COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS - DAY 30 OF 30

Carry on family traditions.My father remembers his dad making rice krispie treats with chocolate chips on Christmas Eve.
I remember making them with my father for Christmas Eve. We'd snitch them and have to make another batch.
I make them with my boys on Christmas Eve and we always do an extra batch so we can snitch.

IT'S A WONDERFUL DAY TO

celebrate my grandfather's birthday and eat ice cream.Loving ice cream is an understatement. My grandfather LOVED ice cream and would sometimes even eat it for breakfast.
Two of his favorite ice cream treats were root beer floats and a half of a cantaloupe with vanilla ice cream in the center where the seeds were scooped out.
To remember him on his birthday, we eat one of these treats (and sometimes both.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!
WE LOVE AND MISS YOU!

PHOTO BOOTH

We've been looking through old photos and treasures. I love this photo booth photo!

When you find the chiclets teeth, you've found me.

1978 Germany
Dad, Grandpa Young, Michael (baby), Me, Ivon

CLEMENTINES

My grandfather used to tell me that one of his favorite parts of Christmas was getting an orange in his stocking Christmas morning.
He remembered them being so juicy and sweet and even eating the rind so none of it would go to waste.
When I eat clementines, I think of him and imagine him as a child with his siblings gobbling the juicy segments with delight, giggles and yummmmms.

I ASKED MY BROTHER AND SISTER

to paint me a picture of our grandparents. My brother did a woodburning inspired by this photo of our grandfather.

My sister did a painting inspired after this photo of our grandmother.

I love how this wall is coming together.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS TO DO

in Utah is visit with my family.
Stephanie and I went to see Grandma. In December she is turning 92 and we are already planning her 100th birthday party.
It is so fun to talk to her and listen to her stories. We had a great time visiting with her!
Her memory is starting to fade, so some of the stories get a little more interesting, which is fun. I'm sad about her memory loss starting - that is one of the things I'm not looking forward to when I get older. Grandma is an incredible seamstress. Even though her memories are getting a little fuzzy, her attention to detail is impeccable. She is making burp cloths for her little grand babies and the edging looks like a surger has done the work. Nope, they are hand done with perfectly spaced and height stitching. I was so impressed!

She loves maps and was showing Stephanie some villages in Scotland that we have family history in.

One of the highlights for me was looking at a book her mother had made for her. It is a wooden bound book that her mother had made and painted on and also in the inside cover. The pages all had hand drawn borders with lovely memories and keepsakes inside. It is old and in near perfect condition. What a treasure!

Aunt Lucia was able to come and visit while we were with Grandma. The conversations had me belly roll laughing!

We had a wonderful dinner with Aunt Eloise filled with interesting conversation and a lot of laughter.

And of course we went to visit Grandpa Young's grave site so Stephanie could say goodbye.

IT'S A GREAT DAY TO

celebrate Grandpa Young's birthday.
We celebrate his birthday with two of his favorites - rootbeer floats and cantaloupe halves filled with vanilla ice cream...
This is one of my favorite photos of Grandpa.
Love and miss you Grandpa!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

MY GRANDFATHER,

Ferra Marcel Young, had in his possession a family bible that belonged to his parents, Sarah DeArmon Rich and George Edwin Young.
It is a tattered, water damaged, literally falling apart at the seams bible with beautiful illustrations, fragile pages and family information written in my great grandmother's handwriting....

I am the lucky recipient of this precious family heirloom.

I have it wrapped in the aged cotton cloth that grandpa did, tightly bound keeping the bible "together".

You know me well if you know that family history gets me giddy and I'm a smidge obsessed getting to know my ancestors.

Having this piece of my family's past fills my heart - I am so proud to have it and absolutely cherish it....

LET IT SNOW, LET

it snow, let it snow.

My boys are REALLY wanting it to snow for Christmas....

Ferra Marcel Young in Wisconsin while serving his mission

Lucille Ida Huntzinger Young at Strawberry Mountain in 1940

I've been smiling at old photos today and patiently waiting for snow.

I think we'll be waiting a long time....

I WILL BE PLANTING A RED ROSE

bush in my yard in memory of my Grandfather.... Whenever he gave flowers to anyone, he always gave red roses.....

MY GRANDPA'S FUNERAL WAS

wonderful.
We shared memories, tears and laughter....

and got reconnected with...

Aunts...

Uncles....

And cousins....

One of the highlights was going to Glen Canyon and all of us eating one of Grandpa's favorite food. Cantaloupe ala mode.....

The boys and I, along with my cousin Jill and sister went to The Sweet Tooth Fairy Bakery in Provo before we left...

My favorite is the Toasted Coconut cupcake - ooooh lala is it GOOD!

And we got some pool time in the mornings.

We all loved Grandpa so much and it was wonderful saying goodbye with so many of us all together.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

My grandfather lived a good, long life...

Ferra Marcel Young

20 June 1913 - 30 July 2009

I love you Grandpa!

THIS INCREDIBLE MAN IS MY

rootbeer float loving grandfather... Isn't he so handsome...

He came out to visit with us when we lived in Hawaii.

That's me holding my favorite yellow doll and my little black purse along side my father and grandfather....

We went to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa together in 1978. Here we are on one of the outside levels.

It was on that trip that he taught my brother Ivon and I how to say the alphabet backwards. That is a skill I still have...

This is one of my favorite photos of him with Laird, Landon and Larry J...

And when Lach was born, we went to visit him.

It was such a sweet and special visit.

My grandfather is 96 years old and has lived a wonderful long life. He isn't expected to live much longer. Thankfully he is in no pain. We will be heading to Orem soon to bid a final farewell.

I love you Grandpa!