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