Beneath the Wraps

Dear Frances,             I am posting this letter to my blog as we don't have a current address for you - not that we ever did.  Your mom didn't (and probably still doesn't) want us to have any contact with you - even when we were living in the same state and it was court ordered.             Even if you should come across this blog and read this post, I don't know if you'll know that you are Frances - as that is not your actual name, but rather one I have assigned to you through this blog.  But I feel impressed to write this.             The last time we saw you was just over eight years ago - just before Tony left on his mission.  Jenna was only four at the time.  Unfortunately she does not have many memories of you or your other sister.  I have several pictures that I have shared wit...

          I have mentioned my Aunt Gertrude (Trudy) in at least five posts before.  She will be 95 at the end of this year.  Her brother, Ted, just turned 99.  Both are hard of hearing, but very sharp and knowledgeable.  Their bodies have weakened over the years, especially Trudy's.           Aunt Trudy was always doing for other people.  For many years she drove a friend to the grocery store.  Up until a year ago, Aunt Trudy was still driving - even in her overly bent shape.  I don't know that she ever had an accident, but I still felt a sense of relief to know she wasn't able to renew her license again.  If she just hadn't taken that spill on Easter Sunday in 2013, she probably would have her driver's license.  For she wasn't so frail until after that.           My cousin, Michelle, sent ou...

I realize that for each year that I've had this blog,  I have mentioned the crazy weather in Utah.  It's not just Utah.  It's my first February in Oregon, and so I really don't know any different.  Except I have asked and the response has always been "this is very unusual" about everything ever since our arrival.             Jenna and I went for a walk last night (when the temperature had finally dropped from 76 degrees) and discovered blossoms and flowers and growth that we don't normally see for at least another month.    Thought I'd take pictures. starting out I love daffodils Jenna has always liked these.  She would pick them when we lived in Kearns I can't believe how quickly the trees have bloomed Each morning the clouds hang low on the hills This is often how it feels driving I5 from Myrtle Creek to Roseburg actual pig that lives...

             Ester's birthday is coming up soon.  I thought we should get her a book.  She seemed to be into princesses the last time we had seen her,  and so I chose one with Disney princesses.  It's a step-into-reading treasury included with six stories, a two sided princess poster and 24 miniature princess stickers. I think she will like it.              We were at Costco and Roland didn't seem in too much of a hurry and so I took my time looking through some other books that were on display.  I smiled as I read "Everybody Loves Bacon" written by Kelly Dipucchio and illustrated by Eric Wight.               Besides the wonderful illustration, I found it to be a clever story on remembering your friends and what might happen to someone who gets a swelled head.  I think Tony would have enjoyed the same humor that I fo...

         Aside from being overly quiet, my dad seemed very unobservant.   A running joke was that my mom could shave her head bald and spraypaint her scalp gold and he wouldn’t notice.   He said he would.   And perhaps he did notice things but never let on that he noticed – therefore we assumed he just wasn’t observant.          But now it is I who misses out.   I wish I was more observant than I am.   I think one of the greatest things about spending time with small children is that they observe everything.   They notice so many things that I have taken for granted.   I love it when I have the opportunity to explore the world through their eyes.          Roland is very observant.   Hopefully Jenna will continue to take after him and both of them will point out the things that I continue to miss.   Jenna...

            I remember listening to a ranger who loved and respected bears and did not care for zoos.  As a child, I thought zoos were wonderful.  Seeing pictures of bears is not the same as seeing a real live bear.  Many don't have the means to travel and search for bears in their natural habitat - and even then - watching through binoculars is still not the same as being close - though having an animal remain behind bars seems cruel.             A zoo can never provide the same amount of space for each animal as each animal is given in the wild.  The animals don't have to share inversion with humans as they do in the city - where their space is very limited.  Animals in captivity don't necessarily live longer than animals in the wild.  Perhaps the contrary.  There will always be two sets of answers.  That doesn't make them accurate. ...

            Yesterday felt like a Saturday.   Jenna was off because of parent teacher conference – which evidently was by invitation only.   I hadn’t been contacted – which they say is a good thing – but they said I could make a last minute appointment if they had the room.             So our appointment was for 7:50.   I dragged Roland to get a feel of what was needed for her math assignments and to assist with anything else.   He has worked a lot of parent-teacher conferences.   A LOT!   I remember many a years attempting to visit with the boys’ teachers all by myself.   Once it was 21 teachers for all three boys together.   I also had the challenge of maneuvering Jenna in her stroller when the boys were in high school.             Parent-Teacher conferences are do...