Christmas 2012

So Christmas came and went at super sonic speeds. I have ABSOLUTELY enjoyed this Christmas. The last few months have been so chaotic, it was nice to have some down time and reconnect with my family and friends.

Here is some pictures of the our holiday and of course the rest of Chip our Elf.... beginning with Chip using reese's pieces to spell...Santa Says Hi!



 

Marshmallow fight anyone?

I was down with the flu this day so Kenzie took the pic...Chip left a coloring book

Elves do love syrup

Flirting with Barbie.....

Evil elf was back this night...

Chip went ahead and wrapped him up to go back to the South Pole.

Chip left a special invitation for Makenzie this morning to join him that evening for a special surprise. He was waiting in the car and ready to go for a ride to take in all the Christmas lights around town....and to have some hot cocoa when he got back home.

This Chip adventure got two thumbs up from Makenzie.

Of course we had to include some shenanigans with Makenzie's underwear since it upsets her so much that the Elf is messing with her undies...Chip made a zipline

And he had a blast!

It snowed...well at least a little bit Christmas Eve.....

Christmas Eve at the in-laws

 

Christmas day.....Santa brought Nexus tablets for the twins ( I have not seen their faces since)....Makenzie got lots of Monster High dolls and dollhouse. I did not get many pictures Christmas day because I was packing for our trip to Idaho the next day....we headed back to the in-laws later to finish opening gifts.

We took off for Idaho the next morning...in a snow storm.....and I will say because the twins had their tablets it was the quietest drive to Idaho we have ever taken........I took a picture of the Snowville exit, I figured it was fitting amongst the blizzard.

Me and my sister know who moms favorite child is....yes....this is her favorite child!

The kids had tons of money to spend that they got for Christmas so we shopped all day Thursday and then us adults went to dinner and a movie. The next day they still had some money to spend so we took off to Boise and spent the day at the mall. My niece Gabby came into town with her boyfriend Jessie and we went out for pizza that night. The next day we spent with my dad and his wife Jodi at Big Al's. We had a great lunch and watched some sports on some "moderately" sized T.V. screens

Then a bowling game that I actually scored over 50...and that is incredible for me

And then played some arcades and games...

and of course won some wonderful prizes....

We ate and ate...and shopped and shopped....and laughed and laughed...we even played some Clue...mom never wins at this game....and....she still has not won.

 

 

We came home Sunday. It was a great Christmas and I am glad I got to share it with both sides of the family.

 

 

Merry Christmas 2012!

" I am pretty sure you deserved that beating!"

I am not old per say...I am officially middle age now....I remember my parents at the age I am now.....maybe I am old?

When I hear people say they were born in the 80's... or....the dreaded 90's....seriously there is nothing worse than sitting in one of my classes at school and hearing the birthdate of a fellow student is the year I graduated high school....damn whipper snappers and their youthful glow!

So my generations parents still believed in the corporal punishment..meaning...getting your butt whipped for wrong doings. There was no such thing as time out, or meaningful psychiatric sessions on why you decided to shave the dog with your mothers razor....you were not allowed to defend yourself....you were guilty before proven innocent.

And normally most people around my relative age or older have that story....you know that....

 "STORY"

That "Story" you pull out during the holidays in the presence of your parents about that unjustified beating you received as a child. You share the ghastly experience with much flair, oomph, and pizazz, about the injustice of pain that was brought down upon you, and how you will never forget it.

and normally your parents reaction is a blank stare followed up by the statement ....

"I am sure you deserved the beating!"

...and then they share several other examples of beatings that may have been justified...like painting your bedroom wall with Vaseline or shutting the family dogs tail in the door....

..and there you are left with no justice or apology..just various examples of wrong doings of your childhood....so you tuck it away in your back pocket to bring up at the next family celebration in hopes your parents will see the wrongs of their way.

My father shared his "STORY" while at a family reunion... and I even took a picture of the scene of the punishment or crime against humanity ....whatever you want to call it....

Lets face it, everyone has that "STORY", and we all understand and listen to these "STORIES" because we all have one and feel their injustice.

