Well this has been an interesting 7 weeks. Seven weeks ago tomorrow-Thursday-Laura suffered an aneurysm and has been in the hospital ever since. On Sunday, Nov 1st I came here to help take care of her and her family. Last Friday we brought her home for the weekend and then back Monday Morning to get the bone flap replaced. She's been wearing a baseball helmut since the surgery on Nov lst. Today we brought her home and except for some out patient trips back to the Elks Rehabilitation center for work on regaining speech, reading and writing and more work on that right hand we have pretty well passed this trial and I will be leaving for home tomorrow.

Laura retains her sense of humor and her thinking abilities. She's loved our re-reading of the Great Brain books. And she still loves a good joke. (It's a little discouraging that the words she's thinking just don't come out of her mouth as she thought them.) She accidentally says words when not really trying--big ones,too, like definitely, hilarious, actually, and has several phrases that she can say at will. It's coming--will just take a little more time. But through it all her attitude has remained upbeat and enthusiastic. They loved her at the rehab center because she just wouldn't give up and was always willing to try again. If things don't work well she just laughs and tries again.

It will be good to get home and see if I can straighten out everything that has stacked up in the last weeks since I've been gone.

Why isn't my Blog Updating on yours

Have you noticed that your blog quit updating with Miriam's birthday blog? I'm posting this one to see if it shows up on your blogs. Yours are still showing up on mine and I'm feeling slighted. Of course it's probably my stupidity in using the computer. OK I'm going to see if this one blogs or updates--whatever.

Why I got into Teaching

When I was about 4 years old Mom began to teach me to read. She'd been taught phonics--letter sounds and multiletter sounds--in a small country school in Utah. So that's how she taught me. By age five I was reading all the books that my sister, 2 years older, brought home from school. When I was six, I had rheumatic fever and my ability to read kept me quietly entertained.

In first grade I could read very well but my hand writing was atrocious. My teacher kept telling mom that I needed to improve my penmanship. I remember looking at the other children's writing papers and wondering how they did it so neatly.

One day the teacher told me in front of the whole class that if I didn't start writing neatly, she was going to spank my bottom. I was furious!!! I didn't dare say anything out loud but I remember exactly what I was thinking. "Why you old (she was at least 70) Blaaghtta!! You think you are so smart!!! You think I don't want to write neatly??? If you're so smart why don't you show me how??? You just wait!! I'll grow up and be a first grade teacher and I won't ask any kid to do anything if I can't show them how!!!"

The venom and daggers my face sent her really took her back a notch, because she never again said anything about my writing, and of course it didn't improve.

Next year in second grade we were learning cursive and my teacher stopped to look at my attempts. It looked much like preschool scribbling. She didn't say anything for a long time, so I said, "the e and i and l and t are all alike because they go up and down." She said, "Oh, look. The e is a short letter and open. The i is a short letter and closed, with the dot. The l is a tall letter and open and the t is a tall letter and closed with the line across it."

AMAZING!! I had not figured out that we had short and tall letters. I remember going home and writing manuscript letters nearly all night because my writing was finally neat.

I determined to never, ever, ever call someone else dumb because they couldn't do something well. And I kept trying to find out what little thing they didn't get. I fought my elementary teachers every year for separating kids into "classes" because they weren't performing adequately. My fifth grade teacher let me tutor some kids that were having problems and I learned even more about filling in the cracks in their learning.

All kids want to learn and they want to succeed and should never be labeled as a problem or a dummy because a teacher hasn't figured out what's missing for the child. And if I can't figure that out I'M the one who deserves the bad grade--not the kid!

Thanks, Susan, for reminding me why I like to teach. See her blog for Oct 25.

Happy Birthday, Chance!!

Happy Birthday, Chance! I love all your chatterings that your Mom posts on her Blog! I like all the creative things you make from everything,too. I hope you got your card. Tell Fantastic Hi for me. Love ya'! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Damen!!!

Happy Birthday!! You know what I remember the most about you?? You were really young and riding that bicycle up and down the street when you lived here. You really had that figured out. And you figured out reading way early, too.
And now you are a big boy about to get baptized. Hope your birthday was really happy and you have a nice month--All month long. Love ya'!! Grandma

Oh Happy Day

It's come! I've got it!! New Family Search is now up and running on my computer!!! (OK so I'm having trouble remembering my user name and pass word, but we all know I'm not too techy.) However you'll know where to find me day and night for awhile!! I am soooo excited!

Happy Birthday, Miriam!!!

Are you doing something special for your birthday? Did you get your birthday card?
I hope you have a very Happy Day. I enjoyed all the fun things we did when I stayed with you when school started.
Are you having a good year at school? I love you!! Grandma

one wild week.

A week ago Thursday when we evaluated kids at the MTC I figured I would have a week off. I would pretty much finish everyone up and other than Thursday for more evaluations I'd take some leisurely time off.

On Tuesday I went over to school to straighten out a "situation" for Isaac. That worked out OK. The schools still remember me from when My kids were there. Now it's the grandkids.

Wednesday Isaac wanted me to come back for the book fair because Susan had to work and unless the kids had an adult with them they didn't get "around the world" treats. So I went but it turns out I have 7 grandkids in that school so of course they all went in to get treats.

Wednesday afternoon I went to grandparents day at Kaitlyn's school. Cute program and I like the way they have made arrangements to accommodate the fact that she's already reading on a 3rd or 4th grade level. And I'm not easily impressed.

Then the MTC called and had a missionary that needed my skills, they said, so I went in Thursday early to meet with him. When I got home we discovered that Miah had broken his leg seriously at his football game. He was in the hospital and Tracey fed Susan's kids Thursday and I've been pinch hitting Friday and Today with enough left overs for lunches and snacks warmed up in the microwave. Susan and Rick have been at the hospital non stop. He's doing better now--in therapy--and hopefully can come home this week.

At our Thursday evaluations I will need to do 5 kids this week because the other phonics people are gone. But it may seem easy after my leisure week.

So if I don't post for awhile you'll know what happened.

Happy Birthday, Braden!!

Hi Braden! Hope you had a Happy Birthday and got your Card. I seem to be having trouble catching up on Birthdays. I was reading your poem on the Cowboy poetry page and you are getting really good at writing them. That's what always happens to me when I try to look good doing something--even now. I guess I'll just give up.

I hope you had a really happy birthday. Love ya'!!! Grandma

PS How did you get your rope back?

Happy Birthday, Mike

Hey! I haven't heard how college is going for you. Great I hope. I guess I'll send your card to your folks and have them forward it to you. Do you still have an email address? I might write a few words once in a while if you do. Hope you had a great birthday!! Remember when Stan sent you a box of chocolates for successfully sneaking home from kindergarten without getting caught? I had to go over and get Susan's Isaac settled down for running away from school the other day. I remembered you on that one. Love ya'!!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Tony!!

I know, I know--I'm late on birthday blogs. Seems like I'm tired all the time. They keep me busy at the MTC. I hope you had a happy day. Remember the year we did candles on all the Sept Birthday cakes and nearly set the kitchen cupboards on fire? I suppose we'll always remember that one. You've been a great son-in-law. Love ya'!!!
Mary

Happy Birthday, Amy!!

Well, you've had a busy day and I'll bet you don't even see this tonight. Hope your day was happy. We all had a good time at your house with the goodies and party.

I'm tired enough that I can't even think of any fun stories to write for you. You're doing a good job decorating your new house--I like it at least and I'm excited to get your family picture with the additions. Maybe I'll think of something to blog before the next birthdays. Happy day!! Love ya'!! Mom

Happy Birthday , Kait!!

Happy 6 year old birthday, Kait. My Goodness, a great big 1st grader. Wasn't it special to have your baby brother blessed on yours and your mother's birthdays? It was fun to come to your party today. Have a great year!! Love ya'!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Tyler!!

Today Tyler came over and invited me to cake and cheese cake for his and Rick's birthdays. I didn't even know when his birthday was, so I'm glad he came over. It's in my book now and I won't forget again.

I'm so proud of the progress and growing up that you've done since living with Susan and Rick, Tyler. I'm really pleased to see your participation in church and school. I wish you an extra happy year and hope to see continued progress. Love ya'!! Grandma

PS the goodies were yummy!! Thanks Rick and Tyler (and Susan).

Happy Birthday Rick and Stan!!

