Part Two Family Reunion 2008

Scott helps Rich get boat ready to go.

Rylee Ann Smith is having a good day on the beach at Deer Creek!

Kaden, Davy and Kolby are out there in the water. Maybe you can see them. They did have fun!

Lynnie and Cameron play together on the beach. Kale all decked out for skiing in fancy swim shorts and life vest. The water was up to the trees behind Kaleb last time we came here, a couple of years ago.

Jesse just loved that oreo cookie! Grandpa and Scott look on.

Our beautiful Miss Sydney! Who knows whose knees those are!

And she's ready to go boating!

Joy helps Kalvin don life vest, while David and Sydney look on. Katy enjoys the afternoon, too.

Dallin and Eden. It was a bright, sunny day, perfect for water sports!

There's a little video of Austin saying, " OH, Man!" It's down this page a little way. I'm having some issues with this blog, adding photos as I go. Oh, well, it's a good thing to write on blogs, isn't it?

Family Reunion at Deer Creek Reservoir, June 28,08

We enjoyed a family reunion last June at Deer Creek Reservoir. Rich brought his boat and toys. Most of us enjoyed riding on the boat, skiing, or riding behind the boat. Rich, Dave, and Ryan and their families, Scott, Darrell and I attended. We had a blast!

Austin said in a very cute voice, "Oh, man!"

Kaleb Stories

December 21 and 22, 1997

On Sunday, December 21, 1997, David Alexander Smith was given a name and a blessing by his father, David Thales Smith. All of David Senior’s siblings were there with their spouses, except Rob and Steve. I was holding Kaleb during the proceedings. Great Grandma Heaton sat next to me. I told Kaleb that Grandma Heaton was my mommy and pointed to her. Kaleb responded, “Big Grandma?” After the meeting was over, someone pointed to Great Grandpa (Thales) Smith and said that he’s Papa’s (Grandpa Darrell Smith) daddy. Then Kaleb said, “Big Papa.” Then we were looking at the picture of Jesus on the wall in the Relief Society room where we held the blessing. Kaleb says, “Jesus. Jesus Smith.”

During the Sacrament Meeting we attended after the blessing of baby Davy, Kaleb sat on Darrell’s lap. Kaleb calls him Papa. I was holding baby Davy. Kaleb was coloring and took a crayon, holding it like his mother holds lip protector, and used his finger to “get lipstick and put it on” Grandma and baby Davy.

Sunday evening, we had dinner together and we opened gifts at Rich and Joy’s house. Darrell and I gave Kaleb a Fisher Price barnyard set with a big barn that opens in half and has stalls and an attic with a place to put each animal. There are also fence pieces, a farmer, a tractor with a trailer, a cow, horse, pig, sheep, and chicken. We had Kaleb open his gift first. He tore the wrapping off deliberately and was happy to see a picture on the front. He said, “Toys!” Scott helped him open the big box. He was really happy and excited to see all the pieces and played quietly with them all the rest of the time that we opened gifts. After Rich and Joy put him to bed, I went past his room to the bathroom, and he saw me. He said, “Barn, Grandma.” I went and ogt him a couple of the toys. He said, “More toys, more toys.”

The next day at Debby and Stu’s wedding reception, I was sitting and watching people dance and about ready to cry, thinking about Deb being married. Kaleb walked up to me and asked, “Dance, Grandma?” so I picked him up and we waltzed away!

Kalvin's Grandma needs to have kids story

9/9/07

Two separate times and several months apart, when I was watching Kalvin in our home in Riverton, he said to me, “Grandma, you should have some kids.” I think he wanted someone to play with bedsides me. I replied to him that Grandpa and I did have kids, but they were all grown up and his daddy was our oldest one. I showed him the photos in our living room with Grandpa and me and all our children and pointed his dad out to him.

Bridgette Story

Bridgette Story
November 23, 2008

I was talking to Deb on the phone a week or so ago and she told me this story. Bridgette went to a community preschool for a few weeks. One day, about a week after Halloween, a friend, Monica picked up Bridgette and her daughter, Isabella from preschool. Then Deb picked Bridgette up at their house and took her home. On the way home, Bridgette asked if she could have a piece of candy when they arrived home. Deb told her she could after she ate her lunch. Then Bridgette said that she had already eaten her lunch at Monica’s house. Deb looked at her watch-11:45 a.m. “Ok, she could have had lunch already,” she thought, but she asked Bridgette, “What did you eat for lunch?” Bridgette replied, “Chicken nuggets.” “What else did you eat for lunch?” “Hot dogs.” “Did you have anything else?” Then silence and next, “I don’t know the name of it, but it was good.” Deb said, “I’ll call Monica and ask her.” Bridgette is silent, then says, “No, don’t call Monica, she knows what it was.” So, Deb asks Bridgette if she really did eat lunch and she told her mom no. Deb had the opportunity to teach her to tell what really happened. A three year old is pretty crafty but not crafty enough, thank goodness!