My father was playing in this area with his cousin. There was an old abandoned car that was his grandfathers that sat here, and the kids would play in the car. You can't see in the photo but there is a creek that runs through town, and it is a steep V shape,the walls are concrete with jagged rocks all along it. Well my dads mom brought my dads younger brother, and their other cousin outside, and asked my dad to watch after them. My dad states, that his mother looked at Miles (my dads brother) and Brenda ( my dads cousin) before going back inside and told them to stay away from the creek. About this time his other cousin (Cheryl) is having a hard time opening the car door on the abandoned car so my dad begins to help her, and he is just tall enough to see over the hood of the car, to see Brenda take Miles hand go to the edge of creek and fall down the steep concrete walls down to the creek and out of sight of my dad. Brenda did not let go, she took Miles with her. Miles was young, maybe 4 at most. Dad goes to the creek and Brenda is a little scrapped up, but just wet, but his baby brother was tumbling down the creek with reckless abandon. Luckily Mile's caught the edge of a rock further down the creek and washed up the side of the concrete walls. He had blood pouring from his head and face, he was beat up.

My dad gets him, and walks him back to the house. By this time his mom was outside, and here comes dad with his bloody baby brother in tow. Which by the way, Miles still has a scar on his chin from this incident.

Now here is where the "STORY" part is. It was technically Brenda's fault..but here is the problem, Brenda is mentally handicapped...so not really accountable...so who is accountable...the one left in charge even though he could have done nothing to prevent it. Brenda was patted on the head and asked if she was okay and then my dads mother picked him up, and as he says, "gave him the beating of his life!" ...and then his aunt (Brenda's mother) comes outside and pats Brenda on the head and then proceeds to pick up my dad and beat him also. So not just one beating, but two were given that day, even though it was Brenda's fault.

If my grandmother and great aunt were still alive I am sure their response would be.......

"I am sure he deserved the beating!"

So this takes place in 1950's now lets fast forward to about 1980 or so....and let me share my "STORY".

I know my mom thinks I am going to share the "Christmas/Ungrateful Brat" incident....

That "STORY" is debatable..I got my butt beat...it was more my sisters fault that things escalated.... but she was past the butt beating age... so I was the one that got the wrath of a haggard, tired mother on Christmas day.....It is a "STORY" but there is some reasonable doubt involved in that "STORY".....because I may, or may not have, kicked my sister in the shin at some point in that "STORY".....

Anyways I have a "STORY" where there is no reasonable doubt....I was beat, punished,....and...dare I say tortured.....

That is right...my parents probably have the quizzical look on their face right now...this was moms doing...so dad your off the hook.

Children of the 80's remember the beloved Hot Cycle?

Mine was that girl one.....with the blue and pink.....I loved that thing!!

So I had just gotten that beloved cycle, and me and the neighbor girl were playing together. We were taking turns on the bike and then this neighbor girl decided to no longer share MY bike...she would not give it back...so we began to argue back and forth. My mom must have heard us arguing, she came outside, grabbed me, and beat my butt in front of this neighbor girl, and then told me to go inside. Mom let this girl ride my Hot Cycle the rest of the day. I was sharing...the neighbor girl was not sharing.......and she was rewarded... and I was beat.

My mother does not have a response for this story, she decided to go with,

 "I don't remember doing that, that never happened!"......

The ol' I don't remember angle..uh huh....

It is my "STORY" and I remember it like it was yesterday.


I bring all this up because in one of the twins classes they exchange a journal back and forth with their teacher. One of the questions the teacher asked was, "What has been the worst day your life"..... The response of the twin was...

... the day she was sent to her room... not once,......not twice...but three times for various things that were not her fault!

So I am prepared and I am armed for the day when we are sitting around ...when they are adults with their own children...and she brings up this day of infamy in her head...

...the day injustice was done to her......and shares her "STORY" with me....

and I can say.......

"I am pretty sure you deserved it!"

Let Me Tell You A Little Bit About A Man I Have Never Met.

Do you have those months that seem to go by like a blur? This last month was crazy busy...between work, the girls and I going back to school, and all the other daily life tasks that need to be done. I am not ready to discuss the minor anxiety attacks I already have had over school. I just keep trying telling myself to take a deep breath and relax ....but some days my body and head are not working together in a calm organized fashion.

Anyways I had a weekend trip to look forward to ...take my mind off of conversions and ratio exams for pharmacology. I had planned a trip to my dads childhood home. My dad did not live there his whole childhood but it is the place he calls home. I have not lived in Idaho since seventh grade and yet I always call Idaho home..so... Creede, Colorado is his home.

 

 

The reason for going was a family reunion. The Miles/Fairchild reunion....my great grandmother divorced and remarried a Fairchild so like most families nowadays it was a blended family. It is kind of funny because you can tell which side of the family people came from. The Fairchild side had  fair features..blue eye's, fair hair... and the Miles side exudes their Native American dark features...dark eye's and dark hair. 

