Grammii's blog

Memorial Weekend

2011-05-30T22:27:00.000-06:00

Sunday - McKay, Jena, Moab and Nahvi came over and join Paige, Mason, Kazzie, Evan, Emy, Brian and I. We had our usual flowers to build arrangements for the graves. We had a great dinner together then went to the cemetary

Whining

2010-10-29T10:02:00.000-06:00

I don't think anyone reads this so today I'm just going to whine. I'm so tired of hurting. I when to the gym today to workout with the trainer. We did abs not good for my back. So now I'm hurting. I know I'm working out because I want to get my back stronger, but I've been hurting worse ever since I started. I just want it to go away. I really have a good life, but I'm so tired of trying to look happy and function with a smile when all the time, I'm just fighting the pain. I know wah wah wah.....

Mallow Family Home Evening

2010-09-13T16:48:00.000-06:00

Why oh why didn't I get out my camera last night. We had our whole family here with the exception of Scott and Jami. And I didn't get any pictures. It was so fun. On the 2nd Sunday of the month we have an extended FHE. We ate dinner before the lesson of Hawaiian Haystacks. Always yummy and everyone has something they like to eat. Then we came in the house and we had a lesson on Listening. Listening to the child, the parents, your partner, and of course to the Spirit. Brian got out Grandpa Reese's old radio and tuned the dial to a radio station. The kids had never seen an old radio like that and it was fun! Then we watched a YouTube Mormon message "Voice of the Spirit" It really set the mood. Then I used Russel M. Nelsons talk on learning to listen and finished with a letter I received this week from a friend that had been touched when Reese listened to the Spirit. It was touching. I felt good about the lesson. Then we went outdoors and lit the fire pit and roasted Marshmallows and had smores. Everyone had fun! Hyrum and Angie were hear from Chicago and it was so good to see them. McKay, Jena, Moab, and Nahvi' were here. Jena just getting home from her huge relay race from Brighton(?) to St. George. (She's amazing) and Paige, Mason, Kazzie, Evan and Emy were here from just around the corner. Reese came down, Jami had come to visit him but had gone home before the FHE. We really did have a great time.

Antelope Island Stampede and Balloon Launch

2009-09-05T15:09:00.075-06:00

Every year we like to go to the Antelope Island balloon launch. Even though we have yet to see a real successful one. This year was blustery and cloudy, but we went regardless. We got up early and loaded our bike into the van. We ask Scott and Paige if they would shuttle us from the parking lot outside the gate to the event and then drive our van home afterwards so we could ride our bike.

Crazy Winds

It was cool. I'm glad I brought my sweatshirt. They did try to inflate a couple of balloons but none could launch because of the winds. I could see why it's scary to launch around alot of people because the ropes get pull across a huge area. But it was an education and lots of fun. Kazzie ask if she could be the photographer and she took a few of the shots. We had a great time looking at all the beautiful colors.

After the disappointment of not seeing the balloons launch the kids needed a reward for their patients so over to the train ride we went. They love this little ride and it takes a while so Paige and Scott sat down to relax while Paige fed Emy.

Then Brian and I rode our bike home. We got a few sprinkles on us. But it was a good ride. Thanks to Scott and Paige for indulging us in our plans. Hope it was worth it for them.

Proud of JENA

2009-06-16T19:05:00.004-06:00

AWESOME FAMILY

Isn't she beautiful! Jena has been such an inspiration to us. She joined Riverton's Biggest Loser contest. She worked out on her own and watched her diet. She was always pusher herself hard and giving us all hope and inspiration for our own goals. At the end Jena's friends felt like she needed a make over since she was so awesome. She looks so incredible. She came in 4th place. It was amazing there was the tiniest difference in weight. Fractions of a pound. It was fun for us to see Jena and she didn't stop with the contest. She's gone on to run in half marathons.

2009-06-08T21:55:00.000-06:00

We went to the Smithsonian and visited the aerospace, and others.