I thought I'd share some Stan stories for their birthdays. With Stan gone we don't celebrate together anymore. Have a great day,Rick.
Stan, or Grandpa was born in Alaska but moved to the lower 48 at about 6 weeks old. One of his favorite stories about when he was young was the visit to the zoo. Back then they had only short fences and a deep ditch around the animal cages. Stan was about 4 years old and wanted to see the bears a little closer up, and being a very active boy just climbed over the fence and was contemplating the ditch. Other visitors began gasping and screaming but Stan's Mom knew her little boy. She turned her back and said, "Come along, Stanley, let's go get an ice cream cone." He immediately jumped back over the fence and the rest of the visitors breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Have you heard his conversion story? Stan decided to hitch hike to Utah where his good friend was attending BYU. He arrived late in the afternoon and no one was home at the apartment. He just went in and went to sleep. He stayed with them for awhile and some were returned missionaries. They answered questions for him but weren't pushy--His parents had read about the Mormon Church from some anti books from the Library and didn't want him to learn about it.
In the Spring of his senior year in High school he was in a motorcycle accident and was seriously injured--unconscious for awhile-- and they were still concerned about brain damage. Now he had come to Utah and was making some of his own decisions. In the spring when some of the boys went on missions and some went home for the summer, He began living with a family in Provo and their son was soon to leave on a mission. They invited him to listen to the first lesson and he accepted. But then he didn't want to hear more. He took some classes at BYU and got a job working on a church house that was under construction. He kept thinking about what he had heard in the lesson and from his friends. Finally he accepted the invitation to pray about the things he had heard. He hadn't wanted to do that because he kind of knew what the answer would be. But seeing no one around, he knelt in the ditch he was digging at the church and he told me his prayer came out, "Heavenly Father, What do you want me to do about what I've been learning?" And the answer came, "Be baptized." So he resumed taking the lessons and told his folks that he was going to be baptized. They weren't happy but couldn't do much.The son of the family he was staying with baptized him on his 20th birthday.
A year later he was called on a mission. A good family with all girls decided to support him on his mission. He told me that soon after he arrived in his first area, He thought he was sick. He'd suffered from asthma all his life and felt that his lungs were burning and that the asthma was acting up. But one day he was reading in the Doctrine and Covenants about testimony and the burning in your bosom and realized that he was experiencing the Holy Ghost witnessing to him that what he was doing was right. The peace that came from that experience let him know that it wasn't asthma, and the testimony he received helped him as he taught others. He was able to testify boldly and many people felt the spirit and accepted the Gospel and Baptism.

I hope all of you will remember his testimony and the trial of his faith. And remember his birthday. Happy Birthday, both Stan and Rick.

I'm Back--I think

Well, I'm back from Loa and have taken a week to recover. Everything went quite well and all Mike and Vicky's kids survived. I know for sure why women don't have babies to raise after a certain age. It's too hard to keep up with them.

We potty trained Silas and his uncle Peter tried to potty train his cousin, Daniel, while the mothers were attending their mother. Vicky still had to train for #2 and I don't know how Daniel fared but that was one accomplishment at least.

We also managed to get Miriam, Thomas, and Jasper started in school. We did homework and lunches.

But I got woefully behind on birthday blogs. So I'm going to include the first half of September's birthdays in this blog.

Happy Birthday Stephanie!! I did get your card to you. Sounds like you had a great day. I remember staying with you and your folks when you were born. That was fun.

Happy Birthday, Darren!! I guess you guys were down on the Oregon Coast and probably wouldn't have seen a birthday blog anyway. Thanks for the postcard of Neskowin. We'll all have to go there one day.

Happy Birthday, Jeremiah!! I did get you your card a little late. Now I will need to go see some of your football games. Hope your season's going well.

Happy Birthday, Emma!! Do you still like your new Sunday Shoes? (I had to hide them from her because she kept wanting to carry them around all the time.) I was there for your birthday but you celebrated it when your Mom got back. Thomas and Jasper weren't sure if I would know how to make a birthday cake.

Happy Birthday, Rachel!! Now you are a big two-year-old. I'm glad your mom came to get your card. Hope you had a happy day. I keep missing your birthday because of taking care of Emma's brothers and sisters, don't I? One day I'll have to come to your house especially for your birthday.

Happy Birthday, Laura!! It was good to visit with you for awhile when you were here for the weekend. I don't remember saying happy birthday but thought about it on your day.

O.K. That catches me up for a day or two. And I need to get back in the habit of family history stories. Stay tuned but don't hold your breath.

Happy Birthday, Ivan

Hi, Ivan!! I don't get to see you too often but Matt was "my boy" for a few years so I consider you my grandson, too. Did you get your card? I hope you had a very happy day for your birthday. What grade are you in this year? 2nd? or 1st? I can't remember.
Love ya lots!!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Zak

Happy Birthday, Zakery!! I know, I know, I'm late with your blog but I don't know if anyone reads them or not. In case you do, I'd better get one written before I bring you your card. Your Dad must have forgotten to pick it up yesterday. You are really growing up now--let's see, are you in 2nd grade this year? And are you playing baseball now, too? Let me know when your games are and I will have to come see one.

I hope you had a happy birthday and that you have a happy year. Love ya' !!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Susan

Happy Birthday, Susan--my number one experience in raising children. First round of Morning sickness, first labor and delivery, first exposure to every step that babies take growing up-good and frustrating. You were such a cute baby. (not prejudiced--everyone said so.) I have little cameos of things you did and said in my memory.
It doesn't seem possible that you are the mother of all those boys now. Hope your birthday brings you as much happiness as all my memories bring me. Love ya'!!! Mom

Happy Birthday, Anni

Well, here you are a great big ONE year old. I hope you have a happy day and keep all those brothers and sisters entertained. Love ya' lots!!! Grandma

Happy Birthday John, John

You sure are growing up fast!! I remember babysitting you when you were a tiny baby and you wanted fed and we had to wait 'til your Mom came home. You weren't too happy about that but you made it. Have a happy birthday!! Love ya'!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Erin

Hope you have a happy birthday and lots of good things happen. We love you! Grandpa's assessment of you still holds--"You are the best thing that ever happened to David." Love ya'! Grandma (hee hee Remember Fudd Ruckers at your wedding in Georgia?) Did I get that right?

Happy Birthday, Adam

My Goodness, Adam--here you are a great big 5 years old!! I love reading all about you on your Mommy's Blog and seeing all the pictures of you. And this year you go to school. You sure are growing up fast. Love ya'!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Charles

Happy Birthday Charles. My favorite memories of you are sitting by you most of the way across the country and showing you how to find places on the road maps and on the highway signs. You picked that up so quick and it kept you entertained for hours. It was also nice when you put your head in my lap to sleep. That was a fun trip, huh???
Hope you've had a happy birthday and are getting acquainted in your new home. Love ya'!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Gloria

Happy Birthday. Gloria--You are now officially a teenager. Keep up the good work at being a good example to all your brothers and sisters.
I remember about your birth that aunt Carolyn came to see you and your Mom in the Hospital and after visiting with you, she went and checked in to have your cousin Charles! It was so fun to have all the cousins together for 4th of July.
Hope you have a happy Birthday. Love ya, Grandma

Happy Birthday, Symarah

Aaaagh!! I'm getting behind on birthdays! Fourteen birthdays in July. I can't type that fast!!!

Happy Birthday Symarah. A great big 2 years old. How exciting. You are such a pretty little girl and I hope you had a fun, happy birthday! Love ya'!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Johannah

Happy Birthday, Johannah! Here you are starting a new year in a new home! Write and tell me about it. Are you liking Washington? How is your ward and all that? It isn't always easy moving as a teenager but you'll do great. Have a happy birthday!! Love ya', Grandma

Happy Birthday, Samuel

You are really growing up fast. I remember when you were born and having a great time with your Mom decorating a room for you. And then your allergies to milk and struggling through that with you. I love it now when I catch you reading after the problems we had with your vision and am happy that's fixed. And I love seeing you helping at church. You are growing into a responsible and helpful young man. Happy Birthday. Love ya', Grandma

Happy Birthday, Vicky

I still can't think of anything clever to say for your birthday, but I enjoyed our conversation today.
Vicky was telling me about her garden--most things are an inch high but the potatoes that we planted because they were too shriveled and sprouty to use for food any more are doing amazingly well. We just dug ditches and laid the potatoes, sprouts and all in the ditches. They came up rapidly, 2 or 3 days, and have grown past Vicky's knees. She noticed yesterday that a bean seed finally came up and said, "there it sat with it's two leaves looking at the potatoes and thinking, 'I'm 2 or 3 months too late and I'm not sure it's even worth continuing to try.'" Ah Vicky, you think just like I do but if you wrote a blog it would be much more entertaining than mine. And you can post pictures.
Here's wishing the best to your little bean plant--I hope he makes it and that you have a happy birthday. Love ya' Techno Grandma

Happy Birthday, Jared

Jared, I remember when you were born--Your parents sent me airline tickets and I came down to visit and help your Mom. We visited the Alamo and other fun places. That was the first time I had ever been in Texas and It was fun. You were a cute baby and it was fun to help take care of you. Have a Happy Birthday and write me a letter so I will know your new address and can write to you! Love ya'!!!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Steven

Yes, you were born on the 11th but it was only 20 minutes before midnight so I'm not really late with your blog. You were due closer to the 4th or the 6th-our wedding anniversary- but you held off until chicken canning day. All day long we were stuffing cut up chicken into Jars and processing them in the pressure canner. We were on the last canner full, Just got it picking up steam and my Mom and Dad left to go home because we had given up on your arrival. Stan came home with hamburgers and shakes for everyone for dinner although it was nine o'clock pm. Mom and Dad had forgotten something so they came back and since the pressure was holding steady on the canner I sat down to drink my milk shake and It was about half gone when I had a hard contraction and my water broke! When I said "my water broke" the girls ran downstairs because they thought the pressure canner had broken something. We grabbed some towells and went to the hospital about 9:30 and you were born at 20 to 12. Stan called home to make sure my mom knew when the chicken came off and announced that we had a nine pound chicken. They just asked if it was a hen or a rooster. When you actually came you weighed 9 lbs 14oz (I think) and until my Dad corrected me I thought you were born on the 12th.
So you had an eventful entry into this world. You were really excited to be here and just looked all around at everything--very alert. The doctor didn't think you were crying enough to get enough air so he spatted your bottom and I knew right then that you weren't taking any guff in this life--You wouldn't shut up and you were obviously mad!!! Anyway, we took you home and kept you. And now your children can know about when you were born. Love Ya'!!! Mom

Happy Birthday, Oaklee!

