Goodman Family Reunion

Even though I already posted our Goodman Family Reunion pics to Facebook, I need to include them here in the history of the Mesa Browns.  Someday, someday, I'll publish by blog book and be glad I've tried to record most of the significant (and not-so-significant but real nevertheless) happenings of our lives.

The reunion festivities were held on Saturday, November 12, 2011 outside at my parents' house in Mesa.  Thanks to Dale for putting the wheels in motion so that we could all assemble in honor of Grandpa Harry's birthday (which was the day before on Veteran's Day).  This was the first year that Grandpa watched the reunion from up on high instead of from his seat at the table, but we know we was there watching over us.  What a great posterity he left!  We are grateful that Grandma Rita was there and almost all of our crew.  Aunt Katrina said the official headcount was 95, so we were probably 20-ish short of everyone.

Unfortunately, when it came time for pics, not everyone was there at the same time, so we just did the best we could.  Here are all the present-at-the-time granddaughters and granddaughters in law of Harry & Rita.  Actually, we managed to get all of the granddaughters minus Laura who didn't make the reunion, plus all  the granddaughters in law who were there (sorry we took this before Shari arrived, but she was there too).  Pretty foxy group if I do say so myself :)

All the great granddaughters of Harry & Rita that were there.  If my math is right, I think we are just missing six of the great granddaughters.  Not bad!  There was no chance of getting the great grandsons together for a photo op.  They scarfed their food and then took off into all the yards to play football and whiffle ball and skate and ride bikes and do all the things that cousins love to do.  Glad they were having fun for sure!

I know, I know, we really need to cheer up.  Seriously, Jules, are we ever not laughing when we get together?

Uncle Dale & Aunt Nedra

Michael & Craig were best buddies in their early teenage years and have so many fun memories together.

So the turnout of the male first cousins for this photo is weak, but hey, at least we tried, right?  We're missing Luke (who left after the eats), Willie (up at BYU), Van (on his mission in Atlanta), Matt & Joe who were playing football in the side yard, and Dale Jr. and Mark who weren't able to be there.

Ryan, Jeremy, Mike, Matt & Joe

The Three Amigos, Los Hermanos (Dale, Steve & Jim).  Such GOOD MEN these Goodman men are!

Note Afton in her stylie red pants right in the middle of the boys' football game, along with cousin, Elizabeth

Lots of visiting.  That's what it's all about.  Oh, and the food...lots of good Mexican food for sure.  

Second cousins Taylor & Kylie Chesley, who have become great pals with Afton & Barrett after spending a week with us beach camping last month.  So glad we did that together!

Hopefully we'll keep up with the reunions and other family gatherings through the years.  I love getting together with all the Goodman cousins.  Truly, we are blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family!

And Another Year Begins

They have a whole 8 days under their belts now.  The novelty has worn off a bit.  Homework is starting.  Reality might be starting to set in...summer vacation is really OVER.  Don't get me wrong - they are all enjoying school.  All of them like their new teachers and seem to be making plenty of new friends, not to mention re-connecting with the old ones that we saw less of during our busy summer.  But it's back to the grind.  No weeknight TV.  Getting outfits and lunch boxes ready the night before.  8:00 family prayer & scriptures.  Bedtime before the wolf howls at the moon.  Waking up when the lids want to stay shut.  And so it goes...

But we're used to it, and most days we all make it through pretty well.  Our new system of rotating kitchen cleanup & "family round up" duty by assigning everyone a day of the week seems to be working fairly well.  But then again, it's only been a week and a half.  Time will tell if it sticks.  I think it's gonna, though.  I like it.  A lot.  

So here's my sweet Afton on her first day of 5th grade.

