Bennet has an early birthday party

Bennet Joshua Pilch will be one year old on 12 November, but he and his parents will be moved to St. George by then. Gotta have a party with his family who live up here :-). His parents picked quite a fun place - the pool of a neighbor and friend of Josh's for whom Josh built the pool house.  The kids (Bennet's cousins) had a blast. Bennett's mom Jen had some of her sibling and their kids in attendance, as well as Josh's parents Kenn and Liz , his sister Chris with Shad and Sedona, and Josh's Aunt Lois Ann.

 

Yep, three water slides, the kiddie one, the middle one, and an upper one that Josh called the Slide of Death (or some such), requiring a helmet and life jacket for all users. The pool was covered during supper time.

Bennett loves the water and was carefully tended by one of his cousins.

A pool full of kids... Bennett in the center right, and Sedona is in the small wading pool in the top corner holding her dad's hand. Another cousin is standing in front of her.

Bennett is in the foreground, while Shad and Sedona are at the top of this photo.

Sedona, the "No Fear" kid, with her parents Chris and Shad.

a Wedding in the Family

In honor of Katy getting married in Alaska tomorrow on 10/10/2010,  let me tell a bit about my Grandmother Sneath's wedding on November 15, 1911. They had to do some traveling too - and to a foreign country!

Let's begin with a photograph...

a Gram story from Jeanette...

"I was born Nov. 29, 1914 in Alameda, Saskatchewan where my dad was manager of the Royal Bank of Canada. Charles Alexander Sneath, my dad, was born 13 Jan 1880, and my mom Lois Rebecca McGregor was born 8 July 1884.

They met at Macoun, Saskatchewan when he was manager of the Northern Crown Bank there, and she came from Iowa to visit her brothers Alex and Bruce who invested in real estate there. Macoun was just a little town on the prairie. There were wheat fields all around. I can’t imagine where they went on a date.

My dad was the entire staff at the Northern Crown Bank – manager, accountant, bookkeeper. He was born in Ontario and had several brothers and sisters. He came west as a young guy and joined the bank in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He served in several branches and was finally in Kimberly, Saskatchewan and then Macoun.

(Josh, how do you like the hair?)

My dad was shy and my mom real out-going and chattered all the time. He was SOO handsome, dark auburn hair… She was so dark too and graduated from high school in 1903.   She was 27 years old when they married so she must have been 24-25 when she went to Canada.

There is a lovely picture at the wedding which Lois Ann copied and framed in an oval frame and which each of my girls have a copy. (See in green oval frame above). My parents were married in Ames, Iowa at her parents’ home. I am enclosing the account which Lois Ann and I picked up at the library in Ames when she and I were there in Sept 1998.

My dad came down to Ames by way of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Uncle Bruce told me he had to give my dad the money to pay the minister (I suppose dad didn’t have any American money?) When Lois Ann and I were up at the cemetery in Ames where Granddad McGregor (Lois’s father Alexander McGregor, Jr.) is buried, I could hear a train whistle and wondered if it was the same line that my parents had traveled to and from Canada. My mom told me that when they arrived in Macoun, there were 52 people to meet the train (the entire population). No cameras in every family, so no pictures. They soon moved to Alameda where three of us kids were born. (Saga to be continued). “

Newspaper article from the Ames Times Nov. 16, 1911; “A quiet home wedding took place this afternoon at four o’clock at the residence of the bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. MacGregor, 905 Clark Avenue, when Miss Lois MacGregor was united in marriage to Mr. Charles Sneath of Kinley, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Only relatives to the number of fifteen were present to witness the ceremony, performed by Rev. W.J. Minchin of the Congregational Church, the beautiful ring ceremony being used. The bride was becomingly gowned in white embroidered batiste and carried a shower of bridal flowers. After congratulations, a delicious four course dinner was served to the guests, Mrs. R.M. Paxton acting as cateress, the house decorations being of yellow chrysanthemums.