Happy Birthday, Oaklee!! You are such a doll!! And this is the great big Number 1 !!!
Love ya'!! Grandma (did you get your card?)

Happy Birthday, Jessica

Yes, we have two Jessicas--just one week apart and they have loved it.
Jessica, remember when you stayed here and I showed you how to write the letters and you learned the sounds they make? You had the prettiest hand writing for a four-year-old I had ever seen. It was so much fun to show you off!! Most people just wouldn't believe that you wrote the words yourself. Your brothers and sisters say that you still have the prettiest handwriting of all you kids. I loved you then and I love you now!!! Have a happy birthday!!!

New family picture

Any body notice? We have a new family picture!!! It's only missing 3 people-Nathan who just left for Alaska on a mission and Jacob and Josh who had to work that day. We'll photo shop them in but anyone want to place bets on whether that will happen before the picture becomes obsolete in Dec. or Jan. when new babies arrive? I'm happy about the update anyway. Maybe we can add the new babies when they get here, too.

The one included in this post is the realistic one.

Happy Birthday, Jesica

Happy Birthday, Jesica!! Your Dad came and helped get the filter fixed on the pool so we should be back in business as soon as Jenny finishes cleaning it. That's a nice birthday surprise isn't it. I don't think I'll ever forget coming home and finding a large buffalo in my kitchen. Every time I think of that I'll have a good laugh and it will cheer me up!! Thank you for being you. Love ya'!!! Grandma

Fixing stuff

Yesterday, the pilot light went out on our hot water heater. Jenny's shower was a bit cold there toward the end and I just didn't get one (wasn't feeling too well anyway) so I didn't go to stake conference. We got it to light once but it went out again when it had warmed one heater full. Then it wouldn't light at all. I turned the gas off to it and went to bed. Jenny worked last night so I tried lighting it again this morning so there might be hot water because she likes to take a shower before she goes to sleep.

I tried a couple times with no luck and she came home while I was trying. So we both went to work on it. She got the vacuum out so we could clean up dust in and around it. We turned the gas off and couldn't smell any (Yeah I have a cold so can't smell anything) Then we got an emery board and kind of filed the parts inside. There we were on our knees with our heads looking into the hole by the floor and our behinds sticking up in the air, trying to get the thing to work. We filed off a bunch of stuff that looked like ash and then vacuumed it all really good again. When we tried to light it again we had a good healthy pilot light on and it stayed on!!
Ahh, Jenny and I have fun fixing things. (I know, I know, we possibly could have blown ourselves to kingdom come but at this point in our lives we would just consider it an adventure and you other kids wouldn't have had to worry about all the junk around here.) Meantime we have it fixed. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

kittens

I've received a couple of phone calls from a granddaughter whose 3rd adopted stray cat had a batch of kittens. Yes that's 3 batches of baby kittens this last month or so.
This cat didn't seem to know how to take care of its kittens so the last call was for help in how to feed a baby kitten. I'm thinking of all the kittens we've saved over the years from when I was a little girl, when my children were little, and now to the third generation.

When I was young we had a black and white cat that we named AnnaNory, Nory for short. She was a good mama but she seemed always to have her kittens in the crawl space under the house and then would meow endlessly until someone crawled under there to bring them out and put them in a box behind the stove until they were old enough to run around outside. Dan was 7 or 8 and the only one small enough to get through the hole into the crawl space so he always rescued the kittens.
But one morning Nory woke us up Meowing frantically. Obviously she'd had kittens and we had heard Tom cats yowling during the night so she needed us to save her kittens. This time she didn't go to the crawlspace though, she was scratching at the trap door to the fruit room-root cellar under the laundry room. We lifted the door and went down the stairs and Nory rushed ahead of us. She showed us her kittens! The Tom Cats were trying to get them so she had taken them to the cellar which was just a hole that also led into the crawl space, And neatly dropped them into empty Quart jars sitting on the shelves in the cellar. We rescued each of them and fixed her a box behind the stove. She purred and purred her thankfulness.

I've often thought about what I learned from that experience. If we will do the best we can raising our children to save them from the threats involved in this earth life and have learned to communicate with a loving Heavenly Father, He will come and rescue them when we pray frantically for help. He loves us just as much as we children loved those baby kittens.

Happy Birthday, Rachel

Happy Birthday Rachel!! I enjoy your comments on my blog--makes it worthwhile to keep on writing. When are you leaving to move to your next post? And when does College start for you? Sounds like you're moving right along with life--you kids are moving out now as fast as you moved in as babies. When do you plan to get here and where are you staying over the 4th? Have a happy birthday and hopefully your computer hasn't been packed yet so you will get this. Love ya'!!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Clairisa

Grandma is back on the birthday blogs! Hope you have a Happy day!!! I have your card and will call later to see if you are home yet. It is supposed to get warmer this weekend so maybe you can come swimming. Love ya'!!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Daniel

Happy Birthday, Daniel!! I missed yesterday at writing but still wanted you to know I thought about your birthday. We appreciate you as an addition to the family and hope you have a great year, even if it is a busy one. Love ya'!!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Seth

Happy Birthday Seth!! I mailed your card but missed writing yesterday. I hope you had a Happy Day. You sure are growing up. Are you in first grade this year? Are you playing soccer this year? I hope you have a whole year of fun times!!! Love ya'!!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Mike

Happy Birthday, Mike! You have always loved camping and outdoor activities. Maybe that's because when you were born we all went camping right away so that I could get a break from all the summer activities that were just starting. The hospital was extremely busy on the maternity floor that day so they put you in a box because they were out of plastic baskets. We got to take the box home so we had a bed for you when we went camping. You weighed 11 lbs 6 oz. when you were born and nursed well so we had no problems with going out. Believe it or not it really was peaceful at Blue Lake.
The road wasn't really open because there were still some snow drifts across it in places but Daddy just put the truck in four wheel drive and went on in. We camped for about a week and then decided it was time to go home but the battery terminal had cracked and we couldn't get the truck started.There was a steep slope down to the shore of the lake and Daddy thought he might get the truck started by popping the clutch but it didn't work so we set up the tents again and waited til the 4th of July campers started coming in. A couple of cowboys pulled us up to the road and Daddy got the truck started. And we were facing bumper to bumper traffic coming in while we were going out. We wouldn't have wanted to have all that company up there anyway. So we were home for the 4th of July and you had been on your first camping trip when you were less than a month old. Now your children can know why you like the outdoors so much. Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, Jenny

Happy Birthday, Jenny. My wood splitting blog will be dedicated to you. I enjoyed cutting the ivy back off the windows and washing them with you. You could help with this blog by adding some of your favorite childhood pictures. Most of them are slides, though, I think. Happy Birthday--I love you.

WoodPile

When I came home from Loa there was a large pile of wood just inside my backyard gate. The pieces of tree trunk were huge and very irregularly shaped. Some weeks ago I bought a splitting mall and wedge because I like the "I'm A Lonesome Polecat" song from "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers" and I used to sing it for Stan as he was splitting wood. Well, Jenny and I went out to see if we could split some of the wood. I managed to get one maybe 12 inch round split into four pieces. Took at least 150 strikes. I tried to get her to take pictures but she declined. It became immediately obvious that WE were not going to get that wood split and stacked and the back yard cleaned up before the family reunion. Erin came over and saw our dilemma and got David over here to split wood while she, Jenny and I stacked it. Her kids helped a little but the pool was full so they opted for swimming even though the water was freezing.
David split maybe 3 or 4 pieces and then the head came off my splitting mall. He asked where I got it and I said, " Harbor Freight" and he said, "no wonder." So he called Johnny and he brought over a Heavy Duty splitting Mall. Meantime we stackers got the smaller stuff and the split stuff stacked--It's better than a cord of wood. Then the Heavy Duty mall broke-split the handle right in two. We aren't sure if the wood was too wet, David's muscles were too strong or his was a defective mall, too. So we still have a bunch of wood to split and the cement to sweep before the reunion. But we sure had fun while it lasted. There's probably a half cord of wood left to split and stack. Jenny got it all stood on end ready to go if anyone else has a splitting mall they would like to test. Wouldn't pictures of this one have been fun?

Loa Trip Summary

I got back from Loa last night. Had a fun trip. We got Cathy's and Vicky's gardens planted. Hope they grow--we used up a bunch of old seeds. While Caib and I were feeding baby lambs, Braden's pup, Angie, stole Chance's hat off his head and ran off with it. Chancie just stood there crying and Caib had to retrieve the hat. And Silas, while playing with an angleworm, managed to break it in two and ask his mother if she could scotch tape it back together. My visiting teachers creatively contacted me through my blog. It was an interesting trip. Oakley is walking everywhere. I about wore myself out walking back and forth on that huge lawn pushing the weed and feed applicator. Baby sat for Mike and Vicky while they went to the temple. She's closer to getting her cards done than I am. She showed me how to use the new family history programs that we don't have up here. Anyway, I'm back. Maybe I'll get some serious blogging done now.

