The Heber Creeper

My grandpa use to take us on the Heber Creeper just to get a good view of his Charleston farm.

Here I am standing on the edge of that same farm with my own children thinking of him.

Old Favorite Field Trips

We've been busy visiting old favorite places.  First the Hogle Zoo where the kids know most of the animals by name and told me it felt like a reunion with old friends.  We've been back a few times but the day pictured below was unbearably hot!

Heritage Park , where they enjoyed riding ponies, dipping candles and the new gold panning river.

And finally Cabelas with Opa, where we "just looked around", ate some candy and of course went through a bag of coins at the shooting gallery.  

Montpelier, Idaho

While up at Bear Lake it's sometimes just as much fun to go "into town" as it is to the beach.  Montpelier, with its three stop lights is the biggest town within 20 minutes so that is where we go.

Here's my Dad at a road side  junk sale.  He's great at "dressing the part",  just like he use to wear Willis & Geiger in Africa and lederhosen in Germany, he nailed the local look here in his farm wear.

Of course I had to check out all the junk.  We picked up two 1920's metal baseball figures for $2 then hung them in the kids sleeping quarters back at the farm house.  For $5 I couldn't resist this little bookshelf - it reminded me of the one I had built for the girls old room.  I just don't know how it'll fit in on the trek back to MI....... I'm hoping luck will find me a nice car top carrier or bike rack at a garage sale or DI before the time comes.

Here's the theater that my parents decided to take 14 young kids to see a 9:00 pm showing of Karate Kid III on the night of their 50th wedding anniversary. 

Here's what I found at the town thrift store - actually it is the thrift store/hospital.  Nothing beats stitched leather shoes for toddlers and vintage parenting books.  My Dad and sisters picked up a few interesting things including an old Book of Mormon bound with photographs of ancient Latin American ruins, a Hummel painting and glitter toddler helmet for riding the four wheelers.

Finally for all the food storage gurus, the jewel of the town....... Walton Feed!  Now I was really wishing there was more space in the van but remained sensible in only picking up a few #10 cans of grain a variety of #2.5 cans to sample.  It was great to be there just to see it all in person but especially to experience the chit chat and slower pace of a small town.

Bear Lake Tradition

Summer is not complete without at least one trip up there .  Playing in the sand and water with cousins has become a tradition, just as much as pushing all the twin beds together to make a mega jumping pad .

My parents were up there this time as were 11 other cousins, I think the kid total was 18 with the adults totaling 5.  Every sleeping space was occupied and just like old times my mom was constant in keeping everyone fed. 

One tradition we wish we could have skipped was the stomach bug.  I don't know if it is the lake water, too much junk food or just too many people crammed together in such a small space but it happens every year.  James even prayed before our trip that this would be avoided.  I encouraged him not to give energy to this little fear but the poor kid spent half the trip in bed then tossed up his raspberry shake on the car ride home.

We tried to fly the pocket kite but there was not enough wind.  Instead my sister Emily convinced me that the mineral rich water would be a nice treatment for my hair.  It was freezing..... but my hair did feel softer so we'll add hair soaking to the list of Bear Lake traditions. 

Family Reunion 2010

This is my immediate family - brothers and sisters with their families, total we add up to 100+ people.  With so many people we were able to pull our talents and resources together to make this a great event, it was more than memorable!

The festivities started last Thursday night at Cheryl's where she hosted a cookout and swim party.  Friday night the adults participated in a temple session and then small reception at the Lion House where my parents had their reception 50 years ago.

Saturday was non-stop.  First a carnival at the park..... everyone in their reunion t-shirts, the colorful blend participated in games, crafts, soccer, ice blocking, and more.

My contribution was designing and ordering the T-shirts.  The challenge was coming up with a design universal for all ages and sizes.  With the help of wordle I created a word collage that included everyone's name and to keep things interesting I got them printed on a variety of colored T's at shirts illustrated in UT .  As much as I enjoy clothing design this project was big enough to convince me that I'm not yet at a stage where I could start my own business.

Saturday's celebration continued into the evening at the Joseph Smith Building in downtown Salt Lake City.  Once the professional photos were through (it is not that easy to capture such a crowd) we enjoyed a nice dinner then crazy dancing (with a baby sleeping on my back).  The other favorite activity was dressing up silly for the rented photo booth.  There is nothing like having a party with the people you love most.