Mr. and Mrs. Sneath leave this evening for Winnipeg and then on to their new home at Kinley, where Mr. Sneath is manager of the Northern Crown Bank. Miss MacGregor came to Ames about a year ago from Macoun, Saskatchewan, and has gained many friends, considering the shortness of her residence in Ames. “

McGregor houseat 905 Clark Ave., Ames, Iowa in 1911.

McGregor house at 905 Clark Ave., Ames Iowa in September 1998.

You know you're in Wyoming....

or some other cattle country town when you take your grandkids to the town park to play in the big sandbox area, and when a few other other girls show up with their dog, the dog's name is Chasey. Yep, she's a cowdog :-). And she is constantly at attention, watching kids move around; maybe thinking she is herding them?. And guess what she is willing to chase? Hand fulls of sand that the girls throw with their new shovels from the sand toys Grammie just brought as a surprise. I laughed and laughed :-). Chasey would even do back-flips...

three Richardson kids try out the new sand toys

Raspberries are............. yellow?

They can be.... and taste just like the red ones

and hollyhocks are... white? well, they are in my garden. I bought them color unknown.

And how about those blossums on the pumpkins and squash? Nice...

I sure am liking my gardens beds and would like to put in a couple moer on the west side of the yard - it gets lots of sun now that the one big tree is no longer there.  The squash got put into pots this year, because last year they ran free all over everything else.  Most of the tomato plants have little tomatoes started. Go baby, Go! Salsa in the fall :-)

The Inch Report

Both of my daughters, as well as my sister Jane have been making progress this spring and summer, to lose some weight. When I sent this to Becky and Sue today, Becky insisted I blog about it !
So here it is - the Inch Report from Curves' Ladies Gym - as in inches lost

Here is how it looked since 2/19/2010: and measurments taken at Curves on Tuesday 6 July


Bust - down 1.25"
Waist down 3.5"
ABS down 3"
hips down 4.25"
thighs down .5" - the slow learner...
arms up .5" - fabulous :-)
wt down 24.25


My Total Health and Fitness coach  Dan Wilcox says he can see weight loss in my face (and he has been saying that for a while), and where I have noticed it especially is in my feet. I can see those veins now - no more puffy ankles or edema on my chin bones. My weigh in with him yesterday shows 27# lost and almost all of it fat. Yippie!
 
You will have to wait for family reunion the end of this month for the swim suit view. Living alone, who would take the photo?   LOL

Ballons...

One of my very favorite things to do this time of year, around the Fourth of July, is go to the grassy field, just east of Utah Valley Regional Medical Center and watch the hot air balloons launch. The crowd - big kids, little kids, the grand parents, everybody are invited out on the field, up close and personal to watch and photograph the balloons and their crews.
This morning - I left the house about 0545 - and got there just as the Bank of American Fork was beginning to fill. Miss Pink Piggy is so cute.

A new balloon on the field - at least I had not seen it before - was a bottle of Coca Cola. It was sooo tall! I think they said over 180 feet? For those of you who have not - or even if you have - been there before, the crews  lay out the "envelopes" of the balloons on the ground first

then a fan is used to fill the envelope with cool air next. At least a couple of people hold the "door" open to let the air in

The lady in the white shirt and blowing blond hair was in charge of the Coke bottle balloon and her husband in the red hat and red Coca Cola jacket kept telling the crowd " I never know when she goes inside (the Balloon) if I will ever see her again"

When the balloon is fluffy enough,  the hot air is "shot" up into the inside of the balloon, encouraging it to raise off the ground.

The wind currents were not just right for the balloons to launch off the ground this morning, but they stayed on the ground and let the crowds wander through  and visit them for a while. In fact, there was hardly any air moving at all.

You will probably remember that Gram loved them too and we'd take her Handicapped parking tag and get into the hospital parking area. Am when the balloons had lifted off, we go have pancakes, yoghurt, juice, etc with the Kiwanis group right there on the field.  I am expecting a nurse to come draw some blood for a new life insurance policy this morning, so I was fasting. I hope she hurries up :-)

Remembering our Soldiers

Gram used to send out an email at this time of year, listing the soldiers in our family. Here are the ones I remember and ask that you reflect on their service and sacrifices. Don Cox, Herb, Dick and Ken Garlitz;  Jim Montmeny, Jane Montmeny, Bob Ouimet, Marlin Cox. Gram's brothers Alfred and Don Sneath. Aunt Isobel 's husband Bob Phillips. Joshua Pilch. I seem to remember that Gram could list 14 - but I don't have quite that many, so let me go back further in time...