Emy Is An Awesome Addition To The Family

2009-05-20T12:17:00.000-06:00

Emy was born April 28, 2009. At Davis Hospital Layton Utah

We are so happy when we have cute little babies join our family. Emy is a treasure here on earth and we love her.

Decorating the Easter Eggs

2009-04-07T19:14:00.003-06:00

Paige's kids came over to Grandma and Grandpa's house and we colored Easter eggs. It was fun to watch. Evan of course did green, Kaz started with pink and Mason started with blue. As the night progressed the eggs got more creative. Mason liked to do multiple color dips, then we added the elastics, and then Paige started mixing colors. Scott make a Yoshie egg and a basketball eggs. It was a lot of fun.

Moab and the Glass Dolls

2009-04-07T19:08:00.001-06:00

Whenever Moab comes over she likes to play with the porcelain dolls. We get them out and play with our dolls. Grammy and Moab

Mason and the Bunny

2009-04-07T19:04:00.002-06:00

On Mason's birthday I told him that he would get a pair of Sunday shoes but I never got it done. Finally he told me that he needed his shoes. So when we were at the mall we found the bunny and Mason got his picture taken with him.

Morgan's baptism

2009-04-07T18:54:00.002-06:00

Christie and Ashley

John and Melissa

Tana and Wayde

Janet and I went down to Manti to Morgan's baptism. It was awesome. We had a great time. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Morgan that turned out. It was great to talk to the nieces and nephews. I didn't get a picture of Adam and the boys either. It was a great day though. Congratulations Morgan

Crafty Room

2009-03-31T18:22:00.003-06:00

Yes, it's true. I've got the coolest crafty room. It's something I've dreamed about but never ever thought it would come. And there it is.
We decided just after the new year to hurry and get finished with the basement project. All that was left was my room. With the economic downturn it wasn't hard to get someone to do the sheetrock and finish work. We hustled to do our part and then the workers began. I picked out the carpet. Yes, it's black. When I brought the samples home black was the one that I loved. We then went to Ben Franklin to look at the craft cubes. We did some wheeling and dealing and felt like we got a good price.

Happy Birthday Evan

2009-03-16T15:00:00.005-06:00

This birthday stuff is the best. I got a tractor with animal and a little tiny matchbox tractor with a trailer. The best part is to finish it all off with cake and ice cream. To bad my dad is in Texas and missed the party.

"You blow out he candles and then lick off the frosting."

I can't wait until this party is started. How much longer?

Dancing Couldn't be more fun.

2009-02-17T21:46:00.004-07:00

Our Stake has a Valentine Dance every year. Reese called up and ask what we were doing. I said Dad was taking me dancing. He ask "Can I take my girlfriend?" I couldn't say No. So we made arrangements for him to take Jami dancing. I've met Jami but so far I'd only heard her said about 3 words. Yes, cat, sister. But that was about it. Reese goes in and gets Jami. She is dressed in a darling red dress. She gets into the car and announces to everyone. "We're engaged!" that were the giggling started.

She was so excited and I looked back in the back seat and they were holding hands. We took pictures at home then got to the dance and it was so fun. They were so cute. They really stole the show. They had refreshments and after 2 helpings I suggested that that was enough. Immediately Jami said. "I need some protein so I'm getting some more dip" I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. Oh she is so like Reese. Two peas in a pod. At one point they disappeared and I found Reese waiting outside the ladies room and being a gentleman. They came back in hand in hand. They were the such a cute couple that many of the people came to talk to them. It was fun to have Paige and Scott, Reese and Jami there with us. I just wish, I'd ask McKay and Jena if they would have liked to join us. But I wasn't that smart. On our way home Jami just started giggling. The giggle that Reese gets when he's excited is the same giggle that Jami had. Then she said. "We're going to get married in that church and I'm going to wear a white dress and my hair will be up and I will be beautiful." For the 1st time in Reese was speechless.

Groundhogs Day Fun

2009-02-03T17:02:00.003-07:00

Groundhogs day turned out to be so fun. Paige and Scott invited us over for FHE. I gave the lesson. Paige made the treat. She made the cutest little Groundhogs.

