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Minnesota Trip

January 7th, 2007

As you may have already read, in early November, our entire family came together in Minnesota to attend my Uncle Jamie’s funeral. It was quite the trip, and one I was glad I could make to pay my last respects and help support my family.

I flew out with my brother and sister-in-law and my niece Keira on Wednesday, November 1. We left San Diego around 6:30AM, had a layover in Phoenix, and got to Minneapolis around 3:30PM (Central Time). We got our rental car, checked into the hotel, changed, and headed to the memorial.

When we arrived at the memorial, I was absolutely blown away. The best way I could describe the scene is basically it was like people were lined up for a ride at a theme park. There people were lined up all around the mortuary. There was even a rope line set up that people in line would work their way through to see the family and to pay their respects. People were waiting for over an hour at times just to see the family. I have never seen that kind of community outpouring. It was extremely touching to see so much support and so many people there for Jamie.

On Thursday was his actual funeral. It was held at a local church and it was a wonderful ceremony and celebration of Jamie’s life. His brother gave a touching reflection of Jamie’s life. There was a slideshow that he had put together that was very moving. There was one part of the slideshow where a picture of Jamie then faded into a video from the same moment and it just came alive. The entire church lost it at that point, myself included.

After the funeral, the local VFW held a 21-Gun Salute in the parking lot of the church. It was a very somber and touching moment as well.

From there we headed to the local VFW post and had a great BBQ lunch. After lunch we headed back to my aunt Sheila’s and just hung out and kept her company throughout the night. From there we headed back to the hotel and crashed again.

Friday the family came together again down at Sheila’s to help her around the house. We cleaned out the garage and moved things around and basically got the house ready for winter. We actually had a good time getting everything together and done. With about 8 guys working, we were able to get things done rather quickly.

We got the whole family together for a big group photo in front of Jamie’s bar as we figured it would be quite a while before the whole family is together again. Not to mention the fact that Sheila is selling the bar, so it won’t be Jamie’s Pemberton Pub anymore. Because we knew it would be one of the last times we’d be at the bar, Mary and I went back that night to spend some time in the bar.

We left the bar and headed up to the hotel. The next morning, we got together one last time down at Sheila’s to say good bye. We then headed up to the airport and came home. Obviously we made it home safe and sound.

In spite of the circumstances, it was really great to see the family again and spend some time with them. Another benefit that came from the trip was that since I flew with Michael and Gaile, and stayed in their hotel room, I was able to get some quality bonding time with Keira. It was such a great feeling to be able to play with her and make her laugh and just have a good time with her. I love that kid.

So there you go, that was our trip to Minnesota. Be sure to read on of my earlier posts for my tribute to Jamie.

I’ve also posted some photos taken by Michael and Gaile during the trip. Be sure to check them out in the Minnesota 2006 Photo Album.

In Loving Memory: Stephan “Jamie” Jamieson

November 9th, 2006

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On October 12, my mom informed me that my uncle Jamie was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer. She said that even with him being in such an advanced stage, he was still going to fight it. They promptly began chemotherapy, unfortunately though, his body was too weak and they had to stop the chemo halfway through. On Thursday, October 26, his oldest daughter (my cousin) Danika gave birth to their first grandchild. Jamie was taken to the hospital and was able to see his new granddaughter. Jamie was taken back home on Saturday, October 28 because he felt he would be more comfortable at home. Just the following night after he returned home, he lost his fight with cancer and passed away Sunday evening, October 29. As quickly as he lost the fight, he never gave up. In spite of all the odds, he kept fighting and wanted to beat it. Unfortunately for all of us though, God had a different plan. I will be honest, I wasn’t extremely close to Jamie; I only had seen him and been around him a handful of times. But I remember each and every one of those moments, because that’s the kind of impact he had on everyone. Jamie always had a big smile, and an even bigger heart. He loved to laugh and lived to make anyone and everyone else laugh. He was a caring, loving and wonderful father which his three children absolutely adored. He also had a wonderfully loving relationship with his wife, my aunt, Sheila. He touched so many lives and he was loved by many, and it showed. At his memorial, people from all over arrived to pay their respects to the family. The memorial was to go from 4:00PM – 8:00PM, but it ended up lasting another hour. There was a steady stream of people for 5 hours. At times there was over an hour-long wait just to visit with the family. I was absolutely blown away with how many people were touched so profoundly by Jamie, that they took the time to come pay their respects. The funeral was no different. It was held in a rather large church, and it was packed. The local school even provided a bus for those students wanting to attend the funeral, and that bus was packed as well. As difficult and sad a time it was when we were back there, it was also very uplifting to see just how big of a positive impact one person can have on others’ lives. A great man was taken from this world entirely too soon, and I pray for his family to get through such a difficult time together. The obituary for Jamie is below.

