Memory Monday: Grandpa Mayes

One of my resolutions this year is to blog about some of my memories at least once a week, hopefully on Mondays so I can keep the title of Memory Monday. Anyhow, I thought I would start by writing about a few of my memories about my Grandpa Mayes. He died when I was in 2nd grade. I remember that Aunt Claudia came to get Kenneth from school because he had died. I kept waiting for my mom to come and get me, but she never did. She later said she didn't think that I would understand what was going on and didn't want to take me out of school for it.

Grandpa was sick the last couple years of his life with cancer. I remember him being in a hospital bed in the living room. Us grandchildren were too young to really know what was going on, except for the older few. I remember one particular time when we kept running in and out of the house. Someone pulled us aside to tell us the grandpa was really sick and needed the quiet in the house. I think that was the first time I really got how sick he was.

Some of my memories of being with Grandpa were when I would spend the night. One time in particular we were going to eat dinner and it was time to say the prayer before eating. It was Grandpa, Grandma, and me. We all bowed our heads. I kept expecting one of them to say it. I probably waited a good 2 or 3 minutes before I spoke up asking who was going to say the prayer. They both chuckled and teased me that they were waiting for me to say it. He was a jokester that way. (I don't remember who actually ended up saying the prayer.)

He loved to work in the yard. There are pictures of me helping him in the garden, even though I don't remember doing it. I do remember him flooding the yard with well water. Us grandchildren thought it was so fun to run through it barefooted. It was so cold we never did last long.

I remember sitting on their old brown and orange couch that was next to the door in anticipation of him coming home from the body shop. He would always come in and say, "Howdy, folks." I thought that was the coolest saying and wanted to remember it so I could say it when I grew up. His hands were always looked dirty because of the work he did on cars. I remember when he came home from work he would wash his hands before he did anything else. I remember watching the dirt and grease come off his hands and wondering how they still looked so dirty all the time. He always had dirt and grease under his fingernails, too.

I remember sitting on his lap one Sunday at church. I put my head into his suit coat so it blocked out the light and I ran my hand over the walls (it was that prickly hay stuff that the church used to use). It was soothing and I fell asleep like that.

As a whole family (cousins and all), we used to go to Five Springs for picnics. There are pictures of us looking at fuzzy caterpillars that Grandpa had on a stick. I think there was one time he scared us by growling behind a tree and jumping out at us. (I can't remember if it was him or Uncle Lloyd. They're both pranksters, so they both could have done it.)

Like I said before, I don't have too many memories of Grandpa Mayes, but I do remember the feelings that I had around him. I don't ever remember being scared of him, even though he was a big man. I know that he loved my Grandma very much. I remember the way he used to talk to her and he didn't let us talk back to her at all. I look forward to when I can meet him again and get to know him as an adult.

The Stable/Dependable Thing in my Life

As of this week, I have owned my car for 6 years. It's the longest relationship I've ever had with someone who isn't family. I bought it from my cousin Mark. It was one of the first cars he every bought with a rebuilt title and fixed up. I'd say this is a great advertisement for him. (Plus, he couldn't really go wrong with a Toyota.) Here's a few reasons it has a place in my heart:


I have never named it. Nothing has ever stuck in my mind as a name because it's never really given me any problems (knock on wood). (Suggestions for names welcome.) It has gotten me through many snow storms and icy conditions...often pulling out of a spin at the last moment before trouble.

It gets GREAT gas mileage...over 40 on the highway. It's great because I drive home so often.

Yes, the CD player has decided to not work, but I still have the radio. (Thank goodness for old country while driving through the wilds of Wyoming.)

It's been patient with all the children I've piled into the backseat with their car seats. And with all the messes they leave behind back there. (Okay, some of them are mine.)

It has never complained about the dust on the dash that has piled up over the years. It doesn't mind that it doesn't get washed every week, or even every month. It rejoices in the rain baths that it gets.

It has been registered 4 different times in 3 states, and it doesn't mind wearing UT plates.

