Happy Birthday Frances!!

Happy day to you - and all year through!!

A fine Saturday!!

After last week's havoc, it was nice to have a quiet week that ended with a temple outing with Greg and Miella.  They will be getting married on June 29th - and that will be another fine Saturday, that's for sure!

Many other ward members came, but this was all we could round up outside for a photo shoot.  It was a beautiful day - inside and out!

And a happy day to Maddy too!!

Fun to remember all the good summer times with the Kerksieks - happy day today to Maddy!!

Happy Day to Alice!

It's great to have friends, and it's great to have sisters.  And the best is to have sisters who are your friends!

 

Alice is my sister - and my friend!

 

And she has a great husband too.

 

My sisters, my friends - happy day to you today Alice - and best wishes all year through!!

Happy Birthday Grandma Stevens!

My Grandma Stevens was a wonderful grandma. She always seemed happy to see us.  She came often for visits, and when she did, she brought us gifts.  She knitted sweaters for us, she bought dolls at Christmas time, and she always had Quaker Puffed Rice in her pantry!!  I was certainly happy to have her there when I got married.

 

As a young woman, she left Kentucky and came to Utah.  Her mother wanted her to go there and find a Mormon husband.  She met my grandpa, who not only was not a Mormon, he disliked Mormons.  But that's another story.  Suffice it to say that she was a stenographer and always typed her letters to me!!  (She was a great correspondent during my college years!!)

 

She always wore lots of jewelry, and as a child I assumed the gems were real and valuable!!  They were costume jewelry, but that really made no difference to me!  They drove a Cadillac too - my grandpa worked for General Motors and got a new car every year - and I thought wealth began and ended with them!!  

And that's not a bad way to feel about your grandparents!!

Her birthday was the day before Alice's birthday - and she always said that a day later or an hour later, didn't matter - Alice missed her birthday!!

I am so grateful that I grew up with a grandma I loved - and who loved me back!!

Happy Day to you Grandma!

It's Pinewood Derby Time!!

Porter was pretty excited - and enjoyed the evening.

 

I love how the men all stand around enjoying it.  The women seem to sit and visit!!

 

Greg even came along!!

 

The coy Miss Isla!!

 

 Cheering on the boys.

Harry made a car too - and they let him participate - he just couldn't claim a prize - although they gave him a certificate - for name of his pack it said "Up and Coming!"

We had 19 boys participate - for our little stake, that is a big turnout.  A wonderful time was had by all!!

I love working in Cub Scouts!!

Happy Birthday Uncle Steve!

Uncle Harry, the oldest child in the family.  His birthday is in January.

 

Uncle Steve was next in line.  It's his birthday today!!  He would be 97.

 

And this is my mom - Grandma Clayton - who has a birthday in May.

I think about families and groups of siblings and my own siblings and my own children - and realize that families come in all shapes and sizes!  They have their own dynamics.  I often wish I'd probed a little more when I was interacting with my uncles.  I ask my mom lots of questions, but of course it is just from her perspective.  Actually I should ask questions of myself, so that I don't forget about the family dynamics I grew up with.  Sometimes it all starts to blur!!

What I do know is that my Uncle Steve was a jolly, happy kind of guy.  I always felt better after I'd been around him.  I enjoyed being in his home.  He was as cheerful as his picture looks!!

Here's to siblings - the best kind of friends to have!!

Happy Birthday Bruce!!

Happy day to Bruce - our favorite oldest son-in-law!!  So sorry to have missed the celebration - we had been looking forward to it all week.  But we were impacted by the Monrovia brush fire - spent the evening wondering if we were going to have to evacuate!!

A stressful situation that Bruce could totally relate to!

Hope it's a great day - and a wonderful year ahead, "Bruce baby" - as Bonny would say!!

Eliza is 30

Eliza is 30 today and my apologies for bumping Barbara's post--read that post too. I am not as skilled as Eliza at this, but here is my shot at it:

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

30 years!!

30 years ago today, Eliza Marie came into our lives!