Paige made these cute little groundhogs out of Almond Joys and put them in chocolate pudding with whipped cream and then grounded Oreo's for the shadow. They weren't just cute! They were delicious!!!
The kids were so excited to have just a yummy and cute FHE treat. What a great family.

Facebook

2009-01-22T22:01:00.002-07:00

Whoa! I've tried something new. I'm on facebook. Yup Grandma's on facebook and wow I'm amazed at the connections. I first when to my High School and there were about 10 people on our graduating class. So I connected with a couple. Then I found Hyrum and then the names started to pop up. I didn't know at first if I should connect but I'm sure glad I did. I've been able to connect with some of the people I love and haven't kept in touch with. It does take up a little bit of time but I'm getting a little faster. It is really fun.

New girlfriend for Reese

2009-01-19T20:54:00.003-07:00

A few months ago, I was at work and had to call a Mother with a Down syndrome daughter. We talked for a while and had so much in common. When Jamie (the daughter) came in I went out to meet her. I gave them Reese's picture and telephone number. She gave us Jamie's name and number, and a couple of days later, a picture. I told Reese about Jamie. You see Reese is always worried about not having a girlfriend and Jamie is always worried about not having a boyfriend. I thought that with her in West Valley and Reese in Layton that there wouldn't be a big problem. Reese started calling her and they have been good phone buddies since. At Christmas time Hyrum and Angie took Reese to Salt Lake City shopping. Reese did his usual disappearing act and when they found him. He had bought earrings for Jamie. (we didn't know if her ears where pierced or if she even wore earrings) We met Hyrum and Angie in South SLC for the hand off of Reese, and thought since we were so close we would call and see if Jamie was at home. She was and we stopped over to visit her. She gave Reese a tin of cookies. (The way to a man's heart) My camera's battery when dead just at picture time but Joan (Jamie's mom) had a camera and made extra copies of the pictures for me. Keep in mind that Reese is only 5 feet tall. But in the pictures he looks like a very tall man.

New Year Party!

2009-01-12T22:32:00.005-07:00

We had the best New Years Eve party. We invited all of our darling grandchildren over for a party at Grandma and Grandpas. We played video games for a little while and then decided to have fun. Grandpa baked us a Papa Murphy's pizza. The kids had so much fun eating it. They decided that they needed to sit in age order. Moab 6, Mason 5, Kazzie 4, Nahavi 3, and Evan 2. Laughing and giggling. We watched Kung Fu Panda and Ice Age, baked cookies and at "midnight" we sat off fireworks and had rootbeer floats in honor of Grandma Reese. It was funny, Brian had changed the clocks so that midnight came two hours early. At midnight we called Aunt Wendy's in New York and they were celebrating the new year. The kids thought it was great. We brushed teeth, said prayers and Brian read stories. They slept on the family room floor and one by one fell asleep. Evan first, then Nahavi, then a while later Kaz, then much later Moab and finally after the real midnight Mason finally fell asleep. The party didn't end there. The next morning Nahavi joined us in our bed around 5:30. The other kids got up about 7:00. Grandpa made Mickey Mouse pancakes from batter in a can. They got to go down stairs and dance on huge bubble wrap that the new fridge had been wrapped in. It sounded just like fireworks. We watched Ella Enchanted with Grandpa. The parents came and we all played games until it was time to go home.

Keeping the aging away

2009-01-12T22:13:00.001-07:00

I have the cutest husband in the world. I count my blessings every day, the best is having Brian as my husband. We are opposites on every thing. It's amazing to even us how we managed not to strangle each other. He runs by the clock, I run by the task, he is so dedicated, once he makes up his mind he doesn't deviate. He started exercising about 1978 and is still going strong if not stronger today.

Brian striking a pose

Work in progress

2009-01-12T21:16:00.001-07:00

Brian has been working so hard this year to get our basement the way we want it. There is always something in a home to work on though. But we got a finish put on the concrete floor. I'd had a piece of carpet down there but the kids really wanted to be able to ride there wiggle cars on it. So we contacted Sheen Concrete Finish and they came for a week and worked on the floor. We had the walls done but the finish work couldn't be done until the floor was in. Brian had some places with the wood walls that couldn't be completed until the fireplace was done. It couldn't be done until the floor was done and so on and so on. Things are finally coming together.

