Reading Fun

As someone who has always loved to read, I wanted to find some way of sharing my passion with my grandchildren. A couple of weeks ago was my first Grandma's Book Party. Requirements for attendance were simply a finished chapter book they could bring and share. 

FRIDAY: A visit to my favorite used bookstore. (The Book Garden) 

The girls were each allowed browsing time to choose three books. (Thankfully I did reserve veto power and nixed The Wereling with the blood dripping werewolf on the cover)  :-)

Friday evening was movie night although the choice had to be a book adaptation.

SATURDAY: Cooking & games.

We started the day reading a recipe and baking bread. The girls each made three loaves: one for themselves, one for their family and one to give away as service.

Emma

Alicia

Kimberly

After cooking, we played a reading memory game, followed clues on a treasure hunt and shared the book we had read.

Book sharing time

The girls later helped Grandpa put together my new bookcase. It made me smile listening to him explaining to the girls how to glue and use a screwdriver, especially the comment, "Grandma might not be very happy if we get glue on her carpet." :-)

The favorite activity was the multiple games of Children's Authors, a card game we played together. A little like the game of Fish, the four of us talked and laughed as we tried to collect the most authors.

SUNDAY: Scriptures

Sunday we talked of the Book of Mormon and the girls collected the scripture rewards I offer for reading in the Book of Mormon.

A few more games of Authors and we were off to Family Dinner at John's home where the kids would rejoin their families. It was a great weekend, although admittedly, I think it took several days for Grandma to recover! :-)

"Books are delightful society. If you go into a room and find it full of books - even without taking them from the shelves they seem to speak to you, to bid you welcome."  *William Ewart Gladstone

Fun With My Grandchildren * Abigail

My favorite fairy tale has always been Rapunzel which has led to a few Rapunzel collectibles over the years. Recently I acquired one of Disney's Rapunzel dolls and her box has been sitting on my dresser for several weeks. My younger grand-daughters slip into my room to gaze at her almost every time they visit. Abigail, however, has expressed her feelings quite eloquently on more than one occasion. :-)

Abigail: Whose is the doll, Grandma?
Me: It's grandma's doll
Abigail: (stunned) You're too old for dolls!

OR

Abigail: Grandma, when are you going to open the box?
Me: Actually, I like the doll in the box.
Abigail: (patiently explaining) Dolls aren't supposed to be in a box. Dolls are to play with!

Now how do I argue with that logic?!? :-)

A Pioneer Heritage

This last Memorial Day we visited the Salt Lake City Cemetery where Ken's sister is buried. We love this cemetery with its rich pioneer history, including several of Ken's pioneer ancestors. During this visit we were dismayed to find the pioneer headstone of his great-great grandmother had sunk on one corner and was tipping at a dangerous angle. A small crack was already forming where the pressure on the stone was the greatest. We couldn't bear to think of seeing it break as so many pioneer stones have done, so when we got home Ken made a few calls. Today we met again at the cemetery and with the help of Keith, several cousins and plenty of shovels and crowbars, it is now ready to stand another hundred years!

The cement base went a lot deeper than we anticipated - at least 12 inches!

Filling the sink hole with dirt and gravel

Leveling the stone and tamping down the dirt

Many hands make light work!
Chase (Roy's grandson), Keith, Ken, Roy, Wayne, Val and Paul

Sarah Hyde Barnes

Wife of Matthew Barnes

May 29, 1821 - October 16, 1888

We have such a legacy in the heritage of those who have gone before. In speaking of the faith of our pioneer forbearers, President Gordon B. Hinckley said:

"Why did they do it? They did it because of their faith. They counted the costs. They knew they would be heavy. They knew they were facing extreme hazards. . . . They knew that many of them would die along the way. More than 4,000 of them did die; [giving] their lives as a testimony of their belief in the cause which they had undertaken."

May we never forget the faith and strength of those who paved the way for each of us.

Lots of love to you all!

Rimington Shootout

Mike & Ken

For weeks Ken has been deep in the planning for his 1st Annual Rimington Shootout. After many hours of planning, classes on how to run a range and many, many phone calls to arrange a location, the day finally arrived. As with any event, there were a few glitches but all in all, everyone seemed to have a great time.

 Setting up a few of the events

 

Kimberly during a junior event



After the final head to head shootout between the two top scoring marksmen (Tom and Dustin) . . .

The winner is . . . . .  Dustin!

