A New Story

Once upon a time nine Decembers ago there was a baby born the day after Christmas named Eddy.  He has a little brother named Parker who was born four Novembers ago. He has two cousins who were born on the very same day in October. One cousin named Brody was born 11 Octobers ago and the other cousin named Nash was born five Octobers ago. He has a brother named Ryan who was born eight Septembers ago. He has a cousin named Lindsay who was born six Augusts ago. She has a cousin named Lilly who was born one July ago. She has two cousins named Luke and Wade who were born seven Junes ago.  One of them has a brother and the other one has a cousin who is the same boy (named Zach) who was born 15 Aprils ago.  He has two cousins who were born in March. One cousin named Coltin was born nine Marchs ago and the other cousin named Owen was born five Marchs ago. He has two cousins born in January. One cousin named Jack was born exactly 11 Januarys ago today! And his newest cousin named Gus was born exactly one week ago today!
 

Happy Birthday to one and all of my grandkids!
Love, Grandma

Story #40

Once upon a time there was a handsome young man who became a handsome young husband and then a hardworking father and then a nice middle-aged man who turned into a kinda grumpy old grandpa. He married a cute nice girl who became a happily married young lady and then a wonderful, nice mother who eventually turned into a goofy little grandma. That fine old man and the little old lady realized one day that they had known each other twice as long as the time before they ever met.

They had lived, laughed and loved through one wedding, four houses and at least 10 cars. They had lived, laughed and loved (with just a few tears) through the birth of four daughters and one son. They had lived, laughed and loved through their children's happy childhoods, through their crazy teens, and through their graduations and weddings.

They had lived, laughed and loved through hundreds of holidays--Valentine's Days, Easters, Halloweens, Thanksgivings, Christmases not to mention Groundhog Days, St. Patrick's Days and holidays of their own creation. They had lived, laughed and loved, or rather survived appendicitis, colitis, trips to the emergency room for stitches, braces, root canals, foot surgeries, car accidents, and one terrible, horrible windstorm.

They lived, laughed and loved visiting 32 states and a few countries too, on assorted family vacations, guided tours, cruises and weekend getaways. They lived, laughed and loved through the births of 11 fine grandsons and two little granddaughters and look forward to the birth of grandchild #14 next year! They lived, laughed and loved through reading races, Alpha-Bingo games, Christmas countdowns and even visits from all of them at once!

In between all the living, laughing and loving the little old lady sometimes thinks the fine old man watches too much TV and says "crap" too often . . . and sometimes the fine old man thinks the little old lady writes too many job lists and says "be nice" too often . . . but other than that they are truly happy. Although this is the last of 40 stories, it is not the end because the fine old man (also known as your Grandpa) and the little old lady (also known as your Grandma) plan on living, laughing and loving happily forever after!

Happy day after Christmas!
Love, Grandma (and Grandpa)


P.S.
On this date nine years ago the fine old man and the little old lady were not quite as old when they became grandparents for the fifth time when Betsy's and Brandt's very first son was born the day after Christmas in 2007! Happy Birthday Eddy Otis!

Click Eddy's name under the labels section to see more pictures of this smart, young man who is a math genius and lover of all kinds of "screens".

Story #39

Once upon a time there was a crazy teenage girl who loved Christmas so much that she created her very own advent calendar. On a long piece of butcher paper she wrote "Christmas is . . . " and then drew 25 holiday pictures like a candle, a tree, an angel, Santa, etc. . . then she covered the little pictures with numbered squares and pulled one off each day of December. After Christmas was over, she carefully rolled up her advent masterpiece and saved it to hang on her bedroom wall the next few Christmases.

Later this crazy teenage girl grew up to become a mother
who was still so crazy about Christmas that she created all kinds of advent adventures to help her cute kids count down the days until December 25. One year little Emily and little Shelly did a project a day to decorate "Merry Christmas walls". Other years little Betsy, little Tom and little Hayley colored an ornament each day of December to hang on their own paper trees. Other Decembers they read a story each day . . . opened a surprise each day . . . had tiny treasure hunts each day . . . or had daily Christmas quizzes. One year after the girls in this family grew up they even sewed fabric advent calendars to hang in their own homes. 

The Christmas crazy wife's husband also caught the Christmas spirit. He was more generous than crazy and came up with the plan of doing "Twelve Days of Christmas". Every year they would choose a family, friend or neighbor and secretly deliver them surprises during the 12 days before Christmas. The last delivery (often a big box of groceries) was on Christmas Eve. And all deliveries required the whole family's help with wrapping, packing, coming up with disguises if needed, sneaky delivering/running, and watching to make sure no one was caught.
 

