Elora Rose and the Supremes

The day after Thanksgiving Elora asked to share a song she said she had made up and written in her journal. So I quickly got out my camera. What I didn't realize til it was almost over...she had McKenzie and Hailey off to the side doing the swaying "Supreme" thing.

Tour McKay and McKenna's apartment!

But you can see it, too.

Kelly is McKenna's mother. She sent the McKs some decorations for their apartment and McKenna asked if I could put it on my blog so Kelly could see how nice they look. And they do! Take a look.

(I notice they still have the bride/groom salt and pepper shakers Elora picked out for them!)




If I turned on my cell phone more often I would have known the McKs sent me this picture of their tree:

Taking Hailey home

After saying Goodbye to McKenzie, who she had been staying with for the past week....

 

Den and I brought Hailey back to her Grammy Carol, 

after church today.

With her dog, Heather, in tow, we made the 1 1/2 hour drive to Turlock, 
while Grammy made the 2 hour trip from Roseville to Turlock.
(in other words we met halfway)

Hailey talked to us pretty much non stop while she drew her pictures.

She told me about the great recipe her Dad has for split pea soup and how I should text him for it.

Hailey asked me if I was her Great Aunt. 
I told her since I am her Papa's sister, that yes, I am her Great Aunt. 
She wanted to know if that was sort of like a Grandma. 
I told her YES, most definitely. I want her to feel that way.

Hailey said she likes to pretend Heather the dog is her little sister.

"When I grow up I want to be a veterinarian and an artist."

"You have got to try Grammy's recipe for Cranberry Cider."
(and then proceeds to tell me how to make it)

Suddenly she thinks she spots Grammy's car!

She was so excited she could not get out of the car fast enough!

Oh the reunion with her Grammy was so so sweet!

Hailey told me I could put her drawings today on my blog, so here they are:

 

 
"I have the art work of my Mom." she proudly told us.

Sometimes I just have to go back in time and look at these happy pictures.

It's been 2 1/2 years since her Mom has been gone. As Hailey gets older I see more and more of Robin in her. Her art abilities, the articulate and detailed way she explains things, her chattiness, even her talk about recipes. I can't help but believe Robin stays close by...especially to her Hailey.

Goodbye Thanksgiving

Going through pictures, I found too many like this:

Tyler doing homework.

Not the homework part, but the cold part. There was much bundling up going on in our house. It wasn't until they all left that I realized everyone must have been cold. I am so so sorry I did not turn up the heat.

Before I go on I have to tell you about these olives.

Thanksgiving morn, Den was going to the store anyway so I asked him to get me a flat of olives or more, 
so we could take advantage of the cheap holiday price. 
When I looked in his bag I said, "What?? Only 4 cans?"
His response?, "I want to leave some for the other customers who will come in today." 

He's a good man. I wouldn't have thought of that.

We saw lots of hand holding.

And thanks to a post recently by Grandmother Fairy, 
I feel differently about paper plates and company now.

(I used them occasionally before her post, but now I'm guilt free.)

The girls made amazing food and I wish I had thought to take pictures of all of it.

But I did capture Karen's relish plate!

McKenna and Karen scouting out the ads.

While their husbands were making other plans.

Little Téa stayed close to Mommy. 

She wasn't sure about all the extra people.

Don't let the pictures below alarm you. 

Hailey is just telling Elora a story, complete with theatrics. 

I WON chocolate chip cookies from this great blog. 
I saved them so I could impress my kids!

 

A surprise visitor, Karen Mortensen, loving on Cami.

Dad and Susan stopped by on their way back from yet another cruise!

Lots of good times!

McKay and Tyler saying, "Here's to our mother, and our birth!"

The hardest part is saying goodbye because I really don't know when I will see them again.

THANK YOU for making the 24 hour round trip from Provo to California. 

I really am sorry our house was cold. I will do better next winter.

Good bye Pilgrims. 

You have been with us since August, 
but the time has come to put you back in your styrofoam for another 9 months. 
You all scared Jonas, so he will be happy to come to Grandma Honey's next week and find you're all gone. 
(The Pilgrims I mean, he loved the extra aunts and uncles.)

My Crazy Family

Didn't we all have visions in our heads of being calm, quiet, even a tad bit formal on Thanksgiving...sort of like the Norman Rockwell pictures. That was how I thought our family would be.


Instead I got this one.  



I think the problem is, they all like each other too much.


Thank you Brock for videoing this.
Thank you McKay for editing it.
Thank you to all my girls for making most of the food today!!  Hurray!

Our Provo Couples have arrived!!

After a very cold 12 hour drive from Provo, just missing the expected blizzard in Utah... (Did it ever come??)...McKay/McKenna and Karen/Tyler arrived here about 8:30pm

Wedded Bliss abounds

They brought food with them so they only had to stop at gas stations. 

Some of the 4 arrived rather weary looking.

So I hope they are enjoying the accommodations here.

I was proud of myself for being able to make each couple a nest.

Had to shove the dolls and little girl things aside to make room for the blow up bed. 

This puts the them very close to the food storage so how do you like how I covered that up? 

Now the Mcs can look at Logan and Amy and family (minus the twins) while they sleep.

Then we shoved the 2 twin beds together for Mr.and Mrs. Tyler and Karen.

This house is use to good times so I think we will all survive.

Now if we could just figure out where to put the pies after we make them today!

Thank you...very much.

I want to thank each and every one of you who take time to read my blog each day, 
or every week, or whenever you read it. 

And Thank you for taking the time to comment!

I really do appreciate you.

May you have a very wonderful Thanksgiving Day! 

We are waiting for the Provo travelers to arrive tomorrow!!  

I can hardly wait.

One more thing for now. Today I think I was diagnosed with this:

Angular Cheilitis

 Not a picture of me by the way.

Looks harmless doesn't it? 

I don't think it's serious at all, and it's not contagious, 
but it really hurts. 

Not just to eat and talk, but it HURTS no matter what I do. 

Very annoying.

The DR I saw today thinks it's caused by a vitamin deficiency so he took 5 vials of blood.

So meanwhile, have you ever experienced this? 

If so, what did you do about it? 

Tell me it doesn't take long to go away.

On a much more important note, be sure not to miss these 2 interviews:
Reagan's Piper Jane
and
Miggy's Lamp

These aren't my relatives

But I think they're interesting.

For example,

On Oct. 10, 1929 these 3 SISTERS married these 3 BROTHERS!

Katherine, Suzie, and Nellie married Bergen, Henry, and Dave

In 1957 these 5 SISTERS are all RNs. 

(not all the same year, but by 1957 this is what they all looked like)

This family in 1939, makes me smile. 
There's just something about them...

The Mom couldn't have been that old, but she looks more like the Grandma. 

The parents, Clara and George.
(LOVE the parents' names!)

The kids are Gordon, James, Dorrance, and Joanne.

It was noted that money was very scarce that year,

but the parents saw the importance of having his family portrait in Bloomsburg, Pennysylvania.

This next one is my favorite.
A snapshot of a little family on Thanksgiving 1940. (The Dad was taking the picture.)

Parents: Ida and Peter Kamm with daughters: Frances, Shirley in the high chair, and Peggie.

Northford, Connecticut

I wish I knew what happened to all of these people, especially the little family above.

Thanks to this month's issue of Reminisce Magazine.