ruminations

WHAT I DID IN 2011

2012-01-17T15:10:00.001-08:00

What kind of year was 2011 for me, you ask? Well, let me think...

In March I went to the Ohio Zoo and had a wonderful encounter with Polar bears!

I went to COSI - the wonderful science museum in Columbus.

The kids discovered telephone booths. Zoe shows her typical temper.

Jim films the family on the news show.

In June, I went back to Ohio, and we went to Hocking Hills.
Absolutely beautiful!

In June, I went to Disneyland!!
This is the only picture I'm in. I think one of the Princesses took it.

In July I went camping at Payson Lakes with all (most) of the family.

We fished.

We played games.

We found out how many glow sticks it takes to light up a tent all night. (answer - 90)

We petted a llama.

I went to the zoo and discovered dinosaurs!

I discovered a granddaughter in an egg.

The T-rex is about to discover Zoe!

I went back to Ohio in September and put the kids on the school bus for a week.

I gained a tenth grandchild in October and he was adorable!

I went back to the zoo and discovered seven grandchildren in an egg!

My husband survived a rear-end collision on his scooter and got a new one out of the deal.

We baptized our little Jimmy!!

I had family in for Christmas!!

Grandpa had someone to read the Christmas story to on Christmas Eve.

And I had the cutest kids ever in the cutest nativity ever, especially the little winged sheep!

Yes, 2011 was a pretty good year!

RURAL RESPITE

2010-12-07T12:33:00.001-08:00

Robert and I had the chance to get away last weekend to small town Utah and it was so nice! We left after work and once we were through all the construction traffic of Utah County, the stress started to loosen up. What was so fun as we drove through so many of the small towns (away from the freeway) like Levan and Nephi and Gunnison were the Christmas decorations. They still have streamers across the streets and nativities in the parks. Lights everywhere - on a very small scale. This park above was in Nephi and was terrific. We also found a restaurant in Nephi called Lisa's cafe (or diner or something). It was beautifully decorated and the food was terrific. So was the service. I wanted to go back in with my camera to get pictures of the Christmas trees and the teddy bears on a seesaw and the beautiful fireplace, but didn't.

This is the B & B we stayed in - the Gunnison Rose Bed & Breakfast. A very old pioneer house that they have very lovingly restored. It is beautiful inside and they do all they can to make you comfortable. I called ahead to ask them make the room cold for us and they did a pretty good job. It wasn't all the way down to 58', but almost!

Our cute bedroom.

The breakfast room was charming and reminded us of the ones in Amsterdam and Cornwall the most. The breakfast, however, was far superior, consisting of bacon and eggs and french toast, instead of fried tomatoes, baked beans and peculiarly tasteless sausage.

The house was all decorated for Christmas

Storm clouds threatened on the way to Manti.

A funny story - the night before, after we were long past Provo, Robert realized that he'd left his temple clothes at home. Sometime during the night, he realized he had also left his suit at home. So this morning as we dressed for the temple, he had his white dress shirt from the day before, black cargo pants and his Sunday shoes. As we drove through Gunnison and then through Manti we kept an eye out for a clothing store - not an easy thing to find in such tiny towns. In Manti there was a small storefront department store on the main street, so Robert quickly pulled a U-turn and we dashed in and went straight to the single tie rack. As we were ruffling through the selection, the salesman came over and in a booming voice said, "You're going to the temple and you forgot your tie. I make more money off that rack of ties than anything else in this store." He made the purchase fun. So, Robert had to buy a tie and later rent temple clothes and we just had to shrug off the unneeded expense and call it a Christmas present or a souvenir of the weekend.

We had never attended a session in Manti before, but had always wanted to. It was beautiful. Robert's great-grandfather, Daniel H. Wells was president of it, long, long ago.

We stopped in Fairview to see the Museum, because Fairview is where many of my ancestors are from - Grandma Sellick's family - the Johnsons, Sandersons and Days. There are a lot of great pioneer things to see, plus great art and sculpture. I was too walked out to stay long - we'll have to go back.

But here is one thing in the museum that is very important to me. This portrait hung in my grandpa Johnson's dining room all of my life till he died when I was 21. He is the tall boy in the middle of the back row. I was so surprised to see it hanging on the wall there - like an old friend. I have to admit I was always creeped out as a child by the little boy painted in, in the middle, posthumously. He looked mean and I didn't like some mean dead kid looking at me.

Here is something we need to take the grandkids to to see - two, I mean one, dinosaurs.

SAMMY AND SUPER HERO-GRANDPA

2010-08-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

Last week Sammy came in to our room, after contemplating Robert's extensive collection of swords, and asked, "Grandpa, did you take all those swords off of bad guys?"

I THINK THAT I SHALL NEVER SEE...

2010-05-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

This was our front yard just over one year ago. Our beautiful maple tree that gave us so much shade and privacy was decimated on the east side by a series of storms that tore off limbs as fast as we could clear them away. Then, in late summer, the power company came and sheared off all of the west side branches - even though they don't even come close to the power lines. But that's a rant for another day. Anyway, all of that led to this:

Robert and Rob took the tree down. By a sheer fluke, they left the house standing, so it wasn't a total loss. But so sad to have the tree gone! The shade, the privacy, the beauty - all gone. So we've spent a lot of time researching new trees and landscaping plans. But when you google "pretty, fast-growing trees, all for free and a landscaper to put them in" not much comes up.

And even though some people thought the stump was great, we felt there ought to be a little more. Erin and I made a couple of trips to nurseries and were encouraged. But last Friday we ended up in Layton. We did not plan to buy there, but we found this Purple Robe Locust that was so pretty and the man said he could get it into the van and we thought all would be well, so we bought it.

Well, the man's idea of "fitting it in the car" and ours was not quite the same, and our trip home from Layton became a 90 minute white-knuckle expedition through all of the backroads of Davis County to Sugar House with 7 feet of the tree hanging out of the back of the van. Halfway home, a wild windstorm kicked up that threw the tree from one side of the car to the other and poor little 4 year old Sammy would have to hang on to the trunk, and Holly tried to reach back and hold on to the pot to try and keep the tree sticking straight out the back and not in the next lane over! We were trying hard to drive slowly to keep the leaves and blossoms on the tree and the wind was NOT helping!

In this picture above you can see all of the limbs from the old maple tree that have spent the winter in the backyard. Robert spent the morning hauling them all to the street for the city clean-up next week. He worked hard all morning before he even tackled the planting.

What could be in a hole that causes so much despair?

Really, really big roots to chop up and dig out.

Finally, Robert and Erin are ready to place it in the hole. I think this is the first of two or three attempts to place it in the hole.

Planting the ground cover shrubs that will fill in and cover the stump.

With triple stakes, this tree will grow straight, dang it! I will personally confront any power company tree killer who dares to trim it!

Now, we just sit back and wait for the next 30 feet to grow.

"The same thing we do every week, Pinky"

2010-05-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

Today's children are not like those we raised in days of yore. They are not amused by simple toys, say, a mailing envelope on the head. They must have the latest technical gadget. These babies won't be bought off with last year's cell phone - even if it has batteries - even if it is charged; if mom and dad don't use it, neither will they. And don't even get them started on a bright plastic colored "phone" that talks like Elmo. They know. They know more than you.

The first thing Max wants EVERYDAY is to have his picture taken on my camera. He always knows where it is. Even when I hide it from view he can still sense it somehow and points right to it. He wants his every mood validated from happy and goofy to sad and despised of all babies. He knows how to wear the right accessories for the shoot.

"See," he says, "I'm sad." "No one loves me. No one lets me play with remotes or cords or grandma's medicine or whatever Sammy has right now or drop my cars in the toilet. I'm gonna eat some worms. Until I get a little taller and then I'll take over the world!"

As I said, you can't buy a child off with a substitute or just pretend. Max knows when I actually take a picture and he knows how to push the buttons to see it on the camera screen. Sometimes he gets so excited that he can't sit still for the photo and lunges for the camera

Or tries to push the button to see the photo before it's even taken.

"What am I thinking now, grandma?"

Max has learned to pose on cue - to "sparkle". But it's all a ploy to suck in the grown-ups, to blind us to his long term plans.

If taking over the world doesn't pan out, he's always got his fall back plan of a rock musician.

I did manage to sneak a photo of him at his most vulnerable, when he lets his hair down, so to speak. Whenever Max has his sippy cup his hand goes up to his head in a little ballerina position - index finger down, the others up daintily as he drinks his milk and drops off to sleep. Perhaps he's not quite the evil overthrower yet.