Marston Christmas Singing

2009-01-05T21:02:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas to all... and we had a ball

2009-01-05T18:00:00.001-07:00

We had such a great Christmas. What makes it the best is family. We had our Christmas party early and the family had fun together.

Another Chapter Finished

2009-01-05T17:16:00.001-07:00

Exciting Day!

I'm so proud!

Our son in whom we are well pleased

Done at last and with a commemorative medallion

Well another chapter in our book of life is finished. McKay graduated from WSU. It was awesome.

My days of Christmas

2008-12-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

That makes all of our eligible children finished with school. I told dad that I wanted to sing 12 days of Christmas but put in our own blessings. The first day I could put in so many single blessings. One darling daughter, One special needs son and Yes, Brian is my sweetheart and one eternal love, but for the song I'll go with one perfectly darling daughter. On the 2nd day of Christmas blessings are to me, only two parents. In this day and age where so many people change marriage partners so often. I was lucky enough to just have two parents, who were sweethearts. On the 3rd day of Christmas my blessings are to me... yup three wonderful sons, or I could put 3 temple married children or 3 college graduates children, but if I start with one darling daughter then it must be 3 wonderful sons. One the 4th day of Christmas my blessings are to me... four endowed children. On the 5th day of Christmas my blessings are to me. Currently five grandchildren. That will change in April when Paige delivers Emy. The 6th day of Christmas my blessings are to me... the fun of having 6 in our family. Having a family of six was so fun. Things come packaged in 6s or a dozen so I liked that, when taking care of the kids. Lets see 7 humm. I grew up in a family of seven. Mom, Dad, Janet, Marie, Wayne, me and Wendy. (We did have an older brother but he died at birth and I didn't grow up with him) I guess I'm blessed to only have lived at eight addresses in my life. Two weeks at Verdeland Park in Layton, (when I was two weeks old they moved to our new home on Gentile street. I lived a very brief time in Ogden when I was going to school. I lived on the east end of 36th. Then when I got married we moved to an apartment on Fort Lane until a new apartment got built on Fairfield. Then when Reese was 9 months old we moved into our new home on 4th west in Kaysville, then back to Gentile street in the house next to Mothers (my first real home), then over to Flint street in 2002. Wow this is getting hard now to come up with numbered blessings. after 6 things deteriorate fast. One the 9th day of Christmas my blessings are to me nine cell phone numbers of our immediate family. One the 10th day of Christmas my blessings are to me.

Happy 35th Wedding Anniversary

2008-08-23T13:37:00.000-06:00

August 16th was our 35th wedding anniversary. We thought we'd be celebrating it in Hawaii, but as things turned out we didn't. So that morning we were wondering, just how are we going to celebrate. That's when Paige and the kids called and invited us to celebrate with them at the Davis County Fair. We couldn't think of a better way. So they picked us up and took us to the fair. It was fun to see the exhibits and was especially fun to see Aunt Cynthia's picture that got the Judges award. At the end we bought the kids cotton candy as our thanks for the anniversary gift they gave to us. We had a blast shooting the pictures of the eating process.

Dream or Vision?

2008-08-20T21:31:00.000-06:00

A couple of times in my life I've had what I consider a glimpse into the future. Well, I had a dream the other night that was so vivid. I was holding a new little baby girl with lots of brown hair. Her name was Karry after my Grandmother Karen Andrea Reese. (I felt like my Grandma was there) I was so touched and teary. It was so tender. After I woke up, I just couldn't get this image out of my head. It's been over a week now and I can still see this image. So kids, only you can let me know if this is a dream or a vision!

