Happenings

**********Now with pictures!*************

We've had some happenings going on in our lives....and no camera for the visual proof (John's camera is in the shop). But I thought I'd go ahead and post now, because if a post gets too delayed I give up and never write it down.

#1 Ains was in her first play. She auditioned for a part in the Missoula Children's Theater play that came to Meridian. The theater company travels and happened to be near us for the week so she gave it a go. The competition was pretty fierce. They had parts for 50-60 kids 84 auditioned. She landed the part of a bat (as did most of the other kindergartners and first graders that auditioned:) I'm pretty sure she was the cutest bat up there. She got to be on stage twice and there was a whole bat song that all 10 little bats were a part of. It was a crazy week with rehearsals every night and a full morning of dress rehearsal on Saturday before the show. I think the best part for Ains was that her friend Kylie just happened to be auditioning as well and they got to be bats together. She had a great time all week and it was a new experience, so it was all worth it!

#2 John turned 33. He had a rockin' party her with the family. I don't have much else to say about that.

#3 We bought a minivan. After years of fighting my fate, I got a van. And I must say that minivans are very smart vehicles nowadays (that's what I say to make myself feel better about waiting until now to get one). I am loving the space. I love that the kids can't touch each other while we're in the car. I love that no one has to crawl over seats to get around the car. It makes travel wonderful. We ended up getting an '07 Honda Odyssey. It's pretty bare bones, I had to give up my dreams of power sliding doors, but it only has 30,000 miles and will be a great car for years to come. Buying cars always stresses me out, but once our mechanic gave it the two thumbs up I felt sure about our purchase and everything has fallen into place since.

(Not our actual van....but just like it....except this on is in Washington currently.)

#4 I sold John's car.....all by myself! I listed john's car on craigslist a few hundred less than the kelly blue book value because I knew it had some issues and needed to be seen by a mechanic. Literally 30 seconds after I published the listing my phone started ringing. Within 35 minutes I had 7 emails, 10 voice mails, several txts, and all the while my phone was ringing constantly. I would be on the phone with one person giving them directions and my phone would be beeping with other callers and then when I hung up there would be someone on the line. It was insane!!!! The car was gone literally 35 minutes after I listed it. The first people that stopped by bought it. I took the plates off, emptied the car, and handed over the title. A first for me. The buyer had to help me along. I had no idea what I was doing. I felt silly when they had to tell me that the title wouldn't be in the car. Apparently I listed his car WAY to low. But I got more for it than I thought we would. Yay!

(Again, not John's actual car, but doesn't it look all pretty in the sunset manufacturer photo?)

The goods and not so goods of our week in St. George

GOOD..............catching up with family. I always love getting to sit and talk to family at get togethers. I love hearing what everyone has been up to and getting to hear the details and random stories that no one bothers to share if you're not sitting around with nothing better to do than talk to each other.

NOT SO GOOD...............drive time. No one should have to spend over 20 hours in the car with small children, unless that 20 hours is spread over a month or so, not a week.

GOOD.....................cousins entertaining Emmie. I have 2 cousins that are a lot younger than me. They are 9 and 11. I sincerely wish that they lived in my neighborhood because they were the best babysitters ever. Emmie LOVED them. They would play with her and she would just laugh and laugh and be completely entertained. It was amazing.

NOT SO GOOD.............Emmie took to sticking her finger in her nose. It's kind of a security blanket thing. She's always been particular about her nose, she hates having boogers in it. But it was ridiculous how much of the week was spent with Emmie 's finger up her nose. (And BTW, this photo captures only a sliver how drastic her finger in the nose truly was.)

GOOD.............Listening to my niece Bailey. While sleep talking one night she yelled out, "But Bria gets to do everything!!!!" I don't know why but sleep talking is just funny in general, and when she yelled that out about her sister I couldn't help but laugh. It was also funny one night while she was talking to her sister on the phone when she said, "Tonight I had waffles for dinner (she had pancakes) and ya, I'm familiar with that." What does that even mean?!

GOOD..............The spinny park. The spinny park saved us. We went there twice while in St. George. I'd never heard of one before, and the thought of it makes me a little dizzy. But the kids loved it and didn't mind all the spinning at all.
GOOD..............The weather. It was gorgeous!!!! We left Salt Lake withe 6 inches of snow on the ground and got to enjoy afternoons in the 70's. I had to go buy my kids cooler clothes. Seriously. I wish we were having that gorgeous spring weather here!