REMEMBERING GRANDMA WELLS

2010-03-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

Sunday was eleven years since Robert's mother died. Coincidently, March 14, 1999 was a Sunday, too. We decided to have a Sunday dinner that we would have had at Grandma's - minus a few of the very special things that she had the energy to make and we didn't. We had pot roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, and asparagus. We were going to have frog eye salad but settled for orange jello with mandarin oranges in it. We were also going to have her special glazed carrots but time ran out. And you know, now that I think of it, we should have had Rhodes rolls and we could have been sitting at Grandma's. We already sit at her table and use her dishes.

After dinner everyone piled in the van and went up to the cemetery to leave shamrocks and other spring flowers at her grave.

Rob always had a special relationship with his grandma.

Grandma would have absolutely loved her great-grandchildren.

There are several generations of Wells buried in the Salt Lake Cemetery and the kids were anxious to know who all these Wells stones belonged to. Robert's great-grandfather, Daniel H Wells, set aside the land to be the cemetery back in the olden days and reserved a premier spot for himself - right as you enter from Fourth and N Street. But his wives are buried all over the cemetery and Robert's great-grandmother is up with his parents and grandparents in a beautiful old section on a hill.

It was a beautiful day from this beautiful spot.

I talked to Allison later that night and she had prepared the same menu for dinner because of Grandma. She always remembers the day because she was there with Robert and I when Wilma died. Rob was still three weeks from finishing his mission and Dan was at the Y.

All three kids agree, however, that if Grandma were to pick a place for a special dinner, it would be Sizzler - she and Grandpa loved going there.

Erin and Grandma would have gotten along great, Robert and I agree. They both have the same down to earth, cope-with-anything attitude.

CHRISTMAS MONKEYS

2010-01-07T23:58:00.001-08:00

This Christmas we had a houseful of monkeys! Three - Holly, Sam, and Max, who live with us (and their parents) and two more - Zoe and Jim, who came to stay for nine days over the holidays. Oh, and they brought their parents, too.

So, eleven people in our little house. But Christmas was so fun! You just can't have Christmas without kids around. Christmas morning, the presents so overwhelmed the tree that they spilled all over into the living room.

And opening presents with children on Christmas morning. Is there any more special than that?

The fun of watching kids open what they asked for, or even better, something they didn't, but a total surprise Santa knew they'd love even more.

No one ever seems as delighted as Holly!

Ethan and Max, hampered by lunch, looking for the next creative trouble...

The cousins enjoying each other. And the food.

Monkeys in elephant suits, made by grandma.

Here they are at the Matheson Party singing their hearts out on "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas", so they can get to their favorite - the Christmas Monkey song!!

Max and Grandpa playing around.

Zoe was baptized Tuesday the 29th, with all her family and her cousins there. It was a really beautiful night. You can see how happy Zoe is here with Grandpa.

Audrey, Zoe, Holly and Morgan, singing a Primary song at the baptism - "When Jesus was Baptized"

The boys, Ethan, Jim, and Sammy sing along, too. I didn't know that song had hand gestures!

All in all, it was a terrific visit. Lots of relatives, kids, games, noise, presents, good food, and other special times. And Christmas Monkey is still stuck in my head...along with his monkety cheer!

GOODBYE TO OUR GIVING TREE

2009-11-07T16:50:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo of our house, taken two years ago when our wonderful tree was still whole and unassaulted. It blocked the sun all summer and cooled our living room and porch. In the winter, all the leaves dropped away letting the sun stream in through the bay window, making everything cozy. The tree kept the rain off of the wheelchair ramp, so I could always make it to the car dry. It kept the front steps a shady place to sit with the grandkids and blow bubbles.
But this spring, the forces lined up against the tree. First was a series of severe wind storms.

They took most of the limbs off of the east side of the tree. A couple of months later, the power company came and cut out the entire west side of the tree. Evidently the limbs grew somewhat in the vicinity of the power lines - not anywhere actually close enough to touch, or fall on, or grow over to, but perhaps they just thought it would be easier to trim the front tree, rather than the back tree, that actually has power and phone lines running all through it!

So this is what was left of our beloved tree. It's hard to tell without the leaves, but the tree goes straight up in the air, and out over the street. It no longer shades the house or the porch. And if it doesn't do its good jobs anymore, that just leaves its bad job - it has roots growing through the sewer pipes. We've ignored it till now, the time has come. It has to go.

I wish I had video of Robert and Rob taking this tree down. The limb that almost came through the window. The limbs that hit and/or almost hit the ladder the guys were standing on while using the chain saw. In this photo, Rob runs in and pushes the trunk over, as it starts to fall backward onto Robert. Some law of physics was missed in their calculations.

Dan arrived just after the trunk came down and helped with all of the cutting up, and hauling back, and sweeping up, and raking and all of the mess that occurs when taking down a tree this large.

So, here's our little house now. It looks so small and forlourn. We need to get the new trees planted soon. And Ill be happier in the spring when all the colorful bulbs bloom. I wonder how many years it will take before we have shade again?

DAY TRIP! SAN DIEGO!

2009-10-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

Dia de los Muertos

The Day of the Dead is fast approaching and Old Town in San Diego is replete with everything you could want to celebrate it. Or be creeped out by it.

The day was exceptionally windy and the ocean was wild. This is Wind and Sea Beach and the elements were living up to their name today. The waves were high and crashing, there were palm tree fronds all over the streets and not nearly as many seals as usual out on the rocks.

Grandma and the Mariachis. 'Nuff said.

La Plaza de Reyes restaurant, where we had the best lunch. Really. The moist, tasty tamales, fresh soft corn tortillas, delicious chili verde...I can't go on or we'll have to make another trip back to San Diego!

Here we are on our porch, with a beautiful clear day behind us!

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

2009-10-26T18:44:00.001-07:00

Today started out with another gorgeous, sunny day. It was going to be about 80' - the hottest all week, so we decided to spend it at the beach and the pool. That is, after sleeping in till after 9:30 because we played cards so late last night.

Robert wasn't feeling well, so he stayed home. I'm glad he feels better tonight.

We went to Crystal Cove State Park - just across the street from our complex. It's the beach where the Chlarson's little beach house was (in fact we were sitting almost right in front of it) and is also where they filmed Beaches. That house is on the far right of this photo.

I only waded in the ocean up to my knees, but my parents dove right in. That's them barreling through a wave, Mom on the left and Dad on the right.

After lunch, we went back to the resort and to the Quiet Pool. Something more my speed. I went in and swam two lengths and then was pleasantly cool to sit in the shade and read my book the rest of the afternoon.

This is a Marriott resort and is beautiful. And so well-constructed. We have two little boys staying in the room over us and can't even hear them - until they go outside and run around.

Another beautiful sunset! Every night is different from the one before. But I have to go - it's dinner time!

CALIFORNIA, HERE I COME!

2009-10-24T08:43:00.001-07:00

Well, here we are at the ultra-luxurious Newport Coast Villas. This is the view from our patio, taken as we arrived at sunset last night. I'll be posting photos as the week goes on, if I can find time in my planned schedule of laying by the pool, laying on the beach, laying on the chaise... well, you get the idea.

OCTOBER? SERIOUSLY?

2009-09-30T23:22:00.000-07:00

I know this year has zipped past quickly, but I can't think of a single thing that I did in September, went to in September, anything that made it seem like September actually happened. It was August and tomorrow is October. I blame it all on not having a computer. My calendar is on the computer so I never knew what day it was. I only checked email and facebook every 3-6 days so I was always behind. And instead of going to doctors several times a week, I think I only had two appointments in all of September. So nothing to keep track of.

But, now my computer's back - I can surf and calendar and pay bills and read mail and spend great amounts of time doing things like making photo collages like the one above - wasn't I adorable?

MY SUMMER WITH THE GRANDKIDS

2009-07-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

Don't let the fact that I am blogging from my hospital bed make you think that this has not been a summer of tremendous fun! I had planned to be surrounded by one grandchild, and instead have been blessed with many more. Zoe came out for her seven week stay and we had a blast. I'm so grateful that 1) Allison and Chris let her stay that long; 2) that Zoe was happy and not homesick for seven weeks; and 3) that Rob and Erin were here to take over for the weeks when I was sick, or Zoe would have spent a lot of time on grandma's bed. This picture is how I will most remember this summer - watching the kids swinging in the backyard. I think that they had a truly idyllic kid experience - in and out of the shady backyard all day, bare feet, always someone to play with, swings, slides, make believe, sprinklers to run in, hide and seek in the plum trees, bubbles, kids to visit with over the fence, popsicles. Of course, I'm leaving out all the squabbles, but that's part of it, too.