This past year it has loved having covered parking. It doesn't mind a little pile up of snow, though, which it has gotten this break in Wyoming (thanks to my brother who piled up the snow he shoveled onto it.) :)

Although there are a few paint chips, window chips, and hub cap chips, it still gets around with beauty and grace.


I couldn't have asked for a better car over the last 6 years. I figure I still have about 40,000 miles until it gives out. I figure the body of the car will go before the engine does. Thank you, Corolla!

Dancing Queen

On Tuesday I had the opportunity of going to a dance recital for a place that my sister-in-law teaches tap at. My niece Whitney was one of the cute little dancers. It was so fun watching all the different age groups dance. There was one group in particular that kept us highly entertained with their antics (that were not part of the dance, of course).

Whitney in her cute costume. She was so excited to dance on a stage with spot lights.

Me with the cutie pie.

Whitney and her friend Marissa.

Kinda fuzzy, but still so cute. This is while she was dancing.

Gingerbread Boxes

One of the first nights home Aunt Nicole invited everyone out to their house to make gingerbread houses. Well, they turned out to be more like boxes, and they didn't even hold together too well. The kids had fun eating the candy while making the boxes.

Grandma and Mike watching the progress.

Sariah and her house. It turned out very cute.

Sariah and Wilson

Hannah and Whitney in their princess dresses, making their boxes.

Hayden being a cheeser.

Hayden, Whitney, Damen, Marissa, and Bekah

Marissa and Bekah

Goo, Hannah, and Whity

Musical Lights

Here is part of one of the shows I got to see in Idaho Falls (see previous post)...I was very impressed.

Detour through Rexburg

On the way home for Christmas break, I spent a few days in Rexburg visiting friends. I spent most of my time at my friends' the Wildes. I hadn't seen them in quite a while. How the kids have grown! I used to spend quite a bit of time with them when I lived in Rexburg. I miss being able to see them whenever I needed a kid fix. Here are a few pictures from the visit.

This is Madelyn...she is just too cute.

Me and the two boys-Cannon and Preston. I used to watch Preston all the time when he was a baby and toddler. Now he's in 1st grade! Yikes.

The boys waiting for their funny faced pancakes at IHop.
(They were HUGE!)

After dinner, we went and looked at lights in Idaho Falls. There are two houses within a mile of each other that have a huge light show set to music. They even had their own radio stations so people could sit in their own cars and watch the show. The kids loved it. (So did I.)

Also while in the area I got to go to lunch with my friend Stephanie. As with most of my friends, it had been too long since I had seen her. She's an amazing woman and I am so grateful for her friendship. I have been so blessed with good friends!

Happy Birthday, Erik!

Happy birthday to my little brother, Erik!
(Shown here with is son, Ethan.)

School and Thesis Update

School has been going well this semester. I really am only taking one class and working on my thesis. The class I'm taking is on family theories. It's been interesting because I've been trained to think developmentally (individually) rather than from the standpoint of a family. It's definitely broadened my thinking. In fact, I'm taking another family class next semester, one on family policy, so I can better understand the family framework. (I need to in order to pass successfully through my PhD program...so I thought I'd get a head start.)

A couple of weeks ago another girl and I gave a presentation in the Family Theories class on Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory. His theory is one of my favorites. Probably because it ties nicely into human development. :) Anyway, I was pretty stressed about it because the teacher would mention her critiques of other presentations to me in passing. Needless to say, my partner and I put a lot of work into the presentation. Afterward the presentation and during the break, the teacher gave me a high 5 and smiled. Later she wrote this: "You are an excellent teacher. Your goal of a ph.d. is well worth achieving. I was mesmerized by the way you drew the class to the level of involvement you got." I was so thrilled to get such positive feedback. Most of the time I feel like I'm the dummy of the class because I have to background training in family theory. At least I can teach!

