The bathrooms along the way

Dennis and I have made the decision, the next time we go to Oregon,
we're going to photograph all the bathrooms we visit along the way.

There is nothing that makes me more homesick than stopping at 
horribly dirty bathrooms just off the freeway.
If you have ever taken a long road trip you know what I mean.

And what is it with all the people who stand behind those cash registers of those little old stores?
Why do most of them have no personality?
Can they not at least smile at the weary travelers coming through their doors?

Den said if he owned one of those old stores he would put a big sign up that read:
"Cleanest bathrooms in town"and then he would hire someone just to clean that bathroom all day long.
He is sure truckers and travelers would then buy all their chips and sodas from him.
I think he might be right.

I think they should all take a lesson from the little store right inside the building
of McKay and Tyler's office in Portland, run by the Hello man.
This happy man greets each and every customer with, "Hello Hello Hello."
It's a PLEASURE to go inside. And you know what else?
I would venture to say the Hello man loves his job!

I took this video over a year ago, so handsome little Grant is a lot bigger now
...and McKenna is just as beautiful.


A hard working 2 year old

Violet may just be the littlest shopper in town.


She puts her whole body into it.



And it doesn't even matter that she can't see the top of that counter!
As soon as her little cart stopped, 
she got out and went to work, just like that.




Her parents must have taught her
 because she knew exactly what to do. 


With her crown back on, 
she looked longingly back at our good time at the store.

Until I mentioned lunch!

For such an tiny little girl 
I can't figure out where she puts all her food

 Would you believe she ate 3 servings of this pasta? 
I kid you not. Must have been all that shopping.


Then after lunch it was back to work taking care of her babies.


She kind of went back and forth between Sheriff and Princess.


Something tells me Miss Violet will be busy all her life.

Kids in the house

Tyler and I use to watch this show called Home and Family for 2 hours every afternoon when he was about 9-11.
I loved it, and he was just a really good sport about it. Then it left TV.

Suddenly a few months ago I realized all these years later it was back on the Hallmark channel.
It's better now because I can DVR it, and then just speed through till I get to the parts I like.

That is what I was doing Saturday night when I found one of their guests talking about this interesting website.
I'm sure there are lots of good parenting websites out there but this is the only one that is all videos....
there are over 8,000 of them! So you can punch in any topic concerning children or family life,
and up will pop several very short videos on the subject.


For example one of my DILs recently said she was fearful of her baby choking on spit up while sleeping on it's back. 
I didn't know what to tell her because back in the day we had our babies sleep on their tummies. 
That isn't recommended any longer, so I understand her concern. I found this little video  
that explains how until a baby is a year old, 
they have an over active gag reflex that prevents them from choking. 
We didn't know this back in the 70s and 80s....thus the tummy sleeping.

The videos get right to the point...no introductions, just answering your question.

I like that each video is very short but up to date info by leading doctors and consultants,
and specialists, and parents who have been there done that. 
And not only that, but you can link up with other parents on this website with the same concerns. 
Not sure how to do that, but it's all on there.

Take a look around on kidsinthehouse.com


Marriage according to a single 19 year old

Last Sunday we had a 19 year old girl named Chandler Fiegel, give a talk to us about marriage.
She said she found the subject interesting being she was single.
But she added that since she has lived almost 20 years, and since she has watched her parents' marriage,
she would share what she knows so far.

I love lists. So as soon as I realized that's where she was headed I wrote her ideas down.
These are her 10 suggestions for a happy marriage
(but I think it morphed into suggestions for a happy family life):

1. Patience. Silence is the best way to deal with siblings.

2. Grab fast and eat last. (I'm still trying to figure this one out.)

3. There's never enough time so choose wisely. Family activities always come first.

4. We turn mishaps into adventures. They usually happen on road trips.

5. Whenever something bad is happening in your life, just say "plot twist" and move on.

6. Stop It....when it comes to judging. But it's hard not to judge when you have siblings.

7. Gratitude. I'm so grateful for my family, as crazy as they make me.

8. Listen more than you talk. When I've gotten in trouble it's usually because of poor communication between me and my parents.
It's usually because someone gets left somewhere.