• Has Ms. Kemp for her teacher at Hale
• Still loves creating and still the duck tape queen.
• Still our most obedient 
• Starting to feel out the boundaries a bit
• Already likes the boys
• Still a tom-boy at heart, but becoming ever conscious of her feminine side
• Getting a little relief from her crazy allergies with her new allergy doc and some meds
• Playing piano, getting ready to start fall ball
• Still always going, going, going...loves to be active!
• Has a mind that is one-step ahead...always thinking about the questions no one else asks
• Had the most fantastic summer vacationing and playing non-stop with her best friend, Sydney Bauer, whom she just met in January.  They were on the same basketball team together, then the same softball team, then All-Stars.  They were like peanut butter and jelly all summer long.  Swimming, playing, late nighters.  Syd came on 2 vacations with us, and Afton spent 5 days with her family up in Snowflake.  We love the Bauers and are so glad our girls have become such great friends.

Here's Rowan on her first day of 2nd grade: 

• Has Ms. Day for her 2nd grade teacher at Hale
• Definitely our little fashionista
• Finally losing some teeth (a bit of a late bloomer in that regard)
• Increasingly becoming Easton's best buddy
• 110% social 
• Still feisty & head strong beyond my ability to understand at times
• Sporting one incredible little rockin' body
• Has become quite the hugger lately
• Is so super smart...and so perceptive.  
• Had a killer summer vacationing in Mexico, California and 3 trips to the cabin.  Spent lots of time in the pool, lots of time playing with friends.
• Funny quote during last week's meltdown over a wardrobe battle (well kind-of funny, kind of scary) : "If you'd just let me shop for my own clothes I'd have more friends!"  Oh my gosh...I about died with that one.
• But...we survived and she was back giving me luvs a few minutes later.

And here's our little man, Easton, on his first day of full-day kindergarten:

• Has Ms. Etzen for his kindergarten teacher
• Has been sooooooo happy going to school on the bus with his two sisters and all the neighborhood kids every day.  So different from last year when he did half day at Hermosa Vista and was the only kid at the bus stop.  He wasn't often too thrilled to get on.
• Loves recess and PE as every well-balanced 5-year old boy should
• Would wear basketball shorts every minute of every day if I let him...and no shirt.
• Still does the one eye half squinted thing when he smiles
• Is making me laugh all the time now...funny how their sense of humor seems to develop overnight
• Still my lover boy...he cuddles with me on the couch every night during scrips, still loves to have his back rubbed and scratched, and still gives me hugs and kisses pretty freely.  Although he did let go of my hand yesterday morning just before we turned the corner at the bus stop...just in time to keep his buddies from seeing
• Had "too much fun" goofing off and playing hard this summer.  He got so tan too with so much time out by the pool and at the beach.  He loved spending a lot of time at the cabin, and loved playing musical beds with his sisters in their upstairs forts and as they slumber partied in each others rooms...back and forth for the last several weeks of summer.

And here is our growing-up-way-too-fast 7th grader, Barrett, on her first day of junior high.

Does anyone else remember when she looked like this...on her first day of kindergarten?

• Has lots of new teachers now that she's in junior high...and a new locker to boot!
• Super responsible & getting more beautiful every day
• Terrific straight-A student taking full load of ELP/accelerated classes
• 120% social
• Likes to be in the adult conversations but still loves to hang out with her friends
• Is meeting so many new friends at school every day...I am really proud of her for going out of her way to introduce herself and ask other kids their names.  It's awesome!
• Still our go-to babysitter for our weekly date nights
• Getting ready to start fall ball (she's moving up to Juniors Division this year!)
• Wearing a size 9.5 shoe already (I only wear a 7.5!)  I hope she grows tall too!
• Such a good friend - both to her buddies (both girls and guys), and to me.  I love that we can talk about anything.
• Had the most ridiculously busy fun summer.  We figured out that she wasn't home for more than a week at a time for the entire summer break, and often it was less than that between her comings and goings.  She did cabin for Memorial Day (and invited a friend), then Girls Camp at Lo Mia, Mexico with the family, a week at Time to Blossom Young Women's Conference, Cabin for 4th of July extended weekend (and invited two friends), family beach camping in Carlsbad (with cousins and friends too), Snowflake for 24th of July weekend with Hallie Bauer's family, family cabin trip at end of July, and finally Ward Youth Conference.  Seriously...too much fun!  She told me somewhere near the end of summer that she didn't have any time to even think about being bored.  No joke!