Epiphany

2008-08-06T20:34:00.000-06:00

I was thinking today... (I'd just finished "Breaking Dawn" ) and I thought... Stephanie Meyers wrote this after having a dream. J K Rowling's hit series "Harry Potter" was very similar in a that the idea came quickly. I believe that inspiration generally comes from God. It made me ponder...why would God inspire people to write about fantasy fictional characters that we love so much. Good versus evil. As I was thinking, I was hit with an epiphany that was very forceful. It is to make the mind pliable. We need to have a mind that is malleable enough that when the real fantastic things - things that will happen at the Second Coming - people will stop and think.... this may not be normal but I believe it is possible. I mentioned this to Brian and he said he thought I was right. He said, look at our whole Mormon history. Fourteen year old boy goes into a grove and prays, sees God the Father, His son, has the experience with the Holy Ghost and Satan, and we wonder why people look at us peculiarly. If I didn't know that it was true. I would seriously wonder what was up. I think that if my mind were open. I would be willing to find out for myself if it were true. I think that this will happen again. When it is time for the Savior to come again. I think that we need to be open to the fantastic things we will see come to pass.

The Burren and Galway Bay

2008-07-30T18:46:00.000-06:00

Brian on the Burren glacial fields...

We went to Burren which is a glacial field. The rocks are covered with wild flowers. It was so incredibly cool. I loved taking pictures of the flowers. The climate down here is warmer than other areas. So it is good for grazing animals.
After leaving Galway Bay we headed back to Dublin. Our last day we went to Cork, then to Cobh - it is an interesting city. It is very cultural and into the arts. It is also the last port of call for the Lusitania and the Titanic. We also went to the Blarney Castle. In the time we were in England and Ireland it really didn't rain until we went to the Blarney Castle. It poured and poured. Luckily we had our ponchos. We looked a little bit like newspapers wrapped in orange plastic, but we were sure glad we had them. We climbed up to the top and tipped upside down over the 80 foot drop and yes, we kissed the Blarney Stone. It was fun! We loved seeing the castles. This one was so different than the Bunratty because it hadn't been restored and was in pretty poor condition. It was great to let the imagination run wild in how I would restore it.
the Blarney Castle.

Sally kissing the Blarney Stone
Brian kissing the Blarney Stone

Now we've been blessed with the gift of Blarney (Is that a good thing? :))

Ireland

2008-07-19T16:10:00.000-06:00

After leaving our friends in England we flew RyanAir to Dublin. Whoaa what an experience RyanAir colors are shocking yellow and blue, and the selling they do on board would put QVC to shame. It was to laugh - but we arrived in Dublin safe and sound and met up with our nephew Kyle. Again we were so blessed to have such great host. We stayed at Kyle's place and he slept on the floor while we took over his room. He never complained and treated us so great. While we were there we took some train tours in Ireland. We went to Bunratty castle. It is a restored castle it was built around 1462 and I really loved it. I really felt like I could understand a little bit what it would have been like. I really didn't get the concept before now that these castles were for the protection of the rich. Everything about the design was around the safety of the household. I loved the murder hole where they poured down hot oil, and I found the circular stairways to be so much fun. They way the rooms were all spread out you couldn't help but wish you were a kid living here. As an adult it wouldn't be as much fun. (less running and hiding you know)

After leaving Bunratty we traveled over to the cliffs of Moher.

London

2008-07-19T14:16:00.001-06:00

London was so incredible. I could never live in a large city but it was sure fun to visit. I took so many pictures of the House of Parliament, Every direction I turned it looked like a postcard view. I just kept snapping. It is a beautiful building. Our friends had a walking tour and we decided to view London by foot. We walked around H of P and then down the street to the Soldier stables, we walked down thru St. James park. (gorgeous)

We got to Buckingham Palace just after the changing of the guards. We could hear it as we were going through the park and could see marching soldiers but didn't actually see the changing.

The queen was at the palace and there were people lined up - women with fancy hats on waiting to have audience with the queen.

We then walked down to Trafalgar Square, then over the river to tour the other side. It was so cool. We rode the London Eye and then circled round to platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station before heading back to the hotel. We were exhausted.

