Gifts for Grandma/Great Grandma

I didn't get to see my Grandma, Erma Gertrude Miller McCrone, for Christmas so we gave her gifts to her on Januray 3rd, 2009.
She's getting so hard to buy for because she really doesnt "want" anything. She's completely content with what she already has (there's a great lesson for me to learn). So, as I did for my mom, I made her a "memory plate" of my Grandfather, her husband. I really think she enjoyed it. As soon as she saw the pictures she started telling the stories that went along with each of them. I had brought my voice recorder along so I decided to interview her shortly after this photo was taken. There was a lot of things that she couldn't remember anymore, but there were several stories that she still did. I was thankful for the opportunity to record in her own words, a few parts of her life.


Grandma opening her card. That sweater she's wearing takes me back to my childhood. She wore it all the time while I was growing up. I can't believe it's still in good enough shape to continue wearing. Funny how a simple piece of clothing can bring back so many memories.


Grandma and her memory plate. I know she misses my Grandpa so much and it hurts me when I hear her talking about going to be with him soon. Although I know that families can be together forever and that I'll see her again once she's gone, the thought of her not being here is too much for me... though if I'd been without my husband for 23 yrs, I'd probably want to return to him as well. What a great reunion that will be!


Me and my Grandma. I love her so much!

Gabers and his Great Grandma. She has a hard time remembering Gabe's name but she loves him just as much as the other great grandchildren. There's just starting to be so many that she can't keep their names straight. But she always remembers that his middle name is Wilton, after my Grandpa, George Wilton McCrone. She was very happy when Gabe was born and I told her we named him after Grandpa. It was very special to her.

Hannah and Great Grandma. Many times when my Grandma sees Hannah she always says, "You know, you look like a Miller...dark hair, dark eyes"...then she stops and corrects herself and says, "well, I suppose that's because you are a Miller." My Grandmother has always LOVED Greg and she was thrilled that his last name was Miller, since that's her maiden name. So now, she just likes to retell that "you look like a Miller" thing to Hannah, but I think she doesn't realize that she's done it a hundred times before. Her memory isn't what it used to be.

I hope that there will be many more Christmases with my Grandma but she doesn't seem to think so. This December 5th, she'll be 84 years old.

Rainy Days in Utah

The weather lately in Utah has been wonderful. It's been raining non-stop!! I absolutley love tons of rain and especially when it comes with a thunder storm. I remember as a kid, when it would start to rain, my Grandpa would pile us all into the car and take us for a ride. He LOVED driving in the rain. I'm not sure if that's why I love the rain so much or if it's just because I find it extremely relaxing, even the thunder.

On the 11th of June, the weather man said that Utah has already received 110% of the rainfall that we usually get in the whole month of June. I hope it keeps going but Greg says that he heard it's suppose to clear up by the beginning of next week :(

So, I took the opportunity to take a few photos of this rare extrememly rainy Utah weather (some were taken with my camera phone, so they're not the best).


Nothing like the sound of rain hitting the car...one of the best sounds EVER!!


Gabe was FREAKED out by the rain because there was thunder and lightening too. He kept his head hid in his "softies" for about 20 minutes. I tried EVERYTHING to get him to put it down but he wouldn't. He just kept saying, "the rain is scary."



Then a bright idea came to me...Gabe loves car washes. He calls them "bubbles". So, I used that to get him to peak out from behind his favorite blanket by saying things like, "Buddy. Look! Heavenly Father is cleaning our truck with bubbles!" It only took a little time and he had removed the blanket completely. His eyes were still huge with unsurety because I don't think he was convinced of my story but he really wanted to believe me. He kept asking, "Hem-ly Father make bubbles?"..."Hem-ly Father clean truck with bubbles?" It was really cute!


On our way home we went into Wal-mart and when we came out there was a surprise for us....a HUGE DOUBLE rainbow! I was so bummed that I didn't have my regular camera with me but thankful I at least had my camera phone. In this pic you can only see the one rainbow, which I was bummed about. And what was neat was it went from one end of the valley to the other...a complete, huge, bright rainbow. It was amazing!! I'm sad to say that during our 15 minute drive home, the sun went behind the mountain and the rainbows dissappeared. I was really bummed about that.


Nice cloud cover and tons of "drizzles"


Other side of the yard...more clouds and not so much "drizzles" but actual rain!

Front yard...clouds, clouds, and more clouds....rain, rain, and more rain!! It was wonderful!!

