Elmo Miller Cazier (1942-2018)

E. M. was how we knew Elmo Miller. Definitely a quirky guy, he had good intentions and found his own ways to serve those around him. I know that he would often take eggs around to the widows in his neighborhood.

He was admitted into the hospital just a week or so before he passed away. Tyler didn't even have a chance to go up and visit. We heard he was slightly jaundiced and was having some pain. I believe they did some minor surgery and had diagnosed some form of cancer. And then he was gone. Certainly different than Barry's experience.

I didn't know E.M. as well, so here is his obituary: Elmo Miller "E.M." Cazier, 75, of St Anthony, passed away May 22, 2018, at the Madison Carriage Cove Rehabilitation Center in Rexburg.

He was born in St. Anthony on Dec. 18, 1942, to Ambrose Elmo and Rula Miller Cazier.

E.M. did many jobs in his younger days, but he really loved being on the radio (radio name was Marty Miller), and later, he worked at a local TV station as a technician running the controls for broadcasting news and entertainment. E.M. was very much a night person, so working the night shift fit him very well. Even in retirement, he spent most of his days sleeping, and at night, he would go shopping and watch his movies and old TV programs.

E.M. worked at the Roxy Theater in St. Anthony as a projectionist and later at the Romance Theater in Rexburg. He was in some form of the entertainment business for most of his life. He loved talking to people, and every year for as long as I can remember, he would go to the state fair numerous times just to eat fair food and wander around, talking and watching all the people.

E.M. also did videography for friends and family, doing life histories for them, something he really enjoyed. He also had a great fascination with some of the great old movies like "The Wizard of Oz," which he claimed to have watched over 400 times. Everywhere in the house, you could find a copy of old movies that were his favorites. To this day, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of old movies on DVD and VHS tape stored all over the house. Other movies he really liked watching over and over were "The 10 Commandments," "Tora Tora," and "A White Christmas."

He is survived by his brother, Craig (Diane) Cazier, of Shelley; a sister-in-law, Vicki Cazier, serving a mission in Minnesota; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Barry Cazier.

Here is an interesting fact: They don't do funerals and burials over Memorial Day weekend. It is too busy with people visiting. So the funeral, that was going to be scheduled for Saturday, had to be bumped back to Friday. We took all the girls out of school and drove up to ID. On the way, we stopped and grabbed lunch and a die from a machine. We started a game where we would pick something and then roll to see who it applied to. For instance, June said, "Who looks like a frog but no one has told them." (That was me. Thanks.) We played this silly game for a long time. As we were leaving, I saw a machine with adhesive mustaches. I rolled the die and said, "Who has to wear the mustache when I buy it." Guess who won?

The funny thing was that Robyn wasn't there when we rolled, but despite the face she's making, she was more than happy to wear the mustache. You can tell from the numerous selfies she took of herself in the car.

I did not allow her to wear the mustache into the funeral service, although she did ask. :) E.M. looked very peaceful at the viewing and much like himself. He had not been wasted away by a slow illness so at least he was spared that path. Although we came together for a sad reason, it was still nice to see family. Kat and Kolby came, as well as J.R., Rozz, and Jack. 

June and Robyn played a musical number, God Be with You Till We Meet Again, with June on violin and Robyn on piano and there were a couple speakers. It was nice to hear good things about E.M and that he was loved by quite a few people. I liked that during the viewing, they had The Wizard of Oz playing. That was E.M.'s favorite movie.

On the program was a cute poem that I think is very fitting for E.M. It is called Fisherman's Prayer:

I pray that I may live to fish

Until my dying day.

And when it comes to my last cast,

I then most humbly pray:

When in the Lord's great landing net

And peacefully asleep

That in His mercy I be judged

Big enough to keep.

After the service, we went out to the internment. E.M. will rest near his mother and father. 

We had a good time at the luncheon. 

We were also able to go over to E.M.'s house after. It won't be up to us to remove all the stuff in the house, although I did grab a couple family pictures while I was there, but it was only photos of my family. Tyler got a picture of Craig and Diana. Craig is the last brother of the three. I don't feel like all the brothers were terribly close, but it must be hard to lose your siblings either way. 

One of the best parts of coming up to Idaho was meeting LeGrand. Jami and J.R. added this cute little boy into their family and we hadn't seen him yet in person. Everyone took a turn holding this bundle of cuteness when we stopped by. The circle of life continues.

E.M. I mostly think of you around the holidays. My memories of Idaho Thanksgivings have a picture of you. We hope you enjoy your feasts up above.

