He spent many years as a foreman working on different construction sites. He helped build Cascade Springs and Lodgepole, my families favorite camping spot.

My grandpa had an incredible sense of humor. He and my grandma were married for 68 years. But when you asked him how long they have been married he would always answer with "We're still trying to decide if it's going to work out or not." He loved his family and was always excited to see us when we would come and visit. He made every effort to come to all of our big events: baptisms, graduations, weddings, etc.

The last time I was in Utah I was able to spend a little bit of time with my grandparents.



This is a picture of one of my grandpa's many creations. He made these adorable birds out of shovels and other metal. People driving by would stop and ask how much he would charge them to make some for them.
My grandparents took a lot of pride in their yard. He had created this little fountain area with the "Cascade Springs" sign. Isn't it beautiful?

I will miss visiting with my grandpa. I will miss sitting next to him on the couch and talking to him. He was a great influence in my life and I will miss him. I am sad that he was not able to meet our new little guy, but I will make sure that he hears all about his Great Grandpa Johnson and what a great man he was.

We love you Grandpa!