Ryan and I are lucky to be the parents of these great kiddos.  They are all so smart and so good and just growing up at the speed of light.  I love their ages right now...I kinda want to freeze them for a bit.  Just so I can catch up and figure out what to do next.  There's no do-overs in parenting.  That's a little daunting thought.  I hope we don't screw it up...and I hope they turn out fantastic in spite of us.

Until We Meet Again

Our bodies can be so, so tired, but sometimes we just can't shut our minds off. I wonder if that's how it was for my Grandpa these past few weeks. I've been wide awake since 4:30 this morning and I just can't stop thinking about him. I can't get that last image out of my mind. Our dear, sweet Grandpa Harry passed away last night at 7:10 pm at the ripe old age of 95 (November 11, 1915 - July 27, 2011.) I was lucky enough to be there at his bedside when he took his last breath. I'm not sure I've ever felt so helpless. He sounded like he was drowning with his lungs so full of fluid, and then it just stopped. He took his last breath and my grandma was sobbing. "Oh, Harry!" And another sob. All of us were crying hard. A few seconds later he was gone and suddenly his countenance looked so peaceful. All his kids were there...Katrina, my dad, Dale & Jim... along with Aunt Diane and my cousin, Rita, Aunt Nedra, my cousin, Kristi, Stacy the caregiver, and me.

(Grandpa Harry and me)

After a few minutes passed, we all gathered around the bed and my Uncle Dale offered a very sweet prayer of thanks for the wonderful life he led as well as a blessing of comfort on all of us still here on earth. Bishop Uncle Jim shared some words of comfort with us and with his mom about how he had just been called home on a mission to serve...just like Van had been called to serve a mission in Atlanta. He reminded us that Grandpa was "home" now, reuniting with his parents and 11 other siblings who were surely waiting for him with open arms.

For the next hour, Grandma & Grandpa's house filled with family coming by to pay their last respects and give Grandpa's head one last rub. He always loved the head rub. And the sweet kisses. After some time had passed and we gathered our emotions a bit, we were joking lightly with the cousins about the musical talent (or perhaps lack thereof) in the Goodman family. We all conceded that the athletic talents in our genes far outweighed the musical ones. But as we talked about the music for Grandpa's funeral services, Dyan joked that the brothers should sing their traditional "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas." Hence the picture above. It was an annual tradition for years and years and years when we were growing up. We'd gather at Dale & Ned's for the nativity and a little program, and the 4 Goodman boys (including Grandpa Harry), would always entertain us with that same number. It's one of my cherished memories.

Growing up just around the corner from G&G brought countless blessings to my life. They were there for everything...all my church talks, all my life events, all my ball games (and all the other grand kids too). They sure loved their ball! They'd even go in the older years to support Mtn. View when my Uncle Dale was the girls varsity softball coach. Really, I think any excuse to watch a game would do. They were amazing. And I have so many memories of Sunday dinner with them...eating together with my other grandparents, Reid & Sue, over at my mom's house. My mom always loved to cook for us (and still does) and we'd all get together often.

I

Rowan has a special place in Grandpa Harry's heart and always will. She was our little miracle baby, and Grandpa had a choice dream about her before she was ever born. His mother, Annie, appeared to him in a dream one night and told Harry not to worry...that Rowan was going to be perfectly fine, and that she had "picked her out special" to come to our family. Annie told him that Rowan would not only be a blessing to Ryan and I, but also to our whole family. Every time we'd go visit Grandpa, he'd perk up a little extra and give a little extra tight squeeze to Miss Rowan. He must have told Rowan that story 10 times. She was such a fan...and had the hardest time last night of all my kiddos when I told her that Grandpa had passed. She had just been there a few hours earlier and was there with me the day before for our visit. Little Rowan, only 7, cried and cried last night, even though she knows that he is in a better place now.

Grandma Rita and Grandpa Harry...sweethearts forever!

