May Fest & egg dyeing!

My parents came up for a quick day visit… Sami had her first and only field trip and so she missed out on most of there visit but still had a good time with them when she got home. 

We had some time to kill between school being done, and May Fest and so we watched Frozen.

Grandma and Grandpa had never seen it and they sure enjoyed watching it with Sami… telling them everything that was going to happen before it happened… very helpful… what a funny girl! 

 My mom and I had been invited to have a booth at May Fest in Downtown Cheney but with never have been to it before didn't know if it would be worth the set up and clean up for 4 hours, so they came to visit to check in out in case we want to join next year…. verdict is still out. 

 They did have some fun stuff that was free… face painting… both the girls wanted rainbows. Daphne left hers on and finally it washed off Saturday night in her bath… Sami ripped hers off as soon as we got back to the car. They suckered grandpa into buying them cotton candy… 

 And we found this fun addition…. 

 They even convinced grandma to get in a shot… 

(mom I posted this only because it is a good picture of you…) 

 In a house where you have a by the book, in order kind of daughter… when the egg dyeing doesn't happen for Easter it is just not simply forgotten til next year so finally I relented and we got it done. 

I had seven eggs and I let them each dye 3 and I had one… than Daphne dyed it again for me… thanks! 

It was a great couple of days look forward to future visits from my parents and anyone else! 

Ransom's Piano…

See this beautiful couple… they are people that I love and adore and miss a lot… 

they are people that I wish i would have spent more time with, 

and listened to there stories, 

and learned from them. 

Sadly I didn't do much of what I wished…. but

that is why I am glad I am sealed to them for 

Time and All Eternity. 

You see they are my grandparents… 

Grandma Flora Benson Ransom

and 

Grandpa Lorin G. Ransom

They got married in the Salt Lake Temple and had some kids… 

Gene

LeeAnn

Clair

George

Gordon

and Gary 

My dad is George… my wonderful marvelous father whom I look up to and have always admired. He has leaded, guided and supported me through out my life… I am so glad I will have time to do the stuff I haven't done with him yet… but one of my favorite things is 

that every couple of years him and his siblings get together and have family reunions and they sit around the campfire and talk about the past… they will never realize how wonderful those memories are and have always been, so that i can get to know my grandparents a little bit better. 

My Grandpa lived until I was 17, I got to spend a lot of time with him, 

he was so sweet, would always kiss me, and hug me and always had time to talk to me… 

I thought he would live forever.. but… 

He went to go live with my grandma 

Grandma passed when I was 4. I didn't know her. I remember very little but what I do know is her voice. One time my parents pulled out a very old cassette tape with her talking on it and knew that was her with out even being told… it's funny how that is something I had… 

I remember when she passed away and how all the older girl cousins got a present from her, and they all still have them, but I didn't and so I would go into my sisters rooms and look at the stuff they got. They each got perfume bottles and my one sister got jewelry… I would go in there room when they were gone and smell the perfume but never put it on, because it was grandmas…. 

I got in trouble for doing this of course because well it was there stuff but I don't think they realized it at the time how much I was so jealous… and am still of how they knew her. 

It's amazing but as you grow older you learn more and more… 

what I know about grandma is that she worked hard, and had cancer. 

When I was 21 I was at school at BYU Idaho and I got sick… 

my parents decided I needed to come home and after a couple days we found out I had 

hypothyroidism. They asked if anyone in our family had and, and after much thought and discussion with the family… we are pretty sure grandma had that as well. It wasn't known then but if she didn't have it I got the gene because she had breast cancer and they are related… how, I don't know it's just what the books and doctors say. 

Grandma also had other things that I have… things that I care less to talk about seeing is how they are embarrassing but I am so proud to have her as my grandma and to know what I do know about her. 

 So your probably wondering what that has to do with this piano… 

well it was in there home all my dad's life. 

And I have loved it… since I learned that. My parents have had it for many years since my grandparents no longer had room for it in there home… 

My mom promised me  years ago that it would someday be mine… 

I dreamed about that I dreamed of the day it would be in my home. 

