On April 13th of 2013, my extended family gathered in Pocatello, Idaho, to celebrate the 90th birthday of my maternal grandmother.  She has seen some amazing things in her lifetime including her marriage, the birth of six children, twenty grandchildren, and over fifty great-grandchildren.  Uncle Mike was nice enough to take pictures of everyone who went up there.  Here is my family.  It was taken toward the end of a very long day for the kids so many aren't smiling as big as they might have several hours earlier.  That being said, it is so wonderful to have a picture of all of us.

The family on April 13, 2013

Found pictures

I was looking on a USB Memory stick and found these pictures of my paternal grandparents.
They just don't take portraits like these anymore. Aren't my grandparents attractive? Now I just need pictures of my maternal grandparents and I'll be set.

Grandma's Enchanted Yard

What do you think? It kind of reminds me of The Secret Garden, halfway through the transformation.

Ye long week...

Well, finals are over. Yeh!!! This past week has been insane. After a final on Tuesday, I went to work. I babysat Wyatt and Sidney on Wednesday because Mom went to Idaho to help with Grandma R. I don't know how mothers around the world do it. Attempting to entertain and feed to kids and get anything done is impossible. The only reason I managed to get dinner on the table is because I started it before Wyatt arrived at noon. I ended up making chicken crescent squares.
On Thursday I took my last final. I was one of the first ones done with my Victorian Lit test, which included a matching part, short answer, and essay. I hope being the first student done isn't a bad sign. I feel ok about it; not necessarily really good or bad. After my final, I went home, changed, and then drove to Provo for an interview at the Provo City Library. I had a hard time getting any feedback from the two women who interviewed me. After the 1/2 hour meeting, I drove the hour back to work and slaved away until 9pm. I was so tired after Thursday I went to bed early.
On Friday, Dad and I went to work at the cannery. We then went shopping and fielded phone calls from Grandma J, Mom, and Aunt Peggy. Dad took me to lunch at Tony Roma's after I got a phone call from the Provo Library asking me to come in for a second interview on Monday. I did some laundry and Jordan and Isaac came over for a little while. When it was time for Isaac to be fed, Jordan and I took him to see his Mom in Ogden. By the time Friday night was over, I was pretty tired.
On Saturday morning, Dad and I went to the temple and then to see Grandma J. at the hospital. She was still pretty upset that she hadn't been moved to the rehab center on Friday. According to a nurse, she had found Grandma on the floor of the bathroom the night before. Grandma doesn't remember anything about it. Apparently the nurse had given Grandma a sleeping pill and left her alone. Grandma then woke up and decided to go to the bathroom by herself. The nurse figures that Grandma fell asleep on the toilet and slid off. Nothing is broken or even bruised though. After a brief chat and blow-drying Grandma's hair, Dad got me home in time for me to get ready for work. I worked until 6, then went to Sherma's house for a party. All the old Kaysville City Library staff were there. It was nice to catch up with people I haven't seen in months. Erica is pregnant with her second child, Nikki is looking for a house, and Mike is getting ready to move away to college. Sadly, Karen, Jo, Eric, Hillary, and Kim couldn't make it. The food was wonderful. I got home at 10ish but ended up staying up much later on the computer. It was nice to know that Mom was finally home after a week of being in Idaho.
Sunday was a nice day of rest for all. Church went well with a Relief Society lesson on unity. The rest of church was equally as interesting, especially the three musical numbers from the choir. I had tithing settlement, then made dinner: pasta, marinated chicken, and salads. The pasta was way too spicy but the chicken turned out perfectly. It was strange on Sunday night to realize that this was the first weekend in months that I didn't have to study for a class on Monday. Dad helped me get the Christmas Tree up and put on the lights. I then decorated it. I decided to put some photos of the family on it and I think it turned out to have a simple and homemade look.
On Monday I had my second interview at the Provo City Library. It went well and the director along with two other librarian's seemed to like me. I went away with a positive feeling. I then picked up some food on the way to work, where we had perhaps the slowest Monday night ever. My co-workers demanded a recap of my interview and gave me their opinion's on the situation. After work I went out to IHOP with Ryan, who I hadn't seen in a while.
My Tuesday morning began with a phone call from the Provo City Library saying that I hadn't gotten the job. It ended up being a contest between me and two other people. Sadly, I didn't win out. I lay in bed thinking about what my next move would be when I heard someone enter the house. It turned out to be Jordan and Isaac. Jordan presented me with a belated birthday gift and then made me a wonderful lunch of pasta with red sauce made from scratch. I got to play with my darling nephew, talk with my wonderful brother, and forget my problems for a while. Without them being there, I suspect I would have sobbed. Anyway, after they left I took a shower and waited for my parents to come home. Dad came home late and almost immediately we left for Salt Lake to pick up Mom. I told Dad about not getting the job and started to cry. Thankfully he let me cry in silence and pretended not to notice. After picking up Mom, the three of us then met up with Jen, John, and Lauren for dinner. The food at Rinos was good although a little expensive. Mom, Dad, Jen, and John then went to see a play at Pioneer Theater while I babysat Lauren. Lauren and I read books, played with toys, and looked at the Christmas tree. Lauren touched the branches and needles but then wanted to eat it. We discussed it and decided that it wasn't a good idea. (Actually, I won out on the argument because I am the bigger of the two of us :) It was dinner time so I warmed her bottle and let Lauren eat her fill. Her night ended with pajamas, another book, and a song from her Aunt Jess. She was asleep by 8:20 pm and I watched a movie since I had left my book in the car. I had forgotten how much I like the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Driving home with Mom and Dad, I couldn't get Monday's interview out of my mind. It is strange to have such a wonderful interview and not get the job. I guess the person they chose must have been amazing. Anyway, it has been a while since I have had a week that has been this crazy. I am hoping this week will be a little less insane. Thus ends the week report.

