Posts with the tag 'cousins'
This year, I got to thinking about mothers that have influenced me in my life. Of course, the list is pretty much endless. However, I decided to write down some of the things that I remember quite specifically (in chronological order of when that person affected me).
First – my Mom, of course. My mom taught (& still teaches) me to sew. She taught me to appreciate art. She taught me (& still teaches me) how to garden. She has taught me to reduce, re-use, & recycle (she has been recycling for as long as I can remember – I think she was the first one on our street to sign up for curbside recycling many years ago). She is so encouraging. She taught me the importance of honesty & respect. She is extremely creative & persistent. As my brother says, “My mom can fix anything!” She has been teaching Sunbeams (three-year-olds) in church for as long as I can remember (at least 15 years), & loves those kids. She is always there for me to talk to or help me as best she can, & I can always trust her to give me great mothering advice to me when I need help with my boys.
Then – my Grandma Hansen (my Dad’s mother). My Grandma is my second mother. She is the ultimate example of a homemaker – I wish so much to be like her in that way. She always had (& still does) have an immaculate house & garden. She accomplishes this without a hint of obsessiveness – nothing is off-limits at her house. She is the sweetest, humblest, most stoic, & least judgmental person I know. She taught me the importance of consistency, duty, & self-control. She taught me the importance of education & volunteerism (she received her Masters degree back when very few women were doing so – in the forties).
Then – Sister Baker. I did a lot of babysitting in junior high & high school, but as one of my Young Women leaders, Sister Baker had a big impact on me. I babysat her four kids on a regular basis & spent a lot of time with her. She had a nice clean house, she was super cute & well dressed, her kids were super cute & well-behaved. She was so sweet & nice & spiritual. Her tears were always very near the surface, just like me, which helped me feel less self-conscious about that. She & her husband had a cute relationship, they went on dates all the time & were affectionate. I still remember when I took care of her baby Zac for the first time – I had never held a baby that small, I think he was just a few days or weeks old. I couldn’t believe she trusted me to feed him. I felt so special at that moment. I think he’s probably in high school now!
Next – my sister-in-law Kathi. Watching my older brother Chad get married & become a father was pretty amazing. Kathi is such a great mother – she is so cute, bubbly, sporty, outdoorsy, funny, adventurous, brave & patient. She is always doing fun stuff with her kids, & they are all so cute & well-behaved, while still maintaining their fun individual personalities. I remember sitting with her sisters once & hearing them tease Kathi; they said that when they all got together & complained about their husbands, Kathi never had anything to say because (sarcastically) “Chad is perfect!” Well, I’m pretty sure Chad is not perfect, but it taught me a lesson about how a wife treats her husband.
Then – my friend Kristin. I have known her now for over 20 years. She was the first of my friends to become a mother. It was fascinating to watch. She had a rough go of it with her first baby, Parker – he had some eating problems that were extremely stressful. But she loved him so much. I learned so much from watching her struggle through that. Now she has three kids & is such a fun, cute, organized, funny, creative, & talented mom. I still look up to her a lot.
Next – my mother-in-law, Maryanne. She has four boys, & has absolutely embraced her four daughters-in-law as her own as well. Since I met her when Bryan & I were dating, she has always made me feel welcome in her home & in her life. She taught me that each child has their own personality & needs, & to adjust your parenting to what is best for each one. Lately, she has also been an example to me in her devotion to caring for her mother (Grandma K). She loves my kids unconditionally & they know it.
And most recently – my friend Carol. I have not known Carol for long, but she recently had her first baby. I have a pretty good sense of humor, but sometimes it goes by the wayside when I’m stressed out & dealing with boys & schedules & school & chores. She has reminded me of the importance of that humor. Her comments catch me off guard & make me smile, & we all need to laugh more. One of my favorite stories of hers was this: Carol was visiting with family, & was telling them about how her weeks-old baby girl had pooped while laying un-diapered on the changing table. She then matter-of-factly told her family that said she rubbed the baby’s nose in it & told her never to do it again, so that should put a stop to that in the future. The looks on the faces of her mother & siblings were pretty priceless.
Of course, there are countless more. If you know me, & you are a mother, you have no doubt influenced me in a positive way. So thank you.
Tags: cousins, Grandma H, Great-Grandma Hansen, Hansens, kids, mothers
May 9th, 2010
Yesterday, my parents had an Easter egg hunt for my & Michael’s kids. Unfortunately, bad weather (snow!) forced us inside. It was still fun, & we had a tasty dinner.
Here are some pictures of the kids @ the Berrett Easter egg hunt today. The weather was good enough to be outside. It was fun! Rees had yellow eggs & Jamie had lavender. Bob hides each kid’s eggs according to their age, so everyone has a good challenge.
Bob hid treats for Jen & I as well. Last year my treat was on the roof, visible only from the driveway. The year before, it was in a ziploc bag, sunk in the water fountain with a rock. This year, it was wedged behind some rocks – see below.
Tags: Berretts, cousins, holidays, Jamie, photos, Rees
April 4th, 2010
Rees got a letter from his cousin Berkeley (who lives in Seattle) asking for help taking some pictures of Flat Stanley in Utah. Rees was excited about this, because his kindergarten class has apparently talked about Flat Stanley as well. We made a short list of locations at which to photograph Stanley, & headed out this afternoon as a family to take them. Click on any picture to enlarge.