Happy Birthday, Amber

Happy Birthday, Amber from Loa. We've been visiting all your favorite haunts--the bakery at Royals and did you work at Maria's or was that just Courtney? Anyway--wish you were here. Have a Happy Birthday. Love ya'!!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, David!! From Loa and a day late, but Cathy knows how to post pictures (we think). Anyway, here's one with Jason learning to use a BB gun. Hope he learns that as well as baseball. I love it when you call to tell me about their exciting successes in all their activities. You've got a great family!! Hope you have a great birthday!!!!

Happy Birthday, Johnny!

Happy Birthday, Johnny!! I'll never forget Your birth day--Sunday Morning--Listening to "How Great Thou Art" between contractions, and then the doctor having Stan Push on my stomach during contractions when you were emerging. 10 lbs 9 ounces of blond baby protesting coming into the world. And there you were. Well, now your kids can know about your birth. Have a happy day!!! Love ya', Mom

Happy Birthday , Rob

Happy Birthday, Rob! What would we do without our computer guru? You are definitely a great help to the entire family. And you are always such a fun leader at the Family Reunions, leading out in games and keeping others happy, especially the kids.
And you know I love your insight on politics. Yeah, you're just one of my favorite sons-in-law!!!
Love ya', Grandma

Happy Birthday, Aubree

Here it is--Your Happy Birthday Blog. I'm coming down to see you in a few days. And I emptied the swimming pool so the cousins up here can clean it out, while I'm gone. So next time you come up, bring your swim suit. Your card might get there today--I hope so!!! You're such a sweetheart!!

Happy Birthday!! I love you!! Grandma

Happy Birthday, Cathy.

Well, it certainly doesn't seem like 40 years ago that you were born. And I guess that officially you are mature. Your family has so many May birthdays that we may have to have a May birthday party when I come down there. I hope you have a great day and a great year!! Love you, Mom

Happy Birthday, Isaac

Happy birthday, Isaac. Yesterday I took Isaac's card to him but we couldn't find him. I left the card with instructions for him to come over and get his hug when they found him. He was downstairs and didn't hear the call. So a few minutes later he came over and we had a nice hug just as I was about to write his blog. So that's why I am writing his blog now. Isaac is reading chapter books now. Hurray!!!! He has excellent auditory memory and is working on his visual memory.
This is the big number eight birthday for Isaac.
Happy Birthday, Isaac Love ya', Grandma
P. S. I also got a piece of his yummy lemon birthday cake!!!

Happy Birthday William!

Wow a year old! This is actually Jenny writing this because Mom's going to bed. We were invited to Williams first Birthday party. Here are some fun pictures.
William enjoyed all the fun presents he got, and loved eating his cake, once he figured out you were supposed to eat it, and not just squish it.






Happy Birthday William!

Happy Birthday, Caib

Caib, I forgot your Birthday Blog!!! How could that happen to one of my very favoritest grand sons?? I hope you had a happy day and You did get the card didn't you? I love to hear you say your Cowboy poems and I like it that you write your own. Did you know that I wrote poems when I was your age and younger, too. Just think!! You're at least as smart as I was.
You're doing a great job with life. Love ya', Grandma.

Happy Birthday Courtney

I got to looking back over my blogs and it seems that I really goofed up in April! I didn't get a blog done for you or Caib. Guess when I got the cards sent, I forgot. So now that I talked to you and told you I did one I'd better do it. It sounds like you have good plans for this summer and I'll be excited to hear how it goes. (For the rest of you she's going to help as a student nurse with a diabetic camp like she used to go to.) Courtney, you'll be so good at that.

Happy Belated Birthday Blog!! Love ya', Grandma

Happy Birthday, Roger

Roger, you are such a fun son-in-law. Remember the time we went for a ride after Laura Beth was born and you came to the deep snow on the road and said, "should we try it or turn around?" And I said, "Stan would!" And you took right off through the snow. And then at Thanksgiving time just before Stan died you went after the Christmas tree you wanted even though some places took several tries? Stan loved it. I love to go on drives with you and your family. For your birthday I'll say with Chance--"Don't just sit there, Drive!!!"
Love ya', Happy Birthday, Mary

Happy Birthday, Trevor

Your birthday commemorates one of the most interesting births of all of our grandchildren. You weren't due for another couple of weeks, and your mom had a bad case of the flu--throw up and diarrhea--so your Dad thought they'd probably not be going anywhere and loaned your car to someone whose car wasn't working for an overnight trip. But your Mom went into labor from the flu and they had to borrow one of our volkswagen beetles to take her to the hospital. But you were born into the world and were fine.
Perhaps your birth was a preview of your life--You are probably capable of coming into hard times and able to not only make it fine yourself but help others through the bad times. I've enjoyed watching you grow up and helping others. You're just a good kid and I love you. (Are you saying, "Oh, aargh.)? Have a happy birthday!!!
Love, Grandma

Happy Birthday Nicole!!!!

This is actually Amy because mom is having some kind of a problem logging in on her computer. But she wanted me to wish Nicole a happy birthday and share her memory of David walking her up and down the street as a baby and showing her off. I then told her this experience and she told me to blog it also.
When I was serving in Guam the Young Women leader was giving a message on marriage and chastity. She was trying to help the young women avoid the teenage pregnancy problem that they have. She wasn't really satisfied with how the lesson went but we ended and had the closing prayer and then I somehow mentioned that right before I left on my mission my brother David and his wife had just had their first child. I would laugh to see my big macho brother come running home from work, throw off his muddy landscaping clothes, wash his arms up to his elbows and then hold and cuddle his little girl. He was so proud of her and Erin his wife would just beam. And then we discussed how much happier and easier parenthood was when we waited until the right time and were married and were hoping for children instead of it being an accident, not knowing if the dad would be around to help, not being able to finish school, etc. The girls stayed an extra 10-15 minutes just asking questions about David and Erin. You could tell that they desired the love that David and Erin had by having you Nicole. We love you!!

Sunday

Because I'm up late working at the temple on Saturday nights and we have early schedule at church--9:00am--on Sunday morning and I teach a primary class, Sundays and Church have become what sometimes seems a burden. But today a couple things happened that put everything back in perspective and make Sunday mornings rewarding at any rate.

I was at church in a rainstorm, after having to bang on my battery cables to get my car started, several minutes early (all right eight) and as I walked in the prelude music was playing. I noticed that Brother Browning was playing the prelude. The regular organist wasn't there but although he plays somewhat, he's the choir director, I would not have expected that he would be the substitute for Sacrament meeting. About a couple minutes before 9 Sister Browning hurries up to the stand and they quietly trade places--she at the organ and he with their family of small children. She's good and often substitutes on the organ. I couldn't help thinking what a great husband to quietly take over for his wife on an early busy morning and just fill in. It made my day.

Then our primary lesson was on the Word of Wisdom and of course included the story of Daniel and his friends refusing the kings food that would make them sick and insisting on vegetables, fruits, grains and pure water. The Old Testament video tells the story well and even puts it into historical setting very well. Even though these boys were living the teachings of God, their homes were also destroyed and they were taken away from their parents and families to become slaves in a Godless kingdom. But they stayed true to the teachings of their parents and families and even though it was hard, they were rewarded with the blessings of the Lord. Now for the best--Our primary class loved the video and about half just wanted to go on watching it rather than cut out good things to eat to paste on their Word of Wisdom papers. Imagine--6 year olds wanting to hear Bible stories rather than do their usual all time favorite projects. There is hope for this world if we will just listen to the children and teach them truths.

So I think I'll keep on with Sundays when we have families helping each other in hard times and children still wanting truth. (But I may have to get Johnny to clean up my battery cables.)

Update

Bob called and Sally survived the surgery. I'm not sure when she gets to go home but her heart was working better and her blood pressure was back up to almost normal. No Alaska trip right away I guess. Hope she gets better. Bob served 3 assignments in Viet Nam and was medically discharged the last time. He hasn't been too social but loves his greenhouse gardening in Alaska. They still have two feet of snow.

Bob also is into food storage--cans and freezes what he grows.

odds and ends

This has been an interesting week. Last Sunday we had Easter dinner at David and Erin's house. It was good--ham, turkey and all the trimmings. We had an Easter Egg hunt, put together by Amy, with scriptures telling the Easter story from the scriptures and they had to find the next egg from clues hinted at in the scripture. It was fun.

It would be nice if Spring would come so that the boys could get to work landscaping. Even with the economy down there have been a few calls. Some are having "fun" living from their food storage. More on that later.

Was it Tuesday that we woke up to nearly a foot of snow? One of my purple leaf plums had heavy enough snow to break off a big branch which fell into the swimming pool. Saturday the boys came and pulled it out. There's nothing to be done except cut it up and put it in the wood pile. But they forgot the chain saw. (See Susan's blog.)

The missionaries at the MTC think it's funny that I drive a 4-wheel drive Jeep Cherokee and know how to use it in the snow. I didn't miss any of my appointments anyway.

Then Friday night at eleven o'clock my brother, Bob called from Alaska to say that his wife was in the hospital and her heart had stopped for 3 minutes. She's had a pacemaker for a while now, but it didn't seem to be working. The doctors want to try something new that will help her heart pump enough to give her a little more time. Bob wanted to know what you do when your best friend and spouse dies. He says he isn't religious but this may be the time for him to learn. He is in Alaska! how do I manage that?

