My Grandma turns 80

Were ba-ack! We've been on vacation for the past 12 days, which is the longest I can remember being gone in a long time. We spent time in Nevada, Utah, and Washington, and we did the whole vacation by mini-van with three little kids. Fortunately, everybody was really good and we would even consider doing it again in the future.

The first exciting thing that happened on our trip was a stop in Fillmore, Utah for my grandma's 80th birthday party. This party was the whole reason our trip turned into a driving adventure instead of a plane trip--it was important for us to make it to this event, and since Fillmore is almost half-way to Spokane, we decided to combine the trips into one.

I haven't seen many of my relatives on that side of the family for a couple of years, and it was so fun to see everyone. All of my aunts and uncles and most cousins made it in for the occasion. I really enjoyed just catching up with people and would have loved to have spent several more hours with all of them.

I decided to list some special things about my grandma:

She always had Marigolds planted in a neat row lining her driveway and porch. I can never see a Marigold and not think of grandma and smile.

She loved camping, and as a kid I always looked forward to our yearly trip to Big John's Flat up Beaver mountain. She taught us how to play Rummy, and had to re-teach us every year.

They always had a big garden and I loved to go out and pull up a carrot to eat. I also learned to love rhubarb from her garden.

Their pasture always had sheep and lambs in it. Do you know the song, "Rock-a-bye, don't you cry; we will go to grammie's. Up the hill, behind the mill, to see the little lambies." I was lucky enough that my grandma's house really did have lambies.

Their front yard had a big tree with the best tire swing in the world.

They loved watching their grandchildren play sports, and they made it to at least one game each sports season. This really meant a lot to us.

I grew up living several hours from my grandparents, and going to visit them was the most exciting thing in the world! My grandpa died a year before Sareny was born and I am sad that my children didn't have the chance to know him, but they know my dad, his son, and so they have some of him. Grandma came by herself with my parents to Phoenix when Sareny turned one, and we had a lot of fun showing her some of the sights, including Tombstone and Nogales. I am glad that she has always enjoyed traveling.

Grandma got remarried a couple of years ago, and while we all still miss grandpa, it is nice to see her so happy. We love you grandma!