Not surprisingly, the Christmas crazy mother is now a goofy Grandma who creates countdown projects for her 13 grandchildren. Just last year she made an advent calendar out of cute pictures they all drew for her. The goofy Grandma lost her original advent calendar long, long ago . . . but she will probably never lose the desire to count the days until Christmas happily every December after.

Merry 24 days before Christmas!
Love, Grandma

Story #38

Once upon a time a  young newlywed couple went on a honeymoon to Disneyland. They had such a marvelous time, they returned a few years later to "the happiest place on earth" for a second honeymoon. That was back in the days of "15-Adventure Ticket Books" filled with 1A, 2B, 3C, 4D and 5E tickets all for the price of $9.25. E-tickets were for the most popular rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and Country Bear Jamboree, and lesser tickets were for less popular, smaller rides. Of course, Sleeping Beauty's Castle was still there back in those days so the young couple made a wish at the wishing well to go back again someday.

That wish came true! Once that couple became parents of five fun-loving children, they devised a plan to go to Disneyland as much as possible. To save money, the smart-thinking couple only took part of the family at a time. The first family adventure was in the spring of 1991 with Emily, Shelly and Betsy. One of the best parts of that trip was eating Mickey Mouse waffles and pancakes for breakfast one morning.

The next family Disneyland adventure was just days before Thanksgiving in 1993 with Emily and Shelly again, plus Tom this time. The whole park was decorated for Christmas! However, driving home on Thanksgiving Day was not much fun with heavy traffic and no turkey dinners left by the time they arrived in Cedar City that evening.

Five years later (1998) Betsy, Tom and Hayley were the lucky ones who got to fly to Disneyland! It was so rainy one day, they waited until noon to head over to the park. By then so many soaking-wet visitors were leaving that the lines were much shorter for the rides . . . and best of all the sun came out for the rest of the day! That may have been the same trip where the whole family rode "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad" over and over until closing time one evening!

Another five years later (2003) was Hayley's turn for her second visit to Disneyland. The best part of that trip was the room service! Every morning Hayley was so anxious to get going, she went down to the hotel's free breakfast buffet and came back with as much food as she could carry (including bananas in her pockets) so her slow parents would hurry up.

 

It looked as if trips to Disneyland were coming to an end once the five fun-loving children grew up, until one day when the couple realized their children had children that might like to go to Disneyland. In fact, when Emily's family was planning to meet Shelly's family at Disneyland in 2008, the very caring grandparents of her two little boys offered to come along as "babysitters"! After arriving one Sunday evening around 6 p.m., they immediately left for the park and stayed until it closed--11 p.m.! During this trip 2-year-old Brody was in love with Buzz and 7-year-old Zach stretched himself tall enough to ride nearly every ride (including "Tower of Terror"--his favorite!)

Five years later the very caring grandparents decided to give their whole family a Disneyland trip as a Christmas gift. The whole crew traveled there in early February 2013 . . . including one brand new little grandson born to Betsy and Brandt just the November 20 before. Parker Even Shaw may not remember the ride on the Storybook Canal in Fantasyland with 20 other family members the last night of that vacation, but his Grandpa and Grandma remember . . . and are patiently living happily ever after while impatiently awaiting a return trip to the "happiest place on earth".

Happy Birthday Parker!

Love, your Disneyland-loving Grandma

 

P.S.
Parker Evan Shaw is now a four-year-old lover of snack bowls while he watches "Rescue Bots", "PJ Masks" or "Mickey Mouse" . . . a Ninja Turtle lover who does his ninja training by jumping all over his parents' bed . . . a lover of dirt who likes to dig . . . and a cute little brother with a missing tooth smile who probably, too. would like to go back to Disneyland someday!

