Memorial Day - May 31, 2010

Melanie, Paul and I drove to Spanish Fork today to decorate my mother's grave. Spanish Fork Cemetery is really something! It seemed that the whole town was out putting flowers on their loved ones' graves today.

Spanish Fork also has a section of the cemetery dedicated to veterans. The pavilion displays life-size statues of soldiers of the various branches of the armed services. Dad served in the army during WWII for three years.

Jessica's 22nd Birthday

This is a recent picture of Jessica. Isn't she a beautiful girl!
This is maybe nine years ago in the basement of our Sandy home. Jessica is the one on the left.
During her growing-up years, Jessica played well in a number of sports.
She won many awards, and later she became a referee for young teams while she was in high school.

Our granddaughter Jessica will turn 22 on Saturday. She is going to spring and summer school at BYU Idaho, but she will be home in Bountiful for the three-day Memorial Day weekend and her birthday.

Jessica will graduate from BYU Idaho either in December or April. She has worked hard in school, and we are proud of her accomplishments.

Happy Birthday, Jessica!

Three Little Sweethearts

I love this picture of Jake, Derek, and Megan. It was taken in their backyard on Easter Sunday many years ago. They have changed just a little bit since then!

Nicole's Dance Recital

Our granddaughter Nicole is a gifted dancer. Last night we had the privilege of seeing her perform in five different dances at her year-end recital. She was always front and center in the dance numbers. She was obviously the best of the bunch, and the teachers wanted to show her as a focal point on the stage.

We are very proud of Nicole. She is committed and disciplined with her talent. Three days a week she attends lessons. She is motivated to excel and works very hard to perform at her top capacity.

When Nicole dances, she adds so much animation in her facial expressions and body gestures. It helps that she is beautiful as well!

You probably think I am bragging excessively, but she really is that good!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Grandmother Stewart's birthday party: I am the geeky-looking one on the right on the last row, and Kent is the cool-looking kid on the left of that row. Allen is the kid kneeling in the yellow shirt below me. Grandma Stewart was so proud of her grandchildren. She ended up celebrating 95 birthdays before she passed on. I really loved her.
I wish this picture were clearer. It is a precious photo. My dad and his brother Art are posing with my brother Allen on the left and Art's son Brent on the right. In the middle is Mary Helen's daughter Becky Ann. She is my cousin who passed away last fall from pancreatic cancer--so sad for a brillant mind and a caring heart to be cut short.
Christmas (probably about 1955) at the McKell home. We don't look all that thrilled, do we?!
We were on vacation and stopped for awhile at Cove Fort on our way to Bryce Canyon National Park. I love seeing the old car in the background.
Bryce National Canyon Park
This is the first day of school. I think I am a junior in high school here. We loved this kitty cat!

One day when I was at my parents' house, I started looking through photo albums of Kent, Allen and I when we were growing up. I asked Mother if I could have some of the photos, and she said OK. I didn't ever check with Kent or Allen to see if they wanted copies. So......here are some of them. (We didn't have very many altogether--lots of me as the first child, some of Kent, and a very precious few of Allen, the youngest.)

I apologize to Kent and Allen for taking all these pictures and not sharing. (Sharing was never my strong suite -- my brothers will tell you that.)

Here is a "sharing story" my mother told me that happened when I was around four and Kent was two. Mother said I had to share some money with Kent--a dime and a nickel. I knew that Kent would want the biggest coin, so I asked him to choose from the two. Sure enough, he chose the nickel.

Happy Birthday, Allen

My youngest brother Allen was born on May 14th. It was Mother's Day that year. He was so cute with his blonde hair, blue eyes, and chubby cheeks.

Allen lives in California and has his own CPA business. He and his wife Wendy have five boys - Bryce (lives in California with his wife and two girls), Tyler (lives in Washington with his wife and three children), Ryan (working on a Master's Degree at U of Cal), Chad (working on a Master's Degree at Wakeforest, N.C.), and Josh (on an LDS mission in England).

Allen has a pleasant, quiet way about him. He is a very good father and works hard for his family (especially at tax time). One of his favorite things to do is attend BYU football games. As a young boy, he collected baseball cards (now very valuable cards). They are somewhere in the depths of Dad's basement storage, I hope! One day we may come across them!

Happy Birthday, Allen. I hope you have a nice day.

Mother's Day - 2010

Melanie offered to host Mother's Day at her place this year. She and Natalie made the delicious dinner, and I just relaxed and came as a guest.

Melanie's home is beautifully decorated. She really has talent in that area (which she didn't inherit from her mother).

Derek conked out on the love seat right after dinner. He had been up til 3:00 A.M. at a sleepover last night. Jake followed suit. Megan was the bouncy, animated one of the group!

It is hard to go through a Mother's Day weekend without missing my mom. She was such a wonderful mother, and it seems as the years go on, I miss her more. I am grateful for my two daughters who are so loving and thoughtful to me.