a weekend in california for christina

after a week in the hospital and a very full lifetime, my grampa edward everett smith passed away. 

while it proved to be a heartbreaking time for all of us, it provided us a reason to all reunite in sunny san diego! within a matter of days, all the smith kids made travel arrangements and by thursday night, we were partying smith style - just as my grampa would have us do. 

e. e. smith, for as long as i can remember, stated that he did not want a funeral. how do we honor him? we give him 3 funerals. here are things i learned from the weekend (oh. and pictures):

+ my grampa had at least 23 girlfriends at his elderly living center.

+ i hate it when people who grew up during the great depression try to one-up my childhood sob stories.

+ when dad's cry...i have to cry too. 

+ while it's sad to think that this world no longer has my grampa, i take reassurance in the fact that he has 3 sons that do him proud (shoutout to chris, holla!)

+ seeing my dad surrounded by people that once babysat him was so hilarious. chris smith. a 4 year old that sun tans and has a lisp. 

+ trying to hide my soda addiction from my parents becomes significantly harder when you are constantly with them. 

+ my grampa's wardrobe... -__-

+ i love my family. 

that very bottom picture looks just like my dad. omg it was shocking. 

so, after a happy and bittersweet weekend, i happily made my way back to the happy valley on sunday afternoon. and mom, in case you're reading this: listening to general conference for that long on the drive home was hard for me but i didn't complain because I'M YOUR FAVORITE CHILD.