This is Barrett's favorite picture. I like it too. It brings back great memories of my youth without a doubt. I spent 5 1/2 years working at DQ growing up....I thought I was hot stuff having a "real job" at the end of 7th grade (only 13 years old and probably not legally old enough), but hey, the place was owned by Grandpa & Grandma, Uncle Jim & Dale. I spent so so so so many days and nights at the DQ during those years. So many of my cousins worked there too - it was really too much fun. My cousin, Julie, and I were a mean duo on the drive through. We whipped those cars through like nobody's business. We learned all the essential Spanish words for our DQ Brazier menu items so that we could communicate with our cooks. We had slang names or abbreviations for everything else. I still remember laughing so hard one night the first time we started calling our banana splits "BS." Jules was my best friend on the planet during those years and I still love her to pieces. I just wish I'd see her more often. I did get to see my cousin, Kathryn, last night as I was leaving. We see each other so rarely these days too...living across town from each other and just busy with our mom lives. She and I also had some great times at the DQ...and Craig, Dale Jr., Kimmie, Laura...Good times for sure.

Well, the day dawn is finally breaking and I must move forward. I love you, Grandpa Harry! Thanks for a life full of fantastic memories and unending love. Thanks for all you did to help everyone out all the time...for your service as a temple sealer and for sealing me to my eternal companion forever and ever. Thanks for donating the land where our ward building stands today. Thanks for being such an active part of my life and most importantly, for raising such a great son, my Dad. I love him with all my heart and am lucky to live just down the street from him too! I'll see you on the other side...

Boston is Here!

I'm an aunt again - for the third time in three months! My Brown family sister-in-law's have been busy pumping out the kids this summer, that's for sure. Boston Cole Stoker is the latest addition to our fine family. My fabulous SIL, Jayme, delivered him via C-Section last Thursday afternoon and we finally got to meet him at Banner Desert Hospital on Saturday night when we got back from our ward campout. The baby had been breach for the past month, so they had the C-Section scheduled in case he didn't turn. Plus, the ultrasound measurements told the doctor that he was going to be really huge (but he didn't end up being too huge - only 8 lbs. 6 oz). Even though he finally turned the day of the C-Section, Jayme opted to go with the C-Section anyway due to his projected size and the fact that her labors are usually 30 hours and awful. It turned out to be a really good thing, too, since the umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around his little neck when he came out. What a blessing that he arrived here safe and perfect!

As you can see, he's pretty stinkin' cute. He's got his brother Grady's face if you ask me, but I know they change all the time so who knows what he'll look like in a week. I'm sure that Boston's three big brothers will be a big help to Jayme as she adjusts to life with four boys!

With the arrival of Boston, I now am the proud aunt of 11 nephews and 5 nieces. (Nephews: Bryant, Tanner, Tallin, Tate, Trey, Cohen, Grady, Boston, Chase, Gavin & Dax; Nieces: Randi, Avery, Lainey, Jolie, & Eva).

Lucky Me!

Marathon Tuesday

Yesterday felt like a kid marathon day. It just kept going and going and going and...kinda like the Energizer Bunny.

I guess that's to be expected on the day before school starts. Still, I was spent. I'm quite sure that staying up too late a couple nights in a row working on our Mountain View Class of 1990 website and then the stadium trainings had something to do with my fatigue. Maybe the heat a little. Whatever the reason or myriad of reasons, I was tuckered out last night.