We plan to mail them back with whatever tickets &/or maps we can find as well.
Stanley alone:
Rees with Stanley:
Tags: Berretts, cousins, photos, Rees
April 4th, 2010
To celebrate Grandma B & Jamie’s birthdays, the Berrett family went bowling. The three pictures of Ryan are some of my favorite pictures I’ve ever taken. On a side note, I took a picture of Ryan blowing out birthday candles a few years ago, & it is also one of my favorite pictures ever. He’s pretty photogenic.
You can click on any picture below to enlarge, or click here to see all the pictures.
Then we had dinner @ the folks’. Jamie begged for pink cupcakes – so we did strawberry cake & cream cheese frosting. Jamie loved the stick horse that Grandma & Grandpa B gave him – it even makes horse sounds.
Tags: Berretts, cousins, Grandma B, Grandpa B, James, kids, photos
October 3rd, 2009
The entire Hansen clan (minus my mom & Grandma, who stayed home to rest, & Bryan, who is traveling on business) took a trip to Yellowstone this weekend. The first night there, our families took over the hotel pool. The next day, after a big breakfast, we started out @ Old Faithful. Then we wandered Upper Geyser Basin, threw rocks into Yellowstone Lake, ate picnic lunch, & finished up @ Mud Volcano. Rees loved reading the Mud Volcano sign to anyone who would listen (including total strangers).
You can click on any picture below to enlarge, or click here to see all the pictures.
Tags: cousins, Hansens, James, kids, photos, Rees, trips
August 29th, 2009
In front of my mom’s prolific grape vines. And in case you are wondering – Chad is the one wearing a hat.
Can you spot who is missing?
Yes, ours are the only brunettes. Notice they are pushed off to the side, not to distract from the Aryan grandchildren. 
Tags: cousins, Grandma H, Grandpa H, Great-Grandma Hansen, Hansens, James, kids, photos, Rees
August 28th, 2009
My dad took the grandkids (Kayleigh, Thomas, EV, Rees, Melanie, Jamie, & Jeffrey), Kathi, & me to Momentum today to climb some rock walls. James & Rees both did great – James got it started & Rees eventually decided to follow.
You can click on any picture below to enlarge, or click here to see all the pictures.
Tags: cousins, Grandpa H, James, kids, photos, Rees
August 24th, 2009
Had a little barbecue @ my folks’ with Kathi & her kids. Of course, Bryan manned the grill. See below, the classic Hansen charcoal grill & square burgers.
You can click on any picture below to enlarge, or click here to see all the pictures.
Tags: Bryan, cousins, Grandma H, Grandpa H, Great-Grandma Hansen, Hansens, James, kids, photos, Rees
August 23rd, 2009
We got started later than we planned (shocking!) and thus did not arrive in Colorado until late afternoon. The kids were great during the drive.
The hospital in Delta is small, but very nice – it looks pretty new. We were the first family members to arrive, but Grandma had plenty of company. Her many friends had been keeping a constant watch over her since her arrival at the hospital. She was groggy and unable to move her right side. It was very sad to see her like that. When Bryan’s parents and aunt arrived, the kids were getting a little rambunctious for the ICU, so I took them out for dinner and to a park in Delta to play.
Afterward we picked up Bryan and went to the ranch. Bob stayed at the hospital with Grandma K and sent Maryanne and Anadeane to the ranch with us to get some sleep. Bryan’s cousin Ben also arrived with his little boy William. The mood is definitely somber. Being at the ranch without Grandma just doesn’t make sense.
Tags: Berretts, cousins, Grandma B, Grandma K, Grandpa B, Jamie, kids, Rees, trips
June 28th, 2008
Today was a pretty busy day for us. In the morning we went to the park to feed the ducks (there are ducklings now too), which is Jamie’s favorite activity. He frequently asks if we can go feed ducks. Then we picked up Berkeley from Kairos. He got to drive the robot while there, and told me, “I only crashed it twice!!!” I don’t think there was any real crashing involved.
We then swam at the Murray Pool for a couple of hours. This is our favorite pool for a couple of reasons. It has a zero-depth entry, which is nice for little kids and babies. It also has nice lawn areas to lay out your stuff. And it has one pretty big slide, which Rees loves. Jamie barely tolerates going down the slide with me. Rees is brave and goes down the slide all by himself (I often just wait at the bottom to help catch him). Berkeley was temporarily banned from the slide for some reason – we never figured it out. He also enjoyed jumping off the diving board a lot. Keeping track of three kids at the pool was more difficult than I expected!
After the pool we had lunch while the kids played at McDonalds, and then we took Berkeley back to Grandma & Grandpa B’s. We went home, got cleaned up, picked up Bryan and went to Orem for dinner with my family. Michael (and Maddie) had birthdays in June, my Grandma Hansen is in town, and my dad just returned from a month in Uganda. So we had plenty to celebrate. Rees presented my dad with his Father’s Day gift – tie-dye socks he made himself. They’re groovy!
While having dinner in Orem, we learned that Grandma K (Bryan’s maternal grandmother) suffered a serious stroke in Colorado tonight. The circumstances around the stroke were actually very fortunate – she was not driving and got fast medical attention. We will be driving to Colorado tomorrow morning, along with Bryan’s parents and Aunt Anadeane.
Tags: Berretts, cousins, gifts, Grandma K, Hansens, James, kids, Rees, swimming
June 27th, 2008
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