Clint Edward Layton 1978-2010

Our dear friend, brother, son, husband and father died this morning from complications of cancer in his home in Farmington, Utah. We are very sad and empty but all of us feel an undeniable peace and happiness in Clint's behalf. We are so thankful to our merciful Heavenly Father for allowing us all the time with Clint in Disneyland for one very happy, memorable, last hurrah!

During our trip together, Clint was happy, laughing, and very able to get around without a lot of complaint. Being in the happiest place on earth, it was very easy for us to forget about the looming circumstance and just enjoy and celebrate Clint and life. We had all experienced some incredible feelings and had witnessed some incredible things on our trip and when we all arrived home, we all knew without a shadow of a doubt that Clint would live. What we didn't consider is that life is not exclusive to our sojourn here on earth. We believe we existed before we were born and our lives continue past the grave. Our feelings and faith that Clint would live still remain true because we know he lives! He is finally free from this debilitating disease and he will be present with us during the continuation of our missions here in this world. The next time we go to Disneyland together, Clint WILL be there and he will be laughing and having a great time with us.

Yesterday Todd and I received the grave news of Clint that he was having some serious complications with cancer. His frail, cancer stricken body was shutting down and his hospice caretakers had inserted an IV with a constant stream of pain killers so Clint would no longer hurt. The major downfall to this is that it literally put Clint in a coma and he was unresponsive. Todd and I immediately went up to Farmington to spend time with him and his family. When we arrived at his home, there was an incredible sense of reverence and peace. We climbed the stairs to his room and there lay our dear Clint in his bed. It was heartbreaking to see but even now, we both know that there was such a sense of sacredness for life and happiness. We spent the entire evening with Clint's body, his wife Kelly and many other loved ones. We were able to hold Clint's hand, tell him we loved him and thanked him for the opportunity to have been friends and to promise him that we would take good care of his wife and two beautiful daughters. We even spent time together as friends and family, reminiscing about Clint and laughing over our dear memories with him. It was so touching to watch as my husband, Kelly and cousins Matt and Jon, sat on the bed with Clint, stroked his arms and face and talked to him. I truly feel that is what Clint would have wanted us to do! It was very clear that Clint was with us in spirit and even though he could not speak to us, he heard all of us pour our hearts to him and honor him.

We all feel that we have seen many miracles come to pass. Clint did survive for a year and because of a merciful Heavenly Father, he continues to survive beyond the grave. We were able to go to Disneyland and enjoy Clint for just a little while longer and he was well enough to spend the time with us. What a wonderful gift and wonderful memories we both have given to Clint and he has given to us. We will forever remember our trip with happiness and laughter and I am so thankful that our dear God allowed that. I think ultimately the biggest miracle that has come of this experience is the incredible amount of love that was generated for Clint and for each other. This has reminded all of us that this life is about family, friends and loved ones and while we have them that we need to love and enjoy them. We need to love a little harder, fight a lot less, not judge as harshly, and create long lasting memories with those we love so dearly.

Clint is leaving behind an amazing legacy and we will make his memory live forever with his daughters and we will never forget him. We are not angry or upset, we truly, wholeheartedly feel peace and happiness for Clint and we KNOW this is God's will. We were given an incredible, merciful gift of being able to spend time with him in California and our God is merciful for taking him home as quickly as he has.

We love you Clint! We will never, ever forget you!

Blog how to...

For those of you new to the blogging world and who have wanted to view our trip to Disneyland with Clint and Kelly, in order to see all the posts about the trip scroll down to until you see a tab on the right of the page entitled, "blog archives". There you will be able to pick what dates you'd like to read. We were on our trip 2/26-3/2. Enjoy!

Day five pics are here!

We got to eat at a really fun place called Goofy's Kitchen. It's a breakfast buffet where all the Disney characters come around and visit the families. We were all laughing because some of the breakfast items included mac-n-cheese and hot dogs. Typical kid food!

When Minnie came to hug Gabbie, Gabbie instantly started sucking on her nose.

Our "chef" Goofy. He came over to Clint and started rubbing his little bald head.

Meeting the Maitre D'! ( I hope I got that right)

The Layton girls loved the food and Clint was acting like a model moving his head in different poses for all the cameras we had in our group.

Mickey waffles!

Todd and his new buddy Baloo from the Jungle Book. Todd has a fascination with bears-especially people dressed as bears in costume. He thinks its the funniest thing in the world.

The view outside of Clint and Kelly's room. If you look closely, you can see the Matterhorn and Space Mountain.