GOOD.............Looking at things of the past...pictures, clothes, etc. I always love to do stuff like that.

NOT SO GOOD.................Boredom. I wasn't prepared for a week away from home. I had very little entertainment for the kids and my grandma's house is a bit lacking in the toy/baby supply department. But we made it work.

GOOD............. My dad entertained Owen one morning for an hour and a half with some magic. My dad convinced Owen that he was magic and could change the time on the clock. Owen would stand in front of the oven clock and wave his hands and say random magic words until the time changed. My dad was sure to tell him what time to try to change it to. So when Owen would come excitedly tell him that he had changed the time to 10:32, my dad would just as excitedly tell him to try to change it to 10:33. And sure enough, with a little patience, he was always able to get the time to change.

GOOD..............We were able to spend a day or so in Salt Lake and visit John's family. Unexpected visits are always nice, right!

NOT SO GOOD..................Exhaustion. I was seriously exhausted by the end of the week. I still don't know that I've recovered. I'm definitely not 20 anymore. Being up until 1 or 2 for several nights on a row and then up with kids at 7 every morning really took it's toll on me. I still don't know that I've recovered.

THE VERY BEST.................After the burial on Saturday we took a walk down memory lane and visited the first 2 houses I lived in as a kid. What was amazing was that shortly after we pulled up to the house I was born in (literally) a Realtor showed up for a showing. The house was vacant and he let us wander through it. It was so cool to see things as an adult that I hadn't seen since I was 7 years old. There was still the same linoleum in the kitchen, the same kitchen cupboards, and the same little moulding in the kitchen that I used to pretend was a door to a magical kingdom. I absolutely loved being there. I wish John and Ainsley could have been with us.

But then it got even better when we went to the second house I ever lived in (the farm house) and we wandered around the property a bit. There was a little girl that came outside who was probably the same age as I was when we moved from that house. I watched her play in the driveway and jump the ditch just like I used to. It was all too nostalgic. But then my mom and uncle knocked on the door just to tell the owners we weren't there to cause a raucous and just passing through and the current owner's graciously welcomed the herds through the house. My mom's uncle Vance built the house. Not a lot was the same. There had been a lot of remodeling over the years, but the white living room carpet is the same carpet that has been there for over 30 years, and the kids bathroom still has the original pink tile. The owners had actually torn a bunch out but the tile on the ground was laid into cement....so that will have to stay. And then while we were there 2 people from the ward I grew up in just happened to stop by and visit with my parents. How random is that? I just love that a cute little LDS family with young girls lives in the house I remember growing up in. It was really cool.

Another Funeral....And a long story to go with it.

Last Sunday, March 6, I got a call from my mom as I was getting ready for church. She was calling to let me know that my Grandma (LeeAnn Walker) had passed away the night before in her sleep. She had been in a rehab center since having a ruptured bowel and being put in intensive care a few weeks ago. She had been living alone for almost 30 years. My grandpa passed away from complications due to his diabetes when I was three. It was sad to see her go, but what a happy day for her to be reunited with her husband and finally freed from her failing body.

I still picture my grandma moseying through her house even though I know she's not there anymore. I'm a little regretful that I didn't make more effort to call her and keep in touch with her while I had the chance. I'm grateful that I have a few of her things to remember her by. I have a blanket from her house and I don't know that I'll wash it for quite some time, because I like that it smells like her house.

Due to some confusion/miscommunication, or possibly a little of both, my family headed down to St. George for the funeral the very day that we found out about her passing with the understanding that the funeral was Tuesday. After a lot of confusion, and a bit of sibling arguing, the funeral was moved to Friday. Thus, the Welch's had a whole week to fill in St. George. We managed to fill our time. We shopped a bit. Hung about my Grandma's house. And did a little cleaning out and organizing while we were there.

I got some great little keepsakes to bring home with me. I got my Grandma's sugar bowl, which it turns out was a wedding gift given to my mom that ended up in my Grandma's possession. I always liked it. It's totally 70's and has a white woven basked look on the bottom with a green leaf lid and red strawberry handle and a cute little spoon. (I'd take a picture but our camera is undergoing repair.) I also got some sea shells and some really nice jewelery. I think my favorite is a silver chain that just screams "Grandma wore this". I also got a really old hair clip and some funky old clip on earrings that you have to tighten with a little screw. It was so fun to see her wedding dress and hold it up to me and realize that her waist was easily 6-8 inches smaller than mine currently is.