The first thing we did this summer was go to Snowbird. Everyone came to spend our swan song there - we have since sold our timeshare - and it was becoming a tight squeeze for our growing family. It was fun to get the large room, the Pinnacle, with the kitchen bar and washer/dryer. We made good use of both. The kids wanted to swim. And swim. And later ...swim. Never mind that it was foggy and snowing outside. That's all they wanted to do.

In between swimming, we bribed them with no end of crafts - we painted suncatchers, made wooden models, colored pictures, made animal magnets, alligator sticker scenes and log cabin with moose, racoons, and other wildlife alongside. We also had a birthday party for Holly, played games, watched movies, ate great food. And the men played games after the kids went to sleep.

We also had a slumber party at our house. Erin was the selfless soul who camped out with the kids. I don't think anyone got any sleep. Morgan is almost old enough to stay with the group - and then things will get lively - her energy output alone equals the rest of the group together!

Ethan manged to climb up in the tree and that was it for Zoe - she had to do it. She put on her hated long jeans and her (gasp) sneakers and tried over and over and finally made it into the tree. It remained a big deal for a couple of weeks - she'd climb up and read a book in the branches. But eventually it just wasn't worth the long pnats and the shoes.

Robert, Zoe and I went to the Quirrh Temple Open House. We went early on a Thursday morning and had virtually the entire temple to ourselves. It was beautiful and very peaceful - a great way to see a temple.

It was fun to watch Rob and Erin do FHE each week. Zoe was so enthralled with it that if something happened to push it to Tuesday...,well, there had better be a darn good reason for it. Holly and Sam have been taught so well by their parents that Holly has an amazing knowledge of the scripture stories. Sam probably does too, but he squirrels around so much that it's hard to tell. Max sttend FHE, but as you can see, he doesn't pay attention.

On one of the only days I felt well enough to go somewhere by myself, Zoe and I spent the day at Temple Square. We saw everything - the grounds, fountains, monuments, visitors centers, buildings, cafes, and distribution. It was a beautiful, cool day - temperature in the 70's, we wore Sunday dress, and it was just a special day. Here in the photo she came to see where her parents' wedding reception was. We went into the tabernacle amd sat on the benches and listened to the pin drop and marveled that the pioneers could make such a huge, wonderful building. Then we went straight to the Conference Center and even though I've been there many times, coming from the tab, we were just blown away with the size of the auditorium. We took the tour through the center, seeing the artwork and history. Zoe was amazed that there were trees and grass growing on the roof. I scared the tour guide when I suddenly slid off the wheelchair to just "lay down on this couch for a little while." We had a fun day.

Talk about the desert blossoming as a rose - these Church gardeners can almost make Salt Lake look like Victoria.

The parade float that consumed our lives for three weeks. Rob did most of the work and suffered most of the pain, but Zoe got the glamor:

Putting Zoe on the float was just a ploy to coax her parents into letting her stay longer - and it worked! Zoe was here from Snowbird to the 24th of July, a full seven weeks, but she was off on a plane home to mom and dad by six AM the next morning.

Now that they've found an answer to my falling down/passing out problems, I hope to be up and doing more with the grandkids again. I need to hurry - there's a whole bunch of birthday overnights coming up!

FOR A PRINCESS IS A DELICATE THING

2009-07-07T00:08:00.000-07:00

I was trying to get caught up on my pic- tures - there are so many because I have so many kids running around. But this series from the Mother's Day picnic are the ones that jumped out at me. This is our pretty princess, Morgan, and these photos show how she gets her super-princess power to carry out her very busy days: gnawing on red meat...all she can get.

Soon the delicate child is hanging from the rafters, letting out Tarzan yells and concocting wild stunts with her brother.

However, they don't always work out as planned.

MY HERO

2009-05-17T12:12:00.001-07:00

I don't know how many of you know that I am married to Superman. You may think that you have found Mr Right and he may be Mr-Right-Enough-For-You, but I have the winner.

Not only has he had to put up with me for the last 33 years, but the last year. When I fell apart because kids were moving away. When I kept going to visit them. When I got sick in August and haven't gotten better yet. When I plan big plans and then he has to carry them out because I'm sick. When I make him come listen to every little detail of some stupid thing I'm doing because he's the only one I ever see. When he lets me complain about the same pain or symptom, big or small, that he's heard me complain about over and over and over.

He treats me as if I'm the most special person in the world - not sick, not fat, not silly, and makes my dinner and does the laundry as if he looked forward to doing them. We eat dinner together every day, in spite of his busy Bishop schedule.

We love to be together and to talk together. Our favorite vacations are still on the road together, hours a day, driving - whether in Yellowstone or Cornwall - it's the sharing that makes it fun. Without his unfailing love and unselfishness, my life would have been so different and so awful! I only hope to pay it all back some day. I love you, Robert!

HOW LOVELY WAS MY APRIL

2009-04-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

Spring is my favorite season. Robert prefers the colors and crispness of fall, but I love the new colors, the blossoms, the emerging life and unpredictable weather. I love having a sunny 68 degree day, followed by snow that weighs down the daffodils all morning and melts by dinnertime. Five days of rain is a wonderful thing - I love umbrellas and the sound of the drops on the pavement. And most of all, that brilliant blue, blue sky that stands as a backdrop to the white and pink blossoms, the new-green tender leaves, and the magnificent snowy Wasatch range.

I spent the first half of April in Ohio, and they had a beautiful spring, too. More blossomy trees and green everywhere. The bluest sky I have seen in Columbus before, and more days of sun than rain. Allison and Chris' home is in a small rural area with large green, grassy yards and lots of trees. Their own yard is filled with these beautiful white blossomed ones. Their front yard has a natural depression that fills with water each spring and a family of ducks make their home there.
I went back to visit and to be with Zoe over her Spring Break, while the rest of the family was in school and at work. Jimmy took a couple of days off of school to be home with me, too, plus the weekends. And I came prepared! These kids - especially Jimmy - love to make crafts. So I stocked up on Easter and spring themed supplies and we had one project every day.

One of the first ones was these shirts. I had the pieces from another project, so I just bought the T-shirts and let them glue them on, knowing the shirts would be a one-time thing. But Jimmy loved his so much and was concerned that the glue wasn't holding the pieces on, that I spent hours over several nights hand stitching every little piece on the shirts. And just let me tell you how hard it is to get a needle through felt that has been completely hardened by dried glue! Anyway, by the time I got them finished, the day before Easter, Jimmy had figured out that this was a shirt with a BUNNY on it, and if he ever wore it outside the house someone would probably beat him up! I had to insist he wear it long enough for me to take the photo. As you can tell by his snobby French expression, he is letting me know, "You can make me wear it, Grandma, but you can never make me like it!"

But we did lots of fun things. We stitched and decorated felt bags that they used for their Easter baskets. We made little carrot and bunny cars. We made foam Easter houses. We blew out eggs and dyed them and then made

them into egg animals. Plus animal magnets for the fridge and picture frames with Australian animals. Because one day, Zoe and I are going to go to Australia and go to Steve Irwin's zoo and hold a koala. We have it planned.

One of the first nights I was there, Allison and Chris went out, leaving me to watch the kids. I ordered in pizza and told them we were going to have a movie night. They immediately went over to the 'kids' section of their DVD collection, which are all animated movies and I told them no. We were going to watch a 'Family' movie. This immediately had them both howling and protesting, with Zoe on the floor. I very calmly said that there were movies that were in between kids and grown-ups and we were going to watch a family movie. I went through the shelves and picked "Hatari". Zoe continued to throw her tantrum on the floor, right up till the pizza arrived, which surprised me, because she has watched some of it with me before and liked it. Jimmy agreed to watch it after I described all of the animals that are in it - giraffes and elephants and monkeys and even a rocket - and it opens right up before the credits with an exciting rhino chase. But they were into the movie almost instantly and even though it is almost 3 hours long and went way past their bedtime, by the climax when the three baby elephants are chasing the girl all around the town, through stores and hotels, Jimmy came right up off his seat and said, "Did they make a video game of this movie?"

You would think after this success I would have had an easier experience the second I proposed a family movie, but no. This time, Jimmy had the tantrum when Zoe and I picked "The Court Jester". But, again, he was right into it and the rest of the week went around trying to say, "the pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle." The last day Zoe and I were alone we watched the muscial "My Sister Eileen". She loved it. She got up and tried to do some of the dances along with the show. During her bath later she sang the songs at full volume. But I know the next time I suggest a 'Family' movie I'll get the same protests. Why are kids so stubborn?

