The Day Before

It's a couple of days after Thanksgiving, and while many of you are putting up your Christmas trees, we just took ours down.

The front room seems empty now. We've had a Christmas tree up since the end of July. We've had two up since probably September. We've decorated it and re-decorated it at least a dozen times - trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. Now, on the day before Decorating Day for the Festival of Trees, we think we are ready.

Yesterday we took all four Whittle trees over to a warehouse in Salt Lake City to reinforce them according to the Festival rules.

We put piece of PVC pipe in the base of the each tree and clamped a six and a half foot piece of rebar
to each of them. Normally, this step is done at the South Towne Expo Center on Decorating Day, but since we had four trees to deal with, we wanted to get it done early so that we could focus on the decorating part on Monday.

We also used self-tapping screws to secure each section of the tree to each other.

This is actually the first time all four trees have been up in the same room at the same time.

After they were ready, we loaded them up into the back of a truck for transport.

Then Mom took the whole family out to eat at Buca Di Beppo's where we ordered more food than we could possibly eat.

So, that's it. We are almost ready to do this.

Almost a year of preparation and it has all come down to this.

We will be at the South Towne Expo Center tomorrow morning as close to 7am as we can be.

Let's do this.

Two Weeks To Go

We are down to two weeks until decorating day for the Festival of Trees.

Lucinda spent most of the evening tonight putting the final touches on Vicki's Tree. It looks awesome, better than I had hoped it would be. We are close on MacLean's Tree also. From what I've seen from Wendi's place, Randy's and Brittany's Trees will be just as spectacular.

Now we need to take it all down and pack it up so we can put it back together at the Festival.

Randy's birthday was November 9th. He is exactly one month older than me.

It's weird to think all that has happened this past 15 months. Our lives changed that Sunday afternoon in August.

I'll never forget it.

I was in the backyard when I heard Lucinda call out to me. I could tell in her voice that something was very wrong. She had picked up the phone when it rang. On the other end of the line was the West Jordan Police Department. Something had gone wrong with the plane. It crashed. No one survived.

My first thought was my mom. We had to get to her. She was only a few blocks away. A quick phone call to a friend was made so that they could watch our children, and then Lucinda and I were off.

The next five hours were full of phone calls and lots of hugs and a lot of disbelief. It was so unreal. We lost them - all four of them.

Now it's November of 2012.

The holidays are coming back around. It's still weird. Every couple of years Vicki and Randy would make a point to come and visit us for the holidays. In a way, they are coming home to visit us this year.

They may not be with us physically this Christmas Season, but we will be able to feel of their spirit. Just working on these Four Trees all year long has allowed us to grow closer to them - grow closer as a family.

In two weeks - Glen and his family and Misti will be here to join Wendi's family and my family along with Mom and some choice friends of ours - to honor Vicki and Randy, Brittany and MacLean with a way to give something back. It's a chance to make of their tragedy something positive and good.

It all comes together in just two weeks.

Fill This Space

This is the size of the space we need to fill - per tree

This weekend, Lucinda cleared out part of the front room and taped off a 9 feet by 7 feet area in the carpet. According to the Festival of Trees website, this is the size of the area we have to fill for each of the four trees we are doing. If you think about it, it can be kind of intimidating - that's a pretty big space. As you can see, the tree takes up only a smart part of it. So what on earth are we going to put in the rest of the space?

OK, calm down, Dow. We do have a few ideas.

And it's not like we have to fill every single square inch.

We can, and we probably will - eventually. That will be the fun part.

One of the things we are going to use to fill the space reserved for Vicki's tree is this beautiful brown afghan that Mom Webb made. When we first came up with the idea to do the trees for the Whittle Family, Mom right away decided that she wanted to do something special - something that she could add that was uniquely hers. It took her weeks to finish it but I know that she loved every stitch. We would come over to visit her at her house or she would come and visit us and she would always have it with her. She would proudly bring it out to show us her progress. First it was the size of a small wash cloth, then about the size of a scarf. By the time it was as big as a bath towel she had to carry it in a tote bag. Now it's big enough to fit on a queen sized bed. It's a labor of love that's almost too good to give away.




