Happy 34th Anniversary, May 31st

Today I played Go Fish--5 times, put together Tonka truck and Princess Belle puzzles, played Hi Ho Cheerio, went to the Rochester Library (checked out Angelina Ballerina DVD) and took the family to dinner at a Mexican Restuarant.

PopPop and I had a wonderful anniversary. I hope we can be with our grandkids EVERY May 31st !!! Wish all the rest of the family could be here too. Then it would be perfect!

I've Definitely Died and gone to HEAVEN

Jon and I had not planned on visiting our grandkids until July. However, with my new retired status and nothing to keep us in Idaho Falls, we packed the car and headed due east the day before school ended (What could they do, fire me?)

That was a very l.....o......n.....g.....trip. We were entertained by the fact that Lydia called every 100 miles or so. If she hadn't called me, I would have called her.

The trip seemed real to me and I finally began to relax as we traveled through the eastern part of Yellowstone Park. We enjoyed the gorgeous weather and scenic drive. We even passed a moose!

In South Dakota, the trip changed. Storms. Not just any storm. Hurricane-style storms. Rain drops as large as basketballs and as furious as me after a school board meeting. It was impossible to see more than a few feet ahead on the freeway and being in the middle of no-where, impossible to stop.


The weather broke and the fog began. Cannot-see-in-front-of-you fog. It slowed us down--a lot. It was wonderful when a semi finally passed and Jon could follow the large tail lights.


Poor Jon. I slept almost the entire trip. My little energizer bunny-husband just kept going, going, and going. We stopped once in Wyoming for gas and once in S. Dakota. At Soiux Falls we bit the dust and pulled over for a hotel. It was 2 am. Both of us quickly fell into comas.


At 10:30 the next morning we were on our way to Lydia's. Three hours our new GPS revealed...We could do it!


Do you want to know one of the top ten moments of my life? Seeing my wonderful Tommy and Anna. That was a reunion! Anna grabbed my hand and drug me downstairs. I knew where we were going.

Everyday the week before we embarked on our vacation, PopPop and I would call the kids. I always asked Anna if I could come to her house and play in her Princess Castle. She always enthusiastically replied, "YES!!!!!!"

Anna and I found ourselves in her castle the first two minutes we stepped out of the car. I looked at Anna, she looked at me and our bonding was magical. She told me about all the princesses on her castle wall. I told her that I loved her and she was My Princess. Nothing in life is better than a moment like that.

Then there is my Tommy. As we sat down to a wonderful lunch, he demonstrated his knowledge of the alphabet as he touched the magnetic letters on the fridge and gave each sound. He is so smart. He and Jeff spent Friday night camping with the scouts. What a neat kid!


Tommy's artwork is amazing and decorates the family room.

One most interesting masterpiece shows a family WITH WHIPS. Somewhat panicked, Lyd asked her young Monet son where he got the idea for whips. Tommy innocently replied, "from Indianna Jones." Phew.

I must say the trip to Minnesota is as wonderful (and, if possible, more than) I had envisioned. Life doesn't get any better than being with those we love!

Another Day at EIRMC

I found this entry from my diary. Thought I would share.

Once upon a time Jon and I were in Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. I remember it well~~~~~~~

It was a hot, summer Monday, August 18th. We were regulars on 5th Floor. Everyone knew us by name. Not a good sign. This particular afternoon, another unfamiliar doctor gave us a visit—there laid Jon in his usual bed with the common, unflattering gown, and I sat on the uncomfortable chair trying to be cheerful, watching Law and Order.

Now, I realize Docs are busy and hustle from room-to-room and patient-to-patient. This doctor was young, friendly, energetic and ready to get our visit over quickly—simply routine.

In walks the doctor. I could not place her southern accent. I will call it Texan. At this time I was unable to concentrate on what part of the country was responsible for that cute, little drawl.

"Well, hello Mr. Ward. Dr. Shull wants me to check in on a little abscess."

Man, I had been waiting all day for her. FINALLY she is here.

Jon gingerly lifted his left arm. Streaks of red appeared streaming out the sleeve.

"Oh yes. Let me turn on the lights to get a better look."

HOLY MOLY. That lady knew how to light up a room. We may have even got a suntan.

To our horror, Jon's armpit was bright red, inflamed, swollen, hard AND spreading.

