Well my Grandma passed away on Dec. 11th. exactly 11 months after my Grandpa. Gosh I miss her. Her death was really sudden, I thought I would get to see her again, I hadn’t seen her since August and thought I would get to see her around Christmas time. She was down in Utah visiting with one of my Uncles when she had a stroke. They got her to the hospital really quick and thought she might pull through but a few days later she passed. It was really rough but I believe she was ready to be reunited with my Grandpa. From the moment he passed I think she was ready to go. When I went out to her house last spring she was trying to get rid of a bunch of stuff in her house, I kept telling her she still needed it but she said she didn’t and was sick of seeing all of it. Knowing she was ready and would be reunited with my Grandpa again brought me a lot of comfort.

I have many memories of my Grandma and want to keep some here. I remember many fun times at my Grandparents house. My grandma made the best chocolate chip cookies. I remember sitting on her counter making cookies with her, using her pea green mixer. To keep her cookies soft she kept cookies in a bread bag with a piece of bread. They had a radio/cassette player they kept on the counter, I remember listening to Big Bird on cassette tape while we baked cookies.

One thing about my Grandma is she always had her makeup on and hair done. I believe it was ever Tuesday and Thursday she’d go to the neighbors behind her house in Utah and have her hair done. She never went anywhere with out her lipstick. I honestly don’t know if I ever saw my grandma without makeup. My Grandma dyed her hair dark brown for a really long time. He and my grandpa went on a mission to Maryland and when we all met them in Missouri when they were coming home she had white hair. She had stopped dying it. It was a shock but she still looked beautiful and she never dyed it again.

I can remember on one visit we were going to church and my Grandma thought I needed a slip under my dress. I did’t have one so she had me put hers on. When we were at church walking down the aisle towards the pew the slip she had me wear feel down to my feet. I hurried and pulled it up and sat down. During church my grandma would take one of my grandpas handkerchiefs and fold it so that it looked like there were 2 babies in a blanket, then she would give it to me or my sister to rock the babies. I remembered that a few months ago and found a handkerchief to fold and even remembered how she folded it. Can’t believe after all these years I could do it!

The bank my grandparents went to was huge. It has always stuck in my mind. I remember it was a bank like out of the movies, it was huge with lots of tellers and big vaulted ceilings. We loved to go there with my Grandma because every time we did we got a sucker.

When Greg and I got to go to Alaska with my family, we had planned a spa day for the girls while the guys went out fishing, sadly something happened and we weren’t able to go. My Grandma had been excited to go because she told me she had never had a pedicure before. That stuck with me and when we got back my mom and I took her to get her first pedicure. It was really fun. Her poor toe nails were really long and thick. She said it was hard to get to them anymore. The poor guy doing her feet had to bring out an electronic file to file her toe nails. She had a great time though and in the end her toenails looked great.

My grandma loved gold. She would purchase items or even reuse some items she had and just apply a quick spray with some gold paint and it was new again for her. Lamps were gold, she had some porcelain squirrels she painted gold, gold vases, gold shelves. I am lucky enough to have one of her gold pieces a vase she seemed to have forever and painted gold. One of the items she gave me last spring.

My Grandma was a twin, she had a twin brother named Dean. Denise & Dean. That is where the twin line comes from in my family. Can’t be more thankful for that because it gave me my twins and us a connection.

Every time family was together and we were leaving my Grandma would cry. She would get this quiver lip and just cry. Every time. I can remember leaving their house seeing my Grandparents on their steps, my Grandpa with his arm around my Grandma, them waving and my Grandma trying to hold in her tears with her lip quivering.

I’m sure there are many memories I could write about and some I am forgetting, my sister could probably add many as well. I am grateful for all of them and for the pictures I have to capture them.

Dang I sure miss her!

My mom with all her siblings

This picture was on the table at my Grandmas funeral, that’s me the blond little girl with 3 of my cousins and my grandparents.

My grandma holding Jaelee at the hospital just after the twins were born.

At one of our family reunions Jaelee put a dog leash on my grandma, she played along with it and let Jaelee walk her around.

One of my favorite pictures of her, she looks so beautiful and happy.

My cousin Janae who also had boy and girl twins.