Grandpa Ward

My brother called me Tuesday night while I was teaching class. I looked to see who it was and first thought I would let the voice mail get it, but then decided to pick it up. I'm glad I did, but feel a bit embarrassed for my class. I don't think they knew how to deal with Miss Tori crying. But Jared told me that my grandpa had died. Try holding back tears when a man you love and admire has just passed away. Right at this moment I wish I lived closer to the rest of my family. It would be very nice to cry with the rest of them instead of by myself.
My favorite memories are the camping ones. I want to tell my parents thank you for all the time we were able to spend with our grandparents growing up. Those memories are priceless. I LOVED when grandpa would let us a ride a tree. Who can say they've had that experience.
Like my sister said, he was a big, strong man. Biggest guy I knew. Biggest heart too. He loved his family very much and was very proud of each of their accomplishments. He knew about your life and wanted to make sure everything was still going well. He'd even add his own story to relate. :)
I can't remember which grade it was, but in elementary school, Grandpa came to my class one year to talk about the war. I thought it was the coolest thing! I was so proud. I will never forget when he started taking about the concentration camps and the things he saw there. He cried a bit and I cried right along with him.
I can remember fishing with Grandpa, huckleberrying, walking through the leaves, and so many more adventures. I loved him very much and will miss him even more.
I think of my sweet grandma and pray that she will be alright.
I am so thankful to be a part of the Arlo Ward legacy.

This picture was taken at Easter in 2007.

Not Nice, Oh Well

This is probably really bad, but I just helped a friend out with the Miss CEU Pageant. She asked me to choreograph the opening number and of course I said yes. Well, then she called last week to tell me that the local "event photographer" had taken pictures of the whole night and that our girls were in a few because Taylor's class also performed that night. I just thought this pictures was pretty funny. Sorry about my crude humor. I do like this girl, she really nice. I almost had her as a teacher at the studio, but her schedule didn't work out. She's an amazing dancer. But here's the link to see the rest of the pictures (then you can see them in FULL size). Can you spot my swimming suit I used when I went to Miss Utah? I've, really other people, gotten good use out of it. I should charge a rental fee. I can't remember how many girls I've let use it. :) Here's a cute one of Taylor...

Not A Secret

It's no secret that I don't like doing laundry. I don't like staying on top of it, making sure when one load is done the next gets in, and I really, REALLY don't like folding it. And not folding leads to ironing! But here are my thoughts for today...
I just did laundry last week. I'm doing it again this week because I need some of the things the girls wore last weekend at the cabin clean so they can wear them again this weekend. Usually I do laundry every two weeks because I hate it so much. But after today, I realize that it's not too bad if you get it done each week. The loads aren't as big (or it doesn't take two loads to do each batch) and it doesn't take as long to fold them. But here are more thoughts, I'm sure after having this great epiphany (which really isn't that great cuz I think I've thought all this before) my laundry habits really won't change! Maybe every now and then, but I don't think it will be a regular thing. This is not a job I enjoy doing!
More random thoughts...
I wonder if my household would survive if I was gone for 2 weeks. That is something I would really like to see.
I also feel like I look like a house! I swear I look like I'm 7 1/2 months pregnant instead of 4 1/2. People will ask when I'm due and I say middle of June, I know there thinking, "man she's huge!" Sure this is my fourth pregnancy, fifth according to the doctor (gets confusing), but still. I'm huge and still have 4 1/2 months to go! Really stinks.
And, my house is a mess. We're dancing at one of the care centers tonight and tomorrow I need to get us all packed and ready to go. So it won't get done. And much like my mom, I hate coming home to a dirty house. Where are the cleaning fairies when I need them?

So there you have it. I guess I'm having a mom moment. Oh well, what do you do? Say that's life and move on...right?

Snow Ride

Okay, so Jared and Liz have done a great job at blogging about their weekend at the cabin, so check their blogs out. Here is a picture I have of Jared falling gracefully off the snowboard. Not nearly as good as his first trip down the driveway. I really wish I had pictures of that one!


I had my camera with me the entire time we were at Tucker for lunch, and didn't take a single picture. So, while we were back in the parking lot at the cabin, Liz said,"That's a cute picture." So I snapped a couple real quick. Here is Bonnie loaded with all the tiny grand babies for the ride up to the cabin. From left to right you have Camryn, Jocelyn, Harley, Tianna, and Jacomo in the carrier. Too cute for words. Grandma definitely had her hands full. Rylie went on the first half of the ride with Garth (so he could play around, there's no way Taylor would go for that) and she had a blast. They had a "signal" if Rylie needed to say something to her Dad - she would pat his leg. Pretty cute stuff if you ask me. Rylie is a bit braver than Taylor when it comes to things like this. Taylor went on the second half of the ride with Garth and she described her ride as "terrifyingly fun." I think she didn't know what to think of her dad's crazy driving, but realized that she was safe the whole time and really had nothing to worry about, just her own fear. Me, I love to ride with Garth because there's no way I can do all the stuff he does on a machine. He's a crazy man! A little bit more reserved now that he has a family, and I do mean just a little. Or maybe he's just a little smater. Who knows, but at least he still has a great time.



We had a very nice weekend with the family. I'm glad Jared and Liz were able to come since they will be missing this weekend with the Ward family. The guys and Jana were able too get a few good rides in and still have time to play with the kids. Taylor and Rylie love to sled, but Camryn would much rather spend her time riding on a snowmobile! The entire time she's headed down the hill with her dad to pick up the sledders at the bottom, Garth said she was saying "woo whoo". She loves it! (So does her dad.) I shuttled kids back and forth for a bit, but after a while it was too much. My gut is getting too big to fit in my snow clothes and it doesn't feel so great. But I did my part playing with my kids too. I love them so much. I couldn't ask for a better family!

So, thanks Frandsen Fam for making this past weekend a great one! We had awesome food and plenty of good times. It was nice to see everyone! And thanks for welcoming Jared and Liz. They had a great time too. (sorry if my pictures are all over the place, sometimes I struggle)