 

 

This is the first time my dad has been back since his grandmother passed away, which was in the mid 70's. I think it brought back a flood of memories...good memories and memories of those who have since passed on. I personally have not met most of my dads family, I grew up with my dads brothers, and my grandma, a great aunt... that was virtually like a grandma, and some of my dads cousins ....but that was about it. It was finally a chance to connect all the stories I have heard over the years with faces and places.

 

My dads side of the family that I grew up around was loud, amazing story tellers, they drank a lot, teased ruthlessly, swore profusely,  and laughter was never lacking. They were big huggers, amazing cooks, and overall kind people. The Creede family...the family I have never met.. was exactly like the family that I grew up around. It is a blend of families... some look like the Miles side and some look like the Fairchild side..ultimately they are all family and come together as one.

 

I have stories I could share, and pictures to go along with them,  I want to share some because for me this is a journal in a sense and I don't want to forget some of things I heard this weekend....but homework is sitting next to me, calling my name, so stories will wait another day. However, tonight I would like to share one part of my trip and I think the most memorable.

 

 

My dads father passed away when my dad was a young teen. Talk about moments in your life that forever change you. He died of a heart attack, so it was sudden. The last time my dad has been in this spot is basically June 21, 1963. My grandpa was buried in Cedaredge, Colorado...not in Creede. His family lived in this town and kind of took over the funeral arrangements and he ended up here, but I think most in the family agree he would have preferred being buried in Creede.

 

I obviously never met my Grandfather. So here is what I have been told....

 

...his first name was Butler...but no one called him that ...he went by Bryan..his middle name

 

 

 

He worked in the mines...He is the one in the middle of the picture below.

 

 



 

My dad remembers him working the mines but my dad mostly remembers him being an Asayer in the mines. This is the guy who chemically figures out how much silver, gold, zinc etc was being mined in a particular spot.Below is a picture of the kind of equipment he used.

 

He helped construct and owned this theater in Creede.

 

 

 

He helped with the plans and construction of the local school. Apparently the mob came to town while building the school trying to convince my grandfather that it needed to be unionized. My grandfather said no, so they sent out a golden gloves boxer from out east to convince him otherwise....it did not go as planned..my grandfather knocked out the boxer in one punch...not so smart to mess with hard rock miners...they were as tough as the granite on the hills.

 

 



 

 

He loved my grandmother and my grandmother loved him. My grandmother gave me her wedding ring from my grandpa before she passed away..... I wear it on occasion.....

 

 

Friends and family said everyone loved him. He was fun and personable and all around a great guy. He is in the hat...second from the left....

 

 

 He was an undersheriff in Creede ( which is a deputy in Colorado ) also the coroner...It was a small town...everyone had a few jobs in town....One of my dads cousins is an undersheriff in town now. Just carrying on family tradition.

 

 



 

He loved his boys...his boys loved him...

 

 

He liked bourbon or whiskey. My dad has his Zippo lighter that he sat and flipped open and closed...sort of a habit of his...the lighter reminds my father of him....

 

So here is what I know..though I have never met my grandfather...I know he was there when my sister and I were born. He was there for holidays and when family came together to celebrate. He was there when I got married and when my babies were born.

 

...and.....

 

...I know he was there....

 

...when my father and I stood by his grave... and buried an amethyst stone from Creede beside his grave.....

 

...We brought a little piece of the place he loved back to him....

 

B. Bryan Beck  1912-1963

 

 

 

 

 



I Will Be With You Till We Meet Again

I went to a funeral yesterday. She was a neighbor of ours and though I did not know her really well or as long as most of those in our town, I did know her well enough that I felt I needed to go and pay my respects. She was always kind to me and for awhile we shared the church duty of providing food for relief society events. She had a great smile and her laugh made me laugh and she had a sweetness about her that reminded of my dear Aunt Wanda. As a listened to her friends and family share stories of her I was reminded of funerals I had been to, and how each has a certain impact on your life.

I remember my grandpa Howell's funeral, I was in 4th grade and it was my first experience with death that I could remember. It seemed like one day he was fine and the next day he was sick and than no longer with us. As a kid it was hard to process how someone could go so quickly but as an adult you are thankful that he did not suffer for a long period. He was a significant part of our life growing up and his dying made me process grief. It was a learning curve that we all experience in our life.