Well.. as Meg Ryan says in "you've Got Mail" 

"… People say change is a good thing, but truthfully I am heart broken…"

I have been crying about this piano for the last week… 

Someday I will stop crying but it wasn't just a piano to me it was, a part of my grandparents

it was there legacy… it was the thing I was finally old enough to have … 

I took good care of it I cleaned it and dusted it.. and than it did as piano's do after 80-90 years stop sounding good. The piano tuner came to visit on Monday… 

Actually i will go back. After we got home for Christmas I was sitting down to play with some new books I borrowed from my mom… one of my favorite things to do, ransack her books ask her if I can borrow them and than go home to my piano the one I like the sound best and play… 

So as i sat down to play all the bottom hand notes.. were wrong… very clunky and messed up… 

I tried and tried but it just sounded awful. 

So I bugged Dave he said when we get the tax return we can get it tuned. So I called around got an estimate and waited. Finally Monday the guy came out. He started tuning away and after a bit he tells me that the pins are loose and that he can't do much… it's never gonna be fixable… it's too old. 

Well I being not ready to give up tell him to continue and so he does.. than after a bit he tells me he can't take my money and I thank him and he leaves. I ask him what you do with pianos like this and he says… put them on craigslist for Free… you'd be surprised. i paid him half of the original estimate so $75, than he gave me a gift certificate to there store for $75 towards a piano.

 I posted it on Craigslist after much research and guidance from my mom…  did, and with in the week someone wanted it… they picked it up this morning, in hopes they can get it to sound better. The husband … I swear Bob Marley's twin, used to work for the same place that tuned my piano… good luck… I was sad but also happy that it was going to a good home with musical people.

 [once upon a time it had a key… and it could be locked… cool]

 [my cute little stool… hasn't worked well in ages but it had character and I loved it]

 [the writing on the piano is the people who tuned it when… the last time was tuned was in the 90's, and before that was when my grandparents bought it in the 50's before my dad was born in Preston, Idaho, than the dates continue… ]

 [the barren place where the piano used to be]

 [the Greg Olsen Painting I searched high and low for that is not in print anymore, and I finally found a copy and my mom bought it for me one year for Christmas … the piano is like mine]

 [my re-organized dinning area…. all the projects I want to do are going to be coming on full boar to get my mind off this sad time]

[with my cousins celebrating my grandpa's 80th birthday… I think. i am the cute one in the front with the red sweater and bebop's,  standing next to my cousin Loraine. My sister Suzie is in the purple pants, my brother Andy standing in the back behind my girl cousins next to my grandpa. My mom had to stay home to work and so my sister Cindy stayed home to watch my sister Torrie, who was as old as the little girl in the front, cousin Megan]

My plans now… to search for my own piano, my choice of piano, one that I can have in my home for some time… since they don't last for ever obviously. I am in the market for something $200 or under, I guess, since that's what I can afford, that has been loved that can continue to be loved in our family… I have my eye on a Kimball Consulate we shall see what I find… I am going for a Spinet this time around… smaller not as hard to move or heavy… but hey good news is I am not in a rush… these things take time… 

I'm 34 and it's almost like a mid life crisis…. out with the old in with the new… 

but I am still heartbroken…. nothing to me will ever sound as good. 

(sorry if this post was sad or depressing but since I can post what I want I did and I feel better now)

Labor Day Weekend...

Im kind of sad, because I just looked at my "Stats" and noticed only 4 people have looked at my blog in the last while... only one being family, well, thanks for supporting me in my online photo journal! 

Well, since Dave has been so busy all summer we haven't done much with him, so we took a 3 day weekend and went to my parents cabin up in the mountains. You drive towards Yakima and take the Granger Exit and drive through Toppenish up through the mountains and 30 minutes before you hit Goldendale you take a turn off and up you go. You'd think, well I thought it would be cooler up there but of course not... it was pretty warm, and we got really dirty... but we had fun, it always surprises me. how I get more rest at home than I do on a vacation... I have redefined vacation as something that completely tires you out and makes you want to stay in bed for days after returning home...  I keep telling my husband than one of these days we are going to go on a trip just us to somewhere super relaxing... 