The Brown Family's Tuesday, August 10th included all of this good stuff and more:

• Early morning workout with Ryan up at Mountain View. We ran at the track and did tons of stadiums - getting ready for the big hike next month.
• Meet the teacher day up at Hale for the girls. Three new teachers, three new classsrooms, three new school t-shirts, one big lunch check and one big PTO donation. Hooray! (NOTE: We did meet the teacher at Hermosa Vista Elementary on Monday night for Easton. He's starting half day kindergarten there today. We ran into a zillion people we knew there and everyone kept asking us if we were transferring. No, it's just Easton. The girls are staying at Hale. But we loved his new school and are so excited for him. Oh, and we did Meet the Teacher at Field Elementary after that Monday night for Barrett's ELP class. Same teacher for ELP as she had last year, but a new theme. This year they are studying the Stock Market. I'm pretty stoked about that.) We've met lots of teachers!
• Home for quick laundry rotation and potty break.
• Dentist appointments at 11:30 in Gilbert for all the kiddos. Knock on wood, but they all still have perfect teeth. No cavities. No problems. Barrett is still waiting for 3 baby teeth to come out so they can get moving with her braces. Maybe one more year. Afton has five loose teeth and Rowan, much to her dismay, is starting first grade with all 20 of her baby teeth and none even close to loose. Easton's are perfect.
• Errands.
• Lunch and shopping at Sam's Club with the crew. It's amazing how much lunch you get for five people at Sam's Club for $13. Seriously. Kinda helps with the sting of the final bill when you check out from shopping and wonder if you'll ever leave with a bill under $200.
• Home for about 30 minutes for grocery drop off, email checking, and more laundry rotation and showers for all the kids (so they could have freshly washed hair for Jayme).
• Hair cuts for all the kids at Tantrum at 3:30.
• Walmart trip (for the last minute school supplies that we didn't anticipate). Big mistake. Walmart was insane. Half of Mesa was doing the same thing we were. It took 25 minutes to check out. No lie. I was so done with people by the time we came home. Thankfully I love my people and they were all pretty good considering the day we had. But Easton was super done too.
• Finally, home for good and ready to dive into dinner prep at 5:45.
• Kids turned our living room floor into school supply heaven while I prepped food. With supply lists in hand, and Barrett in charge of the chaos, the four of them divy'd up the crayons and pencils and glue sticks and scissors and binders and notebooks and hand sanitizer and tissues and filled their backpacks with first day of school treasures. I could hear the craziness from the kitchen. I only elected to intervene a couple of times when I thought World War 3 might break out about whose package of pencil lead was whose.
• Dinner - all vegitarian. A mish mash of quick and easy favorites: corn on the cob, baked potatoes, salad, fruit, bread (that we picked up at Walmart). My kids wanted to know where the chicken or the chops were. None tonight. We're going meatless today. Barrett kept asking what the entre was. I told her it was the baked potatoe and she smiled. But they all devoured it. Easton told me I make the best dinner ever. He's so good to me.
• More laundry, the final checking of the packs to make sure the lists were fulfilled. I realized today that I forgot the white pillowcase for Easton's painting smock and Afton's dry erase marker. They'll live without for a day or two I'm sure. Hopefully they don't bust out any paints in kindergarten today though. I liked the shirt Easton picked out and would love for it to come home paint-free.
• Baths again to wash off the stray hairs, then father's blessings from Ryan for each of the kids. That was my favorite part of the day. I cried in each one. They have such a good daddy.
• Prayers and tucking. Only 40 minutes behind schedule. Not too bad for getting back into the routine.
• Time with Barrett (my night owl) helping her tweeze her eyebrows back into perfect shape for Day 1 after being neglected for a couple of weeks. And I did the requisite checking to make sure all the outfits layed out on the ledge actually matched and all the shoes had socks to go with them.
• 10:00 - finally done with the day. I'm pretty sure I was out when my head hit the pillow.

Final note: when we were at Walmart, we ran into a couple of friends from the neighborhood, Gail McClure (Easton's preschool teacher from last year) and Connie Shelly (my good friend and our ward Relief Society president). Gail and Connie are best friends. As we laughed and visited with them for a few minutes, they commented that they were having some serious nostalgia watching me trek through Walmart with a full brood of kids in tow on the day before school started. All of their kids are grown now. They reminded me to cherish these days because they are gone before you know it.

So true. I can hardly believe that my little man is in school already. He was just born, wasn't he?

Park City: Part 2

This is one of my favorite pics from our Park City trip.