Gum and Going Home

Our time in WA went quickly. It was a short trip but worth it to see good friends and family. It is always great to play games with the Dargan's. We played some Fan Tan, but as usual the kids creamed me. June was left with a stack of chips. I think I had none by the end. Typical.

We also played some Caveman Telephone. That is always good for a laugh or twenty.

These guys are great!

Tyler spent a little of his time up in Seattle. He went to visit a friend who moved there. He went up for chowder and to put gum on a wall. I'm not sure I have ever been to the gum wall. I'm not sure I'm missing much.

Then it was time to say goodbye and get back on the road. Long trips...are made better by rainbows.

We stopped by a Shopko to use the bathrooms and I was shocked to find these misfits when I came out. You never know who you might find at Shopko...or Walmart for that matter.

One of the interesting things we stopped to see was a rock turtle. I feel like we should go out in the wilds and find some random rock and paint it. Why not?

We also found a shoe tree on the way home. We should have left June's shoes. They were so muddy from the dirt around the turtle, but they didn't have any laces. Shame.

We also found the Middle of Nowhere. Not a bad place. I think there were bathrooms...

Look, we are almost home. Everyone is so excited. Long car rides are fun, but exhausting. Who knew it would be so hard to sit for hours on end. Well...I did know that. But everyone must learn for themselves. It is a right of passage.

But I would say that it was a great Thanksgiving trip. Thanks Neilsen's and Dargan's!

Gotta Visit the Sound

Black Friday, we packed up our bags and left the Neilsen's. We had such a good time with them, and all the kids loved Bay so much. It was sad to say goodbye.

But it was great to go visit the Dargan's. We started playing games right away. We played Mind Trap and Wise and Otherwise. (That might be my favorite game.) The dogs look like they are getting along, but I think Pip was not happy to be in close proximity to April. In general Pip is a solo dog.

In the afternoon, we naturally had to go down to the Sound. It is a tradition. June especially was working on Bio Encounters for Biology. She found some very cool plants.

The Sound is always a great place for a photo op. It is moments like this that I realize how much I love my family and enjoy spending time with them.

We came down to the shore at the wrong time. The tide was almost all the way in. There were still all these cool little snails or creatures on everything. I almost felt bad walking along because you couldn't avoid stepping on some of them.

Eventually I found some crabs under some rocks. The girls always like to try and hold them. It is easier to be brave when you find a good sized crab without his large front pincers. I'm not sure how he lost them, but Pearl and Ivory were both more easily persuaded to take a turn holding him.

It was a good day in WA, overcast and all. We played some more games in the evening including Werewolf. I think that included the classic game when Grandma said, "I know who the werewolves are this time, because I am the minion!" Ah, good times.

Squid for Thanksgiving

As mentioned before, we decided to have Thanksgiving with the Neilsen's. Camille outdid herself. I think she said that she had never really done a Thanksgiving before on her own and everything she made was fantastic. I loved her yams. And the broccoli with Hollandaise sauce was amazing!

The sister missionaries came over for a little bit. We sabered bottles which they hadn't done before, of course, but I believe the Neilsen's hadn't either. We had mini bottles, but they worked just fine, and Eric got his on the first try. Such talent.

A lot of the day we spent playing. The Neilsen's have these fun little suction toys that everyone played with over and over again. We would put them high up on the wall and the kids would jump for them. It was really fun.

There was also this fun little Alligator that everyone loved. You push down his teeth one at a time until he snaps you. It is hard to end up with only one tooth, but we did it several times.

Cute Cannon is sitting and playing a game with Robyn. I wonder if she is playing a real game, or just doing Duolingo?

We played lots of games including Smash Up which was tricky and One Night which we always enjoy. This is a great group.

In the evening, Tyler wanted to go out and see one more weird thing. June and I were dragging our feet, but we eventually caved. Tyler wanted to go out and see this statue of people with birds on their heads. Well, the statue was down by the water and honestly, it wasn't that impressive and there were creepy spiders on it. They hid well, but I can always spot them.

But down by the water, we kept seeing people coming and going with buckets. We decided to investigate. Turns out all these people were catching squid. Squid come back to the Puget sound in the fall to breed and die. There was even an informational board down by the dock.

The dock was very long and there were people lined up all the way down with their fishing poles in the water. There was a constant stream of people reeling in squid. They didn't seem too hard to catch. I guess if you have the right bait.

Everyone was so nice. They answered all our questions and even let us hold a squid. Who knew this was the thing to do on Thanksgiving?

I guess when the squid show up, they show up by the thousands. It was awesome. I have to admit, I was glad that I went to see the statue.