Sleepovers and Sisters

On our way home from Ogden, Grandpa and Kacen sat next to each other in the car and enjoyed each others company, lots! Sometimes I would here Kacen say "Again" repeatedly and then at other times he could be heard saying "Don't Grandpa."

That Grandpa, he can be silly and fun and pesky all at the same time. Controlling the movements of Kacen's hands, Grandpa and Kacen would do 'Cheers'. You know... Rah, Rah, Shish Boom Bah... Gooooo Kacen! Which would garner an "Again".

"Don't Grandpa" could be heard when Grandpa was playing with Kacen's ears and neck. It's no fun when getting tickled against your will!


If you've seen the movie White Christmas, with Bing Crosby, you may recall the song Sisters. Well, I've been chuckling and thinking of that song ever since we had our sleepover, in December after going to see the Ogden City Lights!

Paul had to go home after our trip to Ogden, that darn homework, and so Heather and the children spent the night. Alona, Abbi and Kacen slept on the floor in Grandpa's dressing, exercise room. While trying to get them settled in I found a CD of beautiful Christmas songs which were performed with flutes. Knowing it has relaxing qualities, I turned it on and turned off the lights. A bit later I could here voices coming from the room so I peeked inside. Abbi was chatting away. I asked if they would prefer the door open or closed? Naturally, I received different replies from the sisters. Alona then let me know "Abbi always wants the door closed and I always want it open." So, I left it open a little. Even later on I walked past thier room and still heard a sweet, angelic voice and peeked my head in again. Alona saw me and said. "I always want to go to sleep but Abbi always keeps talking and talking." I couldn't help but smile.

Sharing a room with a chatty sister reminds me of my childhood years sharing a room with TWO sisters. Two sisters with white mice, cat skulls, perfectly dyed Easter Eggs - yellow, it looked really pretty perched on the soda bottle. It just became very smelly, over time. And a clock radio set to wake us on the loudest setting!

Man! I didn't have to get up as early as my two older sisters, yet that volume didn't seem to phase them. After burying my head under my pillow, tossing and turning, trying, with futility, to go back to sleep, it was usually me who got out of bed to turn down or turn OFF the clock radio while my sisters snoozed away!

The white mice were extra creepy to share a room with because they knew how to escape from their cage. I had the hardest time going to sleep while they were in residence. Never knowing if a mouse would make it's way to my warm bed, or nibble on my feet was more than this lily liver could handle.

Sisters, Sisters.
There were never such devoted sisters.
Caring, Sharing.
All kinds of weather, we stick together.

After chatting and music, the little ones finally nodded off to sleep. The next morning we went to our ward Christmas party.... more on that later!

What's so Special about January?

If I could be half as disciplined as my sweet husband, I would be.... better! In an ongoing effort to encourage me, he has challenged me to set a goal to keep a journal this year (2009). It's a great idea! I can record fun things we do, funny and/or memorable things our grandchildren say, milestones in the lives of our selves and our children and their families, struggles and triumphs. Great idea!

To this end, I've decided to include significant memories I have from the past, by month.

January: Winter, Cold, White, Long

My sister Jane was born in January, 1955. She is the oldest child in our family, the first of five girls with one brother. She let me live with her for awhile in 1981 upon my return from Germany, where I lived with my parents and younger siblings for 5 years. On her birthday we also celebrate our nephew Ben's birthday (he's so handsome, I think he should do print modeling - but he thinks it's not for him) I'll have to take a photo of him to post and illustrate my opinion. Benjamin is the son of Reid and Charmalee Earl - Charmalee is my sister.

Jane and Ben also celebrate their birthdays with a grand nephew, Taber. Taber is the son of Natalie Earl, another off-spring of Reid and Charmalee. Taber makes me laugh. He's a little Ben. He idolizes his Uncle Ben, too! I'm pretty sure he'll turn 12 this year! Wow, a deacon!

Jennifer Jean Morgan (now McGregor) was also born in January, 1976.

A Bi-Centennial baby!

Jennifer was the first grand-child in the Blakeley family (her Mother's side). She was the cutest little thing. Now, she's a big bad teacher at Northridge High School! Well, she's actually quite petite but still a teacher! I'm sure she could easily get lost in the crowd of students and even be mistaken as one.

Val's Mom, Caren Bagley, also celebrates her birthday in January. Caren is a very talented lady. She is an accomplished pianist, quilter, crafter, seamstress, raises birds and bunnies, has a very green thumb and much more. She even paints! One of my favorite paintings is of a fawn in a woodland setting. She and my father-in-law Honey, live in Midway.

As a teenager, I went skiing every January weekend with my family. We had a season pass at Powder Mountain, in the Ogden Valley. I'm sooo old, I remember when it opened. I even worked there on weekends during a couple of seasons. Except for the steep, curving mountain road, it's a fun place to visit!