Not that any of us look particularly fantastic, but just that we are all together, enjoying a remarkable weekend, just the six of us, looking exactly like us. Easton with his hat turned backwards. Afty with her chocolate brown eyes and hair pulled back. Barrett, always smiling, perfectly adorned with her cute flower headband and earrings and all. Rowan just looking cute. Ryan looking like the love of my life. Me, just there looking like me, overwhelmed to be blessed with such an amazing family.

On Saturday, we walked up and down Main Street, shopping at the Park Silly Farmer's Market. A hundred or more vendors had their wares for sale at little tented booths all up and down the street. Lots of food and treats, and fun for the kids. We picked up lunch there and had ourselves a little picnic by the creek.

We rode the ski lift (which you could almost touch from our hotel balcony) up the mountain on Saturday afternoon. We've done that in prior years, too, and everyone thinks it's quite a treat. Since my kiddos have never actually been on a ski lift when there's actually snow on the ground and skis on their feet, they always have a ton of questions about how it all works. About the skiing. About when to get off and if anyone has ever fallen off...you know, the usual.

Of course, Easton's always up for an adventure. He rode up with Ryan and Afton.

The views are amazing. We even saw some baby deer running right below us on the way up the mountain.

I love this guy.

We hiked around a while, and the kids all picked dandylions. I hope they made a wish before blowing them to the wind.

Every once in a while I get a glimpse of what heaven might be like...

On Saturday night, we went up to Promontory and enjoyed some amazing festivities at the Club all night. The three younger kids participated in a the Kid's Cabin party - food, games, magic show - and Barrett did some golfing with the bigger kids and had a blast cruising around on the golf cart. Ryan and I were at the big Promontory Foundation party with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys performing live in concert and a fancy dinner. We sat at a table with my boss and his wife and a couple of colleagues from Pivotal with their spouses. It was such an incredible night. We danced all night, then had the kids join up with us at the end for an over-the-top fireworks show right above our heads. So much fun!

On the 4th, we walked outside our hotel (which was right on Main Street, and watched the Park City parade. That's always a treat and seems so patriotic and home town-ish to me. I love a good parade. I even tear up when the local bagpipers or high school marching band comes by. Go figure. Makes me glad to be an American.

Easton on the bridge over Main Street

Our girls after the parade and BBQ. Oh ya, Promontory had a nice catered BBQ at their lodge on Main Street after the parade. We had burgers and dogs and giant chocolate cookies and brownies and snow cones and all kinds of delights.

The kids and me at the parade.

The Browns in PC.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I leave you with one final aside...

When our kids saw the giant white painted "PC" on the mountain on the way up to Promontory, one of them asked what it stood for. We giggled, and then started brainstorming all the things it stood for (other than the obvious Park City, of course).

Me: Politically Correct (and then I had to explain what that meant - big mistake).

Ryan: PC, as in "not a Mac"

Rowan (I think): Pork Chops

Me again: Party City

Someone in the back: "If you put a "T" in between the "P" and the "C", you'd have PTC, like PT Cruiser. Oh...PT Cruiser Bruiser! Right there!" And then someone got hit.

Everything about the trip was great, except for one thing. The little time we spent in the car. They argued about who got the middle bucket seats in the rented mini-van, then someone always got mad about getting slug-bugged or PT Cruiser Bruiser'd. And invariably I'd be throwing out some way over-used "be kind" reminders that no one really listens to anymore. Only twice on the drive back from Temple Square on Sunday did I pull over on the side of the road and ask them if they wanted to walk. Only twice. But I thought about it seven or eight times. I didn't have any takers. Easton kept volunteering Rowan to get out. She was making everyone mad. My stopped car on the side of the highway and apparently idle threats only bought me momentary sanity.

But truly, that's all part of the experience, right? I still remember road trips growing up and nary a time did we make it without a little car contention. I guess it just adds to the memories....Someday, at a Sunday dinner many moons from now, maybe my grown kids will laugh and reminisce about that trip and mom pulling over on the side of the road and Easton wanting his sister to walk.

Thank heaven that we flew this trip.