The night before I was to leave Zoe was very upset. Allison had gone in to put Jimmy to bed and I went in with Zoe. Jimmy could hear Zoe crying and asked why. Allison said that Zoe was sad that grandma was going home because she would miss her. Jimmy said, "I'll miss grandma, too. Am I sad?" And then he started to cry. She calmed him down and I went in and kissed him goodnight and he was fine. But Zoe would not be settled. She continued to cry and got more out of control as the hour went on. After about 30 minutes, Jimmy got out of bed and asked his dad what was wrong with Zoe. Chris said that Zoe was just sad. Jimmy said, "Well, I'm sad, too. Tell Zoe to shut up!" Jimmy can miss me, but there's a limit. Zoe's been fine since I left. We're both looking forward to her coming this summer.

When I got home, a few days after Easter, I thought it was time to take down the Christmas decorations. Well, I had thought it was time since the end of February, but I've been sick and have had no one to help. And, of course, I just mean the 55 or so nativities that actually come down. The tree went away at the end of February. Robert had cleaned the living room carpet so nicely while I was gone and cleaned out the den, so the boxes were easily accessible. He brought boxes up and down from the basement all day and I got everything packed up and stowed by the late afternoon. It is much easier to put them away than to set them out!

And then, the last accomplishment of April - Rob's graduation from BYU with his MBA!! This is such a wonderful achievement for him and for Erin. The hard work and sacrifice they have each had to put in to this degree is amazing. I am so proud of them. I know all the best will come out of it and our prayers for them are constant. Way to go!!!!!!

EASTER IN OHIO

2009-04-12T06:47:00.001-07:00

SPRINGTIME FOR DUCKIES IN OHIO

2009-04-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm here in Columbus enjoying the beautiful 60' days followed by the snow squalls, so you know it's spring! Water has filled the little ditch in front of Allison and Chris' home and their annual spring ducks have returned. The neighbors say they always come back to that spot. The kids have had a fun time feeding them bits of bread and getting use to having them around.

Zoe and Jimmy and I have been making all kinds of Easter crafts and decorations. Plus playing games, snuggling up together and watching movies. We've had a very fun time. They are
very good about watching the clock for 6:00am before climbing in bed with me!

Allison invited me to sing with her ward choir for the Easter program and we had a rehearsal Saturday. She's got a great arrangement of Easter hymns and really got the group together. By the end of the hour she had really made a difference in her choir. We're going to practice again next Saturday before Easter.

After Conference on Sunday we drove over to see
Ben and Amanda's new house. We only left 10

minutes early because their old apartment was just a couple of miles away and they are still in the same ward. I forgot that being in the same ward doesn't mean a couple of miles here and we were 20 minutes late! But their home is beautiful and they have done so much lovely work on it. I wasn't sure we were going to get Jim to leave - he has such a crush on Ben.

Allison is still in a lot of pain, but everything is getting done and life is rolling on. I'll be here one more week.

IT'S SPRING! TIME TO TURN OVER A NEW...

2009-03-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

I know you all thought that I would never update my blog, but seriously, the last ten weeks have been a steady, boring, long, dark spell, centered totally around my bed and my bathroom, interrupted only by the fun weekend spent with those cheery fellows from Neerings (and I wrote about that!) so you haven't missed a thing. But now, I have had three days in a row where I have been out of bed, dressed, and today I actually drove myself to the doctor and walked -no wheelchair - into his office. So, three cheers for me!

I have spent most of this week scanning photos and organizing photos and backing up photos and... well you get the idea. It started with a simple project of lining up photos of my sister Dawn from her childhood to the present so I could put them into ecards and drag out her 50th birthday as long as possible. I think I've succeeded in helping her remember (every single day for a week) that it's coming this Sunday.

And that project led to finding all of the current photos of the grandkids and making sure I had scanned all of those before I put them into their frames. By the way, all of the new photos from Christmas are in their frames now and need to be displayed, but the Nativities are all still up from Christmas because I've been kinda bed-bound. If anyone wants to come and help me wrap up about 600 little pieces, I'd appreciate it.

And that project led into making sure I had a good sampling of photos scanned and printed for my Grandma Brag Book that I carry in my purse. After printing all the studio shots, I went looking for some of the more candid cousin shots. I love to see the kids play together. And that's what most of these pictures are here. If this let me post more than 5 photos at a time, I'd have so many cute cousin pictures. Maybe now that my photos are in better shape, I'll just post favorites whenever, even though they're not current.

So now that I am feeling well I hope to start getting out and seeing people again and going places again and, well, just being different. And after the last 10 weeks, anything different has got to be good.

Aren't they all cute? I know Max and Noah aren't here, but they're on my facebook page.

How We $pent the Holiday Weekend

2009-02-18T07:11:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day began like every other day has for the last month - me, sick in bed with "intestinal troubles" and Robert in the living room at the desk he has set up there since I have been sick. We watched a show or two together during the day, shared a little cake, no cards, no presents. Just a low key holiday befitting a sick person and these bad economic times.

But around six o'clock we both began to smell a slight burning odor. Robert checked the whole house and walked aound outside checking the roof. The only other option was the basement. Sure enough, He found that a hot water pipe tucked deep behind the hotwater heater and extremely inaccessible was leaking and had filled the small cement area that holds the furnace and the water heater. The bottom of the furnace had gotten wet, forcing water into the blower and burning out the motor. Robert shut off the furnace, shut off the hot water, duct taped the leak as best he could, and then spent the rest of Valentine's evening with our tiny shop-vac siphoning up the standing water and dumping it down the open drain in the basement. As he was doing this, however, he realized that the water foamed up and smelled of detergent...he had been doing laundry all afternoon...it wasn't just a leaky pipe...the sewer had backed up!

When he was finished we assessed our options: Saturday night and Sunday would add big emergency fees. Monday was a holiday, but maybe not for repairmen. Could we holdout for Monday? The no furnace wasn't too bad. You know we already keep the house between 55 and 62 degrees. But when it got to 47 we broke out the space heater. And over night we opened the kitchen cupboards under the sink that are most in danger of freezing and put the heater there. Having no hot water was no fun - we still had cold water, soap and hand sanitizer. But Robert's shampoo before church on Sunday was brisk! Which leaves the drains. We knew they were draining for the present and Robert went down frequently to double check - for those of you who are not familiar with our house, the basement is only reached from the outside, down through steep stairs, is only 5 feet high and has dirt walls, it is no picnic to run up and down to it. So we decided we could leave it till Monday.

Sunday was cold. My many trips to the cold bathroom made me colder. Washing my hands in cold water and then cold sanitizer made me colder. And worrying about whether I should be flushing the toilet probably led to more trips to the bathroom! I was glad when Robert got home from church so he could sit under the quilt with me and watch movies and get warm.

Monday morning, sharp at nine, our man, Steve, from Neerings arrived with help. Yep, they said, the furnace motor's got to go, $846. Yep, that pipe is bad, the whole thing is rotted, new pipe, new valve, horrible position - with labor $451. But the sewer's OK, the pipe did all the damage. Robert said no, the water was soapy, check the sewer. The furnace and pipe were finished in two hours. The sewer, which was completely blocked, took four more hours, two more trucks, more men, more equipment and $1200 more dollars. During all this time, all six hours of this time I am in my bed, needing to go to the bathroom often, plus counting down the hours to 4:00PM when I'm supposed to start the prep for my colonoscopy the next day. Things get to a really bad state about 1:00PM when the men announce they are going out for a sandwich while they wait for a bigger truck. Robert called after them, "Can we use the toilet?" "Yes, but don't flush!" That's when I started calling around for a place to go. But you are really limited on friendship when you are looking for a place to lay on someone's couch and make a mess in their bathroom. My parents were not home and my kids live too far away.

But we carried on, the men came back, and they finished up at 3:00PM. We paid the whopping bill, started to think of all the other things we could have done with that much money, and then decided not to.

CHRISTMAS IN OHIO

2008-12-24T11:46:00.001-08:00

Robert and I returned late last night from a week in Columbus - very, very cold Columbus - visiting the Hill branch of the family and had a great time. After taking off over an hour late from SLC in a snowstorm, waiting to be de-iced, waiting our turn on the one runway that was plowed, we had a non eventful trip to Minneapolis, where, although it was noon, it was 2' below zero. I don't think I was ever completely warm again. We again had to wait to be de-iced and watched as snow flew around. I don't think it was actually snowing - just blowing around stuff that will never melt till July. Columbus was incredibly cold and yet no snow. Freezing rain, and frozen roads bad enough to suspend school, but no snow until, of course, as we drove to the airport yesterday to fly home! There is nothing that gives you confidence in your flying safety as you taxi toward the runway (the same week that the Continental plane skidded off the runway in Denver) and your pilot keeps jamming on the brakes as if to test them and makes sure they really work - I hope those weren't all close calls with other aircraft, that's even scarier. And then when that plane landed in Cincinnati and we were taxi-ing to the gate, the jet skidded and fishtailed on the frozen ground. Such fun. And then our flight to SLC was delayed quite a bit by the storms. But when we finally boarded there were no problems, no ice, no storms and we're home!