"Oh yes, we will have to drain that immediately! Oh my (she begins to read Jon's chart). Dr. Shull has ordered a platelet transfusion. Hmmm. Wonder…Says here you need the platelet to help control your bleeding.

"Hmmm…we may have to do this in the operating room in the morning so I have more control over this procedure.

"Wow, (as she continues reading) your white blood cells are critically low. We can give you some medicine to help with that.

"Why do you think this abscess has happened, Mr. Ward?"

"It could be from my crutches."

"Crutches! Why do you have crutches?"

"I use them for walking since my complete hip replacement (must not have been on his chart)."

"Oh. With the procedure you will not be able to walk with crutches after tomorrow."

Hmmm…at this point we had to inform this poor lady that Jon could not have a catheter or anything invade his bowels due to other medical issues. So that raised the question, how will we get him to the bathroom? Oh the nurses would love to hear this.

"Dr., Jon has to walk in order to control his blood clots."

"BLOOD CLOTS?!?!?!"

"Yes, he has blood clots since his hip replacement—one major clot in his leg and several in his lungs."

"Blood clots in his lungs?"

"Oh, I had better have a consultation with Dr. Shull."

A little less energetic and with concern, this doctor lady tried to explain, "We will cut this area open, take out the Hard Part, put packing in and let it drain for a few days before we close it up."

At this time through our so-called adventure, I had quickly learned to question EVERYTHING, "I didn't think he could be opened up with his chemo treatments and his blood so low."

A whisper escaped her lips, "Chemo? You are on chemo? Are you currently taking the treatments now?"

"No. Actually we finished the first round last week."

"Then WHY are you in the hospital?"

"High Fever."

"Oh. Do you think this abscess is causing the fever?"

"Everyone is praying that is the reason."

Shell-shocked, she mumbled, "I believe I will hotpack it and hope it opens up on it's own. I had better find the doctor to consult."

She shut the door. Jon went to sleep. I went home.

Jon had surgery the next morning.

My Aunts and Uncles

My Mom's Side: The Peterson's

My aunts and uncles as I remember them:

The oldest was Mable. She went to live with her dad during High School. She never had children. She moved to California to begin her singing carreer or go into movies. Never happened. She was an alcoholic. Lived in an American Fork rest home into her 90's.

Then Olive married to my dad's first cousin, Leo Bowen. She raised her younger brothers and sisters when grandma went to work. Died of Alheizmer's. Aunt Olive taught me about Grandpa Peterson. It always fascinated me that Grandma never said anything negative about "Abraham." I think she truly loved him. Apparently he was tall dark and handsome. They met while he was herding sheep through the Malad Valley. He had a beautiful singing voice. Olive was in high school when he left, so she knew him well. She maintains that he was gone all week, grandma was straddled with 10 kids and would grumble a lot when he was home for the weekend. He got tired of it and looked for greener pastures.

Floyd worked hard. He was known as the son who worked all week in Lava, came home and gave every penny to Grandma but would keep a nickel to get into the Dance in Malad on Saturday night. He was fun. I remember amusing me and Marvin by blowing smoke rings. He was a grocerman in downtown San Francisco. Wow, did we love visiting him. When I was a senior, mom and Pops took me, Tim, Connie and Ned to visit him. I was impressed beyond belief at the new presidential candidate Robert F. Kenney. I was old enough to vote. I was ecstatic to be in California while RFK was there. I spent an afternoon at his San Francisco Headquarters. It was Uncle Floyd who told me the news the next morning of Robert Kennedy's assassination. I was devastated. Uncle Floyd died of alcoholism.

Then Stanley who ended up in Concord, California. He worked in Concord's Water Systems and had a daughter my age, Diane. He died of Alheizmer's. He was very active in the Church serving as Bishop of the Concord California Ward.

Emma Jean Cook who lived in Cleveland, Ohio. She sent amazing Chrismas gifts to all of us Thomas kids every year. She and my mom had a wonderful relationship. Her nickname was Raisins because that was her favorite snack and she called mom Skeezix because her hair stuck-up in front like the 1920's cartoon character, Skeezix. I loved when she and my Uncle Ed (nicknamed Cookie) came to visit. They were fun! The only drawback was the cigarette smoke that filled our house. Mom, nor Pops, said anything. She died of old age.

Josephine Hall who lived in Murray. She died in her 30's or 40's from heart disease. I spent a week with them once. I was too picky of an eater for them to enjoy my visit. I was a pain, I'm sure!

