A few weeks ago, Mattie and I hitched a ride with my parents to Provo/Salt lake City. It was a quick same-day trip. First, we went to my grandparent's house to gather a few more things for my mom as they attempt to finally empty the house. It was fun to run around the yard and house with my daughter, just like I did when I was her age.
I even made Mattie climb into the old, blue peanut stroller. What a laugh! She was so mad at me. She didn't fit well and it was V-E-R-Y uncomfortable. Hey! What are moms for?
These pictures of me with my Mattie at the house are some of my favorites. I especially love the one with her arms spread wide in the front yard.
It's always so nostalgic for me when I walk through that house. It smells the same (although a little stale from not being used), it looks the same (although most everything is out now), it feels the same (although the people that made it feel that way are gone)....
Ok, so, in my minds eye it's still the same. When I walk through, I don't see the emptiness.
I see me and my cousins playing skat (a game we created and ALL remember) in the front yard, I see grandma baking bread in the kitchen, I see grandpa out in the garden, I see my brothers and I throwing burned-out sparklers in the brick fireplace. I smell the fresh raspberries still warm from the sun, I smell grandpa's aftershave, I smell grandma's Jergen's lotion, I smell something delicious baking/cooking. I hear my grandma's laugh (she laughed a lot), I hear my grandpa talking to my mission companion from East Germany, I hear someone playing the piano, I hear a board game being played on the kitchen table.
How can I bottle these things so I will remember them forever? In 10 years, when I can't walk through the house anymore because someone else will own it, I want to twist the top off a big mason jar full of the sights, sounds and smells of my grandparents little green house in Cottonwood Heights.
After the afternoon at grandparent's house, we went to Provo (BYU) to enjoy my cousins graduate recital. She sang beautifully.
Bravo Michelle!!
ENCORE!!
When the recital was complete we all had Los Hermanos for dinner before heading back south. What a blast we had together! My cousin's family is darling and they love each other very much. Tell me if this picture doesn't make you smile from ear to ear!!
It's not possible to look at this picture and frown.
Try...
(wish Christopher was in it...)
