Jacob's New Bed

Brandon is building bunk beds for Jacob and eventually Zoe. The first bed is finished and Jacob is loving it! I have to say I was a bit skeptical when Brandon took on this project but I am pleasantly surprised. I have not made a new quilt for Jacob yet but I'm working on it. Since he is in a "Big Boy Bed," he doesn't get his passy. Last night was his first night without it. Today's nap was non-existent, but he is sleeping now and seems to be doing fine without his passy. We will see how it goes.

My Father's Memories

My Dad just wrote this as a comment about our Aunt Gertrude's funeral and I wanted to make it easier for everyone to read.


We just returned from the funeral. The service was held in the Scottsboro United Methodist Church. Burial was in the family plot in Scottsboro. She lived a wonderful life. Prior to the service I requested that family and friends be able to say a few words at the service. This was met with some resistance from the pastor but he agreed as long as it did not take too long. It seems ironic that the pastor at a 101 year old's funeral should be in a hurry to stay on some phony schedule. It was puzzling to me but I was just thankful that he let us do it. I lead off the comments. First I said that Aunt Gertrude had made a huge impact in our lives, (arms spread wide) a really huge impact for us kids, most of us seated here in the front few rows (pointed to the first couple of rows) Leedy and Rick, Andy and kids, Newton and Ann Walker, Vesta Lou, Mom, Jennie Garner. Second I told everybody that Scott Skelton and I had several phone conversations since Aunt Gertrude had passed and Scott was really hurting because he could not attend the funeral. During one of our conversations Scott asked me why Aunt Gertrude was so easy to be with. I said it was because she knew who she was, what she was and there was no pretense. Then I told them a story about sitting at my Grandparents house, eating lunch one day and we heard a terrible crash outside. We all ran to the front porch and saw two cars in the ditch across the highway. One was Aunt Mattie Lou's car and the other one was the car that had hit hers. The Aunts were down at the "Cabin" that day and were waiting on Mattie Lou to get there for lunch. As she was turning in the guy behind her did not notice her blinker, tried to pass, they crashed. Everybody was ok and while they waited on the Highway Patrol the Aunts invited the man down to the "Cabin" for lunch. I ended that segment, "Anytime I think about Aunt Gertrude I automatically think about all of them, Beryl, Mattie Lou, Lillian and Gertrude. It was just automatic", guess it will always be that way. Several people told me after the service that was also true for them. Several people got up and spoke, most were former students of hers that told what a huge impact she had made in their lives and how she had inspired them to go into teaching.We saw many friends and family members that we had seen in recent years at Aunt Gertrude's Birthday parties and several more that we had not seen in many many years. Billy Cowley, an old friend I had not seen in probably 40 years came to the service. We got to visit a little before the service. Will Stockton drove all the way from Pennsylvania and I got to visit with him about the old farm place. I have not seen Will in over 40 years I guess. We walked over some of Grandfather Stockton's farm and I pointed out where several features had been and we walked back to the old barn, share cropper's chimney(house site), and the ever flowing spring that used to be a community gathering place and cooler for milk, eggs, etc. Then Carter took us for a ride up the mountain to the top in his 4 wheel drive truck. Jennie Garner and my mom Jenny Eaves also went in the bumpy, jumpy, rough ride over the old Stockton mountain. It was worth it though as we had some beautiful views from the top. This is a route that Scott and Andy and I used to climb at least a couple of times a summer. Thank you God for our Aunt Gertrude.
March 27, 2008 4:41 PM

Zoe's Tooth

Zoe is 10 months old and is finally getting a tooth. It is the bottom right one and I think the bottom left one will soon follow. She has had a runny nose and been a little bit fussy but nothing too bad. I honestly wouldn't have known she was teething if she hadn't bit Brandon while he was fishing something out of her mouth.

Happy Easter

My very first Easter Bunny cake. My Dad made one of these every year and I thought it was about time to carry on the family tradition.

Our Easter Family Photo

Zoe's dress is the first piece of clothing I have every made. Isn't she so cute.

They were both looking at Brandon who was holding an egg filled with candy.

So handsome!

Jacob's 3rd Birthday Party

Jacob's 3rd Birthday party was a Transformers theme. Jacob loves the toys and the old cartoons so he picked out the Transformer invitations and we followed up with everything else. We invited some of our friends here in Monterey and had a great time. I think all of the kids two favorite things were the cake and the Transformers masks. We had a great time and here are some pictures.

Our 4 Year Anniversary

For our anniversary this year Brandon and I were able to have most of the day and evening to celebrate. We drove down Highway 1 to Big Sur. We stopped at a bridge built in 1932 and found a way to hike down to the beach. This "hike" was more like rock climbing and we were obviously not in the correct attire. Even though there were times I was afraid of falling off the cliff, the scenery was incredible. After our hike, we stopped at a place called Rocky Point Restaurant. It had a great patio, great appetizers, and the view was the best of all. We had a great anniversary and hope you all enjoy the pictures.

Do you see the path to Brandon's left that looks like it goes over the cliff? That is what we climbed down.

Amazing!

Rocky Creek Bridge built in 1932.

This is the beach we were trying to get to. Who wouldn't risk their life to climb down to this?

This is our new favorite restaurant.

Aunt Gertrude

My Great Great Aunt Gertrude past away last night. She was born in November of 1906 and she was 101 years old when she past away. Can you imagine what her life was like? It is incredible when you realize what she has witnessed in her lifetime. She will be missed by many!

Wii Adventures

We have been having our friends the Taylors over a lot lately to play the Wii. We have been having a great time playing, but I think my favorite part is watching Brittney. This isn't even the best video we have but it is a good one. At the end of the video, Brittney accidentally hit the pause button. It is great to see both Brady and Brittney go from total concentration to sheer confusion. In their defense, I was confused too (I only said that because I know Brittney reads the blog...ha ha)

Which Austen Heroine are you?

Take the Quiz here!

You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of ridiculousness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed.

San Francisco Zoo

We went to the Zoo after the Temple last Saturday and Jacob had a blast! We got to watch a giraffe feeding. They are surprisingly graceful.

Brandon is trying to show Jacob the Monkeys.

Zoe is all bundle because it was really windy. The Zoo is North of San Fran and right on the Pacific Ocean. The drive was beautiful.

As a kid Kangaroos were always my favorite because it was the only animal I could think of that started with the letter K.

The flamingos were hilarious. None of them knew which way to look so they were constantly turning their heads. I have never seen there legs up close. They look like two sticks held together with a piece of gum for a knee...really weird.

Well, we had a fun filled weekend to start Brandon's class break and now we are preparing for Jacob's 3rd Birthday Party this weekend. I am sure I will be posting plenty of pictures of that next week.

Oakland Temple

Yesterday we were able to go to the Oakland Temple with some friends of ours. Amanda was baptized a week ago and this was her first time to the Temple. This is only the second time we have been to this Temple and it is absolutely beautiful.

At the Visitors Center next to the Temple we were able to view the original Book of Mormon. It was an overwhelming experience. It is hard to imagine what it was like for those who were around when the original Book was printed.