But leaving Ohio was so hard! We had fun and Zoe and Jimmy didn't want us to go. Robert and I got to go to Zoe's school and volunteer at her holiday party, making Gingerbread houses. Robert made some good friends at his end of the table, and after Zoe made her house say OHIO on one side of the roof and UTAH on the other, suddenly all the kids wanted to write words on their houses, too. But some of them couldn't figure out that you had to pull the strings of licorice apart first and got very grumpy when they couldn't bend a huge hunk of licorice into a letter. Later that night we went to the Columbus Zoo to see the lights. They were on a level of magnitude higher than Hogle, just as the huge zoo is higher than Hogle, but they didn't have all of the cute moving and running animal lights that Hogle did. A really impressive display though was all of the lights in the trees and areas around the lake were set to dance to music and it was wonderful. If the kids would have braved the cold better, we could have gone all over the zoo - there were millions of lights everywhere! There was also Santa and this posed a problem. The item that Jimmy wanted is sold out everywhere - a certain Thomas the Tank Engine train. Allison finally found one that is not that specific one, but is from the same movie and is bigger and has been trying to talk him into it, but no luck. So she managed to get to Santa first and quickly explained things. Santa told Jim that he knew what Jimmy wanted, but he knew of something even more wonderful and that Jimmy would be happy on Christmas morning. And Jimmy was okay with it. For about two days. And then he was right back to the original and how Santa can bring it because his elves can make it, etc. The other problem at the zoo was Zoe. She has steadily wanted one thing since October - the Tinkerbell movie. Nothing else will do. So, she asked Santa for movie tickets to see some movie I can't remember the name to. Allison and I were agape (we already bought the Tinkerbell movie). Zoe just shrugged and said, "I changed my mind." Kids.
On Sunday, we had our own Christmas dinner and mini-Matheson party. Ben and Amanda came over. Allison set the most gorgeous table. This was in the afternoon after leading her choir in their Christmas program in Sacrament Meeting. Robert made a pork roast, Allison made mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables, Amanda brought Grandma Matheson's homemade rolls, and Allison made a hot fudge cake with peppermint ice cream for dessert.

We had British crackers to pull and wore the paper hats that come out of them. The food was wonderful and it was nice to have an extended family group together.
Afterwards we opened presents from the Matheson draw and from Grandma and Grandpa Matheson and other presents from SLC family. Zoe was wearing her new Christmas dress that looks like the one Rosemary Clooney wore in White Christmas and every time she entered a room while wearing it, she would pose dramatically and sing, "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas".

Jimmy was completely attached to Grandpa. He had him in his room almost the whole first day we were there, building the most elaborate train track, with tunnels and bridges, and 5 trains running on it. At night he refused to go to bed because he thought we'd leave while he was asleep. Robert finally manged to convince him we'd still be there in the morning and Jim said, "Good, because, I certainly need you tomorrow." Every morning Jimmy and Grandpa would start the day watching the movie Cars.

At night after the kids were in bed, Allison and I and which ever husband we could get to join us, would play games. We played Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, Sorry, Life, Apples to Apples, Rummikub, Rummy royal - I know I'm forgetting some, but we had a lot of fun. Especially when we ran out of hotels in Monopoly and used candy instead. Then as you got foreclosed, you could just eat them up!

We got to see Allison's cafe, got to shop for Christmas presents, wrap them up and have fun together. I even got to be a duck in Relief Society. All in all, we had a great time, and it was very sad to say goodbye again. But gratifying to see how well they are doing in Columbus.

LIGHTS, ANIMALS, ACTION!

2008-12-08T14:34:00.000-08:00

We went to see the Hogle Zoo Lights with Dan and Dawn and their family on Saturday evening and it was a lot of fun! We thought we'd go while the weather was still warm, and judging by the snow piling up outside, we made the right decision.

We arrived at the zoo shortly after 5:00 - just at dusk. The zoo was just starting to fill up and the weather was just nippy. We were glad for our coats, hats and gloves.

The lights are everywhere in the zoo - lining the walkways, up the trees, and in moving displays of animals. There were frogs leaping, foxes chasing rabbits, bears hunting prey, a beautiful peacock spreading his tail and many more. I think they have to do this because most of the animals go to sleep when it gets dark and there aren't many to see. The monkeys were awake and playing, as were the leopards. Some of the buildings were open to warm up in, like the small animal building, and the snakes were as awake as they ever are!

They have put in a carousel since I was there last and the kids clamored to ride it. Well, all except Morgan, who was terrified of the wild animals. Dan was never able to actually sit her on one and ended up standing and holding her as the ride went round and round, and she called "Need you!" as she saw Dawn. After the carousel, I took her on my lap to cuddle her and warm her up as we scootered along on my Rascal. The next time we went into a building and I let her down and told her to go to Daddy, she said, "No, Cappaw!" and went straight to grandpa and very decidedly held his hand. So, little Daddy's girl, who insists that Dan do everything for her, has a limit, and evidently Dan crossed it with his carousel ride of torture. Morgan stayed with either Robert or me the rest of the night. I loved it!

We saw some Irish dancers perform and inspite of the cold, none of the three kids moved a muscle while watching and we had to drag them away. (I need to point out here that Noah was also with us, and aside from waking up once to eat, he very politely remained asleep and contented the whole time.) About 6:30 the wind picked up and it became horribly cold. We put our heads down into it and struggled to the exit, with our minds full of the hot chocolate we were headed home to, and were glad we were not one of the hordes who had gathered to come then - the parking lot was filled to overflowing and long lines streamed to each ticket window!
If you go to see the Zoo Lights, and I recommend it, go early!

DECORATING WITH CHILDREN

2008-12-01T09:15:00.000-08:00

Hurray for December!

I was in a funk about decorating this year. It didn't seem worth hauling out 50 or so nativities and other Christmas things if no grandchildren were going to be around to enjoy them. I had even bought new Fisher-Price sets to expand the one the kids play with the most before I realized that no one is around to drop in during December to play with them!

So I decided to make my own fun and invited Audrey and Holly to come and help me set up the Nativity sets. And we had a ball. Robert and I got all of the books and other displays out of the

bookcases before the girls arrived and Robert brought up most of the boxes I thought we'd need. When Audrey and Holly ran through the door and saw the big empty cabinet with its doors looming open, they both took a breath and said, "Oh boy, this is going to be a lot of work!"

I showed them how to build up varied heights on the shelves with blocks and how to pick a good color drape to show off the pieces. We looked through my photo album of all 120 sets and I let them have quite a bit of (guided) leeway in picking what they wanted - and did not - want to display.

The first shelves we did were the two filled with the Santas from around the world. We read where each was from and the story that goes along with it. They were fascinated by the different costumes and customs, especially by the Japanese figure, which has two faces, and the two women, Italy's la Befana, and Russia'a Babushka, who missed their chance to see the Christ child and then spend the rest of their lives seeking Him. Audrey wanted to know exactly where each country was, so we set each figure out as if they were on a great big map of the world before they split them up into the two shelves.

They were so eager to open each new box and unwrap each new piece that Robert, sitting in his den, said it was like listening to people watching fireworks -- all the oohs and aahs. Occasionally, in their enthusiasm, I had to remind them that these were breakable, but for the most part they were great and we really had a fun time.

After about three hours, we were almost finished and the girls were about at their limit, so I gave them the job I had saved for last - the Fisher-Price sets. This was just what they needed to rejuvenate them! So many people and animals and tents! Plus the musical angel. They set it all up according to the box pictures and then immediately began to change it all as they made up their stories and played. The stories began right from the scriptures and deteriorated from there. As I put the finishing touches on the displays, I overheard bits and pieces. Holly is definitely picking up her Dad's vocabulary, because one line shouted over and over was, "Baby Jesus is freaking cold! He's freaking cold!" I guess they got over the cold because the girls paired up all the figures: wiseman & camel, Mary & Joseph, sheep & sheep, etc, and they all danced to the angel's music. Audrey and Holly took turns dipping each other. It's a good thing that all of the work was over and all breakables were under glass!

Having the girls here made the whole day fun and now my living room is festive and cheery and my funk is gone. We'll have to make this a yearly Christmas tradition!

