Story #12

Once upon a time in a tall gray house on Eastpointe Circle there lived a handsome hardworking father who now worked in a very tall building in Salt Lake City that was not a bank! Not only that, but he was also working on obtaining an MPA degree from BYU. A 12-year-old young lady named Hayley also lived in the tall gray house. She was voted "classroom sweetheart" in 6th grade only to become an unpredictable teenager shortly thereafter. Just after receiving 13 presents wrapped in purple for her birthday, she informed her family she hated the color purple. Also in the tall gray house on Eastpointe Circle lived a young man named Tom who was a senior in high school and who worked at Dicks' Market to earn enough money to buy a PlayStation 1. But where were the three cute little girls from the previous stories?

Daughter number one (also known as Emily)
was all grown up, married and living in her very own home with her husband, Keoni. Daughter number two (also known as Shelly) had just graduated from Southern Utah University with a degree in Computer Information Systems. She found a job in St. George and moved there with her husband, J.P.

 
And daughter number three
(formerly known as the mischievous little trouble-maker, Betsy) was now a genius majoring in Elementary Education at SUU in Cedar City who had saved enough money to buy her very first car!


The very nice mother of all these amazing children suddenly realized how expensive their family had become so she decided to go get a paying job. In July she started working at the Davis County Library in Farmington, Utah as a process clerk. But before that she and her handsome hardworking husband celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on the same day that daughter number two celebrated her first wedding anniversary and on the same day that daughter number one celebrated her very first Mother's Day!

Because before all that Emily and Keoni became parents for the very first time on a lovely spring Sunday afternoon when Zachary Matthew was born! On April 8, 2001 the handsome, hardworking father could hardly believe he was now a Grandpa. His very nice wife could hardly believe that the world's cutest baby had just been born, because she thought the world's cutest baby had been born almost 24 years earlier. And all the other people in this story could not believe they were going to live happily ever after spoiling this brand new baby!

Happy Birthday Zach!
Love, Grandma

P.S. If you would like to see more pictures of this good-looking 15-year-old goofy guy, you can either click "Zachary" under the "Labels" section to the right,  or you can look at the not one, but two,  mini scrapbooks a crazy first-time Grandma once made about him!

 

Story #11

Once upon a time there was a handsome, hardworking father and a busy, mostly nice mother who were both very tired parents. Why could that be? It couldn't be because they lived with three cute busy little girls could it?

Little girl number one hadn't even finished first grade before she was amazing her Daddy by reading him newspaper headlines and she actually read 48 books during one nine-week term of second grade. Little girl number two was finally able to start kindergarten but she claimed it was boring because she already knew everything. And little girl number three . . . well, that could be the answer to the tired question! Betsy became the first family member rushed to the emergency room for stitches when her head hit the fireplace hearth one Sunday. Betsy began climbing onto the counters to get in the cookie jar herself. Betsy unrolled all the toilet paper each and every day for about a week once. And Betsy developed an unnerving habit of running into a room where her tired mother might be and saying "I did nothing!" in a panic before she disappeared. Betsy also still loved to worm her way into the big bed of her tired parents almost every night, but after some very long, exasperating nights that bad habit came to an end.

Betsy especially amazed her nicer now mother
one Sunday when she actually slept all through Sacrament Meeting. It just happened to be the Sacrament Meeting when the handsome,  hardworking father of these three cute little girls was called to be the Bishop of their ward and the shocked, nice mother gave her first extemporaneous speech ever.

Nevertheless, the biggest surprise of 1984 came one summer morning when a brand new baby joined their family. The handsome hardworking father had teased his very pregnant wife at the "Bountiful Handcart Days" parade that if they had a baby born on the 24th of July, they should name him "Brigham". The very pregnant wife just laughed because she knew after three little girls that she was probably going to always have baby girls, and she wasn't going to have a baby the next day anyway. Less than 12 hours later a bouncing baby boy was born. The very tired mother of three little girls thought the doctor and her handsome husband were just teasing her. But sure enough, baby number four was a BOY! Fortunately, they did not name him Brigham. The handsome, hardworking father was so proud to have a son and the surprised, nice mother was so happy to have a good-natured baby who knew how to sleep that the family could now for sure live happily ever after . . . at least until Thomas Chan discovered he only had sisters!


Happy Wednesday!
Love, Thomas Chan's Mom
(also known as your Grandma)

Story #10

Once upon a time there were three little girls: one big sister named Emily, one medium-sized sister named Shelly and one brand new baby sister named Betsy. The three cute little girls lived in a beautiful home in North Salt Lake with their handsome, hardworking father and their busy, mostly nice mother.

