Our Grandpa Ron

On Saturday morning, November 30th 2013, one of the greatest men I have ever known left our world and we will never be the same. I know that everyone claims that they have the best Grandpa, but anyone who knew my Grandpa Ron will agree that he is the best there is. Gramps was always happy. Even the last few months of his life, when he was so very sick and weak, he always laughed and teased when we were with him. His laugh was the best laugh and it was contagious to anyone in hearing range. Grandpa Ron had big, strong hands and fingers that he put to good use his entire life. He always worked SO hard. He was a gentle giant in my eyes.

I remember when I was a little girl I loved to sit by him in Sacrament meeting for lots of reasons. He always had a big bag of candy that he loved to share. He would take out his little pocket knife and push my cuticles on my finger nails back and then he would twist my hair in his big, strong fingers. Those things were always so comforting to me and I will always remember them.

When you went to Grandpa Ron and Grandma Georgie's, it was not long after you walked in and set your keys and cell phone (or whatever else) you had down, that they were shortly missing. Grandpa Ron would, so very sneakly, hide whatever was unattended and you would have never known it was him. If it wasn't in his shirt pocket, it was on top of the fridge or somewhere else you could not see. He always held a straight face and never gave any hints that it was him that hid your stuff. He was always teasing us kids!

Grandpa's garden was the best around. His corn was the sweetest, yummiest corn there was! He loved his garden and spent lots of hours and hard work to make them the prettiest with the best veggies. There were always more than plenty of vegetables for all of our families in the area plus the neighbors and more. Grandma Georgie and I have spent a lot of time bottling those vegetables and Gramps was always right there to help us out. Those are some of my favorite times.

I loved to go visit Grandpa Ron at the store when he was still working. He was always smiling and visiting with all the customers and his fellow employees. I love to walk by the meat department at Fresh Market to smell the fresh, raw meat and bleach, it reminds me of my sweet Grandpa. I also loved to watch him cut meat in his own shop out back of his home. He was always working hard and never turned anyone away that brought their animals to be processed, even if he was way to full. Gramps always had a bag of chocolate bars within his reach and he was always happy to share them with us kids. I always laughed because he didn't care if he had some blood and a few chunks of raw meat on his hands, he would still open a candy bar up and throw it in his mouth.

Dax and Gramps had a special relationship. He was SO good to Dax and they loved each other so much. When Dax was about 6 months old until he was 3 or 4, Grandma and Grandpa would watch  him a day or two each week. I am not sure who had more fun, Dax or Gramps. Dax got Grandpa's appetite for chocolate and ice cream. I think most of their time spent together was eating candy bars and giggling together. I am so thankful that Dax has those memories of him. I hope they never leave him. What an amazing man we got to know and love. Just a few months ago, after Dax and I left Grandma's and Grandpa's house, Dax said, "I wish Grandpa Ron was my age. He could run and play with me. We would have so much fun!"

Dear Grandpa Ron, You are going to missed so much. I do not know how we will ever be able to live our lives without you here. I know you are in a happy place now and I hope that you feel comfort and joy and know that you are loved. What an amazing Grandpa you are. Such a great example to us all. Your love and lessons will never be forgotten, neither will you. My heart will never be whole again without you in our world, but I know that we will see you again some day soon. We love you! Love, Katie & Dax

Dax, Grandpa Ron & Grandpa Chad - Christmas 2008



Grams & Gramps with all the great grandkids at the time - July 2008
(Dax was NOT happy to share his Grandpa!)



Dax & Grandpa Ron - July 2008



You are a GOOD MOM!

Being a Mommy is hard. It was hard being a single Mom to one little guy and trying to keep us afloat all on my own. It is hard being a Mom to 1 and Step Mom to 2 that works 40+ hours a week. Being a Mom has taught me an endless number of things, with millions of more each day. Being a Step Mom is a whole new book of lessons to learn each day. Some are harder than others and most are completely unrewarding to us all. A lot of days, a big deep breath is all that gets me through. Other days seem like a breeze. I find myself ready inspirational quotes and articles to make my life feel easier and to lighten my load.

{{{This is one of my faves! I know you have probably read it 100 times, but it is still great!}}}

Also, I saw this link of a friends Facebook page this morning and the article is a very good read. http://www.kveller.com/blog/parenting/tell-a-friend-you-are-a-good-mama/

So to any of my dear friends and family that might be reading this, remember - YOU ARE A GOOD MOM!!!

XOXO - Jo!

Reasons I love Fall Time

I'm a Summer girl, through and through. I love the dead heat of Summer and all the fun events that take place. I love the time spent outside, the sunshine and long summer evenings. I would be perfectly content in a warmer climate, like St George or AZ. I do, however, enjoy the changing seasons that we get here in Central Utah. I could easily get depressed that Summer is leaving, so I always have to remind myself why I love the other seasons too.

So... here is a little list of my favorite Fall things:

* The beautiful colors from the valley floors clear to the mountain tops.
* Halloween is soon. I LOVE Halloween :) And then Thanksgiving, CHRISTMAS (YAHOOOO) and New Years! I admit it, I am a Holiday Freak!
* A change in wardrobe. Bring warmer clothes out of the basement and put Summer attire away. Almost like a whole new wardrobe :)
* Bottling!!! It is something my sweet Grandma Georgie has taught me and even though it is too hard for her to do now a days, I enjoy doing it in my home with my kiddo's and letting them help, so they can have the memories like I do. Plus, it just feels so nice to use the things I know that I have made through out the year. It feels so rewarding!
* The smells... Delish! It is always funny to me how a fall scent just does not smell right from January to August, but come September, it just smells right. Fall scents are so comfy and homey to me.
* Cuddling - Getting out a warm blankey and snuggling with my loves makes me a happy Momma :)

Happy Fall Ya'll!!!

