Florida Vacation

We just got back and we had sooo much fun! Even with 22 of us, things went pretty smoothly, (If the kids dared to tell me what went on, that is!) We got to go do things that we probably won't have the chance to do again, so I enjoyed every minute of it! We went to the beach, Disneyworld, Nascar,(Jason, Jim, Doug, Kari, Alan and Quinton), Kennedy Space Center (Kari, Shauntae, Wyatt, Molly, Gina, Kaden and McKay), Go-cart racing, Swimming, Deep Sea Fishing (Doug took me and Curt, and Jason came with us), shopping, eating, etc. etc. etc. The time went so fast but we fit in what we could. The flights were great and we all made it home safely. Alan's family and Jim were there a week, Cresta's (except Molly) a week and a day, the rest of us stayed until the 23rd. We left on Kari's birthday and got home on mine. What a way to celebrate! The smiles on the faces of our family made it all worth it!

Food and Quilts, yes they tie together!

I was doing some quilt blocks the other day and was looking for some scissors to

cut some threads. I pulled out the drawer and there were the pair that Bessie had given me one day when she was cleaning her drawers.

They are HUGE and they have her name engraved on the side. I know she must have used them when she was making her stuffed animals, with all the thick fake fur. It made me remember the things that she helped me on after Curt and I were married. She helped me when I was learning to sew. She was good at it and she was precise. She would look at my zippers and make me un-pick them if they weren't straight at the top. It made me learn to do it right if I was going to do it! She made the cutest stuffed bears and animals and the stuffed stick horse, sheep, bulls etc. that she made were awesome. I had to mend the bull the other day because it is falling apart from so much use. She was able to show Gina how to make them and she is carrying on with the talent! She took the time to sew my kids clothes when they were young, just for fun. I thought it was great that she would make matching outfits for my girls. She must have loved them to do that for them! I wouldn't have ever tried quilting if it wasn't for her. I love to go to the church and visit with the ladies and quilt, and I love belonging to the quilt guild, too! She was a great quilter and she liked being with the ladies at the church. They like to remember her when we are there, and I believe she is still considered "the boss" of the group! She also taught me alot about cooking. I know, she never really liked to cook, but, she did make some things that I still make today. I was making fried purple cabbage and some parsnips to go with dinner the other night and that also made me start to remember all those things again. I had never even heard of those two things until I married Curtis. (I have to make the parsnips just for me, Curt can't handle them!) I had Bailey and Quinton for dinner last night and had them try them and both of them liked them, so I guess I can make them for them too! So many times I am cooking something and remember that she liked that particular item. They will always stay in my memory because of that. She helped me learn another side of things that I wouldn't have had a chance to if I wouldn't have known her. I'm glad I had the opportunity.

Bread Day

Just one whiff of my house today is all it took to put me back in my mothers kitchen. I always marveled at what she could accomplish. Her bread was the best I had ever eaten and I wanted to be able to take the skill with me when I got married. She would very patiently show me how to put the ingredients together at just the right times to make the best bread. It didn't matter that she could have the bread mixed, raised twice and in the pan before I could get mine mixed. She must have known that she was making a difference in my life by teaching me. In those days (yes, I'm in THAT generation now!) we mixed everything by hand. My arm would be so sore for days afterward!

