Category: Extended family

July 4th at Spring Lake


There are two stories of our Spring Lake retreat for July 4th. The first story is peaceful, quiet, and relaxed. The next story is more crowded with cousins and family. Each has its place and is important.

Richard J. brought me homemade Swig cookies~La La Land~ice cream run~sunset views of the Payson temple~4 of 5 siblings and families attend~My aunt’s family attends~pretty tables~big lunch~birthday cake for Sarah~nap on the couch in the middle of everything going on~babies ~littles ~middles ~teens ~twenties ~thirties ~forties ~fifties ~sixties

Mark’s Summer Adventure

These pictures came to me gradually over the week that Mark was gone. It was a fun to see how far he traveled each day. He said he really, really loved Mount Rushmore and many other things on his trip with his cousins and grandparents.

Crazy Horse

 

Martin’s Cove

I know Mark will always remember this trip and love his grandparents for the time they took to get to know him better as they traveled. It’s really a priceless gift.

Snowy morning, a Great Explore, and a Pilgrimage

The sounds of rain stopped sometime after 4:30 am and several inches of snow, silent in its descent, fell on our new plants and young tree foliage. The Sistine Chapel blue of the sky reveals itself between the retracting clouds, and I can hear the thaw begin. Clumps of snow fall from tall branches and the roof releases the water held in crystals, water vapor rising, and liquid water falling, adding to the chorus of dripping water sounds that I hear when I step outside for a photo. There are several accidents on the roads on the way to work and school. The roads aren’t slick, but the snow seems to have shifted capacity for patience or reaction time. Mark may never forgive Nature if the snow is here for his birthday tomorrow. Richard carefully applies the blow drier to his new tomatoes to release them from the weight of snow. I stop at the store and pick up a movie, War and Peace to put on while I fold laundry this afternoon. Richard leaves a little later for work after his garden resuscitation effort.

Earlier this week my sister stopped by after a dentist visit with her children. Excused from public school and home school for a few hours, the children went on an “explore” through the neighborhood without their mothers noticing. Worthy of anything written in a Winnie the Pooh book, the children and baby left the backyard in search of Mark’s favorite hill. I should come with a warning: If you get into a deep conversation with me, you are likely to get lost driving (accidentally drive to Wyoming instead of the family cabin, ’06), burn your dinner (bread caught on fire in the oven, ’04), or lose your children for a while (the great explore of ’17).

We reserved our tickets to the Tucson Temple open House in June. I am so excited about it that I told my sister about it twice while she was here. We will see old friends and take a trip to the Desert Museum; we will eat at La Placita and take a drive to our old haunts. My heart will ache when we drive by our old house which sheltered precious childhood years. We will try to glimpse into the backyard full of lizards and the brick retaining wall that little feet ran across every day. I will be too warm there, but I am grateful to visit the place I was so anxious to leave and give it the proper thanks for all it was to us.

Did I mention we are going to Tucson in June?

Grandma’s mailboxes

A few weeks ago I was looking for something at my parents’ house that our family left there by mistake. I went into the craft room where my mom has a shelf for each grandchild to store things. She often uses these to put misplaced items after the grandchildren leave. Inside my kids’ baskets on the shelves, I found the most amazing assortment of notes, drawings, and cards to my kids from their young cousins, who have been using these baskets as mailboxes. My family didn’t know it!

For Family Home Evening last night we decided to write back. We will slip these into their baskets when they aren’t looking. Shhhh! It’s a surprise.

 

 

St George 2017

Richard continually expressed the idea that it really wasn’t raining and cold and we could go hiking again, but we couldn’t elude the dreary skies. Good thing we weren’t there just for the weather. Here are some memories of the trip:

S’mores in the oven~Tim was sick~Lego Batman Movie~Cousins~Long talks~Superhero movies on tv~Scooby Doo laughter~ Archie comics~Alexa, what will the weather be tomorrow?~Joke Shop~Hospitality~Russ and Nancy’s view!~Krispy Kreme doughnuts

Christmas Eve 2016

Samuel the Lamanite
Angry Nephites
Here we are throwing objects at Samuel and climbing the wall to get Samuel, who does not get injured at this time. You seemed a bit worried.
No arrows or stones could harm the prophet Samuel.
The angel visits the shepherds
Cast photo
This little nephew showed the best concert etiquette as I played.

My mom’s dolls
My sister-in-law Care made the clothes. Every detail is amazing on them.
Sweethearts

Mark’s Adventures with Grandparents

1-dsc_2593-001Mark and I took a trip with my parents to California to visit my Grandma Ruth. Mark wasn’t sure if he would have a good time spending lots of time in a car to be with his grandparents, mom, and great-grandmother, but he did. For real.

He explored the Delta with Grandpa.

He bought doughnuts with Grandpa

He played with Fisher Price toys from the late 1960’s with his cousin who stopped by.

We drove the scenic route on the way home, along the Sacramento river. We stopped at a little diner and had the best lunch with big mugs of milk.

He got a hat at the Donner Memorial gift shop.

He enjoyed a breakfast buffet at our hotel.

He stayed up late watching The Lord of the Rings.

He made and served dinner with Grandma, which he said was a true highlight.

He rewired a lamp with Grandpa, also a highlight.

He crawled under Great-grandma’s furniture to replace electrical cords and loved it.

He met a new dog friend.

He didn’t have to share Pop Tarts with his siblings.

He packed a bag full of Archie comics to enjoy with Grandpa. It was time well shared.

He and Grandma watched movies in the back seat of the car on the drive home.

He grew in admiration for his grandparents and cheered his great-grandmother with his presence. He tried a few funny lines and people laughed. He got to be independent and not compared with older siblings. He soared.