Stephan “Jamie” Jamieson, age 61 died Sunday, October 29, 2006 at his Pemberton home. Memorial service will be held 11:00 a.m. Thursday, November 2, 2006 at Hosanna Lutheran Church with Rev. Steve Kosberg officiating. Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday at Mankato Mortuary and one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday. Stephan Jon Jamieson was born July 24, 1945 in St. James to Harold Jon and LaVern Mae (Jensen) Jamieson. He was a 1963 graduate of St. James High School and graduated from Mankato Vocational School. From 1963 to 1970, he served in the US Air Force and was trained at Lackland AFB in TX, and was stationed at Minot AFB in ND and Hickam AFB in HI. On December 27, 1980, he married Sheila M. Tierney in San Diego, CA. Jamie worked for Goldfines and Stadium Pizza in Mankato prior to his sales manager employment with AAMCO Transmissions in San Diego, CA. Returning to Minnesota, Jamie owned and operated “Jamie’s Pemberton Pub” from August 1, 1983 until his death. Jamie enjoyed golf, pool, casino trips, traveling, and spending time with his family. Survivors include his wife, Sheila Jamieson of Pemberton; three children, Danika Jamieson and Daniel Wilmes of Mankato, Megan Jamieson of Mankato, and Jon Jamieson of Pemberton; granddaughter, Kadence Jamie Wilmes; four sisters, Roberta (Jerry) Nelson of St. James, Michelle (Jamie) Walt of Colorado Springs, CO, Linda Terrell of North Mankato, Joni (Jim) Spenger of Mankato; brother, Mike Jamieson of Minneapolis; four sisters-in-law, Maretta (Craig) Clauson and Pat (Mike) Crean all of San Diego, CA, Colleen (Dan) Barta of Grand Forks, ND, Kelly (Steve) Mondloch of Grapevine, TX; brother-in-law and best friend ever, Dan (Pat) Tierney of Brooklyn Park, mother-in-law, Margie Tierney of San Diego, CA; many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends, including the Laughlin Golf Group. Jamie was preceded in death by his parents, father-in-law, James Tierney, and two brothers-in-law, Larry Terrell and Jim Tierney, Jr.

Thanks for all the memories, Jamie. You’ll be missed greatly.

Great Times

August 24th, 2006

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As always, whenever Mary comes down to visit or we go visit her, time just flies. She came back from Palm Springs on Sunday afternoon. We had dinner at the parents’ house and she finally got to see and hold her niece for the first time. We had a pretty good time, mostly just the usual eating and hanging out.

Monday: I went into work but then left around 1:30 where we all met up with Michael, Gaile and Keira down at the San Diego Zoo. We spent a few hours out there, looked at the animals, and then we left to head downtown for dinner and the Padres game. We had dinner at Rockin’ Baja Lobster. It was my first time eating there and it was VERY good. Everyone there enjoyed their dinner, and I have to say they have the best Ceasar Salad I’ve ever had. Afterwards, we walked over to the stadium to watch the Padres beat the LA Dodgers.

Tuesday: In the afternoon we went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park which I think is a little bit cooler than the Zoo. It’’s a wide-open park where the animals are much more free and able to roam. I hadn’t been to the park in probably 15 years, so it was like I was there for the first time again. We had a great time as usual, and I took tons of pictures. After the park, we went down to Michael and Gaile’s for dinner. Dinner was great, and we all had a good time.

Wednesday: We did a little shopping and then went to lunch with Michael and Gaile so Mary could see them and the baby one last time before she left. She and I drove back home after lunch and started getting ready for the Journey and Def Leppard concert. The concert was a blast and afterwards we went out for Korean Barbecue. Then we came back home, went to bed for 3 hours and then I took Mary to the airport at 5:00AM.

As you can tell, this whole week was a busy one for all of us, but it was a great week. The week just flew by and before I knew it, it was all over.

Don’t Stop Believing

August 24th, 2006

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Wow. I just got back from the Journey and Def Leppard concert and it, was, AWESOME. I went with Mary, Brian, Ikaika, Liza, and a couple of Ikaika’s friends. Being two big bands from the 80’s, Mary, Brian and I decided to go all out and go 80’s for the concert.

So, of course I sported the mullet and Pantera t-shirt. Earlier in the day we did some shopping and Mary picked up a Guns n’ Roses t-shirt to wear. She busted out the Aqua Net and after a half hour of teasing, she was ready to roll with the big hair and heavy eyeliner on.

You wouldn’t believe how many people complimented me on my mullet. People would walk by at Coors Amphitheater and say, “NICE MULLET MAN!” or “ROCK ON! MULLETS RULE!”. There were even a few people there that wanted to take a picture with me. I didn’t expect that kind of reaction to it, but I guess people really appreciated it.

The tickets said the concert started at 7:30, we got there about 7:15 but was just planning on skipping the opening act. But this was the first concert I’ve ever gone to where when the ticket says 7:30, the good part of the show actually starts at 7:30. Journey went on the stage right at 7:30 and so we ran up to are seats and sang along and had a great time for the hour and a half that Journey played.