(She had drawers full of jewelery that we had fun sorting through. A lot of it was "costume jewelery" according to her, but she had a few sets of pearls, several diamonds, amethysts, and a few cameos.)

And now to share some of my favorite memories/stories of my Grandma Walker....

* She was always very proper. She was raised by a very proper mother. I always especially noticed this during meal times. For example, when I was with her last fall, and we were having cold cereal and toast for breakfast, the table was set properly before we could eat. The cereal, milk, and toast was put on the table and we waited for everyone to eat together. She was always like that.

*My Grandma had narcolepsy. This was sad, funny, and scary all at the same time. It was terrifying to drive with her. She got picked up once for drunk driving when I was in the car with her when I was a little girl. (I think that's the last time my parents let her drive me around town.) She loved to play games with the family. But she had to be woken up every time it was her turn. She was a beautician and my mom swears she once saw my grandma cut a woman's hair while sleeping.

*My grandma loved to shop. In fact while we were cleaning out her closets we found TONS of clothes...several with the tags still on. Her favorite phrase while shopping was, "Well that's fun!" (Meaning cute of course.)

*My grandma was a bit spoiled. I think this came along with her proper upbringing. She tells the story of when my grandpa first asked her out and didn't do it right, she informed him that when he wanted a date with her he would do it the right way. Unfortunately, I don't remember what the right way was.

*My grandma cut my hair until I was married. I seriously can think of maybe 10 times in my life until that point that she wasn't the one that cut my hair. Even when we lived in Boise and she was in Salt Lake, she still cut my hair every time I visited.

*My grandma loved crosswords. I think she did them every day. She was always working on one and there were always several laying around her house.

*My grandma was a painter. She taught me a few art lessons when I was little. If I'm lucky I'll get her little painting of a flower I had my mom claim as we were cleaning out her house.

*My Grandma was a city girl who, as soon as she got married, moved to a farm and a little farm house in Burley, Idaho. From what I understand she adjusted to farm life, but went to beauty school while there to escape it a bit.

*My Grandma had the same birthday as Owen. I'm grateful that they were able to celebrate one birthday together at my house while they were both alive. That will be a special memory for me.

Her funeral was very nice. Although it was sad to see her in her casket. She just didn't look like herself. Lots of family traveled to be there for her. Even her nieces, nephews, and sisters came from out of town. All of her kids spoke at the funeral and I think they all did a really good job.
All of her grandchildren but one were at the funeral (Michael was missing). Here are most of us. There were supposed to be 23 of us, but somehow we're a few short in this picture. After the funeral on Friday morning we all headed to Burley for the burial the next morning. I was amazed at how many people from Burley showed up for that as well. It was fun to see faces that I hadn't seen since I was a little kid. She was buried in the Pella cemetery next to my grandpa. The cemetery is literally in the middle of farmland and nothing else. Which was kind of nice because the younger kids could play a bit. Emmie even wandered into a muddy field and fell in the mud....I'm a very observant mother.

Most of the family was able to make the drive to Burley.

It's sad, but kind of a nice thought to think of my grandparents bodies there together in Burley where they raised there family over 30 years ago.

Employment

I was recently contacted by a friend. Her husband has been working to start an online children's bookstore for about 5 years now. The website focuses on books for kids 0-12. His website is finally starting to turn a profit and so they asked if I would be willing to work a few hours a week updating the website for them. They thought of me because I'm a mom and have a teaching background. My job is mainly just to add content. I create book lists, compile author spotlights, input new releases and such. And I must say I'm loving it so far. I was a little anxious at first. I was mostly worried about the time (funny how setting aside 5-10 hours a week for work somehow seems almost impossible) and that I wouldn't be competent when it came to the technical aspect of the job. I've only been doing it for a couple of weeks and I'm loving it! I enjoy locking myself in my room occasionally just to research children's books. It is an amazing job! Today I got to spend some time researching Kevin Henkes for an author spotlight.....and it was enjoyable!
Who knows how long this opportunity will last....I guess it depends on how well I do my job! But for now I'm just enjoying being able to make a little extra money doing something I actually like doing!

(In case you're wondering the website is http://www.childrensbookstore.com/. It is great site that is still a work in progress. The creator has a lot of good ideas and I think it will get better and better.)