Another significant thing about Powder Mountain is that one of the original owners was Dr. Cobabe, the man who delivered me on my birthday, at St. Benedict's Hospital! Yes. I was sprinkled a Catholic on the day I was born! I'm a Mormon, now.

January is also the month Val proposed to me! It was a cold January night. So cold, the night air crystallized. After a nice dinner at Cafe Pierpont, Val took me on a carriage ride around downtown Salt Lake City and asked me if I would marry him. I said, "I would love to!" He had all the elements of what i wanted in a marriage proposal. It was sweet, private and romantic. Val incorporated the 'sweet' part by having my engagement ring put inside a chocolate candy from Mrs. Cavanaugh's. Very sweet on many layers! The privacy was of course the carriage ride around the city. Romance came in the form of him playing 'our song' Unforgettable!

A funny thing about the romantic part... Val called and requested the song from one of the radio stations he listens to; when it played, he recorded it with his cassette recorder (did I mention I'm old?) in preparation for the evening carriage ride. After the proposal he played the song for us. Well, he must have forgotten to check the batteries, or it was so cold outside it affected the batteries because it was a very slow rendition of the song and very funny. Alas, all was not lost. After we returned to my house, we plugged in the cassette player, replayed the song and danced together! So romantic!

Delightful December!

Excluding the need to buy a new washer and dryer this month, December was a fun month and here's why...

Dinner and Lights in Ogden
December 12th Paul & Heather and our darling grandchildren drove up from Provo to spend the night. Friday evening we went to Chuck-a-Rama for dinner and then went to the city square to see the Christmas display. As a child, I would go there every year with my family and remember those treks with fondness. Going with grandchildren was even more fun! The display has grown over the years and it really was great. There is a new amphitheater with stage; when we arrived a lady was singing Christmas carols. It was a nice backdrop to all of the displays.

Alona and Abbi wanted to go see Santa Claus (I think Alona wanted to see if it would be the real Santa or a pretend Santa - she saw both this past holiday season!) So, rather than going directly to the line to the Santa cabin, I suggested we had to find him.

Our stroll around the square looking for Santa Claus was fun indeed. We peeked inside a little building that was a soda shop. They served hot chocolate at the soda shop and unfortunately one of the Snowmen drank a mug and melted right there in the shop! His hat and scarf were lying in a puddle on the floor and his friend (another Snowman) was sitting in shock next to his seat.

Temperatures were mild during our stroll. Can you believe we also came upon the Grinch! He was trying to find Whoville, I think. Even though he is a Grinch (small heart) he did let us have our photo taken with him. Not only was he confused about the direction of Whoville, he also thought our little Abbi was Cindy Lou Who. Silly Grinch! Abbigail Bagley is much cuter than Cindy Lou Who.

Strolling hand in hand with Abbi was so sweet for me. We talked and visited like two girlfriends... she told me about school (she's going to school you know, and taking a computer class). She has homework, which her Mommy helps her with, as needed. Abbi also helps Kacen, her brother, with his homework. Abbi also told me "Santa is very scary."


We strolled and visited, peeking in each building looking for the real Santa (I mean one that wasn't made of plastic or stuffed with poly stuffing) when we finally found Santa's cabin, with a long line. Undaunted, we hopped in line and visited some more while we inched closer and closer to see him. Alona and I also enjoyed visiting. She and I looked for words that started with the letter K and she would read the words to me. She also brought me up to speed on all of the things she is learning at school. She is very smart!

While we were waiting for our turn to see Santa, I asked Alona if she thought it would be the real Santa or a pretend Santa. She said she wouldn't know until she saw him! I suggested that it would be one of Santa's helpers because Santa was so busy at the North Pole getting everything ready for Christmas.

While we were waiting in line Heather treated the girls to a cup of Hot Chocolate. Of course it was very hot, too hot for little ones to partake of right away. So, we lifted the lids and blew and vistied some more. Alona likes Warm Chocolate better than Hot Chocolate (didn't I tell you she is smart!) After a few minuites of Heather cooling off Alona's cup and me blowing on Abbi's, they were able to enjoy warm chocolate.

With our visit to Santa complete, we headed back through the square to find the car all the while enjoying displays of Christmas. The guys, Paul, Val and Kacen were ahead of us so just us girls wandered through another section of the square and came upon the Nativity scene. Even though it was roped off, Alona and Abbi managed to get close. Abbi patted the camel's head and wished him Happy Birthday. She wanted to ride him, but that was an off limits area, so we had to say no. While looking at the Nativity, we sang Away in a Manger together then headed off to the car. Abbi wished them all a Happy Birthday one last time!

We had such a wonderful time and best of all, it included a sleepover! Which I'll tell you all about in another post.