Another view outside their room. The Disneyland Resort had the coolest swimming pool complete with Captain Hooks pirate ship. While we were in California it was too cold to swim so we just took pictures.

The Layton fam in front of a mural just inside the hotel

The girls with Jasmine. Yes...va-va voom Jasmine! SHEESH!

Shaking hands with another Goofy. With this guy, Gabbie was pulling on his whiskers.

Striking a pose with Minnie

Miss Tess meets Miss Minnie Mouse

I think Gabbie may have remembered Minnie's shiny nose from breakfast

I don't know if this was Chip or Dale but whoever it was was giving Tessa kisses.

Callie and Chip or Dale giving each other high fives

Todd and another one of his new buddies

Two little mouses and me

Jeez...Todd seemed to be having the time of his life meeting all these new friends.

Tessa and her daddy playing with legos at the lego store at Downtown Disney

Friends forever!

Daddy and his baby in front of the mural of Cinderella's castle

Goodbye Disneyland! We will be back and Clint will be joining us!

The welcoming committee in SLC. That was a nice surprise! So many people love the Layton family.

Day Five pics under construction

Hey Folks-

Day five pics are coming but it's 11:00 pm and blogger is super slow and I am super tired. I will post pics from our last day tomorrow morning.

We are sad we had to leave and come home to cold Utah but we walked away with some incredible memories we will always hold dear to our hearts and we've experienced some amazing things and witnessed God's hand in bringing to pass the beginning of a miracle. The trip was filled with love and laughter and we return home with faith, hope and peace for Clint. We love him and his family so much and would do anything for them. This life is all about family and loved ones and we are thankful to have had this great opportunity to love and enjoy each other. Even though family and friends may get on our nerves sometimes, life is about learning to look past those things and love each other for who are all are despite minor faults and petty annoyances. We will have our families forever and we are thankful for our Heavenly Father that he created a plan for us to be together forever and we are thankful to him and his Son for their love and their mercy.

Disneyland truly is the happiest place on earth. The only downfall to our trip is that no other vacation will come close to what we've experienced this weekend. When we go back someday, we will hate having to wait in line instead of having the privilege of by passing everyone and going to the front and never again will we get special access to all the characters. DANG IT! :) Being there at the magic kingdom, we were able to have a great time despite the looming circumstance and Clint was our old Clint again. Everyday he seemed to get better and his spirits have lifted exceedingly. There is a magic to Disneyland no one will ever be able to beat and we look forward to going back with Clint and Kelly again. That's right...this trip will not be Clint's last. We know it with all our hearts!

Keep fighting Clint! You will get through this because of a loving, merciful Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. You will watch your daughters grow and we will return to Disneyland many more times in your life here on this earth. We love you so much!

Day four pics!

Every year Disney has a new theme. This year for 2010, the theme is Celebrate. On all of our Hopper Passes they each said something different about celebrating. I asked to see a couple of our passes and these are what some of them said:

Celebrate life
Celebrate friendship
Celebrate memories
Celebrate family
Celebrate imagination
The entire park is decked out in "celebration" apparel. Pretty fitting theme for the given circumstance isn't it?
We are hoping a trip to Disneyland is exactly what Clint needs to get through this!

Cousins forever!
The incredible staff at Disney had a couple of more special surprises for us today. We had the opportunity to meet one on one with two of our favorite princesses back stage. They were so cute and so sweet to all our little girls.


After visiting Cinderella and Snow White, we were whisked away to Toon Town to visit Mickey Mouse at his house.


Our dream maker, Bridget. She has been incredible and so kind to the Layton family. It's people like her that make the world a better place.
If you look closely, you can see Megan and Callie in the back seat. I have to say, Callie is the toughest little girl I know. After Toon Town, she wanted to go on Space Mountain, the Haunted House, and the Tower of Terror. She's only 4! :)

Gabbie was given a Belle baby doll from one of our Disney "dream workers".
Another dream worker Pat. She took us around to all the rides in Fantasy land and gave us an, "It's a Small World" trivia game. She had prizes for all the kids.
This one is for you mom! Yes we rode it in proxy for you and dad.
I loved Tessa's hat so much that I bought one for Gabbie. At least in Utah we will be able to use it for a few more months.
We love Disneyland and this trip will forever hold dear memories for us. We love you Clint! We will continually pray for you and for a miracle.

Day three pics!

Isn't this the cutest hat you have ever seen?

Sibling, best friends and cousin pizza party!