Trees are up at the Frederickson home

 And just to show that we aren't the only ones crazy enough to have Christmas trees up in the middle of October - let me show you this photo from my sister, Wendi's Facebook page. They are trying out ideas for Randy and Brittany's trees and I can't wait to see what they've got.

And speaking of Brittany - today would have been her 15th birthday. We miss her so much that it hurts. It's days like this - little milestones along the way - when we realize how much we have been blessed to have them be a part of our lives, and how much it still hurts to know that they are no longer with us.

Merry HallowThanksMas!

Visitiors to our house are really confused.

Not only do we have two Christmas trees in our front room - one traditional green, the other flocked - but we also put up some Halloween decorations this evening. Not to mention, tonight we had turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing for dinner.

It's like we've managed to shove three totally unrelated holidays into one fun-filled evening.

Yesterday, Lucinda and I went with Wendi and Evan and Mom over to Primary Children's Hospital for the Festival of Trees Decorator's Workshop. http://www.festivaloftreesutah.org/

We got to meet Francis Morgan, the chair over the large trees. We have been able to talk to her over the phone and by e-mail but this was our first face to face meeting. We also attended a power point presentation that offered some tips on how to decorate and strengthen the trees so that they don't break when they are delivered.

They told us that we have to secure a piece of rebar along the trunk of the trees as well as a long piece of PVC pipe inside the trunk to help prevent the trees from snapping in half. Now before they said this, having a tree snap in half has never been a concern of mine - now it has become my worst nightmare.

But instead of dwelling over the horrors of what could happen, we went shopping for decorations for the trees. I think Mom had a good time. It was the first time I had the chance to go shopping with her and with Wendi and Evan. It sounds like everyone is getting into it and there are some good ideas out there. Now we just need to put it all together.

In the meantime, we are getting our costumes ready for Halloween, while going through boxes of Christmas decorations. By the way, is there any white meat left?

The Fifth Tree

Emily scopes out the possibilities



It's October.

We've got less than 2 months to get ready for this.

We think we are off to a good start. We've got most of the materials we need for Vicki's tree and we are well on our way getting the stuff ready for MacLean's tree. Lucinda has been scouring the internet - looking at E-Bay and Amazon and several other sites to find the perfect ornaments and decorations. We've been to stores across the Salt Lake valley - Hobby Lobby, Tai-Pan, Taiwan Imports - my sister Wendi even went to Sprinkler World to look for stuff. She is working on Randy's and Brittany's trees. Lucinda and I recently went to Modern Display where we think we've found the two flocked trees we have been looking for.



It's the one in the middle (we'll need two of them)


And we think we've found the tree skirt we want for MacLean's tree.

It's silver - just perfect for the theme.

And just when we thought we were getting a handle on things, Emily says that she wants to do her own tree for Brittany.

OK, she's actually had this idea for a while. She has been having a hard time this past year - as we all have - and she still gets emotional when she thinks about missing Brittany. Lucinda and I think that by doing a little tree of her own, it will help Emily get through this. So it looks like she will get her wish. 

Yesterday she and I went on-line to register her "small tree" on the Festival of Trees website. She has a theme all picked out and knows exactly how she wants the tree to look.

So it looks like we will have a fifth tree.

I'm starting to get excited. Glen and Kay and their family is planning on coming in from Missouri to help us decorate the trees over the Thanksgiving holiday. Misti is flying in from South Carolina (or is it North?). That reminds me, we need to find a ticket for her to get out here. With Wendi, me and Mom, that means all of us will be together with our families (we're still hoping Parker can make it) to put all of this together.

Less than two weeks to go until the Decorator's Workshop put on by the Festival of Trees. Time is starting to move fast on us. It's time to get busy.

It's September! Where's all the Christmas Stuff?

That's right. I've turned into one of those guys.

You know, the person who buys Christmas ornaments on the very day they become available at Walmart or Costco or the $1 Store down the street. The person that causes the stores stock up on their Christmas fluffery earlier and earlier each year. You know who I'm talking about. You've seen them. You know them. You loathe them.

