Monday Memories

I know, I know, I'm a little late (okay a lot late). I could go on and on about why I didn't get around to doing this until now, but I'm just going to say that life happens. I actually thought of this weeks memories on Monday (does that count?). As Erik and I were at the rodeo Monday night I was thinking about how it was J's first time having a sleepover at Mimi's (when we lived there it didn't really count as a sleepover) and I thought of the first time I can remember staying at my Grandma & Grandpa Wahlquist's without my parents. It was when Toni was born. I don't remember much about the stay, just that it happened and that brought back a flood of memories about Grandma & Grandpa's house in Toquerville. I remember the willow tree in the back and how we'd always make crowns out of it's branches. I remember one of my cousins twisting the branches together to make a pair of shoes. I remember going to the pond at the back of their property. There's so many things that remind me of them so I'm just going to make a list of all the things that I think of when I think of Grandma & Grandpa Wahlquist

Going to family reunions with ALL the cousins (which brings back a whole other set of memories)
Grandpa playing his guitar
Grandma's garden & and her rose bushes
shelling peas on their back patio
playing dress ups in the basement of their house in Hurricane
playing pit (a.k.a spoons)
Grandma's cooking (especially her bread)
homemade ice cream
Grandpa giving us "horsey rides on his knees" (this is the way the girls ride walk, walk, walk. . .)
Grandma's bell collection
Kneeling down around the kitchen table for prayer at dinner time with Grandpa ALWAYS holding Grandma's hand
Grandma helping to make gifts for Mom on Mother's day (my Mom still has a little bottle that Grandma helped us to glue beads on)
Their big Afghan dog (and later on Callie, their barking fur ball of a dog with her "lion" hair cuts in the summer)

I'm grateful that I have such amazing grandparents and the opportunity I had to live so close to them growing up and the great example they were to me. Some of my fondest memories are from the few months that I was able to live with them before I get married. I LOVE you Grandma and think of you and Grandpa often!