Story #37

Once upon a time there was a family of five fine children who lived in a "home sweet home" in North Salt Lake. One child got married and moved away, then there were four fine children who lived in the "home sweet home" in North Salt Lake. One child (also known as Shelly) turned 18 years old in 1996 and got this list on her birthday:

Shelly's Top Ten Feats
(so far)

10. Surviving Braces
. . . after more than four years, the end is finally nearing!
9. The Black Mark
. . . right from an early age, she has been asserting her individuality.
8. The Attitude
 . . . so no one will think she's too smart or too good
or too sweet, she has this "crusty" edge to her.
7. The Deli
. . . besides her amazing job skills and many hours of hard work,
how many people work at a place that rhymes with their name!
6. Her Money Maneuvers
. . . she has more money and clothes than anyone in the family,
yet she still manages to finagle a few more bucks
here and there from someone.
5. Her Vocabulary
. . . a conversation with her is as entertaining as it is informative.
4. Her Notes
. . . in a most creative fashion and in lovely handwriting, she is able
to beg, borrow, remind, and tell us things "for future reference".
3. Her Hair
. . . for having nothing for a couple years, then nothing special
for a few more--where did her envious mass of curls come from?
2. Her Future
. . . she may not know where to go to college yet,
but the rest of her life is all figured out!
1. Her Birth (just 14 months after her first sister)
. . . she was so anxious to get here, she sent her parents to the hospital in the middle of the night during a blizzard and semi-power outage only to decide to delay her arrival by 12 more hours

 . . . but thanks for coming 18 years ago!

 

Less than a year later this one child went away to college and later got married, then there were three fine children who lived in a very tall house on Eastpointe Circle. Believe it or not, two children got married in the very same year (practically the same summer). Then there was only one fine child who later moved with her parents to a "home sweet little home" in Centerville. Less than one year after that, she too got married and moved away.

Then there were zero fine children living with a perfectly fine father and mother. But don't worry, the fine five children have become a fine family of 23 1/2 people who often visit the perfectly fine Grandpa and Grandma and make sure they are living happily ever after!

Happy Birthday to one of those fine five children!
(also known as the wonderful wife of J.P., the fabulous mother of three fine boys, the personal shopper and beauty consultant for her three sisters, and a co-owner of "Clean Sweep Pros".

 
Love, Shelly's Mom

(also known as Jack's, Ryan's and Nash's Grandma)

Story #36

Once upon a time there was a middle-aged couple who caught an ailment known as the travel bug. It all started one day when the newspaper-loving man read an ad offering a discount (and free Broadway tickets) for a "Cherry Blossoms Over Broadway" tour. A few short weeks later the adventurous couple were walking under cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. . . visiting all sorts of historic monuments, museums and homes . . . climbing in the Statue of Liberty and walking across the Brooklyn Bridge!

They had such a grand time, they soon signed up for another tour . . . and another. They flew on airplances to places like Boston, Seattle, Honolulu and Hong Kong! They traveled on buses through the Black Hills and badlands, over covered bridges, around the French Quarter in New Orleans, and through many national parks and forests. They rode in boats on Lake Winnipesaukee, under Deception Pass, and through the Thousand Islands. They cruised in big ships through the Caribbean, up to Alaska and all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. They rode in a horse-drawn carriage on Mackinac Island . . . in a taxi with a real Irish driver to Cork, Ireland . . . and in a red convertible called a "jammer" through Glacier National Park . . . and in a float plane over the Misty Fjords in Alaska!

 
They stood on volcanic rocks, walked through a lava tube, stood on a glacier, and walked on Waikiki Beach. They ate king crab legs in Alaska, an Amish dinner in a real Amish home in Pennsylvania, poutine (gravy and melted cheese on French Fries) at a Wendy's in Canada, blue crab cakes in Maryland, "pain au chocolate" in France, marionberry cobbler in Oregon and at a Waffle House in Virginia!They have seen Mount Rushmore, tulip fields galore, Anne of Green Gables' house on Prince Edward Island, lots of lighthouses, the Redwood forest, moose, dolphins, geese, alligators, fire dancers, lumberjacks, plantations, totem poles, temples and 32 states.

 
 Pretty soon the little Mrs. had a great desire to visit all 50 states while her husband wanted to take more and more cruises. It's beginning to look like the only cure for this couple's ailment will be spending all the money their children would probably like to inherit. But before that happens, perhaps they can all travel together on a cruise someday and be poor happily ever after.

Happy Wednesday!
Love,
a little traveler also known as your Grandma

Story #35

Once upon a dark and stormy night a tall
  dark spooky man and his wicked witchy wife . . . wait a minute . . . Once upon an ordinary Halloween night a tall not-spooky man and his sweet not-wicked wife dressed up their little baby girl as a ghost by covering her with a white blanket that had two black eyes and a note that said "Trick or Treat". They placed her on her grandparents' porch, rang the doorbell, and ran and hid. When the grandparents answered the door, they simply picked up the baby ghost and took her inside, with no concern whatsoever about how she got there. It was at the point in time, that the tall not-spooky man and his sweet not-wicked wife knew they weren't any good at Halloween hijinks.