Callie found some Disney characters on the hotel lawns

I'm not really sure what Gabbie and I are looking at in this pic. I meant to upload another pic but it would take me too long to get to the good stuff so this is as good as it gets!
Walking down the middle of Main Street USA

The magic begins...Callie's transformation into a princess at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

Daddy watches as Callie runs around the store looking at all the princess "stuff"

Tasha was Callie's Fairy God Mother today. She was super cute and she and Callie got along great.

Tasha asked Callie who her favorite princess was and Callie told her Sleeping Beauty. Tasha lead Callie to the Sleeping Beauty wall where Callie hand picked everything she wanted to wear. Tasha wrote down her request and sent it to the Fairy God Mother birds to sew together for Callie.
The cute little Layton fam showing off the princess dress Callie picked out
Typical Callie! One minute she is 100% girl dressed head to toe in princess garb and another she is sword fighting with her daddy!
After a few minutes, the little birds were able to sew together Callie's princess outfit and Tasha lead her into her very own dressing room.

Daddy watches as Callie truly becomes "Sleeping Beauty"
Can't you tell how much he adores his little girl? Can you blame him?
Little Tessa kept poking her head out from under Nana's hoodie to see her big sister
Callie is getting her hair and nails done in this picture. I don't know any little girl who would not eat this stuff right up! Truly a little girl's heaven!
Tasha putting the finishing touch on Callie's hair: GLITTER! and the tiara
Presenting.....drum roll please...HER HEINESS, PRINCESS CALLIE!!!!
I love this picture! This is the first time Callie saw her princess makeover in the mirror.
Daddy with his little princess. Always and forever!
Sweet Kelly and Clint
I couldn't resist and if you're wondering...yes, those stayed on for two seconds before Gabbie pulled them off. Just like the bows I put on her head!
In a old picture of Todd and Clint as kids, they are both standing side by side grasping plastic swords. In a place like Disneyland, we had to recreate the memory!
After the princess makeover, Ariel the Mermaid invited Callie and her "court" to dine with her at Ariels Grotto.
Callie and Ariel meet for the first time. Such a splendid party!
The court eating on the patio of Ariels grotto. The food was delicious and I daresay, the best we've all had at a Disney venue!
Ariel also invited all the other Disney princesses to dine with us. These princesses not only look the part-they also sound just like the princesses in the movies. Cute at first, but then their voices kind of get irritating but the little kids love it!
Mulan...so beautiful!
Callie's favorite...Aurora (AKA Sleeping Beauty)
Apparently Todd was married to Sleeping Beauty today. Even Gabbie is looking at her like, "Who the heck are you?"
Cinderella also made the rounds to visit with a new princess!
The Waltons and Todd and Gabbie overlooking the California Screamer ride
Two beauties!
All of us holding up our Livestrong bands. Until there is a cure...LIVESTRONG! We love you Clint! Please keep fighting and keep faith and hope in your heart. Remember, faith is hope in things that cannot be seen. The Lord is mindful of you and your sweet family and you have soooo many people who have prayed and fasted for you.
Clint and another incredible staff member from Disney, Dave. This guy is incredible! He helped get us front row tickets to whatever ride Clint wanted to go on, helped us get front row seats to the Disney parade and the Disney fireworks. Thank you for helping to make this an unforgettable trip!
I have a slight obsession with the muppets. Before the actual Disney parade, there was a tribute to all the Disney volunteer workers and the Muppets starred in this event. I love Piggie and Kermit!
Can you believe that this is a caramel apple? I didn't necessarily want to eat one but I just couldn't resist because this is one of the cutest things I have ever seen.
Fireworks above Cinderella's castle

We were hoping Gabie would stay asleep during the fireworks but who were we kidding? She woke right up and loved all the lights and sounds.
We do not remember days, we remember moments. I hope I am not being annoying taking these tender moments of Clint and Kelly with my camera. If I am someone please tell me to back off. I just love these two people sooooo much.
I don't know what it is with these two but they are crazy for each other. Callie always comes over to Gabbie and strokes her face and gives her hugs. Whenever Gabbie sees Callie, she either laughs, yells or holds her arms out towards her. Cousin Love!
Kathy and her sweet son. We love you guys! Stay strong and keep fighting.

Thanks to all of you who have fasted and prayed for Clint today. Over the last couple of days, his feet are not as swollen and he is genuinely looking a ton better than he did when we arrived. He is joking around, making us laugh and acting like the old Clint we love and remember. Please Heavenly Father hear our prayers and be mindful of all the prayers and faith of those who love this dear family! We love Clint and his family so much and we are having a great time. There is an overwhelming sense of happiness, love, reverence and peace that we are all feeling. This trip will be one that none of us will ever forget.