It's a lucky thing I didn't grow up being closer in age to my sister Anna Lisa. Imagine the shadow that would have been :). She is PERFECT. She has everything from a great singing voice to a sparkly personality. I'd like to think those genes are hidden somewhere in my DNA and therefore are available to my posterity. It must be true because Seth can already hold a tune better than I can.Anna Lisa, Jeremy, and kids came to Vegas for a few days. It was great to BBQ and get some rare time together. I love hearing stories from my parent's past (they don't share very often). We were telling funny pet stories in celebration of Gophiss our new pet snake, when my dad told a story from his youth. He was fishing with his dad and older brother (Uncle Doug). My dad is too funny and said he hated fishing...boring. But he found a really cool water snake, and he snuck it back to the truck. On the way home it got loose and slithered into the dashboard. My grandpa was furious and spent the whole night taking apart the truck and searching for the dang snake. No luck. The next day he drove his truck to the hospital. He was the Heber City, UT doctor. He grabbed his leather medical bag and headed into work. A few minutes later a nurse let out an earth shattering shriek. She was horrified by the green snake she just pulled out of Dr. Nielson's medical bag!
On a different note, my Dad mentioned to me on Mother's Day that this was the day his father suffered a major heart attack and didn't survive. I never knew it was on Mother's Day. My dad was only 14 years old. Grandpa Nielson was at the hospital working and was expected home for a nice meal. My grandma received a phone call from the hospital and things were not okay. She turned to my dad and asked him to clear the table and get in the car. Once they arrived, my dad waited in the car while his mom went into the hospital. He said he saw people going in and out of the hospital sobbing and he knew what had happened. This story is very sobering considering my dad was just in the hospital for a few days with heart concerns. We are glad he is okay! He is the life of every party and he is the funnest, most loving dad a girl could have. The version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on my playlist embodies my dad. I first heard the song a few years back while he was preparing dinner and dancing around the kitchen with little Seth. That song always makes the stress float away and brings a great smile.