We were delighted to once again have a baby in the house.

We've chronicled all the important events in her life, and there are lots of happy memories.

She set this up - and was pleased with her efforts.  Eliza was a creative child - and now she's a creative young woman!!

We often called them "the little kids" as opposed to the "big kids" who were around.  It was fun - and good training for the "big kids" to learn about taking care of kids.

A happy teen.  It was so hard to send her off to college at the tender age of 17!!  But she handled it just fine.

Now she's the mom of three cute kids.  And she's a wonderful mother!!

Her cute husband Matt - we are so glad to have him in the family.  We've always appreciated her good taste.

A fave photo of mine from Harry and Dawn's wedding. 

Much like Phoebe's arrival after 5 long years, Eliza's arrival after 6 years was a special time in our lives.  We've always felt that she was worth the wait!!  Every child has come into our home on their own special terms - and we have been delighted to welcome them all!!

Bonny and Phoebe celebrated turning 30 with month-long celebrations.  If you do too, be sure to let us know how much fun you had!!

Here's to the next 30 years - and all the joy and adventure they will undoubtedly bring!!

California Dreamin'

Every time I look at this cute treasure from Hannah, I smile.

Monday Night at the Movies

Monday  was a crazy day - finding out about the bombing at the marathon - talking with Harry and Eliza.  Felt a little at loose ends.  So when Noah texted did I still want to go to the show - we had planned it on Saturday as our FHE activity - I thought it would be good to distract myself with a movie.

It was a great distraction.  The film is well-done, well-acted, and quite moving.

Plus, I just love a big-screen home run - the thwack of the bat, the camera following the ball out of the park, the jog around the bases!!

Dinner after at Cafe Merengue topped off the evening just right!

Who knows what the day will bring??

I posted this photo on Facebook, but I know some of those who like to know what's going on in our family don't do FB, so I'm doing a little update on the blog.

I posted this finish line photo from 2005 because I didn't want the bad guys to get the last word!  Harry was a mile from the finish line when the bombs went off.  They didn't hear them or even see the smoke right away; he said everyone just stopped.  The word filtered through that the race had been stopped, and Harry decided to take off through a residential neighborhood to get to where Matt and Eliza were waiting for him.

While at school, I had no idea what was going on.  I don't usually check my phone or the internet while I am teaching.  So when the office manager sent me a note asking me to come to the principal's office at the beginning of lunch, I thought some parent had complained about me!!  She told me that there had been bombs at the Boston finish line.  She offered her phone and her office for me to do any calling and contacting I needed to do.

I got hold of Eliza, who said they were waiting for Harry.  Then Harry called me and said would I get a message to Eliza about the street he was following to get to them.  We didn't talk much - he was anxious to meet up with everyone.  I finally looked at my cell phone - and there were 17 messages!!

It went like that for the rest of the day - text messages, voicemails, calls, emails.  I had asked Eliza and Bonny to put something on Facebook so people would know everyone was okay - at least every Terrill was!!  Noah texted me at 3:30 asking if we were still going to go to the show at 4:30.  I figured we could do with a little distraction!  So we went and saw 42 - which we enjoyed - and then out to dinner.  We came home to more emails, texts, and calls.

Talked with Eliza - who pointed out that Harry had had about 10 minutes worth of delays towards the end of the race - and he was running 10 minute miles - slow for him, but he does have that "bum hip!'  And the bombs went off when he was at the 25 mile mark.  You do the math - and the delays kept him from being at the finish line when the chaos began.

Small mercies indeed!

Matt, Eliza and kids are just about now driving into their neighborhood.  Hopefully Harry is asleep and not being awakened by leg cramps.  I have tried to answer the text messages, emails, and phone messages.  (I'm compulsive that way!)  Harry is scheduled to fly home tomorrow morning.  I will be glad to see him!!

Many are posting the famous quote from Mr. Rogers about looking for the helpers whenever something scary happens - good advice!!

And the word is that the 4,000 runners who didn't get to finish will get to finish next year!

I don't think the bad guys have a prayer!