Almost every morning the handsome, hardworking father

would head off to work in a big bank in Salt Lake City and the big sister named Emily would head off to school. The medium-sized sister named Shelly helped her busy, mostly nice mother take care of the brand new baby sister named Betsy. This was not very easy because the brand new baby sister grew up to be a cute, chubby, drooly baby sister full of mischief and wiggles and too much energy. She did not understand the meaning of the words "No No" nor did she believe in naps which was why the busy, mostly nice mother was also a very tired mother.

 

However, the chubby, mischievous new baby sister was also super happy. Whenever the handsome, hardworking father had a bad day at work, or another annoying meeting as counselor to a difficult bishop, or a huge painful tumor surgically cut out of his foot, or his wisdom teeth pulled . . . he could count on his baby girl to squeal in delight at seeing him which would then make him feel much better.

What made the whole family happy this year, too, was having a kind carpenter (also known as Grandpa Chambers) finish the basement of their beautiful North Salt Lake home. Now they had a family room, another bathroom, a craft room and best of all--a playhouse just the right size for three little girls. Besides new rooms in the basement, the busy, mostly nice mother got her very first microwave oven for her 7th wedding anniversary gift and the handsome, hardworking father got his very first computer--a $1,200 Commodore 64!

Who could help but live happily ever after with so many blessings?

(Hmmm . . .

maybe the parents of the chubby, mischievous baby girl who was happiest sleeping right in between them in their bed every night!)

 

Happy Spring!

Love, a busy mostly nice person

also known as your Grandma

Story #9

Once upon a time, believe it or not, the cute nice wife and mother in these 40 stories was once a child like you! Once upon another time long, long ago there was another handsome young man named Mertin and a pretty, nice girl named Irene who had their very first baby girl on the lucky day of March 17.

When this baby girl was little like Lilly she had blue eyes,
little blond curls and loved to such her thumb. When she was 3years old like Parker she stopped sucking her thumb when she realized no one else in her primary class sucked their thumbs. When she was 4 years old like Nash she loved to twirl in her ruffly dresses and whenever she heard the Meadow Gold Girl commercial on TV, she would come running to watch it! By the time she was Lindsay's age, she had a little brother and a little sister with a brand new baby sister born just two days before her 6th birthday!

She was very excited to go to first grade in a brand new
elementary school just two blocks away from her house when she was the same age as Luke and Wade. And she loved to draw almost as much as Ryan. Her teacher, who was also an artist, loved the little girl's drawings so much, she would sometimes take them to art shows! When the little girl turned 8 years old like Eddy, she was baptized and got her first pair of glasses--pretty pink ones!

When the little girl was 10 years old like Brody and Jack, she liked to read--especially stories in "The Children's Friend" magazine. She loved to learn the stories by heart, draw illustrations for them, and then tell them at family home evening. Shortly after this she started taking piano lessons, which she also loved. Soon this girl was a big sister to another brother and another sister and liked to pretend being their "mother". By the time she was 14 years old like Zach she was an experienced babysitter earning as much as 50 cents an hour!

More about her will be in future stories,
but eventually she grew up to become a grandma to all 11 children mentioned in this story plus another grandson born two days after her birthday in 2007--also known as Coltin . . .

. . . and one more grandson born the day after her birthday in 2011--also known as Owen.

Happy March birthdays!
Love, your local leprechaun

P.S. Look to the right under "Labels" and click "Coltin" to see more pictures of this third grader who became a big brother just last summer and had two casts on his legs for awhile this year.

Then click "Owen" to see more pictures of this creative preschooler who likes to draw and make things out of paper and empty boxes as well as legos. . . and can also read already!
 

Story #8

Once upon a time there were two little girls with a handsome, hardworking father who they were most delighted to greet every evening upon his return home. He was a very busy father with church work besides bank work. In the spring of that year a new stake and ward were created and the busy father was called to be a counselor to the new bishop.

However, the two little girls had a wonderful, nice mother,
too, but she seemed a little boring after spending the whole day after day with her. Their nice mother became a little more fun once a neighborhood preschool started and she took turns being their teacher once a month.

The two little girls also had great fun jumping on their floor "beds" until later in the year when they finally got real bunkbeds and new quilts their nice mother sewed for them. They loved to turn their toy box into a "desk" where "Jessica" (also known as Shelly) and "Charlene" (also known as Emily) did their "office work", until that became boring, too and then they just dumped everything out and climbed inside. One of their favorite games to play was hide 'n seek with their parents. Usually they would hide in the very same spots as their handsome fun Daddy and their wonderful, nice mother except once! Their fun Daddy and nice Mommy almost panicked one day when they could not find them. They even went outside to look only to discover them laying as quiet as could be in the bathtub.

