Aunt Claudia's 60 by 80

One of my favorite people in this whole world, is my Aunt Claudia Nielson!   She is my dad's sister and she is one of the most kind, generous people that I have ever known.   Our trips to visit her in Worland are some of my greatest memories and is quickly becoming my children's favorite memories too!

Well, this sweet aunt of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer back in the spring.  I was literally standing on the carousel at Disneyland when my mom called me with the news.   Awful!   She has gone through her surgeries and treatments and thankfully, is doing well.   Her sweet husband, my Uncle Bruce, called me at the beginning of September and asked me for a favor.

Now, this Uncle Bruce of mine, NEVER asks for anything, so I was curious about what he was going to ask.   He said that one of the side effects of the chemo was that Aunt Claudia was always cold.  He really wanted her to have a quilt that she could wrap up in at night to stay warm.  He wanted it to have minkee on the back and he wanted it 60 by 80.    He said that I could pick out the fabric that I thought she would like best.  I thought it was so thoughtful of him to come up with this idea and really wanted her to be more comfortable and warm.

I was SOOOO happy to do this and honored that he would ask me.   It became known as my "60 by 80" project.  Within in a few days, I had found the fabric I wanted and ordered it.  Then, I found a free pattern and decided to get it started.

I wish I could say that I whipped this quilt out in a matter of a few days.   But, a few weeks later, it was done.  I went to the store where I usually by my minkee and found the most beautiful yellow minkee.  But, there wasn't enough!    So, I pieced extra leftover fabric to it and turned it into my quilter.  She is a gem and had it done within a few days.

I think it turned out pretty good.   We gave this to her several days ago when she came into town and I think she liked it. 

Thank you, Uncle Bruce, for the idea and chance to do this for one of the most amazing women we know!!

The front

 The back

 

You can see what a beautiful job the quilter did!

Becky's visit - Day 1

 We just had a wonderful 2 weeks with my sister Becky and her two kids, Brooklyn & Jake!!   We had asked Becky to come to Utah and watch the kids so that Jon and I could go away for a few days and she was willing!!!

I picked them up on Friday afternoon around 1:00.  My kids all begged for me to get them out of school early so they could go, but being the mean mom that I am, I didn't.    It was SOOOOO good to see her again (even though they have only been gone a couple of months).  The kids had grown and Brooklyn was so excited to see everyone.

What a treat to have them here!   Becky and I hit nearly every quilt store in the Salt Lake Valley, we laughed, went on errands and played with the kids.  She also managed to work during her time here and I did PTA stuff too.

We had family pictures scheduled the first afternoon they were here.  The weather was "ify" all day, but we decided to try them any way.   In record time - 20 minutes - we were done!  Family pictures & individual pictures!  I'm excited to see them and hope they turned out.

Afterwards, we met all of my siblings (except Mike who was out of town)  at Olive Garden for dinner.  My parents had given us a gift card at Christmas and we had saved it to do after family pictures in the fall.    It was so fun to see how excited all the cousins were to be together and it was just a wonderful, fun dinner.  (I only wish my parents had been there to enjoy it too - but next year!).

Hannah & Jake

 



I love this picture of Sophia - so cute!!



Murray Max Soccer - Fall 2012

 I have definitely become an active soccer mom - and I love it!   This year, all three of our oldest kids, tried out and made their Murray Max soccer teams.  We are so blessed to have great coaches, players and parents!

The kids each had a great season and worked hard!   It's such a "pay day" for me to sit at their games and cheer them on!

This was Jack's first year playing competitive soccer.  He made the premier team and played well.  He had a couple of goals and had a good time.  Soccer may not be the sport he loves most, but he did love being out there playing!

Lindsey had another great year!  Her team has played together for 3 years now and they ended up taking 1st place in their division, so they will move up a division in the spring.  Lindsey is still a fantastic passer and had a couple of goals as well.   One thing I noticed different in Lindsey from last year, was that she never complained about going to practices, training sessions or games.  She just happily went.  We sure love the kids in her team too!