PS -The unsung hero of the day, as usual, is Robert, who had to bring in the empty boxes for the bookcase stuff, haul those away, bring up all of the nativity boxes, and more nativity boxes, and more, and search for some more that we wanted, and at the end af the day, take them all away - all while suffering from a really bad chest cold. Thank you.

IT'S WINTER! SNOW AND KIDS

2008-11-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

November and snow have come to Salt Lake. After a picture perfect October with beautiful yellow leaves on my maple trees contrasting with my green lawn, and delightful temperatures, November hit with a bang. Trees and shrubs are bowing down to the ground under the weight of the 4 1/2 inches that we received here on Wednesday. I know it started snowing Tuesday at my Dad's house and in the mountains, so they've all received more.

Robert was going to take in the swings before it snowed but because the tree looked so lonely without them, he just couldn't bear to do it just yet. Today, even under the canopy of leaves left on the tree, they got a fair amount of snow and they look even lonelier!

But snow means nice cold temperatures and quieter neighbors and less yard work and HOLIDAYS!!! And holidays mean family.

Here are a couple of photos from our get together when Allison was in town.

A smiling Noah!

And Morgan in her "Princess Sweater"

CONFERENCE TIME

2008-10-04T16:24:00.000-07:00

What a lovely time conference is for those of us lucky enough to live here in the heart of Utah. I would have said "Zion", but I was listening to conference today and we're not living charitably or lovingly enough to be called Zion yet here in Utah. We have a ways to go. But we do have the perks.

Last Saturday evening, Erin and Rachel and I were able to sit in the presence of the prophet as we heard the marvelous messages prepared for the sisters of the Church. The Spirit is so strong as you sit together in the comfortable Conference Center, all of one mind and heart. When Sister Beck spoke of how hard it was to have her mother move far away from her, and asked, in tears, "Who will be my mother now?", I was in tears too. I hope all my young daughters (including in-laws) and nieces can take strength from Relief Society.

Today, we had the luxury of watching conference at home, on the bed, in our jammies, with the windows open to the rain. This is the way I have always been able to watch conference and have never really appreciated it so much until now. I know that people come in from across the country to go to the conference center to actually be in there with the prophet. I appreciate that sentiment and like to take advantage of that on other occasions so as to not take up a seat. And I know that members outside of Utah have to get dressed in Sunday clothes and go watch in their stake centers. But having been with the Saints in Ohio and have them talk about the trips they make to conference and how important it is to them, and finding out from Allison that where she is, that even watching at the stake center isn't even an option. You can see it if you have satellite, or as her Bishop said (as he was raking his lawn during the afternoon session), you just read the Ensign!

I love conference. I love options. And I really love watching it in my jammies. In the rain.

PLAYING WITH CHILDREN

2008-09-24T12:37:00.001-07:00

This sums up so nicely the experience of spending time with children who are between the ages of 4 and 7. At least all the ones that I am related to. They all want to make up the game. Each one one wants to be the dictator of the rules, the charactors, the plot...basically the universe. With Jimmy and Zoe, the ground is usually hot lava and no one can walk across it. If Jimmy has to reach a toy, wants a cookie, has to potty, whatever and comes up with his own imaginative "wetsuit" Zoe throws a fit because it "isn't in the game". And vice-versa for Jimmy if Zoe breaks one of his rules. And pretty much the same for the other cousins too. What is it about this age that they each need to be the king? (Or princess?) Were we this way, too?

THIRTY-EIGHT DAYS OF DROUGHT

2008-09-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Thirty-eight long days. The swings blew silently in the breeze. The grass began to grow in the worn, dirt patches under them. Grandpa was known to shed a tear or two as he worked in the yard and passed the lonely spot.
And then, last Saturday, relief came came flooding through the yard in the form of Audrey, Ethan and Morgan with cries of "High push", and "Grandpa, now me" and , of course, "Mine!!!" What a fun afternoon we had. The temperature was a perfectly sun-filled, yet just-right September day. The kids and Grandpa played outside while I had Noah at the Temple while his parents attended a sealing. Noah was absolutely perfect in the Temple. I imagine he felt quite at home there.
When I returned home, the kids were taking a break in the house for lunch and then we all went outside again. Morgan wanted to swing over and over, but most of her weight is in her tummy and backside and her short little legs just can't compensate very long. Grandpa would hold her on the swing and she would be so happy, but after about two forwards and backs, she would start to slip off. She would be happy to stand there and just hold the swing - until Ethan wanted his turn. Then the chorus of Mine, mine, mine would ring out. Ethan was very good about not fighting with her and let us distract her before taking his turn on the swing. He was the most daring of all - swinging the highest, climbing the highest - in fact, he almost made it into the tree and seemed surprised when we encouraged him. We told him the rule was that when he
could do it on his own, he could climb the tree. And he made some serious progress.

They all got up and sang and danced for us. Ethen has some good dance moves - he looks as though he has watched a lot of soft shoe routines. Morgan didn't want to sing or dance until someone else did and then she would go throw them off of the 'stage' and yell "mine". Then she would perform. She also didn't want her picture taken in her car. She would hide her face below the doors and frown so we wouldn't take it. I had to wait a long time before I could get one.

Later, however, we couldn't take enough pictures.
All of these group pictures were dictated by Morgan. And for nearly every normal shot, there is one with their tongues sticking out! And then she had to see each one.

After all of this hilarity, we went into the house and Audrey and Ethan and I settled on my bed to watch The Muppet Show - There I was, on my bed with a boy and girl - just like old times. I just need to get these grandkids up here more often! Morgan, however, was not content to sit and watch TV. She was determined to sit on the hearth in a little gap between the CD rack and the boxes. She has stood in that spot before, but now the huge exercise bike is on the way and was completely blocking her path. She kept trying to get through and would look at me. I would say no and she would smile and say "peas?" and I would say no. This went on over and over until she went around to other side of the bike and made it onto the hearth. She gave me her biggest smile that said - see? I'm so smart.

And then she ran over to play with grandpa.

We have seen all of the grandkids since Jimmy and Zoe moved away, but this was the first time we had a group here for a long time and they played outside with us and we felt like we got to know them a little better. Knowing Jimmy and Zoe was easy because they were always here. We need more time with all of the others and especially Sam and Holly before they go away for several years. We need to work some time out, right?

I HAVE BEEN TO OHIO!

2008-09-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, that really is a building, shaped like a basket. In fact, it is the world's largest basket-shaped building, but not the only, basket-shaped building. Within 20 miles of this one, there are two more! I have taken some flack for not updating my blog in so long, but I've been in Ohio, and with such wonders to see, how could I have had time to blog?
And then on my last morning, I turned on my trusty little laptop to check out my flight home to Zion and witnessed its last gasps as it died before my eyes. My computer man, Darwin, called me last night to say that, although he was able to save my files, there was nothing he could do for the little Dell. So I'm writing this blog SITTING IN A CHAIR! IN THE DEN! And I hope you all appreciate the sacrifice. (I do and do and do for you people...)

But, back to Ohio. Lest you think there are only wicker shaped sights in the midwest, you are wrong. They also trim their shrubs into art. In The Old Deaf School Topiary Garden they have reproduced the entire painting of Seurat's Sunday Afternoon at the Grande Jatte. My little camera could not get far enough away to get the entire "painting" in one shot, but you can see quite a bit here - even the monkey in the lower right corner. It really was a beautiful park with lily ponds and benches and weeping willow trees. Very serene for all those people who weren't by us - Jimmy and Zoe were playing a racing game.

We spent an afternoon/evening at Geaga Lake Waterpark that was very delightful. We got there just as a lightning storm closed the park. But we had free passes and the radar picture looked good, so we went in anyway and within 20 minutes had an open waterpark virtually to ourselves. Chris' brother had rented a cabana for us, which is where I stayed - a covered gazebo with lounge chairs, a round, unbrella-ed dining table with chairs and catered service. Now that's the way I like a waterpark - everyone else go get wet. I recline in a gazebo while people come feed me. The waterpark is set on the shore of Geaga Lake, which was so pretty at dusk as we were leaving. This photo is Jimmy trying to torture a squirrel. We stayed over night by the park which was up north by Cleveland and the next day drove to Kirtland.