Normal people are focused on back-to-school shopping, or maybe a last-minute summer BBQ now that Labor Day has passed. There are even some who are getting an early start on finding that perfect Halloween decoration that will have all of the neighbor kids wanting to knock on their door.

But not me.

I'm way past all of that.

I have one focus.

When will the stores start stocking their freaking Christmas stuff? Come on - it's almost half past September. Get on with it!

Oh, there are a few places that have gotten on the ball. I've been to them. Hobby Lobby had a few Christmas baubles out the second week of August. Costco has dedicated a couple of aisles to holiday wrapping paper and huge outdoor lighted reindeer. But that's not enough.

I want more.

Lucinda and I went to Tai Pan last weekend to see if their flocked trees were in yet. There was one employee, covered in flock, who had already set out a dozen sample trees - a few of them flocked - but not the one we needed. Is it too much to ask for a 7 and half foot flocked tree to be ready for me to buy by Labor Day? Is it?

You know, I wasn't always like this.

I used to be much like you - not even thinking about Christmas until the Thanksgiving turkey was just a happy memory. I mean, we've still got to get through Halloween, we've still got to get through Thanksgiving, we've still got to get through Pearl Harbor Day...

But this year it's different.

This year we've got an excuse (four excuses to be exact) to be on the look-out for Christmas decorations - and I fear that I may be carrying it a bit too far.

Remember that Christmas tree that we put up in our front room? The one that was only supposed to be up for a few days so that we could try out some of the decorations on it? It's still in my front room. If you drive by, you can still catch it all lit up right in front of the window.

Look closely, there it is.

I'll take it down. I promise.

This Is Why We Are Doing This



The Whittle Family gravesite at the Oakley Cemetary, Oakley, Idaho



It's been a year since we lost them.

It was Sunday, August 14th, 2011 at about 2:35 in the afternoon. The Whittle's had just finished a visit to see family in Oakley, Idaho, and were on their way to attend BYU's Education Week in Provo, Utah. Vicki and Randy had just loaded their two children, MacLean (16) and Brittany (13) into their single engine plane at the Burley Airport, waved good-bye to Randy's parents and then proceeded to take off.

Just as the plane started to gain altitude, something went wrong. It banked hard to the left and witnesses at the scene say it looked as if the plane was attempting to return to the airport. Instead it went down - hitting  hard on the highway - leaving a deep gash in the road. It struck a nearby railroad line, bending the rail and then it crashed a few feet later, bursting into flames.

Lucinda and I got a phone call sometime around 5:30 that evening. It was from the West Jordan Police Department. They were already at Mom's apartment, giving her the bad news. I'll never forget the feeling I had the moment I found out what had happened. We immediately called some friends and asked them to watch Ben and Emily while we hurried over to be with Mom.

The next 24 hours was so busy. I was on the phone almost the whole time, calling my brother Glen in Missouri, gathering information from the Coroner's office in Idaho, talking to Randy's family - all the while trying make sense of everything. We came home late in the evening and broke the news to the kids. We all cried. It was the worst day of my life.

Visting the crash site Saturday, August 11th, 2012

We were able to go as a family to re-visit the crash site this past Saturday. It was the first time that Misti's daughter, Parker was able to see it. The burn scar is long gone, but you can still smell the oil left behind and you can still find small pieces of the plane wreckage scattered around.



This button was found at the crash site on August 15th, 2011. It was Brittany's. She had received it at a recent LDS Youth Conference. It was one of two buttons she had with her in the plane.



This was the second button that Brittany had with her. It was found at the crash site one year later.



We were also able to visit the gravesite at the Whittle Family plot in the Oakley Cemetary. We had a wreath made with a banner that read, "Forever a Family."

It's still hard, even after a year.

We all still miss each one of them very much.

Last year, while we attended the Festival of Trees, little Emily noticed that each tree at the festival was dedicated in honor of someone who had died. She asked why we hadn't made a tree for Brittany or MacLean. Since we didn't have an answer for her, we figured we needed to do something about it. It was then that the decision was made to do a tree for each of them. One tree for the whole family wouldn't work. Each person needed their own tree.

This is why we are doing this. This is why we are doing the Four Trees.