Emily has really fallen in love with soccer.  She thinks about soccer all the times, dreams about soccer and loves every practice, training & game.  Her team changed this year and she actually ended up playing for 2 teams.   She had her regular team and then she guest-played as often as she could for Jared's team (Jared and his family as great friends of ours).   She works hard and is getting better & better.  She's also gotten stronger this year with her kicks and her throw-ins. 

Getting some coach-advice from Jared

 

 

 

Great season kids!  Your mom will miss seeing your games, but won't miss the many, many practices each week (although they will now all begin indoor soccer & futsol).

Hailey - 18 months old

 Our sweet, little baby is not such a baby any more!    She is already 18 months old and is such a joy in our lives!

Funny things about Hailey:

 

 

* She LOVES her brother & sisters and feels lost when they are all away at school/preschool

 

 

* She takes a 3 - 3 1/2 hour nap each day.  She sometimes likes to sleep with whatever she has been carying around.  So, she's taken a nap with a cupcake liner, bottle of Ibuprofen, and toothpaste.

 

 

* She loves her binkie & blankie

 

 

* Is a good eater - learning how to feed herself with a spoon or fork

She loves muffins, hot dogs, noodles & cheese

 

 

* Just started nursery at church.  She was so tired though that she just fell asleep and she slept in the corner most of the time.

 

 

* Says "hi" "no no" "dada" & "mama"

 

 

* Loves to make a mess - especially with boxes of cereal

 

 

* plays by herself pretty well

 

 

* she shares a room with Lindsey and won't really settle down to sleep until Lindsey is in bed too

 

 

* she is still teeny tiny (her 18 month check is soon, so I'll update her stats when I get them).

 

 

* is a mama's girl

 

We love you Hailey girl!!

 

 



Grandpa Jack's funeral

We got up early on Friday, September 28th to drive to Union, OR for Jon's dad's funeral.  Jon, bless his heart, worked the night before and got in bed about 4:00 a.m.    We got up and left a little before 7.   In honor of his dad, Jon tied an apple box to the top of the van.   Jack always travelled with apple boxes tied to the top of the station wagon.  

 

We made it to Union by mid-afternoon (after a long stop in Boise to buy cheese).    It was great to see all of Jon's family.  Diane (Jon's mom) was amazing through it all.   Joyce Baxter (Jon's aunt) and her daughters & daughter-in-laws, fed us all dinner.  They made delicious soup and homemade bread.

Unfortunately, Hailey threw up an hour or so after we put her to bed, so we were really nervous on Saturday about her throwing up during the funeral.  Thankfully, she didn't!

Tom did a great job putting together displays of Jack's things from World War II, serving a mission in Brazil,  living in Hawaii & his family things.

The kids held up really well.  Emily, Lindsey & Kate cried quite a bit during the funeral and graveside service.  Jon and I cried as well.  

The funeral was wonderful!   Jon's siblings (those that wanted to) each said things they had learned from their dad and qualities that he exemplified.  Jon talked about his work ethic and how he always treated his wife with the utmost respect & love.  

Jack's 6 sons (Bob, Bill, Paul, David, Jon & Tom) were the pallbearers.    We were greeted at the Union Cemetary by navy personnel.

 One last salute to a fellow navy man!

 

 Saluting Diane

 

The pallbearers putting their corsages on the casket.

 

 

 Diane and her 10 kids

 

 Adding the grandchildren.....all 24 were there except Genny.  (They have 25 grandchildren, but Michael preceded Jack in death.  They also currently have 13 great-grandchildren.  2 of them were there).

 Our family

 The Johnston family

 I thought this was a sweet  picture of David helping Diane.

 

The Bob & Debbie Bowen Family (minus Genny)

 



 Anne & her kids (and Jay)  (I'm not quite sure why he was in the picture.  He's a good family friend).

 

Hailey was very ready to go home by the end.

 

 

How grateful each of us are for Jack's life.  What a great man of integrity, frugality, industry, hard work, love, devotion, faithfulness, patience and charity.