Our Happy Holidays

We woke up Christmas morning at Faren's house. The three little boys were so excited about all the loot! River got a remote control snowmobile....and karate pajamas the night before.

Boston shows off his karate moves!

Simon's legs are too short to make the inchworm go.

Indee and Mia got American Girl dolls that look like them.

There was some sledding before the big family party at Lataun's house.
(Notice the gorgeous Tetons in the background)

After eating a yummy turkey dinner, and before opening family gifts, the kids performed the musical numbers they sang in their school Christmas programs.

The girls showing off their new sweaters.

I made winter hats for all the grandkids this year. It was a fun project. I started about Halloween, so I'd have plenty of time to do all 17 hats. (Seth's five are not pictured here.)

After spending a few days at Driggs, we took three grand-daughters and traveled to Monteview to spend the night with Grandma Eddins. It was a sad and empty house for her this Christmas. (sad face) The girls then went to Bancroft with us. We had fun with them, playing games and swimming at Lava. They went back to their own homes Wednesday. Then we spent New Years with Ron and Cindy in Dayton.
Hope all of you had as much fun as we did. But now...on with a new decade!

Living with Scrooge

My husband can be pretty Scroogie sometimes. For instance, he doesn't like it when I play Christmas music, he thinks I over-decorate, for sure he doesn't like to shop, and he drags his feet when there's a party to go to. When the kids were at home, he whined and whined about all the money I was spending, then on Christmas Eve, after putting everything out, he'd say, "Is that all?" Several years ago, one of our friends gave him a hat that said, "Bah, Humbug" on it. I thought it was very fitting, but he wasn't amused.

I'm a firm believer that we have grandkids to help the grandpa chill out. This is Sicilee on one Christmas morning putting make-up and jewelry on her grandpa. He's on cloud nine.

He's a pretty good sport, and actually has fun when he finally gets to a party. I guess we're all like that on some level. (I wish I could remember this game...making reindeer horns out of pantyhose and balloons....it looks pretty fun!)

Like so many other couples, we have learned to agree to disagree on a lot of things in this life. And we always have a good Christmas....with or without the attitude.

Giving Thanks

This year's Thanksgiving was held at my house, with Taun's family, Faren's family, Val's family, and cousin Ron's family. The guys brought their 4-wheelers and motorcycles, hoping for good enough weather to tear up a few of the local hills. They were not disappointed. The kids played with cousins, did some crafts, and enjoyed some geocaching with grandpa and the uncles. They were hoping for some swimming at Lava, but....maybe next time.

It took Haddi all day Wednesday to make this famous rainbow jello salad. She was so proud.

The favorite after-dinner activity.

That night we had some games and the losers (the girls) had to dance for everyone.

The next day we made suckers with Megan's molds. After doing this a couple of years ago, we think it's a tradition now.

We made five different flavors. I was the official sucker wrapper.

The kids were the official taste testers.

A great few days with kids and grandkids. I am blessed.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

A few weeks ago Roy and I took his mom and went to McCall so she could see her sister, Loretta, whom she hadn't seen in a couple of years. It was a fun trip to a beautiful place. Roy's family lived here the first seven years of his life, where his dad worked in the timber industry, before they moved to Monteview to farm. Even though I had been here before, I looked at it with different eyes this time...so interested to learn more about his childhood home and the memories he has of it.

This is the house where they lived. It has been added on to since then and the trees are much bigger now.

The deer roam through the yards just like they own the place.



This is the hill where Roy learned to ride a bike. It was a graveled road then, and of course it looked much steeper and scarier to him as a child. The story is that his sisters took him up to the top of the hill and gave him a push. He stayed upright the whole way down and landed in a heap at the bottom, scraped and bruised, but he was a champ on the bike after that.

McCall sits on the edge of beautiful Payette Lake. Roy's sisters took swimming lessons here, but he was too little to join them.

Roy took me to see some sights one afternoon. This is one of Roy's favorite fishing spots in the area...on the Little Salmon.

It was fun to spend time with these two sisters, visiting, crocheting, and playing dice. They have a special and unique relationship.

I love a good road trip!

Grandpa Has Gone Home

Last week Roy's dad, grandpa Eddins, passed away. He was almost 84 years old, and had been fighting a battle with diabetes, heart problems, and kidney failure.

He loved everything about the outdoors, especially fishing. He passed that love along to Roy, and the two of them had many good times together on the stream, river, or lake.

One of the his favorite places to go was Henry's Lake in the Fall. This picture was taken the last time he was able to go there. Three of our boys, Roy, and River got to fish with him that day.

Grandpa loved the little ones. I have lots of pictures of him doing this very thing...with his grandkids and great grandkids.

He was a true example of kindness, patience, service, and strength.
We will miss this gentle giant.

This Spuds For You

Potatoes run deep in my roots. All my childhood and growing up years I cannot remember not having potato harvest in the fall. I can remember, at a pretty young age, dad teaching me how to run the little Ford tractor to scrape the dirt out of the cellar. I thought I was pretty hot stuff. Then I graduated to pulling boards in the back of the truck. My next promotion was going to the field, riding on the combine, pulling dirt and vines. There were usually several of us out there, so it was fun to have the company. Then I got the coveted job....driving truck. You were then out of the weather and out of the heavy, stifling dirt.

So this year I decided to make a little extra money by working in the harvest for a local farmer. It had been 20-something years since I did, but I was determined. When they told me they already had enough truck drivers and that they could really use me in the cellar, I thought, "OK, not my first choice, but OK." Three weeks later...we finished. My feet, hands, and back complained to me every day, but, all in all, it wasn't too bad. After the first day, Lataun said to me, "Mom, you can say it sucks if you want to." I thought, she doesn't remember that this thing runs through my veins.

Some of the potatoes are called chippers. If you've ever eaten a potato product made by Frito-Lay, or eaten french fries at an In 'N Out Burger, chances are they came from Bancroft, Idaho. One of my jobs was to stand by the machine called the "clod hopper" and save the few potatoes that would sometimes lose their way and fall on the wrong belt with the clods. It was part of their "No Spud Left Behind" program.

These guys have a huge building that has five huge cellars in it, with all the latest technology to store the 800 acres they grow. I hope dad has somehow been able to look down and see the giant strides that are being made. It would have been nice if he could have had a few good years while he was working so hard at it.

This is part of the cellar crew. There were 12 of us in all. I worked with some friends here as well as made some new ones.

I Spud You

Quack, Quack

The End

Happy Birthday, Val!

Twenty-seven years ago today, this bundle of joy entered this world. He is a happy, cheerful person, who loves to laugh and makes fun out of everything he does.

From day one, he was always looking for adventure, especially if it included water. I took him and joined a "mom & tot" swimming class before he was even 2 years old. He's been a fish ever since.

Nice air...

He's always made me feel special. He's never been embarrassed to give his mom a big hug...no matter where we are. He sings with me, dances with me, and just generally makes my heart happy.

I always knew that whoever married Val was going to be the lucky one. Now he loves being a dad, too, and a darn good one he is. So glad you are part of our lives, Val!