Job Allen born 1840 fought in the Civil War and was a prisoner of war for a time, Lt. David Cox and his brother John who fought in the Revolutionary War from Grayson County, Virginia. There was a Job Allen, Sr. and Jr. in the Revolutionary War too.

Now for their photos...

Donald Cox, 115th Cavalry, Wyoming National Guard

William Alfred Sneath, Gram's brother. He was a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force and the only one of our soldies who did not come home after the war. His plane was shot down over Muelheim, Germany on 23 June 1943. A couple of his crew survived, but Alfred is buried just south of Brussels, Belgium. Here are my notes...

Uncle Alfred Sneath was a pilot in Canadian Air Force and while flying a mission over Germany the night of 23 June 1943, his plane was shot down, over Muelheim.

There is an old Readers' Digest condensed book (I have a copy) that includes the story" Bomber" , a novel by Len Deighton, telling about a night in Germany, the 23 June 1943, and telling the story from several different persons' perspective- the English bomber crew, the Germans defending their country, and the townspeople caught in the middle.
His sister (my mother Jeanette Cox) has a box full of his memorabilia.
The CEMETARY: Heverlee War Cemetary, near Louvain, Belgium, from headstone: Pilot Officer, W.A. Sneath, Pilot, Royal Canadian Air Force, 23rd June 1943 Age 30, (a cross), "They are not dead, Life's flag is not furled."
Lois Ann visited this cemetary 3 times while living in Germany: 1) in 1977 with her mother Jeanette Cox, after visiting England & Scotland, 2) in 1987 with Kenn & Liz Pilch 3) in 1989 with Isobel Phillips & Jeanette Cox, his sisters, and with Lois Ann's daughter Rebecca who graduated from high school that May in Heidelberg.

Donald McGregor Sneath 1918-1977, Alfred's brother. He served in North Africa in WWII.

the brothers - Dick and Ken Garlitz in Vietnam 1969-1970

Herbert L. Garlitz, their father, who served in WWII in France (I think)

Our Civil War ancestor Job Allen, born 1840 in Wabash County, Indiana and died 1915 in Oak, Nebraska. He was the father of my grandmother, Anna Allen who was married to Sam Cox.  During the Civil War, Job was a prisoner of war for over a year at Andersonville prison.

Hopefully I can find a couple more photos - but if you have one of the ones you don't see here, email them to me and I will put them up too. Same deal with a story or more details about one of them that you want to share.

Sharing a birthday - February 25

Today is thoughts of Roots and Branches both. My grandmother and my granddaughter share a birthday.

Lily Jeanette Richardson is eight years old today and getting baptised this weekend. Here are a couple of photos when she was a newborn.



Grammie went to visit her when she got home from the hospital.


Her cousins Dani and Rachel

Now about my grandmother, Anna Cox...
In 1879, in a tiny community in south central Nebraska called Oak, my grandmother Anna Allen (later married Sam Cox) was born. I seem to remember that one of her siblings, Minnie I think, was the third white child born in that county - I'll have to look that up. Her father Job Allen fougnt in the Civil War for the North, being from Illinois, and for a time was a prisoner of war at Andersonville, a hell-hole prison. After he got home from the war, Job Allen married Mary Kenney Chenoweth about 1868. They traveled from Illinois to Nebraska in March of 1871 by covered wagon. It was like a "little house on the prairie" time in their lives. Their first 3 of 9 children were born in Illinois, the rest in Nebraska.

When Anna was 22 years old she married a neighbor man Sam Cox. To get married in 1901, they traveled for a day long journey by team and wagon to Lincoln, Nebraska, the state capitol. Their first baby, Thelma, died of pneumonia when she was less that two years old. No antibiotics in those days.