The yeast had to be put in the "just-right" temperature of water and left alone to dissolve and rise. The mixing had to be done so that all the flour would be mixed in, not too sticky, not too firm. It took a lot of effort to get it mixed in and ready to knead. Then the work began. The kneading would take about 15 minutes to get the correct texture. I would flour the counter and pour the dough out on it. Mine would always stick to my fingers, making the biggest mess. Mom's would always be just right. I thought I would never get it right. I would knead the dough until I thought it was good enough and she would pinch it and tell me "Just a little more and you've got it!" We would spread shortening in her largest tupperware bowl and put the bread in, pick it up and turn it over and then put a cloth on it to raise. We would always clean up our other pans and dishes during this time, and get the pans out and greased so that they would be ready. Punching the dough down was my favorite part. It would push the air out and you could smell how good it was going to taste. I would roll it over again in the pan and cover it again. When it was over the top of the bowl, we would take it out and form the dough into loaves. I had the most lopsided loaves you would ever see, but to her they were perfect! If we decided to make rolls with the dough, she would let me form them in any shape that I wanted. We had the most artistic rolls you ever saw! Hers would be shaped, raised and baked and I would still be making mine in all different shapes and sizes. She never told me to hurry or anything, she just let me do my thing! When we would serve them mine were always the first and got the most compliments, even though I know hers were tons better! She would make such a fuss that I couldn't wait until it was time to do them again. It took many sessions with her to get my dough right and the loaves formed well. I forgot to add salt once, and I still check to make sure it is added to this day! My mom formed me by being patient, kind and loving and passing on her talent to me. She let me learn at my pace, never growing angry when it didn't work out. I smell the bread in my kitchen today and I am filled with love and respect for her. She was a great teacher and a wonderful cook. She taught me so much about what I would need when I got married. I have been baking bread for over 36 years. I take it to her and she has me cut it in slices and put it in the freezer to serve to only her "best" friends. She is still making me feel like I am the best at what I do. She will probably always treat me the same. I hope she knows that she made a huge difference in my life by helping and teaching me. She has shown me that there is so much in life that is like baking bread. We need to have experiences added in to form our personalities. We need to be stirred up a little so that we can know what we want in life. We need to rise to heights that we set for ourselves and we need to go through the fire of adversity to be strong. All this from a "Bread Day". It is a tradition that I have handed down to my daughter-in-law Shauntae. She wanted to learn because Jimmy likes homeade bread. Now, that is love! I hope that someday my children and grandchildren will be doing something and fondly think to themselves... "I'm glad mom (or grandma) taught me this!

Newest painting

I finished this right before Christmas, I painted it for Cresta to give to Chris. He works for the railroad, I think he liked it! I thought it turned out pretty good. The mountains are from our ranch and the train is one Cresta found, the rest is pretty much made up from different photos and my mind. Tomorrow I will start a new one, a friend wants me to paint her one, but hasn't told me what she wants, so I guess I'll just think of something. Any ideas out there?

My new missionary

Christmas Eve day will always be extra special at our house! Kari got her mission call in the mail, so we had an exciting day! She waited until later that night at grandpas house to open it. She wanted as many of our family to be with her as possible. It is an exciting and scary time for us all. She will be serving in the Texas -Dallas, Spanish speaking mission! She loves Texas, so this is going to be great. She will be in a huge city, so that will be different for her. She is so excited and happy. A new step in our lives and a wonderful experience for her! What a wonderful gift for us all!

Family Christmas Party

We went to Jackson Hole last weekend for our Christensen Family Christmas Party. It was Kents turn and it is so fun when we get to go there and party! We held it at a condo at the Snow King Resort. Kim works there, so it is great! It snowed on Friday night, so there was a little bit on the ground. Not enough to ski or board, even though they opened then. The family who came on Saturday had a horrible time with the snow, they couldn't even see the car in front of them! I'm glad we went Friday and missed that part.

On the way we stopped to see our friends in Montpelier. We don't see them much, so it was good to visit with them. They are so hospitable and friendly, it was great to take some time just to visit and see how they were.

We only had Jim, Shauntae, Wyatt, Kari, her friend Jake and us. Not too many. I'm glad that the others didn't try to drive it by themselves because it was dangerous. Jim hit a moose... It didn't hurt it or their car, which was soooo lucky. They went a different way than us and a day earlier. We didn't even have wet roads most of the way.

We were in the condo next to Kinos family so it was cool being close to some of the others. Grandpa rode with us but stayed with them. I think he enjoyed himself, but he was so sad during it. I know he misses Bessie so much. We need to try to get to his house more often so he doesn't have time to be too sad. ( Which I guess will never happen, because he DOES miss her so much!)

We had excellant food, good visits, games and excited kids! I think that is what makes it so fun. They are all growing up so fast and we won't have that excitement for too long. I thought it was beautiful up there. I have always liked going there since my sisters family lived there at one time and we would visit whenever we could.

I hope we keep up with the party, even if the family gets larger and we lose some members. It is about the only time we get to just be together. Isn't that what family is about????

Have a great Christmas. I hope you are all ready. I still have a little more to do and some baking to get done, but I am almost there! I love this time of year. It just goes by too fast for me!

Gina Tagged me on this one! It's an easy and fun one, hope you have fun with it, too!

Tag 4:4:4:4 Here is how it works.

1. Open your photos folder

2. Go to your 4th folder and pick the 4th photo

3. Up load it

4. Tag 4 others

I tag Jenny, Diane, Sondra, and Kate! Have fun!!!