In spite of their Halloween shortcomings,
fall happened to be this couple's favorite season of the year. They loved to take walks in the park and enjoy the colorful leaves on the trees, they loved to make dinner-in-a-pumpkin when the weather cooled off . . . and they loved to go to Mueller Park with the whole family for tinfoil dinners and sometimes S'mores, too. They also loved to take trips "over the river and through the woods" to Idaho or East Canyon for Thanksgiving feasts.

Then the couple's next favorite season began.
They loved Christmas so much, they could (and probably will) write a whole story about that holiday alone. White Christmases were especially fun, but winter could seem long if it involved shoveling the very long driveway more than once.

 
The couple did like snowy stay-home pajama days and drinking lots of cocoa with Einstein bagels, but they were also happy when bits of green started appearing again on the ground and on the trees. One of their favorite spring things to do was walk through Temple Square and wish their own garden would grow so well.

Apparently, however, they weren't so good at Easter celebrations either--at least Easter egg hunts. Contrary to popular belief, the couple tried their very best to be fair "Easter bunnies". Once when their son needed a new bike, they truly felt it was better to give him his early birthday present at Easter, rather than on his birthday when summer was halfway over.

But his sisters will probably insist for the rest of their lives, that all they got that Easter was underwear. Maybe that is why the nice couple started "gift and treat exchange" Easter egg hunts instead.

All too soon summer came and every year it was usually too hot.
But the pretend farmer father did love to plant a garden, water and weed it, and show it off to anyone who would look. His appreciative wife did love to eat his strawberries, tomatoes, corn-on-the-cob and even the squashes. And she loved to decorate with the homegrown pumpkins once fall came back again.

 
Winter, spring, summer, fall . . .
the couple lived happily ever after in every season, one and all!

Happy Halloween soon!
Love,
your nice, not-wicked witchy Grandma

Story #34

Once upon a confusing time there was a nice-middle-aged couple who had gone from the time of a yellow telephone on the wall to the time of small pocket-sized gadgets called cell phones. They had gone from the time of paying for things with this green stuff called cash to charging everything with this pocket-sized object called a credit card. They had gone from living in big houses raising young children to living in a little house and worrying about their aging parents. And in the middle of all that confusion, they still had one confusing teenage daughter living with them.

In the middle of her senior year in high school, that confusing teenager, also known as Hayley, started "hanging out", going to lunch and text messaging a friend who was a boy but not her boyfriend. A short time later she confessed this friend had kissed her, so now he was her boyfriend. At first the boyfriend's name was B.J., but later the same boyfriend wanted to be called Brady instead. However, this confusing young lady still talked of going to college. She had mentioned just two years earlier at the weddings of two of her siblings that her goal was to be the oldest one to marry--at least 24 years old, and possibly after she started medical school. She got a scholarship to Southern Utah University and to Utah State! She got a promotion to Customer Service/front-end manager at Dicks' Market. She graduated from high school on June 1 . . . and exactly one month later she came home with a new announcement:

"Daddy, I'm getting married."

In September she actually did start school at Weber State . . .

got her wisdom teeth pulled four days after she turned 19 years old

. . . and hasn't yet made it back to college . . . because a mere month later on a lovely fall Friday, October 19, 2007 Hayley married Brady in the Salt Lake Temple.

 

Now nine years later Mrs. Pickett is a surprisingly good seamstress for a girl who once hated crafts . . . and her and Brady are living happily ever after in their Bountiful home with their two smart little boys and one big dog. And nine years later her parents are now confused by things like Instagram, Netflix, WiFi, and trying to remember which password goes with what and why as they fumble along happily ever after.

Happy 9th Anniversary Hayley and Brady

Love, your confused parents

Story #33

Once upon a time there was one cute little boy who made frequent visits to the tall gray house on Eastpointe Circle. For four years this cute little boy named Zachary was the only grandson of the middle-aged man and the nice, sweet lady who lived in that house. For four years, this cute little boy was entertained, hugged, kissed, lavished with treats and gifts, photographed, and spoiled as much as possible by not only his adoring first-time grandparents, but also by his adoring first-time aunts and uncle.

But one fine fall Tuesday, October 11, 2005
that all changed when the first brother of Zachary . . . the second son of Emily and Keoni . . . and the second grandson of the new grandparents was born! His name was Brody!