Getting ready to run!!

Harry is in Boston - hopefully in bed asleep by now - for the Marathon.  Once again my Spring Break was too early for Boston - but I'm getting tired of not getting to go - so I may just have to take Personal Leave next year!!

Anyway, they visited Concord - and he forwarded this and some other photos of the grandkids - so grateful to Matt and Eliza for making the effort to be his support team!!

I don't have his bib number, but he said you can just put in his name and you can track him online.

Go Harry!!

Saying good-bye to an old friend!

The memorial service today for Don Johnson was very nice.  Centre Stage was in attendance and did some great performing.  Jenna gave a lovely eulogy, and Robbie sang some numbers with Kevin Rose and Keely Milikin that were very nice.  There was a bagpiper doing "Amazing Grace" and "Danny Boy."  And a 21 gun salute and "Taps."

Afterwards there was a reception at the house - lots of good food and plenty of familiar faces:  Kristin and Charlie Mendel, Tony Tedei, Mrs. Rittenhouse, Sandee Gray, Maria Gray, Margaret Mira, Sue Wiliams, Kip and Judy Gomez, Jo and Bailey Porter, Robin Sieverling, and others I recognized but didn't know their names!

Eliza, Erin mentioned that your note was very sweet and she truly appreciated it.

Thinking about Don brought back memories of Girl Scouts and Brownies and Mayflower and Clifton and train trips and Mammoth and Girls' Camp - all the aspects of our friendship with the Johnsons.

Friends are indeed precious.

Happy Siblings Day!!

Siblings Day was undoubtedly invented by Hallmark!!  But there is nothing wrong with acknowledging a group of people who help define who you are!!  I love having 5 sisters - not sure I always did - not sure I ever thought much about it - it was just the way things were!

 

Same goes for having 6 brothers - it's just the way it was!!  Since I was one of the older siblings, some of my younger brothers feel more like nephews - but I'm glad they are willing to stay connected.

Happy day to all of you - you know, "the Clayton kids!!"

More spring time visitors!!

Enjoyed a Spring Break visit from Amy, Phil and family - and Madison too!!  On their way to Magic Mountain, they stopped by for snacks and chatter - and a wonderful time was had by all!

Spring Break - alas, it's ending!!

Took the Red-Eye to D.C. last Monday - for a quick visit with Eliza, Matt, and kids.  Always great to see them!

 

A trip to D.C. is always a good deal - a two for one!!  Fun to hang out with "the little girls!!"

 

And fun to spend time with Hannah and Robbie too - and test out their new air mattress!  Their house is tiny but warm and friendly!!

 

Hannah knows all the good places in D.C. - like The Yards - a park by the naval yard - and an old steel foundry.

 

Tough to get a "natural" looking photo of a kid who sees a camera and says "cheese!!"

 

She said "cheese" too!!

 

Actually, Lars did too!

 

What's an outing without snacks?

 

It was breezy but warming up!!

 

I had hoped to see all the cherry blossoms in bloom - but this is about all we got - it's been so cold, the trees are not blooming yet.  That's the old steel foundry in the background.

 

The naval yard - with a ship in it!!  Fancy that!

 

There may not have been cherry blossoms - but there were daffodils EVERYWHERE!!  Maybe that's even better than cherry blossoms!!

 

Got in some story time each day and night.

Hannah and I spent a day in D.C. - exploring DuPont Circle and it's charming shops and eateries - found a fun yarn store and dropped in at the textile museum - but only one room was open.  It's a nice building anyway.  Also passed a row house with a plaque saying that this had been the home of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt from 1916 to 1920.  D.C. is a great city - just driving around or walking around is tons of fun.

It was really nice to spend a few days with everyone - and a change is as good as a rest, right??

Came home to some more "remodeling" - the painters were painting the closet and cupboards in our bedroom.  Harry was thinking those have only ever been painted twice - so this was the third time - this is a 60 year old house too!

Back to school on Monday - alas, all good things come to an end!!

But we have the Betsy-Tacy tour to look forward to!!