Gordon Dean died at 5 years old. Grandma Peterson was rocking him in her arms when he died from diptheria. Mom remembers being quarantined inside the home after his death. Grandma dressed him up and laid him in the front window as members of the community filed past the window to pay their respects. Grandpa Peterson, living in Las Vegas at the time, showed up to see the kids and could not get into the house to see any of them. The town shunned him. It was the last time my mom saw her dad. She was 4. Mom always thought the cat had something to do with Dean getting diptheria because the cat died the same day with similar symptoms.

Next was Mom.

Uncle Marvin. A few bolts loose. Lived in SLC. He never did pay my mom the $5 he owed her for naming my brother after him.

Uncle Clifford. Still alive. Has Alzhiemer's. My favorite. Was a lawyer in LA. We LOVED visiting him because he had his own swimming pool and what else, Disneyland. He and his family visited Grandma (and us) every summer.


My Dad's Side: The Thomas's

Lena. Lena Thomas Davis lived up the street from us in the coolest home. She worked in Rexall Drug store and the Evan's Co-op in Malad. She made wedding cakes. She knitted like no one else. She had talents galore. She had a large family. They are all gorgeous! None of them were members of the Church and did not have a great deal of money--two strikes against you in Malad. I loved my Aunt Lena. Died of a heart attack.

Ruth. Ruth Thomas Deschamps lived in Burbank, California. A school teacher. Wonderful sense of humor. Very intelligent. Her husband, Phenoi, went hunting with his sons one weekend. While on the way back home, the faulty tire on their trailer blew. The load pop and the movement of the trailer caused Phenoi to have a heart attack. Although they did not wreck, he died instantly in the trailer. It was a day before his daughter came home from her mission in France. I'll never forget that time.

My Dad. The oldest son. During World War II, certain families were given one farm deferment for a son to stay and help with the much needed farming. His family chose my dad to stay and not go to war because he had three children. Living in California, my parents moved back to the head of Malad.

Nettie. Nettie Thomas Bollingbroke. She was the sweetest, kindest lady that ever lived. She was cripple with arthritis. I remember hands and arms being shriveled up to her body. Her husband, Uncle Henry was amazing. He took wonderful care of Aunt Nettie. She was one of those kind spirits that you felt so great to be around. Died of pneumonia. It was said on her deathbed that she reached up and put her arms around Henry to hug him good-bye. She had never been able to do this because of her arthritis. She was what I consider an angel on earth.

Fred. Uncle Fred is a legend. He had just graduated from Teacher's College. Had a job teaching high school in Weston when World War II broke out. At nineteen he went to war. He was sent to the Pacific. It was devastating to the family when they received news that he had been captured and sent to a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp. Most Japanese POWs were starved or worked to death. It was a long time before anything was known about his condition or whereabouts. One day a young soldier from Portage, Utah showed up. He had been in the same camp as Uncle Fred. The Japanese were retreating in the Philipines and hurriedly tried to move the American prisoners from the island to the mainland Japan. In route they met an America ship. Not knowing it was full of American Soldiers, the US Navy sunk the ship. Uncle Fred was shot on deck. The young soldier from Portage got into the water and was eventually saved by the Americans. It was later that my grandparents received the official news of Uncle Fred's death.

Tom. Thomas Marion Thomas. Lives in Soda Springs. Uncle Tom is a hoot. He traveled to Malad often and we enjoyed his visits. Always smiling, always friendly. Was road foreman for the Idaho Department of Transportation. Currently lives in a rest home in Soda Springs.

JD. Joseph Dean Thomas. Died at age 5. I was always told he ate too many green apples from the tree and it poisoned him. Never heard much about JD.

Boyd. Uncle Boyd lived in Malad. He and my dad had a special relationship. I can still picture him in his green coveralls, standing in the backroom of the store drinking a coke and watching my Dad and Bud cut meat at th end of the day. He was extremely intelligent. He fixed TVs and later went back to college to become a math teacher. I loved his sense of humor. He and Aunt Edith were very good to me. The most amazing family in every way. Jon grew up as his next door neighbor. Died of old age. The youngest son, of the youngest son, of the youngest son.

Lucille. Lucille Thomas Deschamps Keene. The most beautiful woman in the world, and classy. She always has a smile and a teasing comment. Incredible person. Lives in Bountiful!