Dustin shooting during one of the events

Thanks to everyone who participated! You'll have to come back next time and watch Dustin defend his title. :-)

See you next year!

Time for a Road Trip!

Let's take my car!

BYU Women's Conference

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the BYU Women's Conference with my mother and sister. It was great fun to be there together and to feel the spirit and inspiration of the conference. Here are just a few of the notes I took from the various classes:

*We need to count our blessings when things are well and find the blessings when they aren't.

*Look for the blessings the Lord is sending, not the ones we want.

*Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow".

*When adversity strikes, we have a choice to be bitter or better.

*Appreciation that is NOT expressed is not appreciation.

*You can find 'pieces of peace' even during great sorrow.

*We are often the angels for each other.

*Does our family know the center or source of our joy? Do they hear us share the source of our strength?   

That last thought really struck home and I wondered how often I've expressed my gratitude for the strength I receive from my Savior. I do have a testimony of Jesus Christ and know that He lives.

Lots of love to you all!

I'M FINALLY DONE!

I'm finally caught up on printing my photos! It's been a very l-o-n-g drawn out process since I hadn't printed anything since 2008. (sigh . . . yes, I'm a procrastinator) Since I didn't post most of these, here's just a few highlights:

Ken cooking a dutch oven lunch for co-workers - 2011
(He used 8 dutch ovens!)

Watching the Angel Moroni go up on the Brigham City Temple - 2011

Grandma Barker reading with Rebekah - 2011

Kevin NOT swimming on his mission :-)

Tammy & companion
Route 66 at the Wigwam Motel - 2011

(Guess which movie reproduced this motel?)

Keith & Tammy at a 5K in Ogden - 2010

Grandma Barker & Addie watching a photo frame - 2010

The Rexburg Temple - 2010
Devin, Turley, Grandma B, Karen, Linda, Janell & Kevin

Family Party - 2010
Gail, Mike, Ken, Kevin, Keith, John & Delores

Games with John's family - 2009

Hawaii - 2009

Tammy shoveling snow - 2009
(Definitely doesn't look like Winter 2011!)

Me breathing a sigh of relief when I was finally done! :-)

Date Night: The Organ Loft

Last night my husband, Ken, took me on a date to The Organ Loft, a unique theater in Salt Lake City that steps back in time a few nights a month, showing films from the silent era. Last night we saw City Girl, a 1930 film actually thought lost until a few years ago when a work print was found.

Seeing a silent film on the big screen was exciting for me but an added attraction was the incredible Wurlitzer Pipe Organ and the organist who performed live during the show! The pipes surrounded the room with both music and sound effects for the entire film. Great Fun!

Ken is patient with my hobby and even claims he enjoyed the evening. He is certain he is becoming quite adept at reading lips. :-) And surprisingly, he's even agreed to go back and see Rin Tin Tin with me next month. Unless, he says, I want to invite someone else to go! :-)



NOTE: The director of City Girl, F. W. Murnau, is considered one of the greats of the silent era, and was a master of black and white lighting. Although not considered one of his best, it was still a wonderful film with a pretty compelling story. Murnau's 1927 Sunrise is one of my favorites. In fact, Sunrise is listed in the American Film Institute's "100 Greatest Movies of All Times", and in 1929 won the only Academy Award ever given for Best Unique & Artistic Picture.

A "Quiet" Evening :-)

During the last several months, Mom has been staying with me off and on while she did physical therapy. Our evenings have been full and we've enjoyed doing puzzles, watching Murder, She Wrote (one of mom's favorites), reading, word searches, doing family history, discussing the scriptures, etc. She even helped me stuff bears at Christmas time. :-)

The other night, however, was time to reintroduce Mom to her childhood years. :-) Together we watched Rudolph Valentino in Son of the Sheik (1926), which was actually his last film. It has been said Valentino could "make love to you with his eyes", making him a heartthrob of the 20's and of silent film. Although born in 1922, Mom only remembers seeing one silent film, King of Kings about the life of Jesus Christ, in the theater as a child. At the time of Sheik she was only 4 yrs. old, and the first "talkie" was released only a year later in 1927. Although pretty young when the silent film era ended, she does remember hearing others talk about Keaton, Chaplin, Garbo and even Valentino.

I can't say I converted her to my new hobby, but we laughed and talked together as we watched. And according to Mom, one of the best parts: she didn't need her hearing aids! :-)