Another weekend update

On Friday night I went to see Pride and Prejudice at the Pioneer Theatre. It was pretty good although I took exception to the narration style. I guess that's what I get for being so familiar with the subject matter. It was good though and I would recommend it (even if the character of Elizabeth wasn't as sassy as I would have liked.) Mom, Dad, Jen, and John will be seeing it on Tuesday.
Grandma J. is still in the hospital and I haven't seen her since Wednesday. Dad went to see Grandma J. tonight. Her hip isn't healing as fast as anyone would like. Besides having a brief run of pneumonia, she now has a staph infection that seems to be resistant to many drugs. In order to see her you have to put a mask on and glove up. I guess this is to protect her and the visitor. Her legs are pretty swollen because she can't get up and walk around. She is basically confined to her room until the Staph infection is under control. Her biggest complaint is loneliness and boredom. (If anyone wants to call and cheer her up, she is in room T11.)
Mom and Dad went to see Grandma and Grandpa R on Friday night. Grandpa had a cataract removed and is seeing better. The surgery on his other eye is this week. Hopefully this will help with his falling down. According to Mom, he sleeps a lot these days and is very thin. Grandma is worried about him but is still strong as a ox herself.
After church on Sunday, Josh and Brooke came over for a great dinner. Brooke is feeling well and my nephew-to-be is growing. According to measurements, he weighs 14 oz and still has his head up by her ribcage. Jordan, Alison, and Isaac came over a little later. We all played a round of Times Up and Isaac was darling. He lay on the floor playing and talking to one and all. I got some pretty cute pictures of him.

Can't sleep

It is now after midnight and I can't get to sleep despite being tired. I have to be up in about five hours. I have to be at the Kaysville library at 6 am to help them set up for the open house. That's right, after six weeks of construction, the library is going to be officially opened at 8:30 am. I was asked to work there to help Kaysville patrons apply for cards, direct traffic, and generally make everyone I know feel better about Kaysville becoming part of the county system. It has been an interesting transition. As many of you know, I have been trying to document how the building has changed. Here are some more before and after pictures.

My desk area before the packing of books and construction began.

The same area six weeks later. It now holds Videos, DVD's, Music CD's, and Books on tape.