 

The little family still went on adventures to visit Grandpa and Grandma in the summer, but had also started a new tradition of taking a mini vacation to Snowbird each year. They two little girls especially loved diving into the swimming pool convinced that they knew how to swim. And they also loved the shower!

Now that this little family had become so good at living happily ever after, they decided it was time for another addition. On the very last day of August in 1982 (which also happened to be 5-year-old Emily's first real day of kindergarten) another cute, healthy little baby girl was born. The proud, handsome father and wonderful, nice mother named her Betsy!


Four-year-old Shelly was especially excited to be a big sister and second "mother" to the new baby now that her favorite sidekick had started school without her. Little did this family know that soon they would be living another (more exhausting) kind of happily ever after.
 

Happy Wednesday!
Love, Betsy's Mom
(also known as your Grandma)

Story #7

Once upon a time there was a handsome,
hardworking father and there was a nice, often frazzled mother of two cute, sweet adorable little girls. New baby Shelly and her big sister Emily were only 14 months apart in age, so it often seemed to their nice, frazzled mother that she had simply had twins in slow motion.

There were good days like when the handsome, hardworking father switched jobs to another big bank in Salt Lake City and got a big raise. There were bad days like when the nice mother and her two cute little girls all got sick at the same time and the tired mother mostly cried and made desperate phone calls to her hardworking husband.

There were happy days like when Aunt Kelly moved in with the little family while she went to beauty school and became the nice, often frazzled mother's savior and the two cute little girls' best friend. And there were sad days like when the hardworking father got colitis or like when one of the little girls got a black mark on her job chart.

There were adventurous days like when the nice,
brave mother and her two cute little girls would drive to Idaho for visits to Grandpa and Grandma's house in the summertime. And there were exciting days like when the hardworking father graduated from National Trust School at Northwestern University in Chicago and also got another raise.

There were silly days like when both cute little girls were learning the alphabet and would constantly ask "what letter stars with baby?" Or "what letter starts with cookie?" etc. . . Or when they discovered the comfort of their strong Daddy's "horsie" back. There were hardworking days like when all the yard was being planted in grass and a big garden and a few fruit trees which resulted in more happy days when the two cute little girls got a swing set, too.

 

There were fun days when the two cute little girls
could play with their two little cousins who lived next door--Becca and 'Lizabeth. And there was another exciting day when Aunt Kelly married Uncle Kevin and the two cute little girls got brand new beautiful blue flower girl dresses.
 
One day the handsome, hardworking father
and his nice, tired wife decided to take a break. They decided to go on a second honeymoon to the happiest place on earth. They had a lovely vacation, but when they returned to their two cute little girls and their nice North Salt Lake home, they realized they already lived in the happiest place on earth.

Happy Wednesday!
Love, Grandma

Story #6

Once upon a time there was a brand new family
trying to live happily ever after in a year full of ups and downs. There was a handsome young father who owned a Ford Pinto which had a gear stick next to the driver's seat that had to be shifted to make the car go forward, backward and different speeds. There was his lovely nice wife who had just learned how to drive that car the year before. She was not very good at it and one day got in a car accident. There was also one cute, sweet baby girl named Emily who got a gash on her forehead in that car accident.

The reckless nice wife felt terrible that she had totaled her handsome husband's car. She was certain she had ruined their financial future forever as they had previously put money down on a building lot. But the terrible, horrible mother felt even worse that she had marred her baby girl's previously perfect forehead.

However, a knight in shining armor (also known as the handsome young father) saved the day. He assured his nice, but distressed wife that they could still afford to build a new home on that lot. In fact, he graduated from the University of Utah in June and got a promotion and raise in July which made it much easier to afford a brand new blue Chevy Nova he bought the day after the accident. It was not only a car that his nice wife could drive, but it became one of the handsome husband's favorite cars. Best of all, sweet baby Emily's forehead healed without marring her future cuteness.

Nevertheless, the handsome young father spent a lot more time that
  year reassuring his nice worried wife . . . like when she realized she was expecting another baby when baby Emily was still a baby . . . or like when they moved into their brand new home in North Salt Lake and had no hot water for a couple days. They also had not much of a yard for a couple years, but still lived happily in that home for nearly 20 years!