Here's my shot of the fun little drops on the leaves. I like photos like these, not sure why, but I do!

"Rain, rain, don't go away...come back again, another day!"

Yippee!!

I've made it to the current year...2009! Chugging right along, though I didn't realize that so much had happened since I had stopped blogging!! This will teach me not to keep my blog up-to-date!!

Eolana's 7th Birthday!

My cousin's little girl, Eolana McCrone, turned 7 yrs old on December 28th, 2008. She had her birthday party at Chuck E Cheese, which all the kids loved. Here are some fun photos from the party...


Here's Eolana with her "Hannah Montana" cake. She's a MAJOR Hannah Montana fan, just like my Hannah.


Eolana LOVED all the MANY "Hannah Montana" gifts she received!


Isn't she so cute!! Like a little pixie.


Eolana and Jocelyn (my counsin Jenny's oldest girl)


Hannah and Chuck E Cheese


Gabers and Chuck E Cheese


Greg had to capture Gabe the only way he could because he kept running off. You can see that Gabe wasn't happy about it! But I thought it was a cute pic!


Hannah played Air Hockey against Gabe & her dad. It was funny to watch her kick their behinds.


Here they are being good sports and smiling for the camera, even though they were losing majorly!


Grandma Lu-lu and little Gabers

My cousin, Rachel, and her newest little one, Levi. Isn't he just so cute in his little baby sling?!? Wish they had those for adults and that Greg could just carry me around in one! :)

Gabers doing what he LOVES...playing "basset-ball"!!! He was surprisingly good!!


I kept this picture for last because I love this one!! Little Eolana is seriously SO LITTLE!! I think the last time I asked, she was up to a whopping 36 lbs! She's only a year younger than Hannah and look at the difference in size...of course, Hannah is a bit big for her age, as well. But size doesn't matter between these two friends/cousins, because they LOVE to be with each other!! In fact, when our families are together, you can't separate them! They're connected at the hip.

Braydn's 9th Birthday

My only nephew, Braydn Tyler Erb, turned 9 years old on December 28th, 2008. Like I always say, I can't believe how quickly kids grow up! Here are some photos from his birthday party held on his birthday...

Braydn looks like he's excited to be 9 or maybe he's excited about all the presents he's about to open :)

Braydn is Crystal's youngest child. Here she is with her oldest daughter, Shailee. Looks like they're excited about his presents too...or could it be the cake and ice cream!

My cousin Jenny McCrone and her boyfriend, Willis Adams. They too look excited for the fun festivities...as my sister & Greg would say...."Festivus for the rest-of-us!!"

Here's Braydn showing off one of the gifts we got him. Can't go wrong with Old Navy!

Me and Braydn. My face looks a little round in this photo but it's the only one I had of us together! That's the down-side to being the photographer. You only get a couple of pictures taken with you in it and that's because you've asked someone to take them, just so people know you were actually there!! Then you're left to chose between the couple photos taken (in this case, I didn't even have a choice...only one was taken) to find a photo to use!

Braydn and his Uncle Gregor. Not sure what Braydn's sideways smile's all about but he is quite a character, so he was probably just trying to be silly.

Buddy and his ball! He loves balls and wherever we go, he's got to track one down. I love that simple things can keep him entertained, even if it's just for 5 minutes.

Here's my little Hannah lookin' so cutesy for the camera! Do you like her hyper-extended elbows?!? Makes me cringe, even though mine do the same thing! But to see it on someone else, freaks me out.

Christmas-2008

Christmas is always a special time in our house, especially when we get to spend it with family. We were glad to have my mom (of course...she lives with us), my sister Crystal and her children, Shailee, Alexa, and Braydn at our house for the festivities! We had lots of fun opening gifts and just being with each other. I'll let the pictures tell the story :)


Here's what the house looked like just as the kids went to bed. The tree looked beautiful all lit up with presents under it. We set out cookies and milk for Santa on our special "snow flake" plate that we use each year. All of the stockings were hung along the wall (seeing how we don't have a fireplace) just waiting to be stuffed by Santa!



I wish I had a better picture of this tree, at least with it's lights on but I don't...bummer. It's our special "kid's tree". The kids get to decorate it all by themselves, though Daddy does put the lights on it, and most of the decorations have been made by them, which makes the decorating that much more meaningful. Hannah likes to ask about each ornament and the story that goes along with it. It's a wonderful way to reminisce and to create lasting memories. Hannah made sure that most of her gifts from us were put under her special tree (Santa brings the kids one big gift from him. All the other gifts come from good ol' mom and dad...oh, plus he stuffs the stockings!).