9. Don't give up....learn!

10. Sacrifice and Service. I can't tell you how much I have sacrificed by driving my siblings around.

She ended with this quote, but I'm not sure who said it:
"Children close their eyes to advice, but open their eyes to example."

Good job, Chandler!


Dr. Jay Karsevar

Jan 3, 1936 - Aug 23, 2013

Our dear friend, Jay Karsevar, passed from this life yesterday afternoon.
He's the one on the far right, next to his sweet as they come, wife, Patty.
The Karsevars are like family to me.
After my first husband died they spent time with me every single day for weeks and weeks. 

And we had many gatherings like this.


And when I married Dennis, they included him with open arms.


Patty and Jay have been married 48 years!


Patty and Jay's daughter, Wendy, is my angel friend.
She went through so much with me....she was there every step of the way.

Wendy had this to say on Facebook this morning about her Dad:

"With tears & broken hearts, we sent him home today to soar with the angels & reunite with his loved ones who left us too soon. Larger than life, a heart the size of Texas, he was the toughest man we ever knew. He was Jersey shore long before there was reality TV. Rest in peace, Skip, sweet peace. We will love you forever."


Surprises in Family History

You probably don't recognize these people, and we probably are not exactly related to them.
This is Mickey Mantle and his family back in 1957

I was doing a search online for a picture of my Great Aunt Rowena 
(Dollie's sister....more on Rowena another day)....
and I found a website by a man related to all us Roziers. 

Mickey Mantle's wife, Merlyn Johnson is on an offshoot of our family tree. 
I don't think a direct offshoot, but still I find this interesting. 

That's little Mickey Jr, and she is pregnant with Billy Mantle. 
Love the hair and pregnant clothes back in 1957.

Mickey Mantle was just a name everyone knew who grew up in the 1960s. 
I didn't know until today that in spite of a chronic bone infection in his legs, 
and operations on both knees,
he became baseball's most powerful switch hitter.
He died of liver cancer in 1995.

So back to my search for Great Aunt Rowena Rozier.
Sometimes I just have to pause to look at all the great pictures.

Like this one below. 

He is another distant family tree offshoot. 
It's his name that struck me the most.

Andrew Jackson Batman
born May 20, 1830
It's like he was given a distinguished name to sort of counteract the Batman at the end.
I wonder if it worked.


One Skillet Enchiladas

Tastes just like enchiladas but a lot easier. 
I didn't time myself, but I think it took about 20 minutes start to finish.



Go for the recipe here.

Not my picture, but I made just half a recipe (6 tortillas, 1/2 lb meat) and it looked just like this.



Breaking up was hard to do!

I'm still 2 years new at this out of town grandparenting thing.
It's tough saying goodbye, walking away, and not knowing when we will see them again!
They are far away over the mountains and every time I think of their 4 little faces I want to cry.

I am so very thankful we got to see them.

The song I chose may not seem appropriate to you, but to me, it's how I felt.


Church in Oregon last Sunday




I've never seen a Sacrament meeting program quite like this, but I love this idea!
Each week Karen and Tyler's ward prints the topic of learning for that day
right on the front of the program. 




So last Sunday all the talks were about education, in some form.

An older man talked all about his earlier search for education and a career.
How he decided years ago that he did not want to do manual labor like his Dad.
He was determined to get a degree in engineering....and all the struggles he went through to obtain this.

Then a middle age woman talked about her hobby of studying nutrition 
and how it's a life long quest of hers. She loves the subject and continues to learn all she can about it.

The meeting ended with a young Mom explaining how she is wanting to get a degree in health care of some kind, but right now she is raising their 1 year old with another baby coming in December. 
I hope she puts that off for several more years.

The common denominator with all these stories was prayer and work. 