Two of the Most Amazing Women

One Sunday in Malad 2nd Ward our teacher did not show up. Being high school seniors the leaders decided that we should combine classes with our parents.

The question was posed, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Various answers, "teacher, rancher, rich, etc." I was about the 5th kid to answer and I said, "A Grandma."

I still think that is the number one occupation of a lifetime. Along with my life with Jon, this is the ultimate joy of my life!

After I gave that answer in Church one of the adults said, "You must have incredible relationships with your grandmothers."

Definitely.

So just for the heck of it, I am going to blog my two grandmothers. I think they would get a kick out of it!

GRANDMA THOMAS Mary Pierce Thomas "Ma"

Mary Pierce Thomas--an elect Welsh lady

Grandma Thomas was affectionately known throughout Malad as "Ma." Everyone called her this. I was named after her, something I am very, very proud of...

Grandma lived just below Malad Elementary. If I missed the bus or decided to walk home, I would stop off at her house and call my mom. She had a cool table with a chair attached that we sat on to use her huge black phone. In those days, there was no such thing as rotary dials. We simply picked up the phone, an operator would say, "Number please." I would then reply, "One-six-five Please." Our phone number was 165, the store's number was 180."


Grandma never walked. She had a cute little skip or jog. When I would knock on her door, I could hear her little skip and soon was welcome by her wonderful smile. She had a little box on her kitchen wall filled with suckers, or as we called them, all-day-suckers. I always got one when I visited--red. She knew what I liked.


If Grandma was not home, she had a key on a nail of her house railing. I have no idea why she locked the door. Everyone in town knew where her key was.

Her living room was large living/family room. It was always neat, clean and classy. On her walls was a huge mirror, a cuckoo clock (sometimes she would move it ahead so I could marvel and giggle at the little bird), and a framed letter from President Franklin D. Roosevelt expressing his condolences on the death of my Uncle Fred during World War II. People in Malad would often say, "Ma never recovered from the death of Fred."

Grandma grew up only speaking Welsh in her home. She learned English when she went to school. She attended up to the 8th grade which was usual for girls at that time. She and my Grandpa Dave Price Thomas homesteaded land north of Malad. This area is called, "Daniels", "Elkhorn", or "Head of Malad." It was one mile square and had a spring on it. A few times my dad, brothers and I hiked this land and drank out of the spring.

Grandma was amazing and I smile when I think of this sweet, soft-spoken, Welsh lady. She was an amazing cook, she loved the grandkids, and her family was everything to her.

EVERY Sunday my dad would take us to her house to visit. It was his only day off and he would take her a small sack of groceries. We would pull up to her house and she would come jogging from across the street. My Aunt Nettie Bollingbroke lived directly across the road from her. She would go over to eat Sunday Dinner with them and visit until Stan or Uncle Boyd showed up.

The street she lived on was interesting. On both sides of the road from 4th North to 3rd North lived Thomas's: Ma, sister-in-laws Aunt Lil' Thomas Caldwell, Aunt Janet Thomas Thorpe, Cousin Bill Thorpe, his mother-in-law, cousin Hazen Gilgen (mother was a Thomas), Cousin Tom Parry(mother was a Thomas), Martha Maag (her mom was grandma's first cousin), The only one not belonging to the clan was non-relative Ward Thomas, but that is okay because his name fit.

The best Sundays were when the Blaisedells (Aunt Lucille) from Bountiful came to spend the weekend, usually once a month. My cousins Pam and Wendy Blaisdell, Jill and Dixie Bollingbroke, Ann Davis and I played Army in the basement. Jill was always the General because she was the oldest. She had us clean house or make her something to eat or drink.

I made Pam cry once because I called her a Carrot Eater. That's the only time Grandma got angry with me. I felt awful.

Maybe once or twice a year we would get out Grandma's Ouiji Board. It always scared me because it knew the exact color of the next car to pass the house and one time it wouldn't answer when we asked where Dixie was because she was in Church. Oh, dear! The cousins still giggle about our adventures every time we get together.



GRANDMA PETERSON: Margaret Camp Peterson "Maggie"

Grandma Peterson was amazing. She was my best friend growing up. I visited her every day. How blessed I was to have a grandma nearby that I could walk to her house, play games, eat her food, and later take my lunch break from the store (and watch General Hospital with her).