The night resulted in a large group of over tired kids.

 

The reunion came to a close after a large Sunday dinner and family night hosted in my parents backyard. 

When it was all over the kids asked....when are we going to do that again?  It is great to be a part of something great!

Celebrating 50 Years!

Our family of 100+ people have been gathered together all weekend celebrating my parents 50th wedding anniversary.  Here is the tribute I presented to them at the reception last night.  But since it is impossible to talk over such a crowd comprised of mostly young children I thought I'd post it here for my parents and those who love them to enjoy.

Mom and Dad -

We have all come together to honor you at this special time.  As you sit here you may wonder at how so many years could have passed so quickly.  Or perhaps you just gaze out at this large gathering, in awe of what you have created, day by day, together over the last 50 years. 

Our hearts full of gratitude for the covenant you made to each other in the Logan temple, for being part of this large, eternal family.  This is the greatest gift that you could have given to your children and to all of your posterity.

This covenant is based on love for one another and love for our Heavenly Father.  All of your actions over the years spoke of this love.

As children most of our days were started with the smell of fresh cologne mixed with cooked eggs and slightly burnt toast, the noise of Mom then scrapping the burned toast and Dad calling to her for morning prayer.  You always prayed close to the stove - maybe so the eggs wouldn’t burn also - but it was always on the carpeted area between the kitchen and dining room.  That patch of carpet wore smooth and grey over the years - both from running children but mostly because of your morning prayer routines.

We would sometimes eaves-drop on the prayers and hearing you plead for the needs of our family collectively and as children individually gave us a comfort and confidence to begin our days, knowing we were being watched over by loving parents. 

After each prayer you always exchanged kisses and “I love you’s” - so often that even Elvis our parrot said "I love you" every time he heard "amen."

This marriage had a storybook beginning, a brilliant nerd wooing the beautiful, and sought after socialite.  The story of your courtship was a favorite to be told often around the dinner table.

No amount of children, laundry or work ever got in the way of the romance that began in your courtship.  With the exception of one hay bailing anniversary at the farm, no July 7 was complete without roses as a commemoration of the beginning of our family.  Though the roses may have been placed on a counter covered in paperwork or dirty dishes to be cleared – they were there as a reminder to us children of the love and honor Dad felt for Mom. 

At 5:30 every weekday Mom would fluff her hair and reapply her bright red lipstick.  Why? Because, she'd say, “I want to look pretty for my boyfriend when he gets home”.

Friday evenings smelled of Chanel perfume, the perfume Dad picked up for Mom in Paris.  These date nights were set apart as an escape from the ongoing rigors of raising our family, and the Chanel meant that these dates were still special.  Especially beloved was the annual Providence Hospital ball when Dad would dress in a tux and Mom in a floor length skirt. 

Dad protected Mom and would not hear of even the youngest of children speak in ill tones to her.

Mom honored Dad and never criticized him – even when he shipped home yet another African animal trophy.

All that is good in us today is a result of your vision and what you strived to teach your children.  Your example of hard work, service and love now extends into the lives of your grandchildren - and soon great-grandchildren - as we all try to emulate your great legacy of faith and love.

A probing reporter once asked Dad: “what are your thoughts about planned parenthood?”  Dad looked him in the eyes with a deep, straight face and boldly declared… "this is the plan". 

What a great team you both made in executing this plan. Today we celebrate the fruits of your labor and the 50 beautiful years full of love and laughter.

Camping Along the Way

Our road trip started 36 hours past our original ETD.  That's okay because we gave ourselves a week to make it out to Salt Lake City for the big family reunion.  The first stop was suppose to be overnight camping in Indiana with the second night along the plains in Kansas.  Instead we hauled it straight to Denver where we had our first "real" sleep in a tent in the woods after 27 hours in the van.

The older boys took the train from MI to CO with Nanny and Poppy.  We picked them up at Paul's Uncle's house and they admitted that it was hard to climb back into a such a crowded stinky van after enjoying a week of one on one time with Nanny and Poppy.

The next planned stop was Moab UT.  We found a perfect campsite along the Colorado river where the kids let their wiggles out, covering themselves in dirt and sand.  

We had a campfire but the boys wanted to make sure they read all of the Wall Street Journals before they were used to help start the fire.

The most memorable part was having Nanny and Poppy caravan along side the adventure in southern Utah.  There is nothing like nature that brings a family closer.