Gabers in his gift from Santa. He calls it his "fire station!!!" He absolutley LOVED it!!! Doesn't he look so handsome in his Santa hat?!?


I made the kids put on the Santa hats (which is a family tradition on Christmas, along with going to the movies on Christmas evening. This year we went and saw "The Tail of Desperaux", which I would not recommend to anyone, needless to say) so I could get a photo of them all. As you can see, Gabe wouldn't cooperate with me. (L-R) Hannah, Shailee, Alexa, and Braydn


Cute little Hannah in her "Princess" Santa hat! Can you tell she's excited?!?

Buddy got lots of wooden toy airplanes & cars & trains in his stocking. Santa sure must know him REALLY well!! He LOVED them...especially the propellers and wheels!!

From Santa, Hannah received the whole "Fairy Land" Playmobil series, which she was thrilled about. Our family is a big fan of Playmobil toys!

Little Gabers opening up his Thomas the Train toy from Grandpa Matthew. He loves Thomas the Train, which I'm beginning to feel that all little boys his age does. I like the videos because I think they teach good values and the importance of accepting others for who they are and learning how to get along with other personality types. Good stuff!

Here's little Gabe checking out Daddy's big job as video-er (is that a word? Don't think so but I'm not sure what it would be...ummm...vidoetographer, which I don't think is a work either...oh, well, I'm sure you know what I mean) We'll just call him "Video Man". Gabe loves to see the images on the screen. He's fascinated by it! And I'm all about it if it keeps him entertained for a few minutes ;)

I made my mother a "Father" plate for Christmas. It was a lot of fun and I think they turned out pretty cool! She got tears in her eyes. She really seemed to like it. I was really happy that it touched her heart. And I must say that Mom's lookin' rather hot with all those bows on her head!!

Here I am with some of my gifts...clothes, clothes, a fun new purse, new pots & pans, and more clothes!!! I made out like a bandit! Greg definitely spoiled me, which I loved!

Here's a picture of Crystal with one of the gifts we gave her. It's a Christmas platter, which I loved and I'm hoping she loved it too. It reads..."May the Spirit of Christmas be Forever in your Hearts"

Gregor and his stash of gifts. He got tons of clothes as well. He's so handsome!

A Christmas morning tradition we have is that Gregor makes everyone breakfast burritos, with all the toppings! Yummy, yummy!!

I took a picture of Grandma with all of her grandkids (except Tsamanda, because she lives in Arizona). It's amazing how big our little family is growing! (L-R) Shailee, Grandma, Alexa, Gabriel, Braydn, and Hannah

So, another Christmas came and left. It seems like there's so much preparation for the special day and that it doesn't last long enough. But before we know it (presently 6 months...Yikes!!) Christmas will be here again!

Christmas Eve-2008

Our tradition for Christmas Eve, is to allow the kids to open a couple gifts specifically purchased for that evening. In the past, I have just given new pajamas to the children but this year I decided to add an additional gift to the pile. So, not only did they receive their traditional pajamas and slippers but they also received a "Christmas" book. Every year there are several new books released to help us, as individuals, realize the true meaning of Christmas. I thought it would be a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas Eve. Hannah received "The Christmas Orange" and Gabe received "A Christmas Bell for Anya".

This year, we were happy to have Crystal and her kids at our house for our Christmas Eve celebration. We all gathered around and Greg read the Christmas story out of the Bible. Then I read each of the children's new "Christmas" books aloud (blubbering through both of them) and the feeling created was wonderful! The Spirit was so strong! I was immediately grateful and excited that I expanded our tradition to include the wonderful books.

I know this will continue to be a family tradition for years to come.



Hannah opening her new pajamas and slippers


Gabers opening his new pajamas and slippers


Gabers in his new jammies!


Hannah in her new jammies! She was very excited that her pajamas came with a robe as well...BONUS!!! She had been asking for one for quite a while. She was very happy that it was so soft!! She's such a texture girl...she loves all the soft fabrics!


I was completely THRILLED to find a pair of "airplane" pajamas! I almost couldn't wait until Christmas Eve to give them to Gabe. I was so happy that he loved them as much as I thought he would. Here he is acting like an "air-pwain". I will not be surprised if he ends up being a pilot when he's older.


I wonder if our new tradition will be handed down to future generations? I sure hope so!