Now the grandparents had twice as many grandchildren to try to spoil. Not only that, but more and more kept joining the family. Every single year, for a while at least, one more grandchild was born. By the time the year 2011 ended, they had 11 grandchildren! Their very first grandson (Zach) was 10 years old . . . their second and third grandsons (Brody and Jack) had started kindergarten . . . their fourth grandson (Coltin) had learned all the letters of the alphabet and how to write his name although he didn't start kindergarten until the next year . . . their fifth grandson (Eddy) loved to play "Legos Star Wars" and "Angry Birds" . . . their sixth grandson (Ryan) loved to be different superheroes with several costume changes throughout the day . . . their seventh grandson (Luke) was two years old and full of mischief . . . their eighth grandson (Wade) who was also two years old suddenly started talking and knew his full name, all his colors and a little counting . . . their ninth grandchild and only grand-daughter (Lindsay Lu) learned how to walk and was an especially cute waddling duck for Halloween that year . . . their tenth grandchild (Owen) was a cute baby who had just been born earlier in the year in March . . . and their tenth grandson and eleventh grandchild was born on 10-11-11. His name was Nash and he was born on a fine fall Tuesday exactly six years after his cousin Brody!

The Grandpa and Grandma weren't nearly as good at spoiling 11 grandchildren as they were at just one. But believe it or not, they love all of them as much as the first one even when they say things like "did you wipe off your hands?" . . . or "thanks for coming!" . . . and they truly hope they all grow up to live happily ever after!

Happy Birthday #2 and #11 !
(also known as Brody and Nash)
Love, Grandma
 

Grandson #2 is now a fifth-grader who loves to read, do art and science projects, but does not like seeing so much of his mother at school. After school he likes riding his bike, playing with Coco, and torturing Luke. He loves biscuits 'n gravy and any kind of pasta. He also likes doing "research" on Amazon around his birthday and Christmas to write epic wish lists. To see more pictures of Brody, click his name under "Labels".
 

Grandson #11 is a preschooler
who loves his Dad and baseball most of all. He also likes his Mom especially at bedtime. Right now he is rather picky about what he wears and what he eats, but he does like "Fruit Loops"! To see more pictures of Nash, click his name under "Labels".

Story #32

Once upon a time after the North Salt Lake home of 20 years, but before the little "empty nest home" in Centerville, there was a tall, gray house on Eastpointe Circle with way too many steps. There were steps to get into the front door . . . steps to go upstairs . . . steps to go downstairs . . . and more steps to go out the back door.

But in-between all those steps was the favorite part of the house--
a grand open space. There was a spacious kitchen where many cookies, brownies, casseroles and even a few turkeys were baked. There was the dining room table where many Christmas breakfast casseroles were served, several Halloween pumpkins were carved, and even a few scrapbook pages were created. And there was the big family room where many episodes of "Gilmore girls" were watched, quite a few computer games of Solitaire were played, and lots of family gatherings were held.

And in that house there was a middle-aged father who was perhaps going through a mid-life crisis. Just shortly after buying this brand new house, he bought a brand new car--a red Isuzu Rodeo. Then he gave up a 26-year career in banking to try a new job as a project manager in the Church Office Building. This was the house he lived in when he served as a Young Men's President and asked the boys to call him "Captain" . . . and when he graduated from BYU School of Management with an MPA.

Also in that house there was a middle-aged mother who was not having a mid-life crisis. She was having fun learning how to be a grandmother for the very first time in between raising teenagers and planning three more weddings.

This was the house where a daughter by the name of Hayley learned to play the French Horn when she was in Jr. High. This was the house where a son by the name of Tom almost went on a mission to Cleveland, Ohio. This was the house where a daughter by the name of Betsy got her very first kindergarten teaching job.

This was the house they all lived in when the 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City. This was the house they lived in when they celebrated the family's 200th birthday on July 3, 2003. (The father was 51, the mother was 48, Emily was 25, Shelly was 24, Betsy was 20, Tom was 18 and Hayley was 14). This was the house they lived in when the crazy father and son decided to destroy an old computer and TV set by throwing them off the very tall roof onto the driveway below (and almost onto Shelly's new car). And this was the house where the middle-aged father and mother celebrated their 333rd month anniversary on February 13, 2004. And they all lived happily ever after . . . just not in the very tall gray house on Eastpointe Circle.

Happy Wednesday!
Love, the middle-aged wife
(also known as Grandma)

Story #31

Once upon a time there was a cream colored house with brown shutters at the end of a very long driveway at the end of a circle just around a corner in a village called Chase Lane in the city of Centerville. This was the official "empty nest" of a fine old man and a little old lady now that all of their children lived elsewhere. However, the fine old man and his little old wife did not have "empty" lives.