We took the RLDS tour through the temple and it was very hard to endure. We knew the history would diverge after the martyrdom. But there was a 20 minute film before the temple and it was very grating to hear how Joseph founded the Community of Christ Church and how he was the prophet of the Community of Christ Church. And when I brought up the incident of the women having to break their china for the building (for Zoe and Jimmy), the tour guide brushed that off as just an urban legend. In the temple itself, he was no less annoying, concentrating on the
architectural details instead of the real ones.
I got Zoe alone and told her that the thing I wanted her to remember was that Jesus had appeared to Joseph Smith here alnog with Moses and Elias and others and that at the dedication, it was filled with angels that many people saw - even outside on the roof - and that she was here where Jesus had been. Her eyes got very wide and I think she will remember that.
Then we went to the LDS part of Kirtland and this, too, was a disappointment, in a way. The kids had seen the photos of the fun things Holly and Sam got to do in Nauvoo and we all supposed that Kirtland would have stuff like that too. But they told us right up front that, no, they don't. We asked for our own special tour, just for our group, and to see things that would just appeal to kids. So we got a very nice set of sister missionaries who took us to the Newel K Whitney Store and a couple of other places and at the end turned the kids loose in the Johnson Inn. The Inn is filled with interactive displays where the kids could press buttons and turn on lights and since it was empty and not antique, they could run around and be noisy. I think the sisters wondered about me. My glasses had broken the day before so I had to wear my dark glasses all the time - even in those tiny dark Kirtland buildings. And I wasn't walking well enough to climb old stairs to the second floors, so I sat around in the dark alot. Chris, however, went everywhere. But the kids were glad to get to the hotel and go swimming after all that touristy stuff! The next day we went to Lake Erie. I couldn't make it near the shore because of all the sand, but Zoe generously gathered two handfuls of Lake Erie rocks and dumped them in my Amigo basket. They are still there.

I have lots of photos of Allison's house, if she doesn't get around to posting them, I guess I will. But I made myself my own little haven in her house in Zoe's room while I was there and it all worked out all right. Zoe's room was light blue, so it was bright, and for the most part she played quietly, so it was quiet. Although, the room was assailed frequently by marauding pirates or demons or race cars or whatever else a 4 year old lonely brother can be. Zoe's door has a hole cut in the bottom - like there used to be a cat flap or something, and very often something would sail into the room, launched by Jim. Or sometimes just his cute, chubby face would try to peer through to see what we were doing. Which was usually reading. Zoe would sit against the window and read. I would lay on my air mattress and read the Deseret News on my computer. But this was only in the second half of the three weeks - the first week getting ready for the Taste of Reynoldsberg, nobody sat down. Then the truck came, we left on the little trip and came home and moved in and nobody sat down. It was only the third week that there began to be some extra time now and again to sit down. But to get back to the point, the other reason I liked spending down time in Zoe's room was the view out of her window. It reminded me of the little homes on the San Juan Islands or in Anacortes. All very green and peaceful. Jimmy gets up before everyone else and on two mornings he saw deer out of the window. They are just two blocks off of the main drag, and most of the rest of Reynoldsburg is much more dense than this, but this park-like section is so nice. Their huge back yard joins about 4-5 others and the neighborhood kids gather at dusk and play Hide and Seek and such. Jimmy and Zoe are too young to join now, but it will be fun as they get older.

It was hard to leave, especially because the kids didn't take it well. Thank heaven for technology! Web cams and email and free long distance - we are a spoiled people.
But look what I had to come home to - little Noah! What a cute little boy. And news that his cousin Max will be joining him in January. And to see all my grandchildren again - those I hadn't seen in a month, and those I hadn't seen in more than 3.
I guess the answer is to enjoy our family togetherness in whatever form we can and enjoy it full force!

MY BEAUTIFUL GIRLS

2008-07-23T17:56:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd write about my cute grandchildren and start with the girls. This is the oldest, Audrey. She is going to be 7 years old in a month and is smart and beautiful. When she was little she would get out of the car and run straight for me and at the last minute veer off and run straight to Grandpa! But she makes up for that now and is full of hugs and kisses whenever we see each other and she always likes to sit with me and read a book. What a darling girl to start off our dynasty of grandchildren!

This is Zoe. She came along just six weeks after Audrey. Where most of the others always preferred Grandpa, Zoe has always been mine - mostly because for four of her nearly seven years, she has lived around the corner! Zoe is a smartie like the other girls, loves to read, loves to play family and loves to torment her brother. It may be the age, but both Audrey and Zoe like to dictate the game and the rules, which can really tick off the other kids and even each other. They can get so mad at each other and then turn around and hug and cry when it's time to go home!

This beautiful girl is Holly, sitting in Jenny Lake. She's been away all summer and I'm looking forward to seeing her soon. She turned 5 in Minneapolis and is looking forward to first grade. Holly is another one that was hard to pin down for a hug, but I think it was because she lived so much inside her head and always had a storyline running, preoccupying her. She is fun to watch play as she talks all the parts of all the toys. Erin encouraged her to come out of herself a little at a time during Kindergarten and she did very well. She is also incredibly smart and has her own blog!

This is Morgan. She is coming up on 2 and is darling. She loves her daddy and then her mommy and grandma is waaaayyy down on the list. I was in Alaska when she was born, and sick the first 6 months of her life, so there was no early bonding. Every time we get together I have to work to reestablish a bond. I seem to have found the perfect connection - free food for grazing! Last week when we were relaxing in the backyard, Morgan discovered the raspberry bushes and immediately set to work stripping them. Pretty soon she was coming up to me, offering a hand smeared with smashed
raspberries to "gama". She found the way to a grandma's heart - to come up and give hugs (or smashed raspberries) and call her grandma - and I found the way to Morgan's - sprinkle the bushes with food!

All of these beautiful girls have a strangle hold on my heart and I love them all. Aren't they adorable?

THE GRAND TETONS

2008-06-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Colter Bay Tent Cabins! And not just any tent cabin, but our own #148. When I asked the young attendant in the office as we were checking in if the bike lock was still on the poles, he said, "I can tell you've been here before. That's my favorite kind of customer." and then he just handed over the stacks of Bear warnings, Fire warnings, and How To Burn Your Wood Stove Without Burning Down the Tent warnings without having to explain. He did feel it necessary to give us a map just in case we had forgotton where #148 was and as we were leaving, he also mentioned that #150 (where Allison's family was staying) had a bear in it two nights ago. Allison and I decided not to share that with Chris.

We got right into the swing of things by deciding we were too lazy to cook dinner, so about 9:00pm when we were building up a big bonfire to cook down for marshmallows, Allison and I decided that we would at least wrap the corn up in foil and throw that in the fire. Delicious! But that ended the laziness. Allison rustled up some terrific Dutch oven meals the next breakfast and dinner. In fact, the breakfast was so good we kept munching on it all morning, so we were too fat and lazy to make lunch. Speaking of marshmallows, it turned out that everybody liked to roast them, but nobody wanted to eat them. But this was a Grandma camping trip -so what's a little waste if it makes them happy? We put out a sheet of foil next to the fire pit and opened the whole $1.19 bag and let them roast and discard to their hearts' content. When you see the occasional marshmallow fall into the fire and billow up like a Fourth of July snake it makes you wonder if the kids don't have the right idea after all.

We played lots of games, with and without the kids. Sometimes they played without us. As I watched Zoe play Sorry with her Grizzly bear family I asked if she was moving for them because they were bears. She glared at me very sternly and said, "They choose not to because I picked the game." Later, she game over to me and in a whisper, hissed, "Don't call them toys in front of them. They don't like it!" Bytheway, Zoe won the game.
During my laying-flat times in the tent cabin I played Mother-May-I with the kids and taught them an old favorite from my youth on Simondi Ave: Here Comes a Jolly Butcher Boy. Somehow, typing it out it seems a little less innocent than it really is. Zoe was great, Jimmy was easy - he was always a motorcycle.

For the most part we sat around enjoying the scenery and letting the kids play. Zoe, who remembers last summer, kept saying over and over, "I wish my cousins were here."
We stopped on our way south to let them float their boats in String Lake. Zoe wanted to wade like she did in Jenny Lake last August, but the occasional floating icebergs made her think twice about it.

We had our final meal at the Cheese Factory in Thayne, Wyoming, enjoying once again the cherubic face of a four year old who thinks if he scowls hard enough and yells authoritatively enough, using language unbecoming such a tender youth, he will immediately receive anything he wants. It never happens and yet he never learns.

We had a great time on this vacation and learned several things:

A four year old with a bladder the size of a walnut should not take long car trips.
That same child does not do well watching lots of little geysers while waiting for the big one
Chris can be very pleasant, in spite of great pain, when he is feeling guilty.
There are few buffalo in the Hayden valley in June.
Grandpa has checked off a major item on his bucket list.

