Unexpected Trip to Utah

 I arrived in Salt Lake City Sunday afternoon after we had received the call about Lydia.  Craig picked me up, helped me load some of Nic's stuff from a friend's house which we dropped at the storage shed and where dad met us.  Sharon (dad's sister) was visiting as well from California for her class reunion in Morgan so I got to see her and her daughter-in-law Barbara.  We had some hot games of Sequence and Dominoes!

 Nic has a pretty busy schedule so I spent a good portion of the week running him around as well but in between I got to see some good friends.

Teresa, Lori (who is fostering Floyd for us) and Kirt

 It turns out the Davis Arts Council fundraising breakfast was being held the one day I was there so I was able to attend, help out a bit and hear Teresa sing.  She and I had cheeseburgers at our favorite Sill's cafe later in the week.

 We also got to meet up with Chris and Tyler Mooney for lunch at The Habit in Farmington.  Man, that place has grown with all the new stores and such!  Nic and Tyler have been friends since grade school.

 I got to hang out with nieces Sara and Robyn a little bit after they went to the Davis High orientation.  They shouldn't be old enough to be in high school and jr. high!
Got to spend time just visiting with mom and dad who have graciously opened their home to Nic during his 6 month transitional period through the Davis county drug court system.  Nice to just sit in their pretty backyard during a very emotional week.

Friday night after the funeral we headed to Salt Lake to watch Jess play softball. She got some great hits and played first base like a pro!

Robyn was dog sitting this cute little one and as you can see, a storm was rolling in....

 Nothing as pretty as Utah mountains

 She has two games every Friday night so Paige was doing a Panda Express stop for Robyn between games and grabbed Jess and Nic some dinner as well.......I think Nic was sick of having his picture taken.

 I got up Saturday morning and mom, dad, Paige and I went and had blood drawn for check-ups at a  hospital near them then I headed to SLC to have breakfast with Kim and Brent.  Didn't even get a pix!  Then I went over to Kirt and Jerry's to meet their new little one.  They adopted him after we left so I've only been able to see Oscar in photos.  He was a bright spot in a rather bleak week!

 Sunday was more baby fun after going to church and seeing old friends.  Jeff invited us for dinner at his place where we got to play with baby Nixon.

 Aunt Susie tracked us down and dropped by to say hello......

Shaylee, Jen and Karen

Mom. dad and Jeff

Nixon with gramps and great-gramps!

 We finished off the evening with the free Sunday night concert at the Ed Kenley theatre featuring Code Blue....an oldies cover band.  Beautiful night and a lovely way to end a difficult week before flying out early Monday morning.  Brother Jeff was kind enough to swoop me up on his way to work.

Preparing to land at Dulles

Lydia

 What started out to be a great August 17th turned into a nightmare when we received a call from Lydia's mom Jacki, that Lyd had passed away.  Lydia and Nic have been together for many years and what was for a long period of time a healthy relationship filled with fun and laughter, was turned into a much different one through the poisons of addiction.

 Lydia Mae Rigby 

(January 22, 1986 - August 17, 2013)

After a long battle with the struggles that finally took its toll on her mortal body, our beautiful Lydia Mae Rigby was welcomed home to her Heavenly Father. Although we lost a piece of our hearts, we find comfort in the fact that we will one day see our sweet Lydi again.

Lydia was born January 22, 1986 in Ogden, Utah. She graduated from Davis High in 2004. While there she was a member of the swim team and took state in the freestyle 100 meter competition her senior year. Lydia also loved to ski, cook, camp, and hunt. From an early age Lydia loved art and eventually grew into an extremely talented artist.

Lydia had an amazing sense of style and it was always fun to see what she would wear, paint or even say next. Lyd had a ridiculously funny sense of humor and was known for being able to make people laugh. Lydia never met a stranger and made it a point to help others feel at ease. Everyone who met her loved her.

Lyd worked for Crystal Tones as the warehouse manager where her work took her around the states, Germany, and even to China two different times. She loved to travel and developed a love for the Chinese culture.

Lydia loved a challenge and in Jr. High decided to teach herself how to play the piano in order to participate in a class talent show. There was nothing that Lydia couldn't do when she set her mind to it.

She was adored by her "babies" and loved to spend time doing things to make them happy. Movies with her nieces and nephew were never watched normally, but rather inside the biggest indoor fort ever conceived.

Lyd has left a giant hole in our lives and will be missed and loved forever. She leaves behind her parents Kevin Reed and Jaclynne Beecher Rigby of Kaysville, siblings Alicia (Kevin) Hatch of Layton and Jessica (Tony) Smith of Travis Air Force Base, California. Also her "babies" Chloe, Madi, Cash and Scarlett Hatch, and Indie and Eden Smith. She is also survived by her grandmother Lela Rigby of Kaysville.

Funeral services will be held Friday, August 23, 2013 at 11 a.m. at the Flint Street Chapel, 1275 W. 200 No., Kaysville. Friends may visit family Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lindquist’s Kaysville Mortuary, 400 No. Main and Friday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the chapel. Interment, Kaysville City Cemetery.

Lydia was talented, smart and funny.  We loved her and as Tom said, fully expected she would one day  be our daughter-in-law.  We hoped they would both get well so they could be together.  But because she knew where she could too easily get her hands on drugs in Utah and because she didn't want to bring Nic down with her as he is on his way to getting well, she moved to Colorado.  Unfortunately, she spiraled there with replacements for the drugs she found in UT and they ended up taking her life.   I loved the stories they told about her at her funeral.  Fun, uplifting stories.  I was glad they didn't pretend she died a natural death and addressed what a tragic ending this was.  I loved that the bishop talked about going to visit her in "the bahamas" (Jacki's name for the county jail) and did so with love and understanding.  No judgement.  I love that Lyd's family embraced Nic and made him a part of the service.  He was pall bearer and did so with dignity though his heart was breaking.  They've been a huge support for Nic while we've been away and while he's been in his own treatment program in "the bahamas".

My heart breaks for her family as they have been such a support for us.  As parents we have battled together through this insidious disease as we try to save our children...even if that means keeping them apart from the ones they love. We've had the conversation many times about what it must be like to get THAT phone call.  For them to have actually received it is beyond any devastation I can imagine.

Lydia's dad Kevin, Nic, Jacki and their bishop

Jessica with Nic's longtime friend Tyler

Cousin Danielle and Jess

Nic, with friend Josh who is in same program as he is

A Saturday

 Saturday the 17th started out great.  We met our Tri group in Columbia Heights and all rode to Rock Creek Park where we did some rolling hills and then some bike hill repeats where we just rode up and down the same hill several times.  Good practice working our gears and knowing how to get up the steep hills.  Great workout then a bunch of us had breakfast at Panera after.  We had taken the Metro there but rode home.  Saw beautiful places like this:

 Got home, showered, then headed to Nats Stadium where we were giving blood.  As usual my iron was too low so I couldn't give but Tom did.  We got free tickets to an upcoming game, t-shirts and a tour of the stadium.

From the Press Box

 The visiting team's locker room.  Apparently they fedex everything in the middle of the night so uniforms and such will be waiting for the team when they arrive.

 The dug out

 Our guide (who has worked there as an usher since it opened) explained that the players don't sit on the bench in the dugout.  They sit on the top of the bench thus grinding their cleats into the bench itself. It needs to be replaced every year.