February grandchildren time

I was able to spend time with every grandchild during February, some in Arizona and some in Utah.  Ruby rode to Utah with her dad so I was able to take her the Young Ambassadors program at BYU.  We also talked, made ebelskivers and sugar cookies, visited the BYU bookstore and art museum, and went out to lunch.  It was so fun to have one on one time with her.

Right now the highlight of any Arizona trip is to mug on and play with this sweet little girl.

My oldest grandchild, TJ is now 18 and willing to be a perch for his uncle's birds.  He came over to watch the Super Bowl and eat pizza with us while we were in AZ.

Ceci has spent some time with me this month while her dad and brother ski and do other things.  Those pacifiers are a Grandpa Glen staple.  She found this one but insisted that I wash it before she popped it into her mouth.

The Utah grandsons joined us for a BYU volleyball game at the Fieldhouse.  Grandpa likes to be early and we were.  Do you see Raymond sitting at the top all by himself?  That will become my seat.  When you buy four tickets you will always need more.

Aren't they handsome boys?  Henry and Oscar came up to join Raymond.  I sent them all back to Glen when it got crowded.  I sat next to the parents of former club and high school volleyball players.  Once we watch our kids play this sport, it seems to get in our blood.  Yes, BYU Men won in three sets.

A date with Julianna

I love to take my grands to plays based on children's books.  While in Arizona this month, I took Julianna to Childsplay's "The Cat in the Hat."

We had a great time in our seats in the second row where we could see everything.  She chose a Cat  in the Hat over a book about the Cat in the Hat for a souvenir.

After the play, we enjoyed being out in the sunshine by Tempe Town Lake and the Arts Center.

There is something about water being so magical.

She loved getting her energy out.

Grandpa chose not to attend the play with us.  Instead he took a walk of several miles around the lake.  We then drove through Tempe on Apache Boulevard and reminisced about our Arizona days until we reached Pete's Fish and Chips in Mesa where we had to stop to eat.  It was a fun afternoon with our girl.

Mabel's BIG quilt

Last July, six year old Mabel took me aside and with great earnestness explained her need for a "big" quilt.  Yes, I had made her a small quilt when she was two and now she was six and a big girl who needed a big quilt.

Her well thought remarks made me realize that she did indeed need a "big" quilt.  I finished it and gave it to her last fall, but finally took pictures the first of February while we were visiting her family.

I used a jelly roll of "Sundrops" by Corey Yoder and a Bella solid to strip piece a "Sweet 16" quilt.

I love this cheerful fabric.  I machine quilted straight lines forming sqaures.

I pieced the backing with additional "Sundrop" material.  I used the ends of the strip sets as a stop border between the two different fabrics.

Now my cheerful granddaughter has a BIG cheerful quilt!

Family History Couples are now in a book

Over the last couple of years I have been working on my and my husband's family history collecting together as much information as I could find.  I knew that I wanted to put together a picture book of our family history for my grandchildren.  When I began this endeavor, I decided that compiling the stories and pictures could be done on my blog, my online file if you will.  Thus, the category on my sidebar, "Family History Couples," if you might want to read and view more.

This was the year when I finally completed this project in time to gift the books to our five children and their families for Christmas.  Finally my dream was realized, a story picture book for my children and grandchildren.

It was mostly made possible because of familysearch.org.  Their "Memories" section, which came online in 2014, really made it all possible.  Not only did I find stories, pictures, and documents, I also used the site for screen shots of mine and my husband's family trees.

It also served as somewhat of a table of contents.  I would love to share a picture of every page, all 35 of them, but instead give you a glimpse of our four sets of grandparents.

George Washington Jenson and Della Marie Clement.

George Lloyd Ostler and Georgianna Ricks.

Raymond Orestes Baker and Elma June Baker.

Andrew Percy Nyborg and Rhoda Ann Foote.

Most couples had a two page spread with their story on the left . . .

and pictures of them and their families on the right.

I loved compiling these wonderful stories of sacrifice, love, hard work, faith, sorrow, and courage.  The pictures I was able to find make these people real.  I hope that it will mean something to the recipients.