The nice crazy wife also worried about being in the hospital at Thanksgiving when the rest of the world was enjoying delicious turkey. Instead, two weeks earlier than that, during the first blizzard of the season, the handsome young father and his nice nervous wife made another midnight trip to the hospital. The next afternoon, Saturday, November 11, 1978--conveniently between quarters of a football game--a tiny, healthy little baby girl was born who they named Shelly!

Ahh--now they could finally live happily ever after! Or could they? The handsome young father was called to be a counselor in a Bishopric just a few weeks before baby Shelly's birth. Oh dear . . .

Happy Wednesday!
Love, Shelly's Mom
(also known as your Grandma)

Story #5

Once upon a time, 20 Valentine's Days ago,
there was a handsome, not-quite-so young man who worked as a Vice President in a big bank's Trust Department. He had a nice, sweet wife who worked at home and was also a preschool teacher. They were the parents of a fine family of five.

There was a daughter named Hayley who was in first grade and could play tic-tac-toe, and do paintbrush and "My First Incredible Amazing Dictionary" on the computer all by herself. There was one, and only one, son named Tom who was in the sixth grade and a huge fan of Jazz Basketball, especially John Stockton. There was another daughter named Betsy who was a brand new teenager and always busy cross stitching or reading or talking. There was another daughter who was a 17-year-old Woods Cross High School Junior who worked part time at Bob's Deli. And there was that cute, sweet, adorable baby girl who had just been born in Story #4 who was now all grown up! She was still cute, but a bit sassier and smarter. She had graduated from high school the spring before and was now going to Snow College far away from home.

Her father, her mother, her sisters and her one and only brother missed her so much they created a valentine especially for her. That was in the days before digital cameras, e-mail and Instagram. First they had to take pictures with a camera that had film in it. Then they had to take the film to a store to be developed into photographs. Then they turned the photographs into a long valentine card that spelled a special message. They put the card into an envelope, put an address and stamp on the envelope and mailed it to Ephraim, Utah. The pictures looked like this (except for the letter "L" which is lost) . . . but the actual valentine was possibly cuter.


"WE"

"LOVE"

"YOU"

All the people in these pictures have grown a little older . . . and four more uncles, one more aunt and 13 more cousins have also joined their family . . . so now this message is for all of you, too!

Happy Valentine's Day soon!
Love,

from the letter "W", "Y", and "O"
(also known as your Grandpa and Grandma)

Story #4

 

Once upon a time, back in the beginning of these 40 stories, the handsome happily married young man was working by day at the big bank in Salt Lake City. At night he worked on taxes and went to school at the University of Utah. His cute nice wife worked by day in the same building just two floors above the bank. At night she puttered around their honeymoon cottage. She played with their new washer, dryer and vacuum cleaner, tried to learn how to cook and when she was truly bored, she tried to find a show on their antique TV.

Being busy did not stop the newlywed couple from living happily ever after, however. They happily went to lunch together quite often. They happily went grocery shopping together just down the street from where they lived. They happily worked in their big backyard on Saturdays and pretended to grow a garden. They happily walked to church just around the block on Sundays where they were both primary teachers. And about one year after they were married, they happily fixed up a bedroom for a pending new arrival. They hung up cute wallpaper, bought a new crib, and painted the old pink dresser yellow because they did not know if the new arrival would be a boy or girl. However, that did not stop them from calling the pending new arrival "baby Joey".

One fine fall evening the nice newlywed couple was bottling peaches, just like their mothers had taught them. After a while the nice cute wife got a stomach ache, which should have been no surprise considering how many peaches she had been eating. After a while longer, the nice cute wife hurt so much she just had to sit down. After a while longer still, the nice cute clueless wife finally remembered she was nine months pregnant and maybe . . . just maybe . . . she was in labor! Her handsome, much smarter husband hurriedly finished bottling the peaches and quickly drove her to the hospital in the middle of the night.

About 14 hours later on Thursday afternoon, September 8, 1977 the handsome young man became a Daddy and his cute nice wife became a Mommy when the world's cutest, sweetest, most adorable baby girl ever to grace the earth was born! They named her Emily and, of course, lived happily ever after!

Happy Wednesday!

Love, Emily's Mom

(also known as your Grandma)

Story #3

Once upon a time, not quite as long ago as the first two stories,
the year was 2006. The handsome young man was a little bit older with a little less hair and his cute nice wife was also a little bit older, but just as nice as ever. They lived in a very tall gray house on Eastpointe Circle.