As for my thesis, I did my proposal today. Basically, I presented what I want to do with my thesis to my committee members. (I had to write my intro, a literature review, and a methods section for the proposal. Three chapters down, two to go!) Again, I was pretty stressed. My committee members are wonderful, but I still worried. As I told my advisor, when you put so much effort into something you don't want to hear anything negative about it. Kind of like when you become a parent, you wouldn't be able to hear anyone say anything negative about your newborn, even if it was something insignificant, like about its clothes. Anyway, this morning I got a call from the department secretary saying that the room I had been scheduled for had been double booked and I needed to move since she was actually defending her thesis and I was 'only' doing a proposal. Good thing they had another room readily available or I might have lost it. I really didn't mind, but any hurdle at this point seems like a mountain. The proposal meeting went fine. My committee had many good suggestions to help clarify my methods and my analysis. It's nice to get an 'outsider's' point of view...someone who is not 'entrenched' in the process so they can see things more clearly. It was a lot to take in, but very useful. So now I go back to my thesis and make the suggested changes and enhancements and REALLY begin work on the data analysis. I don't mind this part. It's a lot less stressful.

The next thing on my plate is studying for a stats pretest so that I can get into a stats class next semester. It's amazing how much I can forget in such a short time from when I took it. Okay, it was 2 years ago, but it wasn't in high school. I can remember a lot of the basics, it's just some of the formulas I'll need to try and remember.

Onward and upward!

More Thanksgiving

Here are a few more pictures from my Thanksgiving break.

Hannah 'hiding' in a storage box.

Hayden, Bryan, and Wilson watching sledding.

Hayden helping Grandma bake rolls and cookies.

Hayden and Hannah with balls in their shirts.
(This is what I always do when I take a ball from them...put it up my shirt. They love it.)

Heidi (2 1/2 months) and Ethan (5 1/2 months)

Thanksgiving Fun

Thanksgiving break has been fun. I love being with my family, especially the little ones. Here are a few highlights from the fun-filled week.

Sariah, Bekah, Hannah, and Whitney wrestling with Bryan

Nicole making snow ice cream (VERY yummy)

Wilson, Whitney, and Ethan

Hannah and Whitney

Me visiting Uncle Richard's family
Hayden, me, Kayla, McKay, Callie, Nina, Karren, Hailey,
and Uncle Richard

Hayden out in the cold

Wilson, Hayden, and Whitney sledding
(Being pulled by Bryan)

Sariah and Hannah waiting their turns for sledding

Bekah bowling

Scary Bryan, Pretty Chelsey, Grumpy Hayden, Sweet Hannah
waiting their turns for bowling

Who's going to marry you?

Lately, my 4 year old niece has been concerned about who will marry me. I think her real concern is when she can next be a flower girl. This is a conversation we had a few days ago.

Hannah: Shawnee, who's going to marry you?
Me: That's a really good question, Hannah.
Hannah: How about Kirk? (My youngest brother.)
Hannah's mom: His name might be Kirk, but it won't be Uncle Kirk.
Hannah: Oh. Well, who's going to marry you then?

Another conversation the next day.

Hannah: Shawnee, who's going to marry you?
Me: I don't know, Hannah. Maybe no one.
Hannah, with a confused/concerned look on her face says: You can marry my daddy.
Me: He's already married.
Hannah: That's okay. He can marry you, too. Can I be your flower girl?

Too cute.

Dreams

For those of you who know me fairly well, you can attest to the fact that I have weird and vivid dreams almost every night. At one point in my life, while working at BYU, a costar would automatically ask me every day what I had dreamed the night before. And usually I could remember.