The young Mom said something in particular that resonated with me. 
She said we often pray and pray for something....either an answer to a problem, 
or an answer to a path we are thinking of taking. 
Then over time we quit thinking about that issue because it has been resolved. 
We often don't even recognize the answer to our prayer came
because it was all so subtle, or came in a way we were not expecting. 

But you know what even had a bigger impact on me while I was sitting in that chapel last Sunday?
It was the realization that this was the first time, ever, 
since Tyler left home 8 years ago that I was able to be present in his ward. 

We missed Karen and the boys (Richie was sick) but there was Tyler, sitting right next to us.
And that's when this part of the 3rd verse of the Sacrament hymn hit me:

"And now we praise thy name with song, The blessings of this day
Will linger in our thankful hearts, And silently we pray..."

Yes, that about sums up my feelings. 
So thankful we could be there. So thankful for the trip.
But the goodbyes were not easy. 
more on that later.

Another stop at the cemetery

On our way home from Oregon today,
we once again went looking for my relatives at French Camp cemetery.
I've been very curious about my Grandpa Romeo's sister Dollie.
She only weighed 1 1/2 lbs when she was born at home in 1897.

Her parents named her Dollie because she was so tiny, and no one expected her to live.
They put her in a shoebox lined with cotton and her mother nursed her to health. Amazing.
Think of all the machines and tubes that are needed in a hospital to keep a teeny baby alive.
But this one made it in a shoebox!

She grew up to be a healthy appearing adult and married this man, James Risso:

The story is, this husband of hers was not very nice, and he didn't treat her very well. 
They had a baby son together but he died as an infant. 
Then Dollie died at the age of 30, but I have no idea what of.

Here's Dollie sitting between my grandparents, Leonie and Romeo Rozier. 
I think this was taken shortly after Dollie's baby son died, which may explain her black dress.
(unlike today where we wear black even to weddings)
1923
(that's little June and baby Leonie with them)

Since she died so young, I've been very curious about Dollie's cause of death. 
This cemetery helped me last week finding out more about my Grandma Leonie Rozier, 
so I didn't think it would be a problem this time. I was wrong. 
Suddenly the workers at the cemetery told me it was against the HIPAA law to give information. 
I told them, "But she died 86 years ago! Knowing how she died is not going to hurt anyone." 
Then the worker mumbled something about how it could invade the family's privacy 
since addresses are on the information card. 
I said, "Her relatives are no longer living at that address....they're all dead. "

Nothing I said helped. 
They weren't going to give me any information other than where to find Dollie's grave.

I find it curiously odd that Dollie goes by her maiden name of Rozier on her marker, 
but then it says that she is James Risso's wife!

Dollie's older brother Frank tried to protect her from her mean husband. 
I'm not sure how well that worked. But I love him for trying.

Here is Frank with his wife Emma, who everyone loved.
She's in a wheel chair here due to a fractured hip that never healed.


His real name was Francis so I was surprised his grave marker actually said Frank.
So that's what I learned today.

PS  I got my information about Dollie and Frank from some hand written letters 
by Frank's daughter Marnie. She is in her 90s and living in Pahrump, Nevada.

Oh, and as a side note, Dollie had "carrot-top, bold, bright red hair that was curly, curly, curly"
....as did her mother Mary Jane Cole Rozier.

I thought these were the perfect gifts

Look what a co-worker of Tyler and McKay 
so thoughtfully gave to both Leo and Scarlett:

 I wish I would have thought of that!



Two things I don't like about Oregon

I LOVE the weather, the culture, even some of their picky laws. This would truly be a great place to live, and to raise a family.

But I have discovered two things I don't like.

1.  Even though we are staying in a smoke free hotel, the halls and dining areas, and lobby REEK of cigarette smoke. When ever we come home at night, and as soon as we open the main door to the hotel hallways, we are hit with the smell of smoke. We noticed this the last two times we visited here, too.

