We are spending Memorial Day weekend with my Grandma in St George. We arrived late last night (lots of holiday traffic). This morning we got up & went to visit my Grandpa’s grave at Tonaquint Cemetery. My Grandma had gotten some beautiful fresh flowers that we arranged when we got there.
While poking around on the internet, I found a sketch of him (below) & his obituary. More pictures here.
After spending some time at the nearby playground, we went to see the famous dinosaur tracks. I had not been there for many years. Bryan reminded me that the two of us actually went with my Grandpa before he died (Grandpa was pretty excited about it). I’m sad that my Grandpa died before Bryan & I were married, but I’m grateful that they got to know each other & got along well.
The last time we went, there was no charge, & the tracks were in a big makeshift tent. Now there is a new building & an admission charge! Jamie’s favorite part was the dragonfly tracks.
Each child in Rees’ class became an expert on an animal this year. Rees chose the lion. Tonight at the school, the kids shared their research with all the parents. In this video you can see his lion habitat & clay sculpture. He also wrote a pretty extensive report (with hand-drawn illustrations).
About once a week after school, I take the boys out for a treat. Today we went to Arctic Circle for ice cream & fries. James stuck with his usual chocolate soft-serve cone (he can eat the whole thing no problem), but Rees branched out & tried the root beer float. We also walked over to the park nearby.
The boys went on a campout to Rockport this weekend, so I went to a movie with Nicole. She humored me, so we saw Babies at the Broadway Cinema. I loved it. I thought the lack of explanation, narration, & subtitles was refreshing.
Afterwards, we got dessert at The Copper Onion, where her fiancé is a chef. I got the cheesecake with Wyoming white honey. Best. cheesecake. ever. And I’ve tried A LOT of cheesecakes.
I have had traveling on the brain for the last several months, for some reason or another. In addition, Bryan’s brother Rus recently took his family on a trip to Paris. Thus, I was reminded of the trip I took to Paris when I was 18 years old with the Hansen side of the family. For a few years in a row, my Grandpa Hansen hosted his sons & grandsons on fishing trips to Alaska. Then, in 1998, he took my grandma, their daughters-in-law, & granddaughters to Paris. My uncle Lars & young cousin Peter came along as well.
Anyway, I found the photo book on my parents’ bookshelf & scanned the best ones. Fun stuff. I’m glad I took note of the dates, because by now, I have totally forgotten what happened when. I am also pleasantly surprised at the quality of the photos – not bad for an 18-year-old. I became interested in photography in high school, so I did have a nice (film) SLR courtesy of my parents. In case you are wondering, the goofy digital sign on the Tour Eiffel was a sponsored countdown to New Year’s Day 2000.
Click below to see the set of pictures. Start by clicking on the first photo (picture of fish), then use the arrows to the right of the photo to proceed through the set. There are additional notes below each photo.
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.
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