Last night's dream was a doozy. It started out with me being at church in my single's ward. Then, all of a sudden, our ward was in a huge arena (much like the Marriott Center at BYU). My bishop then announced that instead of having normal meetings, we are going to have a stake conference. The arena begins filling with people from other wards. Our speaker then arrives, with much applause (which doesn't normally happen during church meetings). It's Dr. Steven Covey. He shyly smiles while the crowd goes wild. Soon, we begin to hear music and Gladys Knight is on stage grooving to "Amazing Grace". I yell to my neighbor over all of the loud music and clapping, "My mom is going to be SOOO jealous." During all of this, Janice Kapp Perry also makes a showing. During her singing, the congregation decides to put on a show of dancing. I was so flustered because everyone around me knew what to do. But I had no clue! So I stomped around holding my scriptures and wallet. At one point, one of the performers took my scriptures as a prop. They're brand new, so I was NOT happy about this. I finally found them at the end of everything, and was back at the church in my home town. I couldn't remember where I had parked. So, I waited for the parking lot to empty out to see if I could find my car quickly. It was snowing hard, and I couldn't find my car. So, I ended up walking to my mom's house, in the snow, in heels.

Very strange dream. Wonder what it means?

Loner....Continued

So I woefully stayed in Logan over the weekend instead of heading home to see family. I worked hard on my paper that was due on Tuesday. I called a co-student of mine on Monday to reschedule a meeting because I was so stressed by the paper. When I said I was stressed, she seemed confused and said, "It's only a paragraph with 3-5 references we'll use for the final paper, right?" So then I became confused. Turns out, I was looking at the requirements for the FINAL paper that's due in December, not the outline that was due this week. (In my defense, the assignment title I was going off of in the syllabus had "outline" in the title so I thought I was doing the correct assignment.) If I had gone back to the BEGINNING of the syllabus where there was a short description of the assignments, I would have read about the paragraph with 3-5 references instead of the summary I wrote of 8 references. (It would have been 10 except I quit after talking with my friend.) So, in other words, I stayed in Logan to write a paper that wasn't due instead of going to visit family. I was SO not happy when I found this out. On the bright side, I guess I'm a little further along on the paper than I would have been....

The Loner of Logan

So it seems I'm destined to be alone....all of the time. I planned on going home - almost (Gillette) - for my newest niece's baby blessing. On Tuesday I realized I had a heck of a paper due next week and there was no way I would get it done if I spent the weekend playing with the nieces and nephews. So, I made the decision to stay in Logan. Alone. Even though I know it's what I need to do, it's still tough not to be with my family when they are all together. I keep thinking that in the long run, family is what's important. But then I also know I need to take my education seriously. Tough decisions. Needless to say I am REALLY bummed about not being with them this weekend. I just couldn't justify spending 18+ hours in the car when I could use them for writing my paper. *sigh* Here I go on to face my lonesome weekend. (Not that it's different than any other weekend I spend in Logan.) I made sure to tell my mom to pinch all their bums for me....'cause they're just so cute!

On a brighter (sort of) note, I did get a new calling in my single's ward. It's probably the lowest calling on the totem pole, but that'll be fine, I guess. I'm the new chorister. No, I don't get to pick the hymns, the bishopric will do that. No, I don't get to lead the choir, there's a different chic for that. All I get to do is wave my ugly arm for 3-4 songs each Sunday. That's it. Nothing more. Kinda lame and it doesn't really get me involved. Plus, I won't get to sit with people during Sacrament meeting. At least I have a calling in this ward. Last year I didn't and it was a bit strange. (By the way, this is the ONLY thing I marked 'no' on in my info sheet....I HATE leading music during church. Guess that'll teach me to say no.)

Gillette Visit

My niece Heidi was born at the beginning of September and I couldn't wait any longer to see her. So, last week I decided to skip town and head to Gillette to visit Bryan and his family. I left Logan on Wednesday and got back on Sunday. It was a very good visit. I needed a kid fix. I've been having trouble focusing this semester, and I think being able to see some of the family helped a bit. Here are some pictures of the visit.

Hayden wearing his hat.
(A lady in my old ward makes them. They are so cute. I didn't think she would get them done so quickly and I couldn't wait for cold weather to give them to the kids.)

Hannah in her cute hat, 'skating' across the kitchen floor.

Hayden in his boots, ready to go outside.

Here's Hannah loving on Heidi. (Hannah adores her.)

The cutie herself.
Hannah calls her Squeaker because she makes squeaking noises.