Goodbye Grandma Wright (for now)

My Grandma Virginia Grace Wright, passed away on February 12. I am sure Grandpa planned it that way so they could be together for Valentines Day :)

My favorite place to go on vacation was always Arizona to visit Grandma and all of my Mom's family. It didn't matter what time we arrived, Grandma ALWAYS had a roast in the oven and a drawer FULL of all sorts of candy and treats. She also had every kind of sugar cereal you could imagine.

Grandma and Grandpa owned "Wrights market" and we loved to visit them and pick out ANYTHING we wanted except for 1 thing...GUM!! She told us she would rather see us smoking a cigarette then chewing a piece of gum.(she must have REALLY hated the stuff!) I was very obedient and never bought any but Jolyn on the other hand...

Matt and the kids took care of things at home so I could fly in to be with my family. I was grateful for their understanding and willingness to let me go. Emily got sick the day I left (OF COURSE!) But thanks to our great friend Rose, she was in good hands :)

It was a beautiful funeral with lot's of laughs and tears. Would you expect anything less at a Wright family gathering?

My mom and her sisters all spoke about the love Grandma had for everyone. She was strict (except with Ginger) she taught the kids to work hard (except for Ginger) She loved to entertain and look BEAUTIFUL and she was ALWAYS ready for FUN! (In one of her MANY pairs of shoes of course!)

Ginger talked about never having to work because she "learned" how by watching her older siblings. Being the youngest she said she never knew Grandma to be strict! She told a story about Grandma chasing her friends down after they toilet papered their house, she brought them back to the house and fed them CAKE!

Grandma always told the kids, "It's OK to be spoiled as long as you are still NICE."

I must say that all of my sweet aunts, uncle, and my mom turned out to be VERY NICE even though they were all VERY SPOILED! :)

Aunt Ginger, Jolyn, Mom, Laurisa, Josy, Monica, Meg, Amber, Me, Wendy and Kristen

Funerals are a funny thing. It always seems more like a family reunion. We had so much fun seeing everyone again and of course playing games and being, well... being US! All you have to do is meet my family and you will see WHY I am the way I am :) isn't it great!?

Laurisa and Joslyn have always done this "AMAZING" kissy face (if you have seen their blogs, you know what I am talking about) We decided it must be the COOL thing to do, so we took some lessons. Let's just say you won't be seeing me do it anytime soon :) I don't think we were very good students! Ha Ha

One of the highlights of our trip was getting to stay at my Grandmas house. I have been WAITING for my brother to send me the great pictures of the house but, I guess that will be another post, SOMEDAY (yes Jeremy, that's a hint!)

As we went through the drawers in her guest bedroom I found about 5 drawers FULL of brand new, in the wrapper, nighties and P.J.'s Grandma could never buy just one of ANYTHING! We couldn't resist trying them on. The were SO GRANDMA! She seriously wore these every night. I told you she loved to look beautiful. Not only in the day did she always look her best, but as you can see, the night was no different.

These nighties matched her home perfectly. She and my Grandma Whiting would have loved each others houses! PINK everywhere!!!

It's amazing how much the pink brick house stayed the same through the years. The kitchen table we all sat around, the Purple room, the Peach room (it was actually the Red room before a fire destroyed it), the vent in the hall where we could hear our parents talking, the very Pink bathroom and of course Grandma and Grandpa's Pink velvet room.

Grandma always made us feel welcomed and loved when we came. I will never forget the time I woke up in her bed with my arms wrapped around her. When I looked up at her she told me "You can come and give me a hug ANYTIME you want!"

I was so embarrassed! Grandpa was standing at the dresser in his garments with a big smile on his face waiting to take his spot back in their bed. When I woke up in the morning I thought it might have been a dream but as soon as Grandma saw me she told me how much she loved my little visit.

Goodbye Grandma, thank you for giving me the most wonderful mom in the world!