A little over a month ago my Father in law passed away and I wanted to take advantage of my little internet space a pay tribute to such a great person. I have never thought of my in-laws in typical sitcom fashion of the obnoxious intruders of our lives. From the day Jared and I were engaged I felt more like a daughter than a daughter in law to Torrie and Kevin. Witty and loving I immediately felt welcome in their family from the beginning and I am forever grateful. My first memories of Kevin are when Stephanie and I went with Jared up to Oxnard California so we could see the beach. Kevin had to work so I got to know Torrie better, but I remember Kevin being really funny, especially when he was making fun of Jared, and how much Kevin and Jared looked alike. My second memory is when Jared and I were dating and Jared was talking to him on the phone and answered "Hello putz". I asked him if it was his buddy Mark and when he said it was his Dad I was Shocked!! "You talk to your dad like that?" was all I could say. That was when I saw the kind of relationship Jared had with his Dad. There was a very distinct Father son relationship there, but they were almost more best friends. They constantly joked on the phone, and I would always hear Jared laughing his distinct laugh and then Kevin's similar laugh on the other end. I was always a little nervous when they laughed that hard, it always meant trouble!
The first time I really talked to Kevin was the night Jared and I got engaged. We called them up to tell them the news and Kevin had to talk to me and warn me of what I was getting into. I don't remember all of the conversation but they (Torrie and Kevin) joked around about his stubborn and authority issues attitude, then told me stories of Jared when he was a kid (hilarious), and then they told me how special they new Jared was and how special I must be if he was marrying me. It was plain as day how important his family was to him and how much he loved his children.
(program from the funeral) A few weeks after we got engaged we went up to Oxnard for engagement pictures. (Jared's Dad did Photography) I think we drove across the whole state taking pictures with Torrie and Kevin constantly bantering back and forth and poor Caiti squished in the back with the love birds. We took pictures at an old mission in Santa Barbara, on a trail to a water fall a few miles from the mission, in a small town where the stars vacation called Ojai?, and on the beach in Oxnard. We took 200 pictures and spent the rest of the time just hanging out and getting to know his family.
It was a lot of fun. Later he showed me all the pictures he'd done and I finally convinced him to do our wedding pictures.
For our wedding pictures we went out the night before and took pictures at the Temple and the Mesa Arts Center while it was a little cooler (we did get married in June). The morning of our wedding we went out to breakfast with Jared's parents and Grandpa at the Good Egg and had a good time just talking. Then we got married and Kevin took more pictures with the Family in the 100 degree heat. The pictures turned out really well, though I still haven't gotten to see all of them, only the ones he liked.
The Saturday after our wedding we went and hung out with Jared's family and Kevin and I talked for a long time. I wish I could remember what he said, but I remember it being a really neat moment and feeling like I had been adopted into the family officially as me, not just Jared's wife.
Kevin got to meet Tyler only once, though we all talked about once a week on the webcam so he could watch Tyler grow. They came down in February for the baby blessing and Kevin stood in the circle with Jared. He didn't get to hold him very much except for the Saturday before when we went to the AZ Science Center. Tyler was being a bit fussy so Kevin took him and stood with him infront of these changing water looking lights... it's hard to explain, but I remember looking over at them with Tyler just staring at the lights. At first I was tempted, it the typical paranoid new mommy style, to maybe go get him because I was worried he would get over stimulated, but I decided time with his grandpa was more important. I'm so glad I didn't interfere, I think I will always have that picture in my mind of him holding him in those lights and then Jared coming and standing next to them. It was so funny because they were even dressed alike (Kevin and Jared) and looked like twins. Triplets if you count how everyone kept saying how much Ty looked like Jared. That weekend Kevin and Torrie bought us the web cam and as I said, we all talked on it atleast once a week. I loved listening to Kevin and Jared talk, because the conversations were always hilarious with them both having the same sense of humor!! Jared went to his dad with every question, every decision was usually discussed with Kevin and he always had great advice. We're really going to miss that. And after ever conversation with Jared he always said "I love you son". A week before he passed I got to have one last conversation with Kevin, just him me and Tyler while Jared was a church with his new calling. We talked about him having asthmatic issues, him crushing his foot while riding his motorcycle, about the family a little and how things were going for us. It was a short conversation with nothing particularly special said, but I will always be grateful for it. Atleast I got to talk to him one on one once more. The Saturday following while working at my parents house Jared's older brother called and told us Dad had collapsed. We called Caiti right away and she said she didn't know what was going on but that she heard the words cardiac arrest. Immediately we prayed for Kevin and the family. What felt like forever later Caiti called and told us he was gone. Immediately, and with my parents help, we got ready to leave for California. We drove through the night and got to his mom's at 3am with the rest of the family waiting for us. It was a long and hard week but with little miracles and blessing only a firm testimony in Christ and the plan of Salvation can bring. We had a service for him there in Oxnard and then drove to Salt Lake, Utah where he was burried in the Veteran's Cemetary.
It was hard on all his family but in the words of his mom we miss him, but we know he is okay. Over and over there have been little signs and miracles proving that he is still here with us and will be always. We are sealed together as a family and Kevin was a faithful servant who upheld his covanants and loved his family and I know we will be a family forever. A few weeks ago I found this scripture that I was now able to better relate to in Alma 27:28 "...and they never did look upon death with any degree of terror, for their hope and views of Christ and the resurrection; therefore, death was swallowed up to them by the vicotry of Chist over it."
First time in a pool at Bob and Kate's, not to sure about it, it was pretty cold.
Second time in a pool at our condo with Christy and the girls. He loved the broken spa because it was lukewarm bath temprature, he had a blast in there.
For his six month Grandma Malone went in with us to get him a bouncer activity center. It's been fantastic. He has such a good time bouncing and trying to get everything on there into his mouth, though he gets a bit frustrated when he can't do it. He's also had his first time throwing up. I think he got some bad milk and some motion sickness looking at houses because he threw up all evening, like 6 times two weeks ago. It was so sad, but even through that he would smile now and then. He slept real good that night propped up in his bouncer and was fine the next morning. He's getting so big!