When they moved to Sheridan, Wyoming, they went by what was then called an immigrant train - household goods and livestock in separate cars, and then the family up front.

(I'll add more of ther history later but want to get these pictures up for Lily)



This picture was taken at a Cox Christmas party. Lois Ann was about five years old and Jane, the frowny one, was about three years old.



Her family called her "Granno" and she lived to be 88 years old. This is a photo of her at her 80th birthday party with her 3 children - Don, Helen, and Cliff. I think I baked her cake.

the new looking furnace room

I now have a new companion for my new furnace - a new hot water heater :-) The date of manufacture on the old one was 1989. So it had lived a long, useful life. My plumber says that some new ones only last 10 years, but he highly recommends these Bradford-White brand ones - the same as he took out. Should get more showers out of it at one time, now too - that is when company is here.




The old one, rusty water, shouldn't be draining this much...

The new one, same brand, and although the floor is stil rusty, the heater itself is shiny with new intake flexible coil lines.
Supposed to be warm enough for a long shower in about 45 minutes this first time.



And many thanks to the Laurels who thought about the single sisters in our ward and brought us each plenty of sugar, pink of course... LOL

new in the TV room

Doesn’t take too much to amuse some people…. I have a new love seat! Well, new to me… Jane and her staging people might be proud… the colors don’t match the sleeper sofa (except they are all muted colors that go with the “Scotland Road” paint on the wall), but it seems sturdy and very comfortable. It could think about reupholstering or getting a throw cover later. And now there is another piece of furniture for visitors to sit on in the TV room.


The view at Thanksgiving, with grandkids watching TV from the open sleeper sofa and Zen on the elliptical.


The view this morning... Yeah! more comfy seating for watching TV


And I get a nice chair for my bedroom to enjoy as I watch TV – the golden brown one, moved upstairs from the TV room. Best of all, it was gifted by one of the families in the ward who got a new leather love seat. Thanks a bunch!

The great tortilla soup weekend

It was a cacophony of sound – two moms talking about their recent book readings, a dad watching a football game, one little kid in the elliptical machine racing fast, one pushing buttons on the Dr’s waiting room amusement table, one trying to climb over the baby gate on the stairs, another climbing over the stair railing, “Grammie, can I have some more ice cream?”, other child quietly watching the movie “Up”, “let me put the crying baby to bed and let’s start the game”…. Well, you get the idea. And I wasn’t even getting a headache because of all that activity. LOL! Scarier still, we had taken the time to all sit together around the dark wood dining room table which has a long history with this household, say a prayer, and helpfully pass the food around: Sue’s great tortilla soup stirred together today by the Grammie, adding sour cream, and some of Lora’s fabulous guacamole dip and Doritos Scoops. Add black cherry cool-aide or milk. Yummy!

Here is the recipe for Sue’s Chicken Tortilla Soup
1 cup shredded carrots
1 # chicken, shredded
15 oz diced crushed tomatoes
1 10 oz. red enchilada sauce
1 4oz. can chopped green chilies
1 14oz can chicken broth
1 15oz can corn or 10 oz. frozen corn
1 medium onion chopped or ¼ cup dried
2 cups water
1 clove garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
¼ tsp crushed bay leaf or basil
¼ tsp peper
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cilantro

I had some frozen turkey leftovers (about 3 cups shredded) from Thanksgiving and used that for the meat


In the middle of dinner, a parent happened to notice a new adventure for one of the babies – an unattended computer



another techie in the making

The joy of receiving a thank you note

Grandmothers – and many others I’m sure - sometimes wonder how their gifts at Christmas time, birthdays, etc are received. And then a thoughtful thank you note arrives... let me show you:





Sue and I had a short discussion yesterday about thank you notes and the value of hand written card in this day and age of emails and instant messages, and cell phones… And who is Emily Post and Miss Manners anyway? Oh, maybe it is a generational thing. Take a look at one of the Dragonfly’s comments – she is a long time friend of Sue’s…


anyway - Becky and your kids - it was a great card :-) and I thank you for taking the time to write it, and even include a photo