One day they decided they might like a smaller house with a few less stairs. After all, four of their five children were all grown up and living in their very own houses. One sassy, slightly spoiled teenage girl named Hayley was the only one still living with them.

One summer day while visiting the handsome-not-so-young man's parents, they learned new homes were being built just a block away. It looked like the perfect spot and size, so that July they put down a deposit and construction began on their twin home in Chase Lane Village. The real work was back in the very tall gray house. The nice, not-so-young couple now had to reduce the stuff that filled a 2800-square-foot home to a small enough amount to fit into a 1600-square-foot home. Decluttering every drawer, cupboard, closet, box, bin and room in the house took weeks. Fortunately, they got everything cleaned and packed, and their very tall gray house sold by Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately, their brand new Chase Lane Village home wasn't quite finished which meant they were homeless! They stayed at East Canyon during that time and four days before Christmas Hayley and the nice-not-so-young couple (also known as your Grandpa and Grandma) moved into the home where they still live to this day.

Believe it or not, a new house was not the best new thing in 2006. That happened clear back in the beginning of the year on January 24 when daughter number two (Shelly) and her husband (J.P.) had their very first baby boy . . . also known as our third grandson!

 

Happy Birthday Jack!

P.S. Look to the right under the "Labels" section and click "Jack" to see more pictures of this fine 4th grader who loves sports, reading, apples, "Star Wars:The Force Awakens", ESPN before school, reading, cousins, friends and "Chopped" on the Food Network.

Story #2

 

Once upon a time, way back in 1976, the U.S.A. turned 200 years old. While most of the people in the country were planning big Bicentennial celebrations, there was a handsome young man and a cute nice girl planning a wedding! While the bride-to-be was looking for a dress, choosing colors and starting a new job as a legal secretary at McKay, Burton, McMurray & Thurman; the future groom was looking for a place to live after they got married. In no time at all he found the perfect honeymoon cottage in Woods Cross, Utah.

While the bride-to-be was looking for shoes, addressing invitations, and counting on her mom to do everything else; the future groom bought the little house in Woods Cross, Utah with all the savings of his bride-to-be as a down payment. Then he moved into it! At first he only had a mattress on the floor, a pink hand-me-down dresser for his clothes, and a box of Sugar Pops in the cupboard.

Soon all that changed.

First the cute couple converted a garbage can into a round table. Then they went shopping and bought a washer and dryer, a vacuum cleaner and a nice bedroom set which was their wedding gift to each other. Later in the year the groom got a $150 per month pay raise. So then they bought a Wurtlitzer piano as a Christmas gift to each other--the same piano they still have to this day. They also had lots of other fine furnishings in their very first home including a hand-me-down green plastic couch and a very old black-and-white TV with three channels and no remote control!

But back to the sunny, delightful day of May 13, 1976. On that perfect Thursday morning at the hour of 10 a.m. the handsome young man named David (also known as your Grandpa)  married a cute nice girl named Christie (also known as your Grandma)  in the Salt Lake Temple. After an open house at the groom's home in Bountiful and a reception the next night in the bride's hometown in Idaho, they went on their honeymoon to "the happiest place on earth" which must be why they have lived happily ever after!

Happy Wednesday!

Love, Grandma

Ff is for Forty Stories

Once upon a time there was a handsome young man named David who worked in a big bank in Salt Lake City. One day while he was working at his desk his mail was delivered to him by a new employee wearing dark red tights. A few days later the handsome young man learned the new employee with the colorful legs was a cute nice girl named Christie.

A few later weeks later the handsome young man decided to ask the cute nice girl if she would like to go with him to see the movie "Jaws". But the cute nice girl said, "No thank you, I don't like scary movies." A few days after that the handsome  young man tried asking the cute nice girl to go somewhere  else with him. But alas, the cute nice girl said, "No thank you. I'm going home that weekend to visit my family in Idaho." One more time the handsome young man tried asking the cute nice girl to go on a date with him and this time she said "yes!"

In no time at all they fell madly in like. In fact, the handsome young man liked the cute nice girl so much he drove all the way up to Idaho on icy roads at Thanksgiving (sliding off the road only once) to meet the cute nice girl's family.

And by Christmas time the handsome young man loved the cute nice Idaho girl so much that he gave her an extra special gift and asked her "Will you marry me?" This time the cute nice girl said "yes" the first time!
 
The handsome young man in this story is Grandpa Chambers, the cute nice girl is me, and this is the first of 40 stories I will tell you during 2016--our 40th anniversary year!

Happy Wednesday!
Love, Grandma