Well, let's try a family history story about living on food storage. When I was little we were just coming out of World War II and there were not a lot of jobs to be had. I've told you about our huge gardens and canning and root cellar storage.
Mom always taught us that a meal should have a protein, a starch, and a couple of vegetables or fruits, and milk to be well balanced.
So she always was thinking of ways to use a little can or amount of meat to give everyone a little bit every day. Meat was the most expensive part of the meal planning. They tried raising rabbits, chickens etc. But no one wanted to kill them to get them ready to eat. My Dad went hunting a time or two but he never got a deer.

So one day Mom had some fish, probably a can of Salmon. We were still pretty little and she wanted to be sure that we were excited about what she was making for dinner. She told us she was making fish balls. I assume that she added egg, bread crumbs or cracker crumbs, maybe onions or finely chopped carrots or celery and then formed them into balls on a cookie sheet to bake in the oven. It would have been kind of like fish sticks or nuggets or something today. Anyway, she had us all hyped up and excited to try the fish balls, and when Daddy came home we all rushed to tell him that we were having fish balls for dinner.

He was just teasing, but he said,"Fish Balls! OOh!" and wrinkled up his nose. We kids said, "Then we don't want them either." Mom burst into tears, and that may have been the first time I remember them really having a fight in front of us kids. Everyone was very upset, Daddy said he was just kidding that they really were good, but I remember Naty, who was an especially a picky eater, refused to try them. As I recall when we did take a taste after much munching and antics by Daddy to show how good they were, I thought they tasted fine. Course I was the one who like Salmon loaf or patties, too.

So all you young husbands, when your wife tries something new to meet the nutritional needs of your children, please help her be excited about it, too. And make sure you have plenty of ketchup in your food storage in case you need a cover up taste.

Happy Birthday Laura Beth

Happy Birthday, Laura Beth. You are such a help with the little ones at all the family reunions. And thank you for letting me sleep in your bed when we come to visit. I hope you have a wonderful day--your card is in the mail.

Love ya', Grandma

Happy Birthday Railey

Happy Birthday, Railey!!! One year old! How fun. You are certainly a good traveler and a real cutey. Love, from Grandma.

Bulletin Board

Happy Birthday Tracey!! Thanks for setting me up on a blog--I'm quite enjoying it. I know you celebrated Sunday so you could go to band concerts tonight. I hope you had a wonderful day anyway.

General Conference Memories

Because I grew up in a small town in Oregon my memories of general conference are possibly a little different than for those of you who grew up in Utah. I remember how much Mom and Dad wanted to hear or see it as it happened. Seeing it was a total impossibility since TV had not come to Prineville in the 40's. But Radio was a possibility if you could get reception. I remember Bill as a teenager stringing up antennas through the attic and across the back yard. He did manage to get a little very fuzzy reception for a Sunday morning session.

When I was nine we traveled to Utah to bring Bill to BYU for a term before he left on his mission. For October Conference we had a hotel room and could watch conference on TV. We listened to part of it but we children played in the yard outside for part of it.

Later that year or early the next Bill left on his mission and Dad was called as District President. For the next few years he always tried to go to Salt Lake for Conference. The year I was twelve he was fussing and worrying about how to go to Conference with no money available, so I said, "I haven't spent my 4-H prize money from last year--I have $20 if you'll let me go too."

The reason I hadn't spent my 4-H money was because I had put it away in a safe place and couldn't find it. You see, our bedrooms weren't heated, in fact they weren't even finished on the inside-just the studs with the boards and siding on the outside of the house as the walls for our rooms. So beginning in the fall when the weather turned cooler, putting something away meant going to our rooms and throwing things into it, beginning with the closets usually and by spring we were lucky if there were foot wide paths to our beds. Then in May or June when the weather warmed up we would clean and organize our rooms again. Hence, I had no idea where my money was in that mess and it was late March, still much too cold to clean our rooms.

I was half way joking anyway but my Dad said, "would you really like to go to conference?" Of course I would. Who wouldn't want a week off from 6th grade which I hated anyway. So I got to go to Conference with him--He made arrangements to go with the Williams's and the four of us went even though I hadn't found my $20. You have to remember that $250 to $300 a month was the average income so $20 was a relatively good sized chunk of money at the time.

We had a great time traveling with Max and Rachel Williams. We sang Mocking Bird Hill, I remember, because I had figured out a high part when Dan, Naty and I sang it, And I sang that and Max had figured out a whistling part on the chorus that sounded like birds and Rachel carried the melody with a little help from Daddy. We thought we sounded pretty good. We also listened to a BYU basketball game which I couldn't really follow but Max and Rachel rooted for BYU excitedly. I have no idea who won. And I remember hearing on the radio that George Albert Smith had passed away. He was the prophet that I had known during Primary and we were shocked and saddened to hear that he had passed away right before conference time even though he had been sick for some time.

We attended several sessions in the tabernacle, one time it was so full that Daddy went to sit in the area reserved for Stake and District presidents and an usher took me to the balcony where some people moved over a little and made room for me on the end of a bench. Sessions then were held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Saturday night we stayed at Elder Web's house (Elder Web had been on a mission in Oregon) and watched the Sunday morning session on TV at their house. It was Easter Sunday and they hid an Easter basket for me as well as their children. That was probably the only commercial Easter basket I ever received since we usually just colored eggs and made our own baskets.

I think it was the Sunday afternoon session that we sat in the right side balcony and were right above the speakers that I heard the talks that made the most impression on me. One was President David O McKay. He said that "We should avoid even the very appearance of evil." I've never forgotten that message--even if there is nothing wrong with what we do, if it could be a stumbling block to others just don't do it. It's part of the law of Sacrifice.

Marion G. Romney also talked. I had read a talk from a previous conference session by him that I had really liked, the winter before when I was still 11 and babysitting my younger brothers while Mom and Dad went to Mutual. He said that he was Not going to give the talk that he had prepared because he felt inspired to say something else. He talked about Adam and Eve and probably the Fall of man--I don't really remember--but I can still feel the spirit that I felt during his talk.

Later that summer I found my Yellow wallet on the floor of my closet with the 20 dollar bill in it and gave mom the $20 for my Conference trip. They needed it then just as much as they had earlier in the spring.

Later I remember getting the Sunday morning session at the church houses and when we moved to Oregon when Cathy was the baby, we could get the replays of the sessions between midnight and 4 am. We missed some of those, but we always read them in the Ensign when it came.

I have always considered conference a great blessing. I hate to miss any of it.

Flooding

I'm up in the night because the heavy rain is filling the buckets in Jenny's stairwell and it has to be emptied every half hour. I went to bed at nine and at 10:30 when she went to work she woke me up to tell me that she'd had to empty the buckets 3 times in the last hour. I checked 20 minutes later and one bucket was within 2 inches of the top. I emptied it again a half hour later but the rain seems to have calmed down some. She also put a bucket in the closet which is leaking again--anyone have tar to patch around the chimney again? I guess I should check that one, too, before I go back to bed.

Did I ever tell you about the "dip" that ran past our house in Prineville? Every so often we would get heavy rains in the early spring and we'd get a pretty good stream of water running down the dip. Our driveway had a bridge over the dip and even though there had been no flood for several years we didn't remove the bridge. Then one day it happened. The water came rushing through and the bridge began acting as a dam so the water was getting close to the house. It washed around the bridge so that we couldn't drive over it and Daddy jacked it up on one end so the water could run on down the ditch. We couldn't even go to play at Jimmy's because he lived on the other side of the dip.

When the water receded somewhat, we found a fish in the water--we never did find out where it came from or how it got in flood waters but it had a wire worm all the way through it. We took it to the County Agent (we thought he knew everything) and he said he'd never seen anything like it. But he pulled out the books and classified everything for us.

Daddy rebuilt the bridge and there was no more water for 4 or 5 years. Meantime people bought property down stream from us and filled in the dip and built houses close to where it had been. Their driveways had no bridges. One morning Dan got up to do his paper route and found water coming down the dip. It was flooding everywhere. He began knocking on doors and warning people all up and down the dip. The flooding was so bad because the dip had been filled in that a tractor had to come and dig a trench so the water could run on past to the open fields below. The newspaper was delighted that one of their carriers was such a hero and took pictures and put him on the front page--and that was a Portland paper.

Every time the dip flooded We kids would build rafts and play Tom Sawyer. We managed to get wet a few times and didn't play there until the worst of the flooding was over (the run off only lasted a week or so at most) but that dip was our favorite playground. In the summer we built huge "cities" with airports and parks and schools. We'd run a hose and make rivers and boat docks all for real in our huge sandbox. We built everything from left over lumber scraps from our Dad's building business. Who needed toys from the store? And we'd roll down the grassy banks into the sand at the bottom. Sometimes in our 50 gallon barrel that had both ends cut out. That was our favorite toy for years.

So every time it rains and we get a little minor flooding here it reminds me of all the fun we had in the dip.

Would someone like to come and mend my roof??

Oregon Trip

Hopefully you've seen Steven's e-mail with pictures from our trip to Oregon. We saw Aunt Naty for a couple hours. She's doing as well as can be expected. Still has no use of her left arm. Gene is also having health problems--an ankle was in a boot cast when we were there.

Our visit with Dave and Judy went well. Nathan and Jenny and their boys were fun. It would have been nice for them if Damon and Seth were there since they are the same ages but possibly not as nice for the restaurant. Dave and Judy have done a good job of raising their boys. Scott's schedule at work wouldn't allow him to come up from Springfield but he was sorry to miss it.