 We got there Saturday around lunch time and came home Monday around 3, so this is a span of pictures... I prided myself on how I remembered to take pictures... We went 4 wheeling Monday while Ezra was napping... 

 Ezra had a great time he didn't enjoy sleeping in a strange bed, and once each night woke up and Dave being the awesome husband he is sat up with him while he had some milk than got him back to sleep... there is just something about a dad's big strong cuddly arms... 

 Sami had fun, was so tired and worn out by the end... she had many of outbursts, it got to the point that grandpa was bribing her to not have them... She wore her old school shoes last month and I didn't try them on her before taking them up with us, but I went to put them on her and they were too small... so she was sporting the sandals with socks thing through the weekend... 

 Daphne... she never smiles for pictures... but she has a cute smile when she does! She is my little shadow sometimes... she loved going on walks looking for squirrels and lizards... she was a funny girl! 

 Ezra has learned to wave... and say the word "Bear" since grandpa collects them in his cabin... he was so fascinated! 

 Grandpa just loves to take the kids 4-wheeling... 

 They had a good 2-3 hours of cousin fun... before we had to head home... 

 We had black bottom cupcakes, cheesecake and ice cream and sang to all the birthdays in August and September... me and Daphne were going to be left out but I spoke up... why not just add two more to the mix... it was Brad, Olivia, Suzie, Ryder, Me and than Daphne... 

 Ezra is quite the cuddler and Torrie's little girl doesn't cuddle much these days she is too busy and so Aunt Torrie got some cuddle time in while Ezra was too tired to fight it and happy to oblidge

My girls never liked these swings, but he loves them... 

it was fun, now we are going to be busy with school stuff and than birthdays... what a fun month! 

Ransom Reunion... #2

These are the pictures I took...

I need to get better at taking pictures, but when I am by myself no husband for 4 days, picture taking is at the back of my mind...  

So Wednesday morning my parents, Suzie and her kids, and Torrie and her daughter picked us up in the "party van" as the trip went on, this is what we called it. It was a 15 passenger van white, quite hard to miss us. It had the two front seats and then 4 rows of seats. the first row sat Suzie and two of her boys, and they were in front of the dvd players that were on the back of my parents seats. 

Than second row, was Torrie, and her daughter and most of the time Sami, but it alternated. We found that if Sami was there she behaved a lot better especially when she became tired and inconsolable (challenge #1). Than came Me, Daphne and Ezra, and than the back seat was a pile of bags, and Suzie's oldest boy and Andy's oldest girl. I won't use there names, as I don't like to spotlight other kids on my blog especially if they don't approve. This is how we drove... for 7 hours... to West Yellowstone. Torrie chose to sit in between Sami and Reagan which made sense but I refused to sit between two carseats.... 

 I have been hesitating to turn Ezra's car seat around because of all the new research. Sami and Daphne were turned at 1 and Ezra is over 1 and so this trip marked Ezra being turned.... sorry any of you pro keeping them faced backward til they are 4, I am not a fan and the law does not state that it is a must... just a suggestion... my two girls never had a problem and so I am not worried. Ezra loved being forward facing, he played a little, ate a little and slept a lot more... it was great. He had his blankie and a drink he was happy and more than that he had mom near him at all times. 

I read this thing about babies at 14 months, where they are learning about there independence and so at times they want it and at times they aren't so sure and are shy and want there mom's and so this was us this week. He was happy with mom and that was it, his sisters were welcomed but grandma, grandpa, aunts... no no... (challenge #2)

 So we got there Wednesday night and we drove 7 hours in the car, that's what goggle clocked it at from my house to West Yellowstone, but since we were a group of 14 and car pooled with my brother and the 3 others in the truck that held all the gear, we left my house at 9 and got to the camp site at 8:30... yikes. So we set to setting up camp... I had plenty of help even though I had practiced putting up the tent at home... so I knew I could do it, the family (extended) wouldn't think of it. My Aunt Trisha and cousin Carl were right there, while other family members were helping my parents etc... set up there places. We dropped off my sisters and there kids off at a cabin... they did not rough it like I did... I enjoyed my adventure camping.... for the most part. 