There was about a 20 minute gap between Journey and Def Leppard. Def Leppard took the stage and even though I didn’t know very many of their songs, I still had a BLAST. They knew how to rock and they just put on a great show.

As always I have pics up in the Journey/Def Leppard Concert Photo Album. Now let’s see if we go to the Aerosmith and Motley Crue show on November 9th …

Beat LA!

August 21st, 2006

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So I just got back from the Padres vs. Dodgers game with the family. Earlier today my whole family went to the zoo and had a great time. It had been a while since I was last at the zoo so it was cool to go. Pictures aren’t up yet, but they’ll be up soon.

After the zoo, we went to Rockin’ Baja Lobster restaurant and then headed to the game where the Padres beat the Dodgers 4-2. We spent a lot of the game screaming and drinking beer. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Anyway, I’m dead tired and my brain is all over the place so I’m headed to bed.

More Baby Stuff

August 7th, 2006

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So yesterday Michael, Gaile, and Keira were able to go home from the hospital. They got home around 1:00 yesterday afternoon and they some more family over (myself included) for a little while later in the afternoon. We all mostly just hung around talking and admiring the baby. She was awake a bit more than she had been in the hospital, but unfortunately while she was awake she mostly just cried until she got some food.

So of course, when I went down there, I had my camera with me and I took just a couple of pictures. I added two of them to the Keira Haley Photo Album, so feel free to take a look.

Photos of Keira

August 5th, 2006

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I’ve posted the photos from visiting Michael, Gaile, and Keira at the hospital this morning. Please go and check them all out in Keira Haley photo album.

I’m an Uncle!!

August 5th, 2006

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My dad called me at about 7:20 this morning and told me that at 6:19AM, Keira Haley Crean was born to my brother Michael and his wife Gaile. I am told that both mom and daughter are doing very well and that she’s currently in recovery. We’re just awaiting word that it’s okay for us to go down and visit the happy family before we head down there.

UPDATE: We went to the hospital this morning to visit the proud parents and to see the new bundle of joy. I’ve posted the pictures in the Keira Haley Photo Album. Take a look.

No baby yet …

August 4th, 2006

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Still no baby yet. My mom and I were just discussing how anxious we were getting not hearing anything. Michael and Gaile have been keeping us all up to date this morning and afternoon by updating their baby site blog, but nothing new since about 1:45 this afternoon. Not that I can blame them, they are at the hospital after all, but things are definitely getting exciting, just check the last entry the posted:

Just before 6:00 this morning we got a call that they’re swamped in L&D and asked us to call in at 11:00 this morning. Darn it! Ah well, it’s giving us some time to finish a bit of housework. I think Baby K is getting anxious also. She’s been squirming uncomfortably for the past couple of days. Even Cody knows that something is up. We’ll update when we’re actually on our way to the hospital. We just hope it will actually be some time today. 11:00 a.m. Latest is that they had 10 deliveries or people ready to deliver at 9:30 this morning so they’re working on discharging some people. They’re even on divert to the ICU and are short staffed. Sounds like we don’t really even want to be there today. Yikes! Next instructions are to call at 3:00 with a possible 3:30 admit. 1:44 Just got the call that we can definately come in at 3:00pm today! Sounds like they cleared a few people out since we’re going to L&D rather than another part of the hospital. So unless we get another phone call, the next we will write about will be our baby girl!

Well it’s now after 10:15PM and still no word yet. I’ve been talking to my mom all night and she said that she’s tried calling Michael and no answer. Wow, we’re all getting pretty anxious now, this is exciting stuff! As soon as word comes out, I’ll post it up.

She’s well on her way!

August 2nd, 2006

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I should have written about this sooner, but as you can see I just recently (as in the last few days) have gotten back into being a regular blogger. At any rate, little baby KHC is already getting set to come out.

In case you don’t know, KHC is the little girl my brother and sister-in-law are about to have. We call her KHC because Michael and Gaile have already picked out the name for her, but they have only told us that the initials are KHC, and that’s it.

At any rate, this was posted to their baby site:

7/27/06 Gaile is dilated to a whopping 1/2 cm but 95% effaced. So that is relatively good news. The doctor stripped the membranes to get things going on their own. He did say he could feel the baby’s head, so good to know she’s dropped as well. If things don’t happen on their own we’re scheduled to go to L&D at 8am on Friday the 4th to begin the induction. Gaile just hopes she’s not one of those “some people” who can take up to two days to deliver. We’re both really anxious and excited. We’re both still just excited we’re pregnant let alone about to have a baby.

So the baby is getting ready to come out! Then I was talking to Michael online about it yesterday:

Me: yep … so how things going?
Michael: pretty good. Gaile is almost constantly contracting, but nothing within specs for actual labor.
Me: good good … that must be kind of annoying though
Michael: tiring and making us anxious
Me: exactly … you just want to shout at her stomach “COME OUT ALREADY!” heh
Michael: What do you mean “just want to”? We already ARE!
Me: oooh okay then you’re already ahead of me there