Aunt Virginia's birthday party was very nice. We went over early and helped put things together. Erika's skills came in handy. When Aunt Virginia came she was obviously overwhelmed. She had been out of the hospital only a few days where she was treated for high blood pressure. She seemed to be doing well for a 90 year old but was having trouble remembering who everyone was. Just too many people all at once. Anne e-mailed me after we got home and said that Aunt Virginia figured out for sure who we were on Sunday. The trip was well worth the time and effort to renew acquaintances and visit with everyone. I don't know that we will see Aunt Virginia again. If you forgot to send a birthday card try for an Easter card with a belated birthday.

It was also nice to see Jane and Mike again and Kate. Jane and I connected well-we should get better acquainted with them. She remembered their trip out here and so did Kate.

We really did have fun and accomplished what I hoped for. All but missing Aunt Lorena--I'll Have to get a phone number for her.

Traveling

So I'm off traveling again--this time to Aunt Virginia's birthday party, to visit Aunt Naty, Aunt Lorena-actually my dad's first cousin's wife, and Dave and Judy and their kids and families. This will be a Family History trip, too. Possibly some bettering of family relations.

My Mom and Dad liked to travel even though they had little money. Gas was cheaper then but income was smaller, too, so it wasn't always easy to go places. Their calling in the branch where we grew up was always in family history. Sometimes formally-other times not. One family in the branch had become active after their daughter was killed in a car wreck. They determined to go to the temple and be sealed as a family. Going to the temple was not easy then. There were the Salt Lake and Idaho Falls temples-both about the same distance--15 or 16 hours if you drove without stopping.
Stan and I were living in Provo at the time and Susan was a baby. Mom called and told us that this couple was coming and asked if they could stay with us if they had trouble finding a place to stay. Of course we said we'd be happy to have them.
They didn't come on the night we expected them but the following night Mom and Dad showed up. Mom said that after the family left for Salt Lake she got Daddy off to work and suddenly she received a strong impression that something was wrong and the family was not going to be able to do their temple work. The feeling was so strong that she packed their bags and a lunch and when Daddy got home from work he jumped in the shower and got dressed. His first words to her were "Something's wrong. We need to get to Utah." She replied, "I know. Everything's ready." They left for Utah within half an hour of Daddy getting home from work.
They drove straight through the night and showed up at the family file at the temple just in time to see their friends turning away with tears and despair in their eyes. Mom asked them what the problem was. Somehow the daughter's information had been printed wrong on the sheets. The worker at Family File suggested that they go to the office in the genealogy library that prepared the papers and see if it could be fixed in time for the session they were planning on.
Mom quickly took the papers to the Library but when she got there the line was very long. She was told that she needed to take her turn so she went to the end of the line. Time was passing and she could do nothing but pray. A minute or so later, a man came out of an office, looked up and down the line, walked right over to her and said, "You have a problem. Come with me."
He ushered her into the office where she explained the mix up. He quickly fixed it and she hurried back to the temple. The family was able to attend the sessions they had planned on and Mom and Dad were able to help with the sealings. That night they showed up at our house and slept on our couch and left the next day for home. Family History and Temple work IS important.

Did you ever wonder how our parents got along without cell phones, etc.?

Bulletin Board

I had fun with Mike James and Nathan at Mike Millward's homecoming. He did a great job--one speaker didn't show and he was given the whole time. Really did a good job. He talked about getting your own testimony.

Don't forget Aunt Virginia's birthday on March 29th. Let's all send a birthday card by the 25th so she will get lots of them. Or you could get one to me to take to the party on the 28th. She would love it.

The speedometer

Do you ever feel like an inanimate object or find yourself talking to a thing? This morning when I got into my car to go to the MTC the speedometer read 164003.2 miles and the silly thing started whining. "Dang! I have to go so slow--one silly mile at a time. I'll never be able to rack up lots of miles rapidly. In my first 4 years I made it to 95 thousand. Now that was exciting! Then my car got a new engine and this dorky OLD couple bought my car. The man wasn't too bad he took me lots of places and I chalked up miles in exciting trips. But then he died and the old lady goes barely ten miles a day on average. Now I'm fourteen years old and still barely moving. It's not that she couldn't let me roll up miles quickly--she keeps my cars' engine serviced and those boys of hers keep good tires on my car. They showed her how to use the four wheel drive so weather shouldn't slow her down. In the nine years she's been driving me she's put less than 8000 miles a year on me! Oh, Woe is me!! I may never reach 200,000 miles and get to start on 300,000. Oh, woe, woe, is me!! Why couldn't I have been in a snazzy Ferrari or Lexus or something with a young, on the go, driver? I feel so sluggish and unimportant! Oh, woe, woe, woe!"

Anybody want to go on a nice trip?

Happy Birthday, Benny

Benny, It's your birthday! This one's a milestone birthday--twelve years old.
I'll never forget teaching you the multi-letter spellings for sounds when you were four. Every time we came to "wr" you'd say "I know this one! It's write, wrote, written!!" The five-year-olds could never beat you. And you're still holding your own with your scholastic skills. Have a wonderful birthday. Love ya', Grandma

What kind of junk food are you?

This is Jenny actually, but I took this quiz and thought it was funny so if you've always wondered what junk food you are here you go.

What Kind of Junk Food Are You?

I was a hamburger. So was mom.

You are practical, straightforward and unpretentious. While you may not be the best communicator, people appreciate your simplicity and modesty!

Happy Birthday Hyrum!

Happy Birthday, Hyrum! You are growing up! I hope you have a wonderful day. Your card is in the mail. I've missed your visits. (: Love you, Grandma

Happy Birthday Savannah!

Happy Birthday, Savannah!! I hope you are having an exciting day. You are such a princess. Love you! Grandma

New baby

Stephanie's new baby was born at 3:32 this afternoon. She weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and is 20 inches long. She had a little trouble breathing at first but is fine now. She has golden brown hair and quite a lot for a tiny baby. Congratulations Stephanie and Dan.

Bulletin Board

Nathan got his mission call--Anchorage, Alaska. Everyone of the kids I called burst out laughing. How fun! Since Alaska has been so much a part of our family. Congratulations, Nathan!

Don't forget Mike's homecoming on the 15th.

Happy Birthday Carolyn

Carolyn, I was hoping you'd get your 1st grandchild for your birthday but I was just talking to Stephanie and it doesn't seem imminent. I do hope you have a good day and your trip out here goes well. Maybe Heather will be like you were. From my first hard contraction, when my water broke, 'til you were born was just under 2 hours. If we hadn't been at the hospital we probably wouldn't have made it. Again, Happy Birthday. Love, Mom

Tagged by Tracey

1. Started your own blog? No, the kids started it for me.
2. Slept under the stars? Oh yes, we took the kids camping by the beaver dams we didn't use tents just slept under the stars and we looked for constellations and learned all about them. Camping was one of the things we were good at I think it may have had something to do with the low cost. :-)
3. Played in a band? yes, high school marching band and BYU's marching band.
4. Visited Hawaii? No.
5. Watched a meteor shower? Yes, Mom woke us up in the middle of the night to watch them all the time. That's how I got so interested in them.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity? No.
7. Been to Disneyland? No
8. Climbed a mountain? YES, climbed up Timp., signed my name on the register, and slid down a glacier on the back side.
9. Held a praying mantis? Susan (boymom) brought a funny looking pod inside and the next morning it hatched. There were so many of them in the house the local newspaper came and took pics.
10. Sang a solo? No.
11. Bungee jumped? No.
12. Visited Paris? No. I've never even been out of the country.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea? I don't recall any.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch? Piecing quilts, is that an art?
15. Adopted a child? not lawfully but several have lived with us, and my parents did.
16. Had food poisoning? No, lucky me!
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty? No.
18. Grown your own vegetables? Yes. We always had a huge garden when I was growing up.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France? No.
20. Slept overnight on a train? Nope.
21. Sluffed school? No, I was a goody goody.
22. Hitch hiked? Yes, all over yellow stone park the summer I worked there.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill? No.
24. Have a favorite book? Lots.
25. Held a lamb? Yes. At Cathy's.
26. Gone skinny dipping? Yes.
27. Run a Marathon? No,
28. Ridden a gondola in Switzerland? No, once in Jackson hole on a ski lift.
29. Seen a total eclipse? Yes, We invited a bunch of neighbor kids over to sleep in our back yard and watched one of the moon.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset? Yes.
31. Hit a home run? No.
32. Been on a cruise? No, only the ferry to Alaska.
33. Seen Niagra Falls in person ? No.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors? Yes, Somerset county, Iowa, my grandmother was born there.
35. Seen Amish country? No.
36. Taught yourself a new language? Sort of learned Hebrew.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied? Enough.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person? No.
39. Gone rock climbing? No, but I've been spelunking and repelling.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David? No.
41. Sung karaoke? I don't think so.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt? Many times.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant? No.
44. Visited Africa? No.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight? Yes, in Oregon
46. Been transported in an ambulance? Not as the victim but when Cathy got hit by a car I did.
47. Had your portrait painted? No, charcoal drawn.
48. Gone deep sea fishing? No.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person? No.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris? No.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling? No, I just watched my kids learn.
52. Kissed in the rain? Maybe.
53. Played in the mud? I've made mud pies.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater? Many times.
55. Been in a movie? Only home movies.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China? No,
57. Started a business? Daddy and I started the landscape business.
58. Taken a martial arts class? No.
59. Visited Russia? No.
60. Served at a soup kitchen? No.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies? No. But I sold campfire girls cookies. (ya I'm old)
62. Gone whale watching? Yes, in Alaska.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma? No.
65. Gone sky diving? No.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp? No.
67. Bounced a check? A few.
68. Flown in a helicopter? No
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy? There's several down on the shelf in Loa.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial? No, Sometime I'd like to do a US history tour.
71. Eaten Caviar? No.
72. Pieced a quilt? Yes, several.
73. Stood in Times Square? No.
74. Toured the Everglade? No.
75. Been fired from a job? No.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London? No.
77. Broken a bone? No.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle? Not sure it was speeding, I had my eyes closed and I was holding on tight.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person? No.
80. Published a book? No.
81. Visited the Vatican? No.
82. Bought a brand new car? Yes, A brand new gray volkswagon bug when Susan was 6 to 8 months old
83. Walked in Jerusalem? No.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper? Several times.
85. Read the entire Bible? Yes.
86. Visited the White House? No
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating? I've prepared a deer but I wasn't the one who killed it.
88. Had chickenpox? Yes.
89. Saved someone’s life? How can you raise 11 kids and not have.
90. Sat on a jury? No. la sigh!
91. Met someone famous? No.
92. Joined a book club? No.
93. Lost a loved one? Yes.
94. Had a baby? 11 times.
95. Seen the Alamo in person? Yes. Yea!!!! I've done something!
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake? No.
97. Been involved in a law suit? Yes, the hospital collections agency tried to sue me for not paying a bill. They overcharged me for a rhogam shot. I showed them quite clearly I had payed the bill and accused them of harassment. The representative from the agency said she thought we were talking about two different bills for rogahm shots, and so I said to the judge. " Your honor.You only have a rhogam shot after a live birth or a miscarriage and I think you'd be hard pressed to manage even a second miscarriage between the thirteenth and the eighteenth of august." Everyone cracked up but the Judge did manage to keep straight face. Needless to say the case was dismissed.
98. Owned a cell phone? No.
99. Been stung by a bee? Walking through the clover between Cathy's house and my house in Loa one stung my little toe.
100. One cavity or less? Not till I started having kids. (Thanks guys!)