The before and after photo's of the children's section.





And now for the weirdest pictures ever. The following is a look from the front of the library. The changes are so drastic that it was a small shock for me to look at them. The pictures do not give the change justice because the amount in front of the new circulation desk cannot be seen in this picture.
After working most of the day at Kaysville, I took a shower and got ready for the night. After dinner with my parents at Cafe Alicia, I went to see Grandma J at the hospital. She went to the hospital after having serious chest pains on Thursday. After a ride in an ambulance and many tests later, the doctors aren't sure what is wrong with her. Her heart seems fine but she may have pneumonia. It worries me because her health is not the best. Her lungs haven't been good the last couple of years and she now walks with a walker. Grandma and I had a good talk about life and such until Josh and Brooke came. The four of us talked until it was obvious that all of us were getting tired. After a brief phone call to my best friend, whom I haven't seen in a week, I decided to go home.
Mom is leaving for Idaho tomorrow morning because her mom is having health problems as well. Grandma R goes to the hospital three times a day to get antibiotic shots in her pic line. (A pic line is an IV that goes directly into the heart.) Mom is really worried about her mom and dad. Grandpa R sleeps a lot, keeps falling, and seems to have given up the will to live. I am not sure who among my grandparents will die first but I suspect we will have a funeral sometime in the next year. I hate the idea of saying goodbye to someone that I love. While I realize that death is not the end of the life of a soul, it is still hard when someone leaves this earth for the next. I can't imagine how people who have no faith in some kind of afterlife deal with the loss of someone dear to them. It would be scary to think that you would never see that person ever again.
I hate not being able to sleep. I can't take sleeping medication now because I would never wake up to be at work on time. I am not a morning person so I wasn't looking forward to getting up early. Oh well, such is life. I hope all goes well tomorrow. Maybe after I get home I will be able to take a short nap.

This fun, fun weekend...

On Friday I went to work at the "new and improved" Kaysville library. Even though I don't work there anymore, I thought I would help out with the transition. I took a picture of what it looks like. It is scheduled to open on August 12th and there is a lot to do. After moving boxes of books, along with other activities, I went home sweaty and tired. After a much needed shower, Ryan, John, lawyer Ryan, big Kyle, and Nick went to eat at a chinese restaurant called Pei Wei. I highly recommend it. The group ended up at Brian and Ryan's house, where we later made an ice cream run to Baskin Robbins. (Another place I highly recommend.) Big Kyle kept cracking me up. I will really hate it when he gets transfered or has to move because he is in the Air Force. (Speaking of moving, I will miss Curtis too because he is being deployed in September.) After a late ride home, I woke up to hear my youngest niece yelling at someone downstairs. For a girl who is only two months old, she really has a nice pair of lungs. I am holding out hope for a girl who sings. I layed low on Saturday and helped out with Lauren. Mom helped Jen prepare for Lauren's blessing by finding a blessing gown and deciding on and buying food for the big day. Jordan joined up. Alison and Isaac are on a trip with her parents and I think he misses them dearly. At the end of the day, John called to say that his grandfather had died. I feel so bad for John's mom. Even though John's grandfather was suffering, it still is difficult for their family. Sunday morning I helped out by cutting vegetables for the meal after the blessing. We, as Jen's family, tried to do all we could to help her with the preparations for the blessing. I picked up Grandma, along with some backseat driving, and we went to the church. The blessing was lovely. John did a wonderful job. Afterwards we had a luncheon at my mom's work. The food was good, the company was better, and Lauren slept through a lot of it. I got some pretty good pictures including a picture of my dad and his mother and a darling picture of Wyatt attempting to eat his father's fingers. At app. 5 pm, I took Grandma home and stopped by the cemetary to see Caleb. John's nephew was at the blessing. He is almost two and I couldn't help but wonder how big Caleb would be had he lived. I usually don't ponder on these type of thoughts, but family milestones always bring them up. After arriving home, I went to a fireside where the stake presidency talked about the Godhead. I really liked Pres. Child's talk on the Holy Ghost. The coming week holds lots of work for me.