Flying Though the Air - Courtesy of the Peterson Brothers

I love these photo of my grandsons Jake and Derek on their trampoline. One is the trampoline in their backyard, and the other is a small trampoline in a bedroom. You can tell that they thrilled to the feeling of being airborn for a few moments.

Cleon and Vida Moore

This is the wedding picture of my husband Paul's mother and dad. His mother was only 18 when she married his dad. I would have liked to meet Paul's parents, but they both had passed away when I met Paul. The information I know about them comes mainly from Paul, but also from his siblings and his children.

I know that Paul's mother was an outstanding cook. She bottled and canned fruit and vegetables from her garden and orchard. Paul remembers hundreds of bottles lined up in their storage room. The family had chickens, so she would also sell eggs to the public. She made her own soap; in fact, there wasn't much the family had to buy at a retail store. Paul remembers his mom working from sunup to sundown in the house, the garden and on the farm. He also said that she wasn't hesitant to give her strong opinions. One time Paul's dad was in charge of an LDS Church farm project. It required many, many hours of his time in addition to maintaining his own farm. One day Vida called the bishop and said, "You either get people to help with the church farm or my husband will no longer hold the job."

Paul's dad worked long hours to keep the farm going. Paul said that in the summers he and his dad and brothers worked in the fields 16 hours a day. When I have watched my husband working on various tasks around the house or in helping other people, I know that he learned how to work hard from his parents. Even though Cleon only went as far as 8th grade in his formal schooling, he read voraciously. Paul has a clear picture in his mind of his dad sitting in his rocking chair next to the coal stove in the wintertime reading. Cleon also could easily help Paul as a teenager with his algebra homework.

I wish I would have had the privilege of meeting Paul's parents. I would tell them that they have a wonderful son who has a strong ethical set of standards and who is dependable and hardworking. I would also tell his mom that he knows how to stand up for what he believes in and doesn't let anyone take advantage of him. (I think she already knew that!)

Movies

Paul and I both love to go to movies. Luckily, we generally like the same kind of movies. (He is not big on Rambo or Diehard types.)

The problem we have with movies is the timing of the ones we like. For several years now, we have found very few movies of interest in spring, summer or fall. Then, in December and January, we will have a bunch of them we can't wait to see. It is always just before the Oscars that the movies we like are available.

So....now we are going on a weekly basis trying to get in all the ones we want to see before they are gone. When February rolls around, we will go into dryspell mode again.

By the way, we have seen Mama Mia four times so far and have the DVD and CD as well. We love, love, love this movie!!

Mother and Dad - Wedding Photo

Mark and Erma began their married life together on January 9th, 1941. They had almost 66 years of happiness. What exemplary role models they were for us as their children and grandchildren.

Chimi

I have had a number of pets in my life, but there is one who stands out far above the others. Her name was Chimi. She was my constant companion for 15 years; it has been almost seven years since she died, but I still think about her often.

I know what you are thinking when you look at her picture. She looks like a rat! Yes, I agree she wasn't a beauty, and she didn't even have a nice personality. She barked at everyone who came to the door (especially the boys who came to pick up my daughters for dates). Nervous, paranoid, high-strung, possessive--these are all adjectives that described my Chimi.

Then why did I love her so much? Nobody else did (except maybe Natalie). In fact, most people found her extremely annoying. I loved her because she loved me. No matter what, she loved me. We got her right after my divorce, and I needed someone to love me. I wasn't very lovable at the time, and Chimi wasn't a "someone", but she did a wonderful job of loving.

I still get teary-eyed when I think of Chimi. Sometimes she danced around and around the dining room table because she was so happy to see me. No one has done that since, and I expect no one will!

Best Friends - Marilyn and Diane - 1957

Today I went to my friend's dad's funeral. He was 95 years old. I went to the funeral to see my friend Diane and also to hear my dad speak at her dad's funeral. Diane's dad and mine worked together for 30 years at the Spanish Fork Post Office. They also worked together in the LDS First Ward of Spanish Fork in various church positions for many years. Dad gave an excellent talk. I was proud of him.

Diane and I met in grade school and became good friends. The memories are numerous: gossiping about our school teachers, stealing apples from her neighbor's tree, sledding down a snowy hill behind our house, eating dinner at each other's houses (her mother made delicious toasted tuna sandwiches), relishing sleepovers where the last thing on our minds was sleep. Diane was the first person to inform me how babies were made ( we were in the 4th grade). We both agreed that with our parents it couldn't possibly have happened that way!

It was wonderful to see my old friend today. Since I saw her last, we both have more wrinkles in our faces and more weight on our bodies. As you can see from the photo, we were skinny, skinny 12 year olds sitting on the piano bench (I am the one on the left). She still has the same sweet smile, and we both were so happy to see each other again.

Keaton and Sullivan - Christmas 2008

When Patti and Mike ask us what we would like for Christmas, we always say pictures. Since the family lives in Oregon, we don't see the kids as often as we would like. At ages two and five, Sully and Keaton grow and change constantly. The pictures bring them closer to us on a day-to-day level.

These are the newest pictures of the boys. Aren't they handsome! We also follow the boys' activities on Patti's blog. She is really good to blog their activities and tell all the cute things (and not-so-cute things) they do.