We couldn't figure out why they allow people to hover around the outside doors, smoking. They have signs up that read, "No smoking within 10 feet of the door." To me, that's like an open invitation to smokers to hang out just outside the doors. And they do! Den said there were about 5 of them out there this morning. Then they go back to their rooms and the smoke follows them.

So after breakfast Dennis went up to the office to ask why they allow this. Turns out it's the law here in Oregon. Anyone is allowed to smoke in Oregon outside of businesses as long as they are 10 feet away. California must have a different law since I've never noticed smoke being a problem in hotels there.

2. And this is minor compared to the smoke issue, but it's so hard to find a garbage can in Oregon. They don't keep them outside hotels, or most stores. It's very hard to find a place to put your trash here. Do they think by not having trash cans people will accumulate less trash? I wonder if it's working for them.

So we collect up our banana peels and empty food containers until we can get back to the hotel and then we throw it in the trash in our room for the maids to take care of. This just doesn't seem right somehow.

Hotel Taco Soup and prince George swaddles

It's really just called Crockpot Taco Soup, but it worked well in our hotel last night.
Go HERE for the recipe.
We borrowed Karen's large crockpot. 
Very little counter space but we made it work.

Still trying to get that family picture. 
I thought maybe I could get them all as they arrived,
but Grant was running away.

I tried with Karen and Tyler too. Too bad Tyler's eyes are shut, but Karen is as beautiful as ever.


This is pretty much how our evening went. 


How do you like my pink scrubs? See the little "Grandma Honey" written on them? 
A gift from McKenna and McKay. :)


And since we had sort of bonded with front desk, 
I asked if they would come with me to show them off.
 
I wanted them to see the reason we came!

Do you notice the aden + anais swaddle the babies are in?
The same kind Prince George was wearing leaving the hospital 2 weeks ago.
Leo and Scarlett received them as gifts before the big rush. 

Day 3


So while having dinner last night at the McKs along with Karen and Tyler....
Last time we were here they had 2 babies, now they have 4!...
it has now turned into more than just fun, it's crazy fun.

Scarlett

Leo
I was still in my bathrobe when my babies were 2 weeks old. 
These new Moms look AMAZING.

Beautiful Scarlett


These pictures are just a sampling of our evening together. 
Scarlett and Leo are just 2 weeks old!
Grant and Rich are both 2 within the month

McKenna insisted on making dinner for all of us.
I know, I know, she shouldn't have, but she did.
Shish Kabobs, green salad, and fresh nectarines, cherries, raspberries, and pineapple.

I told McKay and Tyler I wanted at least one picture of Grant and Rich sitting together. 
This is the closest we could get to that request. 


Is there anything more gorgeous than a newborn?

Very handsome Leo



 I remember nursing like that!



When we had Richie over to play with us yesterday I closed the bathroom door 
so I wouldn't have to worry about him going in there. 

Problem is next time we opened it, it wouldn't open. 
The maintenance man was still trying to open that door for us when 
we went to McKay and McKenna's for dinner. 
Still wasn't fixed when we got back last night....
so we were given the option of moving permanently to Room 126 down the hall, 
or we could "stay" in Room 126 until Room 124 is fixed. 
We optioned for choice two because 124 has the much better bed. 

So we have our stuff in Room 124 but we slept in 126....
going back and forth as we needed things. 
Sounded easy but turns out we were continually forgetting things 
and ended up going back and forth at least a dozen times after we were dressed for bed. 

But the very best part is they are not charging us for last night...
not even for one room when we have two. 
We also were told we could have anything we wanted in their little store by the desk. 

Life's an adventure. Always.

And we can hardly wait for tonight when they 
are all coming here for dinner in our little hotel room. :)

Come back and I'll show you a recipe that works well in a hotel room
...at least I am hoping so.


Look what happened last night

  Just a little pre-graduating gathering for our DIL Amy.... Not everyday a Mom of 7 and a Grandma of 7, graduates from college. It was not ...