Wow I sure haven't done a whole lot have I.

I tag, Cathy Brian. Copy this page and paste it in the new post box, and fill in you own answers.

St. George Trip

Well, Vicky and I successfully accomplished our St. George trip. We had a lot of fun and may have learned something from the Family History classes. On the way we stopped in Paragonah to see if we could find the log cabin where Mom and her sister stayed the summer of the chickens but we couldn't find it so we just took a picture of something similar, but it is in Paragonah.
At the expo we had fun. I slept through the most interesting class. It was geography and he had a turning world behind his Power point presentation and I think it hypnotized me. (Vicky said I didn't snore, anyway.)
We only got lost a couple of times, nothing that stopping and looking at the map couldn't correct. Finally, we ended up eating at a restaurant 3 blocks from our motel--it only took us about 20 miles to get there.
We tried for a session at the St. George Temple but it was closed for cleaning, so we watched a couple videos at the visitor's center and from there looked for a place to eat.
We did enjoy our time together and since we couldn't find the census records on the James line that I had found previously, I bought Vicky a T-shirt that said "I've lost my census." We did have fun and Mike managed the kids ok.

Happy Birthday , Jacob

Jacob, now you are 18 years old. It seems only yesterday that you were a tiny baby and Susan was singing "John Jingle Jacob Thomas Smith" to you. I've watched you grow up and meet the challenges life presented to you very successfully. I love you and hope you had a great birthday and will have a wonderful new year as you prepare for a mission. Grandma

I've been tagged.

OK!! So I am attempting to reply to the tagged thing. Of course Jenny looked up the folder, and the 6th one and the 6th photo AND She bought the costume for William and took the picture and put it on my blog so who really knows if this really follows the rules--certainly not me. But it is a cute picture!! So I tried!!!

Luck 'o the Irish

My Mom used to tell me I was Scotch, Irish and Dutch and didn't amount to much. I was looking at the Cutest Blog on the Block pictures when Susan came over and she put an Irish border on my blog for St. Patricks day. (Sigh!! I'll not likely figure these things out for myself.) However, I thought I'd post stories about your Irish ancestors.
The Adairs were Irish but I don't know much about them back that far. But Stan's Grandmother, Mary Helen Dowling was very Irish. Her dad, Peter John Dowling, was born in Dublin, Ireland about April 1838. He couldn't remember when he was born in the early 1900's. He was an exciting character. He was a seaman and was fighting in the Civil War on a ship. He was injured and was discharged from the navy. He got well but they wouldn't let him reenlist so he enlisted under an alias, (made up name, James Grant.) He served on the USS ST. Lawrence.
He then went to Oregon, and married Mary Finney or Feeney, also born in Dublin, Ireland. They had 2 children, Mary Helen Dowling and Peter Dowling. Mary Helen Dowling married George Stanley James for her third marriage. They were the parents of Kenneth and Virginia James. At one time, according to Dave and Judy, there was a family Bible for the Dowlings at Grandpa James' house and they found the name Patrick Scott in it and decided to switch positions of the names and name their baby for that person. The Bible is nowhere to be found now.
To continue the story of Peter John Dowling. Around 1900 he was getting pretty old and applied for a Civil War Penchant. We have copies of his correspondence with the government lasting several years trying to prove that he was James Grant. The pension was for $6 that's right six dollars a month and was still being sought in 1912 when he died.
Well, now you have an Irish Ancestor story for St Patrick's Day. Peter John was sending money to his Father in Ireland when he was in the Civil War but we do not have his father's name. It might have been John and someone in his family might have been Patrick Scott, but that's all we have to go on.
Vicky and I are going to a Family History Expo in ST. George--maybe I can find more information about him.

Picture of the bassinet sheets

When I took Stephanie to get the fabric for a baby quilt I discovered that she had only one sheet for the bassinet. So we decided to make some sheets and she took pictures of them. The white round thing at the bottom is the baby still in her tummy. She didn't want to be left out. Yes, we made a blue one, and two pink ones and two print ones. The quilt is in the background. Thank you, Stephanie, for the picture and sending it to me. (You didn't really think I figured out how to post a picture did you?)

I learned to make crib sheets when Susan, Laura, and Carolyn were little. We had two cribs but only one crib sheet per crib. And we had no money to buy any. Someone had given me a dress with a long skirt that was very full. I think I measured five yards. It wasn't in style and I was probably pregnant anyway so one day I decided to take the skirt off the dress and see if I could figure out crib sheets. I measured the length of the mattress and added 10 inches to go over the ends; then measured the width of the mattress and added 10 inches to cover the sides. Then I cut out 5 inch squares from each corner and sewed the sides together so it fit the top of the mattress and down the sides everywhere. I folded the squares into triangles and sewed them into the corners to go under the mattress so it would stay on the corners. Then I hemmed it all the way around the bottom. I got three fitted crib sheets out of the skirt as I recall so I had 2 sheets for each crib and one extra. Course they were all blue and I had all girls but I was quite proud of myself anyway.

And I remembered Anna Marie Jensen Barnhurst who had those cute little twin girls. Everyone was making new dresses for their girls for Decoration day or Fourth of July and she had no money for fabric. But her little girls weren't going to not have new dresses when everyone else's did. Besides she was a seamstress ( remember? The one who sewed for the Mormon family in Denmark and joined the church and came to Utah all by herself?) so she took the white fabric from her temple robes and made dresses for her girls.

We seem to be going into hard economic times so let's share all our creative ways of saving money. It really is kind of fun to find ways to make things nice without spending money.
(Susan can be creative with cooking and I'll do her sewing. Hee Hee) Remember the blue and gold sweats you got to make for your Christmas presents? And Tracey has been trying new recipes using food storage. Let's share at least our successes.

Gardening Contest

Hey! I've been devouring the seed catalogs Jenny ordered for me. Let's have a gardening contest this summer. Now don't say "Oh, Steven or Cathy will win so why bother." We can have all sorts of prizes : Most produce, best patio garden., most creative use of space, Learned the most, etc. It would be a good way to get the kids involved and could really cut into the food bills.

I've seen climbing zucchini squash and cherry tomatoes, pole peas and beans grown in large pots on patios that could be fun. Any body game?


And now for the family history story about gardening. My Mom, Hamy, and her sister, Emaline, decided to stay in a little log cabin in Paragonah one summer between college terms, to save on living expenses. To further save they planted a garden thinking that they could grow lots of fresh vegetables. Not long after they planted it they noticed their neighbor's chickens that were running loose scratching up the seeds and eating them. They shooed them off several times and did a little replanting but the chickens just wouldn't stay away.
Finally they decided on a plan. They took needle and thread and sewed little pieces of paper to corn seeds leaving a three or four inch piece of thread between the seed and the paper. They scattered a few of these in the garden. Sure enough the chickens snatched up the corn and when they went home that night they had little signs hanging out of their beaks that said, "I've been scratching in my neighbor's garden!"

The neighbors were not amused as Mom recalled. But they did keep the chickens home for a few days so the garden could get a good start.

