Letter from Grandma Lael, October 2013

Happy Halloween!  Is Jane going to be a witch, or is she already one?  Ask her and she'll say "NO."  Your time here was so delightful for me and Grandpa, It will be a cherished memory.  Thank you for helping me so much and the pretty flowers really surprised me!  On B.D. got 2 other flower arrangements and 4 obs candy and 2 plates of brownies.  Can you imagine what a pumpkin I am now?  I've had my swan-song with flower arrangements now.  I tried to arrange 1 vase from all three and it looks awful!  It is hard to cut the stems or even move the vases they are so heavy.  I can't move them from counter to table.  Another thing hit the fan!  I am OK to be without a lot of things now, just so I have my Bed.  The cell phone holder really helps so thanks for all you did for me.

Love, Nana Lael

October 2013

Probably the most significant event of the month was a visit to Grandma and Grandpa Feller with Jane, Ryan, and my mom.  It definitely was the highlight of the month, but now I can say that it might well have been the most significant event of the year, because although we did not know it at the time, it was the last time that all of us would see Grandpa Val alive. (this post is written in May of 2014).  It wasn't entirely unexpected, he was having difficulty standing and walking, and taking care of himself.

I don't remember Grandpa Val ever being especially good with children; he almost scared me as a kid sometimes although I always admired him and wanted to please him.  Once when I was probably 8 years old, Grandma told me to sneak downstairs to where he sat sleeping in his rocking chair to give him a goodnight kiss.  "But Grandma" I pleaded, "I don't want to.  He's sleeping!"  She insisted.  So I crept up to him quietly, put my lips right up next to his cheek and "Rrrrrrrrrrrraaaarrrrrw!"  He roared and scared me half to death.  Another time, I remember fishing with him and my brothers.  When Christopher caught a fish, he was afraid to touch it to remove it from the hook.  Grandpa got downright angy and yelled at him to "take the damn fish off the hook!"  I'm pretty sure that the fish died during the argument, which is what Grandpa was mad about.  He wanted Christopher to have the whole experience from start to finish and he was being too childish about touching the fish.

But Grandpa was amazing with Jane.  He spoke with her and taught her how to use a fly swatter.  She had so much fun running around that room while Grandpa sat in his recliner, swatting here and there at flies while Grandpa encouraged her.  I just knew I had to get a photo of that moment.

Here she is at the wishing well in Grandma and Grandpa's front yard.

She also got along fabulously with Grandma Lael, although most kids do.  She listened to her stories and sat in her lap and gave her hugs and kisses.  Grandma has always said that Jane looks like a porcelain doll.  And Grandma would know; she's collected many dolls in the past.  She has one earmarked for Jane.

We made a detour to Burley, Idaho on the way home to visit my cousins, Cheyenne (Peterson) Harris and Kathryn (Warrick) Ballestero.  Jane sits between the three Harris second cousins, with Katie's girls on the far left and the newborn wrapped up in the blanket.  Although I can see a remarkable difference in the kids since I last saw them (Rachel and Sarah at 2 and 3), my cousins have not changed much at all.  It was fun to see Cheyenne's home, that her husband had done most of the work himself on.

Another event of the month was a group campout with the Holling and Lemmons families back at home.  We went to Morrow Mountain state park and found 3 campsites together.  This was Jane's very first camping trip.  She did great!  I was worried about her not being able to go to sleep, then sleeping poorly through the night and waking us up early, but none of those fears came true.  In fact, she basically put herself to bed that night.  She was probably exhausted from all the running and playing.  The following morning was spent getting dirty by playing down in the dusty dirt.  The other kids did this as well.

I grabbed some photos with Coco this month because she had had several seizures and we didn't know how long she would have until we had to put her down due to her mobility and age issues.  Fortunately, she stayed with us through Christmas.  But I'm still glad I got the photos.  Jane loved Coco and Coco loved the attention she received from Jane, when no one else in the house was interested in giving her the attention.

I got a haircut this month, and color, and I love it!

And finally, I neglected to get photos of us in costume this year.  This was at a free event at the Cornelius Arts' Center.  But this year she was all dressed up as Alice in Wonderland, while I was the Cheshire cat, and Jeff was the White Rabbit (although he again missed the ward party).  Which was too bad because we won the category for Most Creative, the two of us.  Trick or Treating was fun this year.  We went with a few other families in the ward; the Sherwoods, the Thomas's, and the Ferrins.  Stella and Jane were just the cutest little pair, running door to door for their goodies.  They didn't last too long and were almost more interested in running than in the candy, but that's ok because mom and dad stepped in to help eat some of it.

So there's October of 2013 for you!  Overall a very happy month in our lives, I think these experiences will be some of those that I reflect on in my older years as one of the happiest seasons of my life.

Welcome Fall!

Fall is my favorite season, all kinds of fun recreational activities open up that we enjoy.  Jane and I went to Carrigan Farms for hayride, petting zoo, and apple picking at the beginning of the month.  Of all the animals (goats, pigs, cow, chickens), Jane loved the rabbit best.  One day we may have to try a pet rabbit again.

She took the hayride in stride, didn't seem to love it or hate it.  The apples were the main event.  Jane couldn't wait to eat one.

She also loved the tractors... they had one pulling the trailer with hay and another in the 'store' that the kids are allowed to climb on.  She wanted to climb on both but I managed to keep her off the working one.  In the end, her patience paid off.

The other fun thing we were able to do this month was to go hang out at Nana's location for her outdoor camps, a beautiful property with natural pond, forest, and building onsite.  There was fishing with nets, campfire with hot dogs and s'mores (and Starbursts), and we even went to check out the child size ropes course, which Jane has done before.  She loved walking the fallen log 'bridge.'

And then she also had fun picking bamboo shoots along the edge of the pond with her friend Emily.

We didn't get to visit the water lily pond, so maybe next time.

We have lots of other fun fall activities planned for this year, including pumpkin picking, camping, and bonfires.  And lots of fall goodies like squash soups, hot chocolate, pumpkin, and pecan pie.  And I'm making preparations for Halloween for all three of us.  It will be a great month.