Where have I Been? Finding Buried Treasure!

Well, pretty much everywhere. This month I've been to the Denver airport four times and drove across state lines twice. I was living out of a suitcase for three weeks and home long enough to do laundry and then fill it again. It's been a crazy month of travel and time away from my hubby but I really had a good time (other than the away from hubby part but it has been a lot of fun to be with him again, distance does make the heart grow fonder even after 6 years of marriage).

So what's happened since my last post? Goodness... where do I begin?

I FINALLY, after 5 years of talking about it and trying to figure it out, made it to Minnesota to visit my Grandma and my Aunt and her family. It was long overdue and I am so grateful that it worked out that I could go. It was a very worthwhile trip. It was so good to see my grandma and to be her guest and get the royal treatment (which ment being offered hostess cakes and pop every couple of hours). My grandma is a sweet, kind and self-sacrificing woman. She will be 84 on her birthday next month. It was also wonderful to see my aunt and uncle who I haven't seen since my wedding and my cousins who I haven't seen in just about as long or longer. My aunt and I stayed up too late most nights just talking.


I went out there with a goal to take note of and steps to preserve the family heirlooms, photos, and documents in my grandma's hands. It turned out to be a bit more work than I thought it would be. It was literally buried. I went through just about every nook and cranny of her basement apartment, 27 years worth of stuff, looking for family photos and turning up all sorts of interesting things (along with a lot of garbage like bank statements from the 80's). In the end it was very rewarding. I was able to pull together a lot of her original photos some from the mid 1800's, as well as funeral cards, obituaries, my grandpa's honorable discarge, marriage certificates and notices, birth records, and much more. A GOLD MINE! I then set to work to scan it all and then put it in a binder so it will all be in one place. My goal is to share the stuff I found on my family history blog in the months to come. It's going to take me awhile, I came away with about 600 images between scans and photos I took of heirlooms that my aunt and grandma have as well as a stack of old family group sheets to go through. I was also able to take along a digital recorder and record some of our conversations.

In addition to family history items I found a stash of personal history items for myself. My grandma had a lot of my family photos that my mother doesn't have copies of (including ones of my brother Daniel) as well as original art work from when I was 2 years old on up.


If any of you have older relatives I would strongly encourage going through their stuff with them. I came across a few items that only have meaning when you know their history and that history will be lost unless someone takes the steps to preserve it. It was also nice to talk to my aunt who knew her grandparents and was able to tell me stories too. It is a very rewarding thing to do (though I might be a bit biased being a family history buff).


Picture is of my grandma at my grandpa's grave.


I wasn't out their nearly long enough. I could have stayed a few more days. As it was I was working down to the end trying to get this recorded. I hope to make it out there again soon. I hope with my boys in tow.


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After my Minnesota trip I had an evening to do laundry and then Josh and I were off to Utah to pick up our boys the next day. We got to see Josh's family for Pioneer Day and then had the long awaited beach party at my parents before driving home again. More posts on that to come!

Josh's Hat

Josh and I got to spend the day together on Thursday. We went up to Estes Park to play around and then to Loveland to catch Harry Potter at the movie theater. I had promised Josh a hat for our anniversary. He wanted a fishing/hiking hat with a wider brim but I was too chicken to pick one out without his help so we were on a mission while in Estes Park to find a hat. After trying on a gazillion hats Josh finally decided on one that inspires him to sing the Indiana Jones theme song. It is a rather nice looking hat though I don't have a picture of it. I did get a shot of Josh in another hat that he wasn't interested in buying but humored me enough to try it on.
Josh with a full head of hair complete with highlights. Isn't he handsome!

Okay, I'm weird...

But I thought the slug was super cool so I have video of it too. They can acutally move pretty fast and stretch out even more as they are going and their antenae come out.

Utah Adventures

I've made it back to Colorado and tomorrow I fly to Minnesota to visit my grandma.

I promised pictures of our family picnic on Saturday (the day Anna and Bryce got engaged). There is a picnic area up Spanish Fork Canyon, down Diamond Fork where there are a lot of red rocks similar to the ones Josh and I saw in Southern Utah last year on our trip to Escalante. They are very stunning and the boys had a grand time climbing around. Sam has no fear, he was very confident climbing all over the rocks, taking no thought of possibly falling.

Group shot on a ledge

Anna and Bryce

We found a catepillar on the sandy ground. The boys were facinated with it.

After it got dark we started a fire and made smores. Mat and his friend Cassie made a massive smore with four or five layers of grahm crackers.

It was a great family outing. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have Josh there with us.

Yesterday my boys had great fun playing around in my parents yard. They enjoy jumping in the trampoline and playing in the tree house. My mom was going through the house trying to find stuff that the boys would like in the tree house. She ended up taking out a table and chairs and some snacks for the boys. They loved it. I went out and got some pictures and while I was down there I made sure to get some pictures of the MASSIVE slugs living under a cardboard box at the foot of the tree. We are talking MASSIVE! I've seen pictures of banana slugs and sea slugs and those are very big, but I have never seen just an average slug the size of Sam's shoe. I was amazed. Odd things hang out in the woods around my parents house.

Update

Well, I am currently in Utah and Josh flew to Maryland this morning. Tomorrow is his big interview with Northrop Grumman. I'm still having really mixed feelings about it but there's not much that can be done about it currently except pray.

The boys and I have been having a good time at Grammie and Papa's house though none of us have been getting the ideal number of sleep hours which makes for a grumpy house come afternoon. This past weekend was momentous. My sister Anna got engaged to a great guy named Bryce from Arizona and my brother Mat was ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood. It just amazes me that they are old enough to be doing such things. Part of me still sees them as they were 6 years ago when I got married and moved to Colorado.

I have cute pictures to share but it is late and I am beat. Tomorrow is another day...