Nut Case or I don't like Dentists

So today I go back to the dentist to have my permanent crown put in. After that I'm not going back until Hell freezes over or I break another tooth or something equally disastrous. When he put in the temporary crown till the real one got here I'm sure he said it was aluminum. Isn't that what causes Alsheimers? (see I can't even spell anymore) Anyway after having the temporary for a week They finally called for me to get an appointment for the real thing and I wrote down Tuesday the 11th. When I checked last night I had no idea when my appointment might be so I had to call this morning and see what day it was. Besides that, when Susan blogged her recipe for hot chocolate I really thought "Why would you put the chocolate in without taking off the wrappers? " She should never have mentioned "unwrapped". I'm sure that my mental problems are all caused by the dentist! Perhaps with enough Vitamin C to take away the aluminum, I can regain some sanity. But don't count on it.

Look Out

Hey!!! Psssst! If you see an old granny with a white Jeep Cherokee in 4 wheel drive smashing snow banks in front of a house on 750E, just know that GRANDMA'S TIRED OF WINTER!!!!!

Birthday Time

Guess what! We have only 2 birthdays in February and they are both on the same day! First HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEN and thank you for the baby saber toothed tiger on my screen. Have a great day! (does the tiger have a name?)

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY, THOMAS. Did you get the birthday card? Let me tell the rest of you something about Thomas. One day when I was at his house his mum and I heard him playing up stairs. Whatever he was doing was frustrating him a little but if we ask him if he needed help he just said "NO". A little later he came downstairs holding the most amazing box he had made out of legos. It had a base, sides, a lid, and a place inside to put things and it all held together and didn't come apart when you picked it up. I couldn't have figured out how to do that! Thomas is a very, very smart little boy. He had an idea and stuck with it until he made it work. He could become a famous inventor like Thomas Edison.
You're one of my very favorite grandkids, Thomas, and I hope you have a wonderful birthday.

Bulletin Board

Carolyn and Darren received notice that their next assignment will be Ft. Lewis, Washington. Assignments are subject to change as with all military but that's the latest word. Rachel may stay here in our area for awhile. College maybe?

If you want Amy to pick you up for Stephanie's baby shower let her know. One car uses less gas than several.

Susan mentioned my love for making quilts on her blog. So today I'll tell you the story of why I love Quilt making.
I was 10 months old when Pearl Harbor was bombed and the United States entered World War II. While there was no fighting or bombing in the US where we lived, I knew that other places were being bombed because some of my first memories are of blackouts. When the sirens sounded we practiced closing all curtains and turning off all lights so that if an airplane with a bomb was flying over they couldn't see where the towns and cities were. They didn't have all the radar and equipment to find targets that we have now. When I was about 18 months old my brother, Bill, was baby sitting my sister and me while our parents made a quick run to the grocery store. While they were gone the lights went out and the sirens sounded. Since the lights went out without us turning them off and the sirens were blaring Bill was sure that an airplane with bombs really was coming. So he opened the blanket compartment under the sofa bed and had Naty and me crawl into the foot high storage place so that if a bomb fell the sofa would protect us.
As we were crawling into the sofa Mom and Dad came home and said everything was all right--the power plant had caught fire and the electricity was off and the sirens were calling the fire department. By the time the war was over when I was 4 and a half I had seen many newspaper pictures and newsreels of the devastation caused by the bombing in Europe.
After the war Ezra Taft Benson toured Europe and documented the terrible condition of the Latter Day Saints and the rest of the people. The Church sent out letters to the wards and branches asking for donations of food, clothing and blankets for the people in Germany especially. Our small branch of the church decided to make baby layettes to send. I remember playing at the little old building behind the City Cafe where we met for church while the ladies in Relief Society crocheted around receiving blankets and tied quilts and made nighties for the babies. Each layette had 2 quilts, two receiving blankets, two nighties, two saques (shorter nighties) and 4 dozen diapers and some booties. Naty and I got to go to the 5 and 10 cent store to buy Diaper Pins and baby bottles to go with the layettes.
And so the layettes were finished and sent to Salt Lake so they could be taken to Germany.
And I was there when the thank you letter came from somewhere in Germany telling us about how happy the people were to have them. They had made each layette do for 4 babies. They wrote, "you have made our babies so pretty and so warm. We were wrapping them in old newspapers and rags or anything we could find. Thank you so much."
I have never forgotten that letter and cannot even think about babies being wrapped in anything but nice warm baby quilts and that is why I love to make quilts.

Let It Snow

We've had so much snow this year that some of you grandkids will remember it as a stand out year. You know--"Remember the year we had so much snow for Christmas and there were big piles of snow along the streets for so long?"

Ask Aunt Susan, Aunt Laura and Aunt Carolyn if they remember The snowy winter when we couldn't get up the last part of our driveway out in Oregon, even with Their Mom-me- riding on the back bumper of our VW bug to give the car more traction. So we all hopped out and everyone carried some of the groceries (Your Grandpa, Stan, put the ham inside his coat) and we hiked up the last little hill to our house in the woods.

Little Mike and Courtney may remember the snowy winter when they lived down the block from us. Snow piles were taller than they were.

My mom, your great grandma Ray, can remember the snow being so deep in Orderville that they could sled right over the fences and go for long sled rides.

What will you remember about this winter with lots of snow?

Bulletin Board

Item #1 Little Mike is returning from his mission the first part of March. His homecoming will be March 15, 2009 at 9:00 am. If you want to go we will need to coordinate--Laura can't sleep all 72 of us.

Item #2 Obviously our family picture needs updated. It's down only 18 people with 2 more on the way. What if we each took a family picture within the next 6 months and then modge-podged them together for a complete picture. That way maybe Carolyn and Darren could get one before Nathan leaves on a mission, But Steph and Daniel and Amy and Rob could include their new additions in their pictures. What do you think?

72 Hour kits

ERIN, AMY, AND TRACEY GOT TOGETHER YESTERDAY TO START THE BALL ROLLING FOR THE KITS. THESE ARE THE ITEMS THAT WILL GO IN ALL OF THE BACK PACKS......

Food , water, whistle, paper/pen, giant bag for clothes/shoes, poncho, mylar blanket,

flash light, batteries, lighters, pocket knife, rope/cording, duct tape, first aid kit,

toilet paper/baggy, toothbrush/toothpaste/baggy, brush, shampoo, soap/baggy,

small entertainment items to help with stress (coloring book/crayon; word search; cards; etc...),

hand warmers, candy/jerky/gum


AND THESE ARE THE ITEMS THAT WILL BE ONE PER FAMILY.......

First Aid (really nice), Crank & battery radio, shovel that folds, hatchet, tarps, flares,

Hunting knife and sheath, bug spray, BofM and Bible(small travel kind), leather gloves,

water filter, iodine/purification tablets/filters, back packing stove/fuel


If you have any items that are critical we've just over looked please leave a comment and let us
know. We arn't able to include everything obviously we have our limitations of what we can do.


Please if you have anything to add or change let us know by the end of January. We will be posting again with more info. on everything as we get together and get the next step done, Hopefully we will be dividing and explain full detail by the end of February. Call Erin, Amy, or Tracey with any Questions or if you just can't wait until then to know more. (: Love ya:) Amy, Erin, and Tracey

Happy Birthday! Jasper. Jasper likes to try new things--sometimes they work well, like learning to play soccer last summer and making big goals for his team; and sometimes they don't. Sigh. Now Grandma is trying new things--Blogging. I hope it works well. Today is Jasper's birthday and he is beginning a new year of life and Grandma is also beginning something new. So Jasper gets the first HAPPY BIRTHDAY blog from Grandma. I hope you have a fantastic day! I love you Jasper.


Grandma's Sports Story
When Grandma was a little girl , about 6 I think, My Mom enrolled my sister and me in a Recreation program run by our small town. We had to walk about a mile to the high school and we played games like Mother May I, and played on the swings and slides and other equipment at the elementary school on the same block. The older kids knew how to play tennis and badminton and basketball but Naty and I just had to watch because we were too little and didn't know how to play. But one day a week we would get on a school bus and go to the swimming pool in Redmond and play in the water--I didn't really learn to swim but it was fun. It was a fun program. I remember learning to do cart wheels and summer saults on the mats. ( I learned a lot of the crazy songs I know on those bus rides back and forth from the swimming pool.

But one day at Recreation, Naty and I were watching the older kids play Badminton in the gym and when they left, they didn't put the rackets and birdies away. So Naty and I tried hitting the birdies over the net. Of course we didn't know how so we soon tired of it. We had no idea where the equipment went or how to check it out and return it, so we found a place between the bleachers that were folded up against the wall (we were little enough to squeeze in between two sets of them) and put the rackets on a shelf made by the bleachers. Another day that week the older kids left a volley ball out when they finished playing so we added it to our stash. I don't remember how much equipment we actually ended up with but for a few days we had fun playing with it. We didn't learn how to play the games.

Then one morning the leaders of the program--mostly High School kids--called us all together and told us that some of the sports equipment was missing and that if they didn't find it we might not get to have the recreation program. When everyone went to activities Naty and I showed them where our stash was and told them we just found the things laying out and didn't want them to get lost. The teachers were happy to have the equipment back but they never did teach us how to play the games. They did set up a check out program for equipment so there was some responsibility for returning it.

I'm glad that there are programs for little kids now where they really do learn how to play the games.