Now comes challenge #3, 4 and 5 and probably I could give it lots more, but I will stop at that... 

got Ezra to sleep but at home, he goes down, cries for a minute and than sleeps through the night, you enter his room, he wakes up, so when your in a tent it doesn't go over as smoothly, that and the fact that the temperature dropped quite a bit that first night and we were cold. I got the girls asleep and after about an hour Ezra was done in his bed. He woke up gasping for air, as if he had stopped breathing, by this time it was maybe 1 am and so I got him up crying and all and well he wanted milk... as you can tell by the foot print... there were bears in the area, so there was no food in our tent especially milk... after about a few minutes I think Ezra calmed down, I laid him back down and he fell asleep again, than he woke up again an hour or so later... I forget the time frame... I was tired I don't recall... and he wanted milk... so I was debating what to do, and than I hear my sister n law "Sara, can I help" I left the girls and my mom met us out side and we tromped to the party van and got Ezra some milk... we sat in the van me and NaDell talking and letting Ezra drink his milk... I don't know what time we went back to bed I think it was close to 3... I gave up on putting him in the porto crib becasue yeah right... and laid him on my chest and we fell asleep... we slept until the coyotes started howling and the girls woke up... I think I got maybe 4 or 5 hours... but Sara with no sleep is not a good thing. I ended up taking Ezra with me before the girls woke up and catching a shower in the one stall that was in our camp ground... 

the day continued and it turned into challenge #6,7,8,9,10 I was emotional (crying a lot), a grouch and extremely sensitive the rest of the day. I was short with everyone and I ruined the day... I surpassed the record of getting people made at me in one day, I think everyone in my family with all my brothers and sisters mad at me all at different times that day... either than that, or they just ignored me and just could have cared less to be around me... I was not worthy of there presence... we went to Yellowstone that day, and it was a quick visit, we drove in saw "Old Faithful" and went back to the campsite... I wasn't driving we had no choice... we got back to the campsite my parents did there thing and I took my kids to the tent... where I broke down into tears sobbing uncontrollably and knowing I couldn't go to bed yet because we still had dinner and family talent show to get through... after getting a attitude adjustment from my parents and realizing that the real problem was my lack of sleep the evening improved a bit... but I had a lot of redeeming to do... (I probably still do, but if people are still mad at me, i don't live near them I can only do so much so whatever, I can't waste my life worrying about whether or not I make people mad, this trip was not my finest moment and won't be repeated)

After a good nights sleep, of just having Ezra sleep on me all night I was in a much better mood.

 The next day we were planning on going into West Yellowstone and looking through some of the shops. We did that but it was closer to lunch time and so we had a whole morning of puttering to do. I took on the task of keeping my kids and Andy's oldest two entertained, we walked the long road from the campsite to the pond to discover the fun of frogs... 

 We at at Arby's... for lunch in the park... 

 We found these cute things to take pictures near... 

  I have a picture of Sami near this same bench when she was just two and I was pregnant with Daphne... 

 After West Yellowstone... we came back and went down to the pond and we were starting to have fun when it started pouring down rain, me and the kids got dropped off and so we jumped into the back of the truck to get a ride when the rain went away and the sun came out... 

 The camp ground is a ranch and has about 20 or more horses that take you on trail rides, We didn't get a chance but when they finished ridding they would just send them off and the horses would make there way back to there grounds... 

My brother and the pond, and the car takers house... 

It was a fun trip but the biggest challenge of all was not having David with me, I won't go on a trip like that again without David... It was ok when it was just me with 1 or 2 kids but me with 3 is just not feasible... I have to be realistic... my older sister did it, but her oldest is 9 and she didn't have to camp...