She had a tough life. She had 10 children when her husband left her. My mother was the youngest daughter (5 at the time) with three younger brothers and 6 older siblings.

The Peterson Family were quite well-to-do and lived in Ogden. Grandpa Peterson was the main railroad conductor on the Union Pacific Railroad between Ogden and Las Vegas. They had a large home and a fancy new car. One thing led to another and gambling soon took much of the money and possessions.

He left Grandma for another woman. When she found out he was married and had 10 kids, she left him and started paying Grandma money to raise the kids. In the early 20's there was no such thing as mandatory child support, alimony, or even welfare of any kind. A woman was on her own to fend for herself and kids.

She and the 10 kids moved to Samaria where the Camp family tried helping them. Grandma was independent and hated taking help from her brothers and sisters. She went to work. She worked for various people cleaning their homes and also in cafes. She told of the day some man was making sassy remarks to her in the Cafe and she took the wet cloth used to wipe the tables and slapped him across the face. She worried all day that her boss would fire her which would have been devastating. The boss said nothing and no one in town ever made inappropriate remarks to this single lady again.

One job she that paid all the bills and kept the family afloat was with the Whiting Road Construction Company. They built the first paved road from Idaho Falls to Arco. She was hired as the cook for the crew. The first day on the job, the men came in hungry and dirty. They just sat there. No food. Grandma wouldn't feed anyone with a hat on or their hands not washed. And she demanded respect with no swearing. The men soon learned. They changed.

It wasn't long before they realized they had the best cook in the West and the most amazing bread maker on earth. The Whitings loved Grandma and visited her at least once a year.

Grandma married a man who farmed ground on the Fort Hall reservation. I was about 4 when she married this Everett Saul. They lived on a farm and I loved visiting her. When my brother Tim was born, he did not have the reflex to swallow. Mom spent every day in the Logan Hospital with him while his life was slowly slipping away. Marvin and I went to Fort Hall to stay with Grandma.

We didn't know her husband's name so we called him "hey you." We fed the chickens in the morning and collected pop bottles along the freeway in the afternoon. Grandma's bed was too tall for me to get into so Marv's had to boost me into bed each night. I was four, he was five. I almost threw up when grandma served me milk from the cow complete with cream floating on top. I drank water the rest of the stay. We road the Greyhound bus to Malad since Grandma did not drive.

Everett was very abusive to Grandma. My dad went up one day and brought her to our house. Everett charted a plane and flew over Malad looking for her. My dad and he met face to face. I later heard my dad say that he called him a "son of a b....." and told him to get off his property. Pops was frightened of what this crazy man would do to the store, him, grandma or us kids. He always had a gun nearby for some time after this altercation.

My dad bought the house next door and Grandma Peterson moved in. I was five years old. She was so grateful to my dad. When she died, her Will said, "Everything goes to Stan."

Grandma had a back porch full of toys. I later found out that she would go to the junkyard and find them. I didn't care. They were fun.

Each Saturday she baked homemade bread for my dad and fried two chickens for my mom. Every once and awhile she made my dad an apple pie. Her cooking was amazing, everything from scratch, no recipes.

She and my dad had a special relationship. I was in his butchershop one night and he showed me some bankruptcy forms. He had just built a new store in Malad and things were not going as planned. He was upset. He finally told me to go home. That was the last I heard of it. Years later, I heard that Grandma had taken out her life savings ($1000) and gave it to my dad. This was in the 50's and that was A LOT of money. It saved the store. I guess they both saved each other's life or livelihood. My dad ALWAYS spoke highly of Grandma Peterson.

It was difficult to see my Grandma get older and not be able to live on her own. She entered the Malad Rest Home when I was in college. I often visited her. My mom fixed up my sister Connie's bedroom for Grandma to come live at our home. She would not hear of it. She would not be a burden to anyone.

She enjoyed the rest home because three of her sisters and sister-in-law were there also. They watched Lawrence Welk together (on the TV my dad bought and donated to the hospital) and they quilted. I still have several baby quilts that they made. These masterpieces are not tied quilts or machine stitched, it was all by hand and beautiful.

Grandma died peacefully in her 90's. I loved her and had the most amazing relationship with her.

Everyone should be so blessed to have wonderful Grandmas!!!!

May 6, 2008..............Happy 5th Birthday Tommy

Remember that Grandma and PopPop will always LOVE you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!