They kept busy with their ever growing family. They helped out with their middle daughter Betsy after the birth of her first baby boy. They helped out their oldest daughter Emily and her two little boys while she helped out Betsy as her long-term kindergarten sub. They helped their son Tom as he struggled being a single father of his baby boy. They helped their youngest daughter Hayley and her husband, Brady move into their first home in Layton. They even invited themselves to Disneyland to "help" their two daughters when their families went there on vacation.

Soon the fine old man and his little old wife needed to help more than their children and grandchildren. Their very own parents were getting older and suffering from poor health. The little old lady's mother (also known as Great-Grandma Hawkes) was sick with cancer for a couple of years and died on April 25, 2008. Then that summer the fine old man's father (also known as Great-Grandpa Chambers) had to move into Avalon Care Center and Great-Grandma Chambers couldn't handle living alone and also moved.

It was a busy, sometimes sad summer preparing and selling their parents' homes. In fact, by the end of summer the little old lady's hair had turned completely gray. But it was also nice to inherit enough money to give all their girls a piano for their birthdays/Christmas . . . and to help their son later buy a new car.


And best of all--on the fine fall Monday September 29, 2008, their sixth grandson . . .their second daughter's second son . . . and her first son's first little brother . . . Ryan was born! Soon the fine old man and the gray-haired little old lady were on their way down south to help. And life goes on as they all live happily ever after.

(five little grandsons with their brand new cousin!)


Happy Birthday Ryan!
Love, Grandma

P.S. This brand new eight-year-old loves running and sports. Right now he is juggling soccer, flag football and his own travel baseball team! He is in 2nd grade and loves math and reading. And he is best at entertaining himself whether it's drawing, building Legos or playing his own personal indoor baseball game. He is very artistic and creative, drawing or doodling something every day. To see more pictures of Ryan, click his name under the "Labels" column.

Story #30

Once upon a time there was a white house with red bricks and brown (later green) shutters that sat in a circle at the end of a street in the small town of North Salt Lake. Once upon a time there was a handsome young man, his cute nice wife and one little baby girl who moved into that house. For the next 20 years this house was home to a little family that grew to three more girls and one boy.

This was a house with a very big yard filled with fruit trees like the beautiful cherry tree that never grew cherries and a peach tree that grew the biggest, juiciest peaches ever! . . . plus plenty more space for a vegetable garden, grape vines, a redwood deck, a swing set and a basketball court!

This was a  house with a shiny yellow kitchen floor . . . a fireplace for hanging Christmas stockings and birthday banners . . . a pink sink in the downstairs bathroom . . . an adorable little playhouse under the stairway . . . a craft room for "Saturdays off" and top-secret Christmas projects . . . and a big enough basement family room for pizza picnics, family slumber parties, and Disney puzzle-making marathons during the holidays.

This was the house with a yellow phone on the wall that one teenage girl (known as Emily) would stretch the cord as far as possible in the useless attempt to have privacy when she was talking to her friends. This was the house with a big bedroom in the basement shared by up to three sisters sometimes, but only a half-room for the boy (known as Tom). However, his Grandpa built him a bed/closet/dresser combo so he survived just fine. This was the house with a bulletin board in the kitchen where the creative mother posted "Top Ten Lists" such as this one:

"Top Ten Reasons Why We Spoil Hayley"
10) She's the baby of the family . . . it's our moral duty to spoil her!
9) She'll cry if we don't.
8) She has such a sparkling, outgoing irresistible personality . . .
7)  . . . and a funny little giggle!
6) She is so dang cute!
5) She attracts more boyfriends than all her sisters put together!
4)She won't let hardly anyone leave the house
without a big hug and kiss.
3) She dazzles us with her big vocabulary and amazing piano skills.
2) She's our favorite "muffin" . . . "tootsie pop" . . . "sweetie pie" . . . "punkin". . .
1) . . . and one great little eight-year-old!

 

This little girl climbed the monkey bars, stood in probably every dance picture of her sister Emily and lived in the North Salt Lake house only half of her childhood. Shortly after she turned nine years old her family moved to a tall gray house on Eastpointe Circle where she lived the next nine years until she moved with her parents to their little "home sweet home" in Centerville. Since then she has lived in other houses, basements, apartments, condos, and once in another state, before she and her little family found their very own "home sweet home" where they will hopefully live happily ever after.

Happy Birthday Hayley!
Love, your Mom
(also known as Wade's and Owen's Grandma)