European vacation

Dad's beloved pastry place, Bratislava Slovakia:

Pastries were only thirty cents each--He kept going back for more and then we packed some in our backpack for the next day.

I got to take my dad to Europe with my newborn babe in 2005 and show him all the sites where I studied abroad.

In Vienna:

Prague:

Carl und Vati in Wien. Ich spreche kein deutsch, verklich Vati?! I happened to make Dad laugh out loud at me trying to speak German to him.

Got to love this picture. It's a centuries-old flower market in Prague and Dad wanted some nuts. He asked the stand-guy (Can't think of the word-man that tends the booth?) for some nuts. Sure, how many? Dad gets a handful. The guy snorts and waves him away. Dad gets them for free. Now that's called Thrifty!

And may I mention that dad's wearing my hat? It's from high school and I thought I'd lost it. Nope, it was on dad's head five years later. It looked good on either of us.
Again "This won't turn out."

We both loved this movie! It filled Dad's music requirement and my holocaust requirement.
A later trip to SF:Dad in Brazil picking Carl up from his mission a few years earlier.
We sure do love you daddy-o! We're glad you're so darn happy right now and that you accomplished everything you came here to do and succeeded in enduring to the end! We couldn't have asked for a better Dad for us all. Thank you for setting the bar so high in your testimony of the Savior and staying close to Heavenly Father. You gave all us kids and our grandkids the best legacy of all. We love you!

Walks with Grandpa

By Kathrine and kids

Ryan was four and Emma was two when they first started walking with Grandpa. I thought they were just going on small walks up the street, but after hearing Ryan's stories about the wilderness and the things he saw, they must have really explored the open space in White Gate. Grandpa could never go on long walks before he retired, because he had so many responsibilities and his little beeper would always call him back if he ever tried to get away. We were all excited to spend time with him after he retired. Emma would put on her white sandals and grab Grandpa's finger and be off.

When Grandpa visited us here in Provo, he would be out walking around town most of the day. In the summer he wore that Sherlock Holmes hat or a baseball cap, and in the rain it was his fleece with an umbrella. In the winter, you could always spot him in his Costco coats and beanie. The kids loved to go with him--he somehow always ended up at the dollar movies or the creamery.

Speaking of the Creamery, this is Emma's favorite: We walked to the Creamery with Grandpa, and we brought that yappy dog with us (Betty Bop). We didn't know what to do with it--we couldn't take it in with us, and we couldn't tie her up since she barks so much. Grandpa put her in the garbage can right outside the door. We had a great time--she was actually quiet--and when we were all done, he just took off the top and tipped it over so she could climb out. (Too bad every house doesn't have large garbage cans to keep yappy dogs in!)

The kids didn't know their grandpa had Alzheimers until he had a hard time talking. They didn't understand what that meant (Emma thought it had something to do with All Stars, but instead it was All Timers), until they realized they had to tell Grandpa it was OK to cross the street. Then, Grandpa was no longer taking them on walks--instead they were taking Grandpa on walks. That's OK though, because they still ended up at the Creamery.

One day, Grandpa seemed particularly anxious, so Ryan went out with him. They were gone probably an hour or two, and when they got back, Dennis was still anxious and wanted to keep going. That is what having multiple kids is all about--Jeshua took him out for another hour. Now it was Emma's turn, but she didn't want to go on a walk. This was during her "Wicked Time" when she sang all the songs from the play. She somehow talked Grandpa into sitting down to listen to her sing. Tears started to stream down Grandpa's face, and he told her to sing more. She was glad for the invitation (everyone else told her to be quiet). She sang to him till he fell asleep.

We have been eating oranges, raspberry sherbet, bread with jam, pre-made hamburgers, and frozen corn for two days straight--it makes us feel like he is here. And when we are on long walks, we will always wonder if maybe he is here.

How to treat a dad-the Gustafson way!

Recently Craig's dad was left alone at home for a weekend. I wasn't sure if he'd ever been introduced to the Gustafson way of being treated...

I know other people love their dad. They celebrate him on father's day. They let their moms tell their dads what's really going on in their lives.

But Gustafsons...

We know how to treat a dad. So we submitted Craig's dad to the same treatment:

It begins by finding a babysitter- preferably one for free because Dad's not going to pay for that unless he's visiting and has an excess amount of cash on him.

Then you find a movie that he'd love (action or comedy).

Then you pick him up and have a grand old time talking about interesting subjects. You go see the movie and let dad pay, of course.

Then you pick a restaurant and go eat. Dad pays, of course.

And you always top the evening off with some great Baskin-Robbins or frozen yogurt, with dad paying of course.

But the whole time you pay utmost attention to Dad. What does he like to talk about? Helping him order something he'd like off the menu--chicken and salmon are always good choices with no fattening sauces! Yuck! (Craig once let mayonnaise be put on my dad's sandwich--several "shits!" later and us wiping it off, Craig learned the hard way the knowledge we were born with).

"I read this in the paper dad, I thought you'd find that interesting."

or

"Tell me this church history tale dad...wow, fascinating!"

Some translating would be involved-- my best correct guess was what you could find at Costco--the answer was Jelly Bellys. You had to have in-depth knowledge of my dad to play. Sorry non-blood relations, you're simply too late in the game to play this game.

Before you knew it, the ice cream was gone and you were on your way home. You got an evening of free entertainment, food, and chatter, and dad was as happy as could be!

Good times had for all.

Treating a dad like a king is the Gustafson way.

I'm definitely passing the tradition on to my kids.

Dads deserve it.