My mom's mother, our famous, wonderful, talented, beautiful, intelligent, loving, sweet, incredible Grandmother Turtle is 94 years old and between my brother Mark's family and ours, we had 4 of her great grandchildren that she had never met. Even though we only had a few days, it was well worth the trip. I've always loved being with Grandma Turtle. She has a gift for telling stories that keep you on the edge of your seat. Every detail she describes is so vivid, you feel like you are right there, a part every one. When I was little, she wrote childrens stories about Joy and me--Grandmother Was a Turtle and Gus the Gopher--and now I'm reading them to my girls. And even better than those are the stories she tells of her own childhood or of her days as a mother or young newlywed. On this trip, I got to hear about when Grandma was about Ryn's age and she would go on shopping trips to Salt Lake City with her mother and the grand lunches they would enjoy at the Hotel Utah (now the Joseph Smith Memorial Building). I wish I had a few months where I could just go and stay with her and record story after story from her exciting life.
Some of my favorite memories with Grandma Turtle include the many wonderful tea parties she would host at every visit. We would set a little table with a cloth, plates, cups, and napkins and then we would prepare koolaid and tiny finger foods (cinnamon sugar toast cut into tiny squares was the best :) ) and sit down to the most well-mannered table time ever seen in our home :). Even my brothers loved being a part of these tea parties. Another fun tradition was that she and Grandpa always brought us surprises, usually from their latest trip to some exotic place. So the first night of every visit, we would all sit around the family room with our eyes closed and our hands held out and she would come around and place our newest treasure in our arms. It was always something wonderful. We loved our stamp collections she started with us. And, of course, no visit was complete until she had a too-close-up-for-comfort photo of each one of us :), usually grabbed just before or after church. As an adult, I have loved talking with Grandma about so many things. She always gives good advice (definitely should have listened about the natural childbirth warnings ;) ), generous praise and encouragement, a positive outlook, and so, so much love. How thankful I am for this wonderful woman and for the practically perfect daughter she raised to be my mother.
We were lucky enough to stop in Vegas and spend a day with Kevin's sister, Jody, and her family. I have never seen cuter cousins than Josh, Zack, and Anna. They melt my heart every time we are with them. We stayed 2 nights there and before bed, Anna made sure she had a great story to read to the girls. Josh and Zack were glued to the 2 feet in front of Darren, making him smile and giggle almost as much as Jody did. And we found out that Dan and Kevin will have to have a grill-off the next time we're together to see who makes the best burger ;)
We loved their great pool, but mainly we just loved being with them.
Besides all this great fun, we also found a sweet hotel with Mark and Aup and Teairsa and Tennyson
and spent a great day at the beach with them. We got to learn Karate Kid moves
build sand castles and bury mermaids
and the water wasn't even that cold :). We loved every minute.
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