The Hones

It is official, my blonde haired, skinny minny, cowgirly, smart, gorgeous, perfect little Sister got married to her amazing man this weekend! It honestly turned out more than perfect for her and Zach. The weather was just right. We ate and drank until our hearts and belly's were completely content. We had lots of laughs and made tons of great memories. The turn out was amazing and I was so happy to see so many friends and family members. Brons, Bry and Dax walked down the isle together and Dax got the rings to the Bride and Groom without even losing them. (That made for a thankful Momma!) There were lots of happy tears shed and lots of love shared between all.

Dax is such a tender hearted, emotional little man. (I have NO clue where he got that from ;) After the wedding ceremony, he came up to hug me and told me he had a hard time not crying during the wedding because he is so happy for Jonie and Zach. Then he layed his head in my lap and cried for a good 5 minutes. Just happy tears, he said. When we were cleaning up to come home on Sunday, he was saying bye to Jonie and did the same thing to her, layed his head in her neck and cried. He said he is happy for her, but sad she is moving away. What a precious little man he is.

It was such a fun filled, busy day that I didn't get a ton of pictures, but here are a few!

{Me, Ronnie & Molly}

{Miss Lynzee & I - not just cousins, but forever friends too!}

{The handsome little ring bearer himself. The other kids were not having anything to do with pictures!}

{Jonie & Zach Hone est. 9/28/13}

{Daddy/Daughter Dance - I love their expressions!!!}



P.S. I have some ADORABLE kids!

Not to mention, this handsome man who loves me for me :)

My busy, crazy, messy life!

Life is SO busy! I feel like Summer JUST started when in reality it is almost October and Fall is in the air. We did have a great Summer that included many of our usual Summer activities - trips to the Manti pool, 4th & 24th of July festivities, camping, and we were even able to throw in a mini vacation to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole thanks to a dear friend/cousins wedding in Island Park, ID. So, even though it went by too fast, I have to say it was good!

Lately, I have been feeling like life is just FLYING past me and no matter what I do, it won't slow down! I have an amazing life that I would never haved dreamed up, but some days I feel very overwhelmed and under acheived. I feel like I have an endless pile of laundry that multiplies when I am not looking. I feel like I can clean the kitchen and the next day the dishes are piled to the ceiling and the floor is covered in crumbs. I feel like I can dust and vaccum the entire house and 2 days later, it's as if no one has done either in years! The clean bathrooms seem to last only a few hours and I don't EVEN want to get started on the kids rooms.... oh boy!

And yet, while I am feeling all this anxiety to keep a clean house, I am trying my hardest to not be the Momma and Step-Momma who is constantly gripping at the kiddo's to keep the house clean! After, all they are kids! They play hard and make lots of messes, and they should!!! This is how they learn and grow. I want them to have happy memories of their childhood and remember making messes and having a calm, comfy, happy home.

The balance of a full time job, 3 children, a home, a car, a yard, home work, dinner every night and all the other things thrown in, seems almost impossible to acheive perfectly. And I am feeling that the harder I attempt to acheive it, the farther away it is in our home. Then I think, everyone else has a busy life too, why do I think that I have it so much harder than anyone else. Then this morning, Dax and I are headed to town for work and school and he says, "When I grow up, I want to join the Army and protect our Country, OR... do daycare!" And it hit me that every little thing is just perfect the way it is. Dax is dreaming of all the amazing things that he can be when he is a grown up and not even one bit worried about the dust on the walls or the laundry in the hamper. As long as he can take his bug catcher outside and fill it with any creature he can; as long as he can spend hours in the chicken coop talking to the chickens; and as long as he has a cup full of chocolate milk before bed, LIFE IS GOOD!

I have been blessed with the sweetest, kindest little boy to raise, how could anything be that bad as long as I have him!?! Larry chose me to be his partner in this life and his best friend. He chose me to be a Step Mother to his 2 beautiful children and to make our house a home and our life good. What more could somebody want?!?! The point of this life is not to have the newest, cleanest home or the best dinner on the table each night. It is not to be the skinniest Mom (THANK GOODNESS, because I am FAR from) with the best outfit. It is SO easy to get consumed in all this stuff and I am SO over it!  I am ready to let life happen and enjoy all of it. Messy house and all! I am going to work on enjoying the little things and being a better me. I have an amazing life and I would not trade it for the universe. I am so very thankful for it every day!

Here is to working on me! XOXO

6.....

One week from tomorrow, my perfect little red headed boy will be a big, grown up 6-year-old! I am so unbelievably proud of this little man that has made my life so perfect, he is everything good in this world and he is the exact definition of perfection to me! But... I don't want him to grow up. I think the reality of the situation has hit me today, because everytime I think about it, I cry. What a baby I am, but holy cow, I don't want my Bubba to grow up.

It is amazing how strong of a bond DaxC and I have. There is just something about a Momma and her baby boy... There is NOTHING in this world that I would not do for this little man and I hope one day he knows the amount of love I have for him and the amount of love he has brought into this world. He is a blessing that I never knew that I needed and the second I saw that bruised, round face, I knew I would never be the same. Every day my heart walks outside of my body with that little boy and I am so thankful to be his Mommy.

I am sad, but I need to just enjoy Dax's last week at a 5-year-old and be thankful for the light he has brought into my life. He, on the other hand, is SO excited for his birthday and has about 15 different party ideas planned. I need to sit him down and come up with a plan so we can get a fun party put together.

 Brand new baby boy!

 1-Year-Old Cowboy

 Rockin' the Mowhawk at his 2nd Birthday!

 Handsome little dude!

 3-Years-Old!!!

~ FOUR~

5 going on 6!!!