The Allred's and the Gale's

When Darrell and I were dating in 1967, and probably about the time we were engaged to marry, Darrell invited me to go to Lehi one Sunday afternoon and meet his Grandmother Reba Allred. When we knocked on her door, she opened it, Darrell introduced me to her, and she immediately asked me if I knew Bruce Gale. I felt a shock and answered he was my father, but that he had passed away when I was a child. This was all before she let us in the door. The Gale’s had twelve children and seven of them were boys that lived to adulthood. How did she guess Bruce was my father? Maybe his name was the only one she remembered. As it turns out, the Gale family would walk to church, and as they passed Grandma Allred’s house, she and her family would walk with them. The Gale family address was 150 N. 400 E., Lehi, Utah. It has been interesting to us to know there was a previous connection.

Rob Story

One day when Rob was about three years old, he came to me and said that he wanted to play “winkin wogs”. I’m sorry but my brain must have been kinked or fried. I could not guess what “winkin wogs” was. I should really have been able to understand him because he didn’t say his L’s for a while. Lincoln Logs. Duh!!!!

Ryan Story

One day when we lived at 212 Caladium in Lake Jackson, Texas, Ryan and Debby were playing in the living room and I had a very bad headache, so I lay down on the carpet to be by them and maybe get some relief. Three-year old Ryan came over to me and asked, “Mommy would you read me a story?” I said that I had a really bad headache and I couldn’t do that. He told me that I could if we said a prayer. So I told him that he should pray because I hurt too much. He prayed a simple prayer asking for Mommy’s headache to go away. When he was done, he asked me if it was gone and I told him that it wasn’t. So he said another prayer, and then asked me again. And do you know what? My headache was gone. I did get up and read him a story and felt better the rest of the day.

Lauren’s Accident July 30, 2008
Written August 3, 2008
Lauren attended her ward’s Young Women Camp some of this week. She asked me to tend her children for a few hours on Tuesday and all day on Wednesday, so I did. Wednesday morning, I drove to Ryan and Lauren’s house about 8:15 in the morning. Ryan had fed his children breakfast and they were all dressed for the day. Dallin was practicing the piano. Ryan was cleaning up breakfast. When he was ready to go to work, he called his family around him and they had family prayer together. Then he reminded Dallin and Cameron that he had asked them on another day to start reading the Book of Mormon every day, one chapter a day. Dallin complained that it would take too long to read a chapter a day and Ryan was patient and talked and listened to Dallin until Dallin agreed to read a chapter a day. Then Ryan hugged and kissed each child and left for work. Cameron went into her room and read. I read on the couch with Dallin. It was a good day. A realtor called and asked to show the house between four and five o’clock that afternoon. Just before four, Dallin and I straightened up the house and were just going out of the house just after four, when Lauren drove up from Young Women Camp. I told her about the house being shown and she hurried in to do a couple of things and then we decided they would come over to our house for just a little while. Lauren backed out of the driveway and left and I turned my car around and followed her out of the neighborhood. As we approached our street off of the highway, Lauren didn’t turn, but passed our street and then pulled over to the right and was preparing to make a u-turn. Then I turned right and went on to our house. Looking back, I didn’t see her coming, so I continued on around the back to park in our garage. When I came in the house, Lauren wasn’t parking in front, like I thought she might have done, so I got my keys and decided to get the mail and check out what she was doing. She hadn’t called me to tell me she had changed her mind. I was wondering what she was doing. I got my mail and started walking to the corner. A man was walking his dog and said, “I heard it”. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but as I looked at the highway, there were cars backed up in the northbound lane waiting for something. Then I turned the corner and Lauren had been in an accident. The front bumper and hood of their van was off and debris scattered over the road for about fifty feet. What a shock! Another car was banged up, but I mostly paid attention that Lauren was standing out in the street talking to other people and the children were all safe in their car seats. She saw me and walked over to me and said it was all her fault and that she had just not seen that other car coming from behind me and it hit her when she started to turn around. I hugged her and she said she was trying to hold it together. She said someone had called the police and her phone battery was dead and she couldn’t even call Ryan. I handed her my phone and we decided that I would take the children to my house and she would stay there until everything was taken care of. Dallin and Cameron seemed to be calm, Eden was a little shaken, but Austin kept saying, “Mommy broke car!” We walked up the block to my house and went in. Austin just kept repeating it over and over and seemed really agitated. He wouldn’t eat or drink and cried and worried. I tried to tell him that Mommy was OK and they could get a new car. We heard the police sirens. I told the children that when bad things happen, Heavenly Father makes good things out of them. Cameron reminded us that they had had their family prayer that day and had read their scriptures. Austin continued to fuss and worry, so I took him back to the scene of the accident to show him that everything was alright. Ryan was there, the police had finished their investigation, the tow truck arrived and the men had started sweeping the street. I helped Ryan and Lauren unload their van of their belongings and they comforted Austin. Austin was willing to let me take him back to my house and he calmed down a little. Grandpa came home from work, and Ryan and Lauren came to get their children and take them home. We are all extremely grateful that no one was hurt. Everyone was safe. Thank Heavenly Father for his kind and watchful care over us. I’m thankful for good sons who love Heavenly Father and are obedient and teach their family to be obedient and the children are obedient. What a wonderful day to have our family safe! I pray that all our children and grandchildren will have soft hearts and be willing to listen to the Holy Ghost and do what is right. I love each one and want us all to be together in the Celestial kingdom, no exceptions!