My grandmother Beck's death was not like my grandpa Howell's. Viv had been sick for a long time and when she passed away it was a relief that she was no longer in pain. As a family we have a lot of Viv stories, some good and some not so good. Coming from my point of view and my experience as Viv's granddaughter, she was always kind to me and I knew she loved me very much. She was a woman that could be cruel with those around her but for some reason she had a bond to me, and never once was she cruel to me, and all she ever gave me was unconditional love. I wish she could have been that way with others around her but I am thankful and grateful that I got to experience that side of her. At her funeral I remember touching her hand and saying quietly under my breath, " I hope you find the peace that I don't think you had here; thank you for your love."...I hope she has found peace.

My dear sweet Auntie Wanda. A woman that made you happy just being in her presence. Her death was also a sudden one. I dreaded going to the viewing because I did not know how I was going to deal with her no longer being here. When I saw her, all that anxiety went away, she was a unique soul that was so full of life, and her soul had moved on to a much better place. It was her body in the casket but everything that was Wanda, that unique soul, was no longer there so it was as though I was looking at a stranger. When I came back sometime later and visited where she had lived for all the years I had known her, that is where I felt her soul, that is where I heard her laugh and felt that precious presence of hers.

There has been other deaths and funerals along the way and they all have some kind of impact in some way. Yesterday I took the time to remember a sweet woman's life, there was laughter and tears and a peace felt throughout the room. Yesterday I remembered all of those who have passed on in my life and I am grateful for the time I did have with them. Like the church hymn says and I believe to be true ; I will be with you till meet again.

School Daze

This is my first grade report card it is fuzzy and hard to read when having to scan to fit into a blog but I would like to bring to your attention to the category work habits. Under work habits they are all X's except on the categories, avoids unnecessary talking and works independently. I received a check mark in those which is not good. Mrs. Beard was my first grade teacher and it was her last year teaching before she retired. She was strict and didn't take any crap from us students. She was a wonderful teacher though and loved all her students; even me, even though I couldn't seem to keep my mouth shut

I think this picture was second grade and I had Mrs. Pixler. I went to school at Lincoln Elementary. It was an old school but a great school. I remember popcorn Fridays, you could buy fresh popped popcorn on Fridays. They had a piece of play equipment on the playground called the "bridge". It was a huge wooden splintered ridden obstacle/jungle gym/imagination play area. It was HUGE! It had bridges and areas to sit and climb and hide. It had exposed nails and pieces broken off but playground safety was not a federal mandated concern back then. Once when I jumped off the bridge ( I was wearing a skirt) and I caught my underwear on an exposed nail on the bridge and it ripped my underwear clean off. I know another kid that caught his jeans doing the same thing and it ripped through his jeans and ripped off his underoos too, they were superman underoos. I recently saw the boy that this happened to added to someones friend list on facebook, Do you think I should send him a message relating this childhood memory? Do you think he would add me as a friend? Nah...that is what I thought too :) !!!

4th grade Mrs Bolton. I mentioned in earlier posts she was one of my favorite teachers. I am the student in the second row from the top in the middle with some weird black shadow on my dress and a lot of bangs. This was a different school, Washington Elementary. It was also and old school but some great memories. This is the peak of the 80' s era. It was a time of Michael Jackson; Rubik's cube, Duran Duran; break dancing, jelly shoes; and Ronald Reagan.

"sigh"....Junior High! What can I say about junior high other then it was pure hell. I had moved to a new state and could not figure out where I fit in. I meet my best friend whom I still call my best friend to this day. She was my saving grace during this time. She had just moved to the area also and I think we were two awkward teenagers looking for that person we could just be ourselves with. We spent hours at each others houses listening to INXS tapes and laughing about what had happened at school that day. To this day when we get together we still giggle like we were in junior high again.

This is it, my senior year picture. I think I finally figured out at this point who I was. I was probably most comfortable in my skin at this point. I no longer cared what the other kids in those senior pictures thought about me. I cared about the close friends I had and we had lots of fun. We would do the State Street drag; played hide and sneak in cemeteries, went to the dollar movies; played hooky from school, hung out at the pie with college kids because we wanted to pretend we were older then we were; hung out at the mall, and enjoyed just being kids.

I wonder what kind of memories my kids are making. They move on to 5th grade next year. I know there will be years that are wonderful and years they would like to forget. Would I want to go do it again...no...but I enjoyed the ride that I took and look forward to watching my kids school day memories unfold.