YELLOWSTONE

2008-06-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been home a week and I'm finally recovered enough to post! Our trip was really a lot of fun. We've never been to Yellowstone in June and it was a delightful time to go. It wasn't very crowded and not too hot -- although we had been planning on temps in the 50's and 60's and were slightly annoyed at the low 70's. But we were never rained out anywhere and the blackout during our stay at Lake came conveniently after dinner and ended before we woke up. It made playing Sorry and Go Fish all the more exciting as the light faded. The double rainbow the second night was beautiful!.
It was a little early in the year for the buffalo herds to have come south from the Lamar Valley and we didn't see many of the big elk herds, but we saw a huge daddy moose, the up-close and personal grizzly and her cub, baby coyotes, a big coyote who lived in our cabin complex and many snowshoe hares who hid under our cabins to avoid the coyote. We really didn't need the snowshoe hares because we brought the Energizer Bunny with us. He was 4 years old and didn't seem to be equipped with an off switch. Ever. According to his parents, he even talked in his sleep. But, luckily for us old folks we had separate accomodations. One thing that was really fun was seeing the geysers with little kids who were really tickled by them. I know we were there last summer with the grandkids too, but what made this different was that it was cool enough that I could actually get out on the boardwalks and I had my heavy duty scooter with me. Plus there were only two kids, so when they got they got tired on the longest oart of the boardwalks they could both ride. Robert and I never visit geysers or mudpots when we go alone, but we had a lot of fun. And being there when Beehive geyser went off was really cool. It is so tall and incredibly powerful and goes full strength for about 5 full minutes. It is very unpredictable and only goes off once or twice a day. The sound and pressure difference between Old Faithful and Beehive is kind of like your garden hose and a firehose. We stayed the first night at The Old Faithful Inn. We were on the third floor and there was no way to get the scooter up to any floor, so that was a little tricky. But the kids and I sat at the table on the mezzanine and worked hard on their Junior Ranger paperwork. By the end of three days in Yellowstone those two kids were so well prepared for their ranger interview - and so proud of their patches!
I'll write about Tetons tomorrow!

The Alien in my Brain

2008-06-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

So far all of my tests have come back unchanged - the MS ones and the seizure ones - all the same as they have ever been. Except for one surprising result -- my spinal fluid has strep in it! My neurologist called me back in immediately to go over this because, as she said, "you're not supposed to have strep in your spinal fluid". I had to have another spinal tap to confirm it, but she said the lab techs would have had to lick the petri dish to contaminate it. So she's thinking I might have had chronic meningitis since May of 2006! (I told you I wasn't feeling well.)

Because she wants to recheck the results, plus check to see if the strep has damaged my heart, she doesn't want to actually treat the disease for another few weeks -- in spite of everything I've read on the Internet that says chronic meningitis needs immediate hospitalization and IV antibiotics. So I just wait. But every time I get a headache, or slurred speech or other symptom, I can't get it out of my mind that there is a foreign substance surrounding my brain, swirling around it, trying to take it over. Some alien out of Star Trek. It is a freaky feeling and I can't make it go away. Maybe it will come out my ears...

My MRI Miracle

2008-05-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had a horrible experience that came to include a truly miraculous, loving experience literally wrapped inside. I had to have another MRI -- two in fact. I wrote about having the Brain MRI last week. I have had those several times and they are very hard on me. I have claustrophobia and for the brain scans you are laid down on the narrow table with your head placed in a little trough to hold it in place. Then they pack the sides so you can't move your head, place a hard, plastic cover over your face and ship you into the machine!

I have to make certain to have my eyes tightly closed well before anything covers my head and to be thinking intently of wide open spaces and never once think about where I am. I also have to have taken proper amounts of Valium. I usually picture the mountains and camping spots we've been on. I remember that during the MRI in the summer of 2004, I "walked" every day of our trip to Paris. If I can keep my mind firmly outside of the machine I can handle the test.

But yesterday, the MRIs were on my cervical spine and thoracic spine and so were 90 minutes instead of 45. I took my pills, wore my comfy clothes, tried to pysch myself up for it. But to reach your spine, you have to go much further into the machine. I closed my eyes, they put the plastic cage over my face (but, thankfully, didn't have to pack it) and then slid me in. And it was instantly horrible! There was no way to escape where I was - my elbows touched the sides of the very narrow tube, and with every breath my wrists -- which had to be crossed over my abdomen touched the top of the tube!

I squeezed the panic button and said take me out right now. They took off all my coverings and I just breathed and tried to talk myself down from the panic I was in. The tech tried to help - he said they deal with claustrophia every day, and told me it was my decision. I finally decided I was ready to try again, closed my eyes as tight as I could, moved my arms as low as I could and went back in.

I knew that no mountain or stroll would get me through this. I just breathed prayers over and over -- "Help me, Heavenly Father. Help me." Over and over. I tried to sing hymns. I couldn't remember any. You all know me -- I couldn't remember a hymn? I finally came across "I am A Child of God". I sang the first verse over and over in my mind. That lead into "I know that My Redeemer Lives". Not the whole song or even one whole verse, but different lines like "He lives to silence all my fears". And after about a half an hour I realized that I couldn't feel the tube anymore. My hands were grasping each other tightly and I could tell that part of my hand was asleep, so I thought that was why I couldn't feel it. And I was so grateful to Heavenly Father for taking away the sensation of feeling the tube and said so, over and over.

I made it through the whole 90 minutes of the tests, but I never made it to the mountains or Paris. If I took my mind off of hymns or prayers, I was immediately in trouble again. But about an hour into the test when I was feeling particularly assured I raised up my hands to feel the tube. I discovered that the reason I wasn't feeling it wasn't because my hands were numb -- my hands moved up almost an inch before touching the top. Either Heavenly Father made the tube larger or me smaller, but either way it was a miracle and I made it through this terrifying trial. It is so comforting to know that our Heavenly Parent does not want us to suffer, just as we watch over our own children in their anguish and want to help.

This is my brain

2008-05-21T22:22:00.000-07:00

I finally saw Dr Skuster last week and she wants to recheck all of the big-time brain tests before she embarks on a new course of action. So, last week I had an EEG -- A sleep-deprived test where I had to stay awake all night the night before. Yesterday was a Lumbar Puncture and today I had a Brain MRI. Next week I have two Spinal MRIs and then the next week I get to spend 8 hours with a neuro-psychologist! I hope all this information leads to some definitive treatment -- I'm looking forward to getting better and doing things this summer.

It's about time!

2008-05-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

I haven't followed up on my blog for over a year! But now that we're about to split up, I agree with Erin, I think it is important to keep in touch and write down the daily stuff that we want to remember. I especially want to have all the cute, special or funny things the grandkids say recorded so they don't become lost over time. I remember thinking as my kids were gowing up that I would never forget that, it was too funny! But guess what, we do forget. Life moves on, too much, too fast. So write them down. We need to remember Helping and Sharing, Why are you so old, Me talk Grandma, and your house is mad out of mooses? (If anyone hasn't heard the stories, speak up, let's share).

A Conundrum

2007-01-21T14:29:00.000-08:00

Robert and I are trying to decide what to do with our two weeks of time share trades. My first choice is to save them and go to Scotland for two weeks in the spring of 2008. It would cost a chunk, depending on the exchange rate (dollars to pounds). Robert would like to take a week this spring and go to Canada, to the Banff National Park, plus two days in Yellowstone on the way home. It would be late April - early May, so still snowy, but probably really good for seeing wildlife and we both enjoy driving through that landscape that time of year.
And then to take the second week next year and fly to Orlando in January. These two trips together would run almost as much as the one to Scotland, but would be two trips (still just 2 weeks, but 2 trips to 2 different places). Plus no surprises on foreign money, and not quite as expensive, which is good since we have to be saving money for the big family Disneyland trip in 2010! And our last two big trips were to Europe. But on the other hand, Canada and Orlando aren't Scotland!
So - what opinions do you have on the matter - I'm interested!

Such a Storm!

2007-01-11T12:34:00.000-08:00

The snow hasn't stopped all day and I've had such concern shown for me. When my dad heard that I was venturing out in the snow and driving for the first time in two months, he called immediately from St George to tell me not to go. When Rob came over, he also told me to stay home and off the roads, plus he shoveled my walks. And then, an hour later, when the walks were completely snowed in again, Zoe insisted on clearing them herself, to save my sore shoulder from the pain. She didn't have gloves or boots, but wore Grandpa's wellies and broomed a path from the house to the street so that she could walk to her ride to kindergarten in her school shoes safely.

A New Year

2007-01-10T09:29:00.000-08:00

A new year, a new venture. I thought that I would try out a blog for myself and see if I could come up with something worth reading. It also gives me a spot to post my photos and be creative changing things around. It will be fun to play with as the new year goes on!