England

2008-07-19T11:48:00.000-06:00

I know that things should be posting in some kind of chronological order but I want to ramble... A bit like my brain rambles:)
Most everyone knows that I work at JetBlue doing reservations. Well they offered us a sweet deal when we partnered with Aer Lingus. We could go to Ireland for an awesome price so we jumped at the chance. On May 13th Brian and I took off for an adventure. We'd never flown international on standby before and I was nervous. Other than being an extremely long flight, our flight to Ireland was awesome. I really liked flying with Aer Lingus. We arrived into Dublin and caught a flight to England. We went to England because Brian had served his mission there 1971-1973. We flew into Doncaster. When Brian lived in Grimsby he rented from a young couple. We've stayed in contact with them through all the years. We actually met up with the sister of the young woman. (of course we're not young now) Julie was the one he rented from and we stayed with Kathy and her husband Dennis. They picked us up at the airport. Knowing how tired we were from the long flight they offered us some options. We choose to go see the Yorkshire Dales. It was sooo pretty.
We stopped at a little village called Pateley it was so what I envisioned rural England to me.

(Don't mind the date. My camera was off)
The street signs were so much fun. There was a bridge there that was so picturesque.

We had tea time there, but my favorite was the sweet shop. (of course)

We stopped at a private residence that had turned into a hotel. It had the most beautiful grounds.

After this delightful tour we when back to their place.
They had made a lovely dinner and invited the family over. It was absolutely awesome.
Only one drawback... we were so tired. We didn't realize how tired we were until the next day when we realized we didn't talk to Julie and Pete or the family as much as we would have liked to and we didn't even think of taking pictures. That tells us that were really really tired. Little sleep in 48 hrs. However the next day we were ready to roll. Dennis and Kathy took us up to the North Sea and we had Fish and Chips with mushy peas. Then we headed down to London. Brian was having some serious culture shock. When he went there 30+ years ago it was like stepping back in time 30 years. This time however there was no difference. I needed a curling iron and we when to the English Walmart (ASDA) same roll back prices /smiley signs. Brian was used to the individual shop owners with butchers and bakers and such but now there were big box stores. It was kind of sad. I didn't get the experience of the daily shopping. I think the dales were the closest thing to it. We noticed that the countries are losing some of the distinctiveness with the EU involved. I guess that's progress for you.
Our hosts Kathy and Dennis treated us to a stay at the most awesome hotel, just outside London It was very old and some of the wood in the lobby was from the Spanish armada. You just wouldn't believe how pretty everything was. While we were there the weather was perfect too. Overcast and chilly but not rainy and not too cold. We caught the train to London. We went to Piccadilly station. We walked over to Kings Cross before we realized that the train we needed was in the other direction. (We didn't know that we were twenty feet from platform 9 and 3/4.)

2008-06-23T12:33:00.000-06:00

Hmmm, blogging makes you think about your day. I'm surprised or relieved at how mundane my life is. I would like to write about my moment at City Council this week (fighting the powerhouse IHC, They are building a new hospital in my backyard) but I'm not sure how I feel about it and need more time to reflect and review. I was quoted in the newspaper The Ogden Standard Examiner. It wasn't exactly what I said but close enough. We lost round one which was expected. After all I don't have unlimited funds, lawyers or lobbyists. (You see I've done battle against them before) But I did want my concerns out on the table so they were aware of their new neighbors.
Paige had her gallbladder out this morning and so I've got the little kids. They are so easy. They play together so well and I can totally do what I need to do. But turn your back and you're in for mischief. Like now gotta run...

Va Hoo!

2008-06-21T11:08:00.000-06:00

Grandma's started blogging. That should be a song title... I find that I learn more about my children and grandchildren through there blogs than I do talking to them. So I thought maybe my kids could learn about me. It's always quite an eye opener when your kids say things that they think express your feels. Aaug! Boy I sure do view myself in a different light than they do. I'm not always misunderstood, but sometimes it feels like it. I'm sure that through blogging my lack of communication skills will come out in blazing glory. We'll see what the next few days bring.