East or West, Home Is Best

Back in Seattle – even after three years away, what an intense experience. During a decade in the Emerald City its places and people and our relationships with them both etched themselves so deeply on our lives. Being back keeps us connected with our past and helps us teach Gavin and Arwen about where they came from.

With just a few days in the city during this visit, we focused our time on favorite places, food, and people. Parks were big on our agenda, starting with a ride on the zip line at Cowen Park. Next was the walk down the Secret Staircase to the Burke Gilman Trail, which took us to our beloved Matthews Beach, the site of many fun family times. We felt some nostalgia driving past our old house. Though we didn’t make it to the beaver pond late enough in the day to see its primary inhabitant, we did take in his growing house and spied the many ducks on the pond. A look at Magnuson Park evidenced continuing work to restore wetlands on the former military base – a beautiful sight.

Our first night in town found us at one of our favorite haunts – Tempero do Brasil in the University District, where we ordered our all-time favorite meals - moqueca de peixe and bife acebolado. We were delighted to find the kids as excited as we were by the scrumptious Latin cuisine. Another night we grabbed some exquisite Chinese takeout from Louie’s on 15th in Ballard. The kids wouldn’t let us forget a trip to World Wrapps, and I waxed nostalgic for our old girls nights out sipping my cocoa and savoring a chocolate-dipped chocolate chip cookie at Chocolati.

As good as the food was, the most meaningful time of all was spent with friends. Chad jumped in with a near-all-nighter playing Dominion with his old game night gang. I managed three walks around Green Lake during our short stay, each with one of my all-time favorite Seattle ladies. We enjoyed reconnecting with friends who hosted us and provided hands-on entertainment for Gavin and Arwen. With my sister Sheri and her fiance Joel we took in a gorgeous sunset at Golden Gardens. And a dear friend drove down to catch up during our last few hours in town. We missed the many friends who have moved away and those didn’t manage to connect with.

Returning to Seattle always gives us lots to think and talk about. I’m consistently inspired by the aura of progress and momentum throughout the city – new buildings, new projects, constant change and improvement. This year's waste management innovations included stickers on garbage cans in public areas reminding those tossing refuse where their garbage is headed. Chad and I inevitably end up in a conversation about whether we’d want to come back someday, which ironically tends to take place in the middle of a traffic jam. We decide to head back East to our sunny skies, warm-water beaches, and traffic-free travel without any qualms for now. But it is wonderful to be back to visit.

Next up – Journey to the East Side

In addition to focusing on Grandpa’s life, we had a lot of fun that he would have loved being a part of. Way back at the inception of this series of reunions came the first family auction. I still remember sitting on the living room floor of a rental condominium, watching relatives call out bids that bordered on the ridiculous for pharmaceutical freebies and homemade jam. Amazing what you’ll pay when you’re laughing that hard at the salesmanship of the auctioneer!

This time on the front lawn of Grandma and Grandpa’s house, Doug was in rare form. Not only for the auction, but for the debut of his famous rendition of The Price Is Right. We contestants were summoned from the audience, took our seats in the front-row lawn chairs, and conjured up prices for a variety of household commodities. I managed to avoid taking to the stage, but Chad won a chance at stardom and walked away with a six-pack of orange-pineapple juice and a basketball-shaped cooler. Thanks, Doug, for your fantastic creativity and a lot of laughs!

As the adults dickered over dollars and cents, the kids occupied themselves just as my cousins and I did years ago while the family gathered on the lawn for sultry summer evening picnics. The younger ones took to Grandpa's heavy-duty handcrafted swingset. The older ones (often accompanied by the dads) played wiffle ball, doing their best to avoid hits into the garden – still grounds for an out today.

New this year was a kids-only auction, presided over by the one and only Lacy with lovely assistant Amy. We chuckled as the bidding went higher and higher – even with a single bidder. Another debut for the kids was a candy bar game, where participants rolling lucky numbers with dice picked their favorite candy bar from the pile or stole one hidden in a cousin’s bag.

I can’t leave out the trip to the little white playhouse in the corner of the yard. As a girl I’d beg the key from Grandma, then retreat for a rendezvous with frilly dolls, a harmonic bell set, and other vintage goodies. As I ducked through the low doorway this summer, the familiar smell brought it all back. Among my discoveries from years past was the green cash register.

In addition to the nostalgia of years past, this reunion offered a new experience – shooting skeet. In my many years of suburban and city living, I’d never come across the sport, but having tried it I can understand the appeal. The basic premise is simple – clay targets are fired into the air and you shoot at them with a rifle. Chad, having had some experience with a rifle, did a great job. I tried my hand at it and came to the same conclusion I have with downhill skiing – this could be a lot of fun, but only after more practice than I’m going to put in at this point in my life. I really appreciated the chance to try it out.

The Smithfield segment of our trip featured a unique benefit for the kids – a hotel with a pool. Mornings before breakfast and evenings before bedtime found us taking a refreshing swim. Arwen showed off her agility with the float ring, while Gavin made it almost all the way across the pool on his own.

The final activity of the reunion for us was the family photo with all 57 members of the extended family. Wendy did a fantastic job working working with us all while getting the full group shot, as well as individual family photos. (Let me know if you’re ever looking for a photographer in Cache Valley.)

With hugs and goodbyes to last a few years, we headed to the Salt Lake airport for the final leg of our journey.

Next up: Seattle – We’re Back!!

Our next destination was the small northern Utah town of Smithfield, my mother’s birthplace and the site of all my summer vacations growing up. While my mother’s family holds a reunion every year, this was an extra special one – the 100th anniversary of my grandfather’s birth.

Thanks to Grandpa’s love of all things strawberry, we downed a good amount of strawberry ice cream during our visits when I was younger. Things were no different as the 50+ of us gathered around, only this time it was served alongside 100 pink cupcakes (all of which my sister Amy and I frosted ourselves).

One of the things we looked forward to every year was the trip up the canyon for a cookout, riding in the back of Grandpa’s big red Ford truck. Come to think of it, the majority of the hot dogs and marshmallows I roasted growing up were part of those outings. Given the challenge of hosting such an event with a large group, this cookout was staged at a nearby park. But the fare was the same – hot dogs, watermelon, and s’mores. Yummy!

Another of my favorite activities was the visit to Grandpa’s barn. Though I have vague recollections of walking into the dim barn in the scorching heat, I was never fully introduced to this realm created and dominated by my tall, quiet grandfather. Here we found the myriad innovations he developed to help him manage the day-to-day of farm life. True to his Great Depression heritage, he had stashed and repurposed hundreds of items that today would wind up in the trash. My favorite was a cast-iron pot with an improvised wire handle buried in a pile of pans in the shop he used for shoeing horses. I was assured it would have belonged to his mother, an avid gardener and who raised in that same house the two children she bore in her mid-40s.

One reason I didn't spend much time in the barn growing up was that the trip involved crossing the cow pasture. Grandpa always kept cows and spent several hours each day milking and doing other farm chores. Aunt Sharon treated us to a fascinating explanation of the then-modern milking machine Grandpa eventually acquired to help him with the chores.

One afternoon Cousin Doug pulled up on a red 1946 tractor – the same one we used to look forward to rides on with Grandpa every summer. We piled onto a flatbed trailer studded with hay bales and took off for a spin. Doug’s warning that we should jump on before the engine stalled had been no joke – after several times jumping off and cranking it back up he finally brought Kyle in with the jumper cables. Despite the challenge of working with a 60+-year-old piece of machinery, those two managed to take two rounds of riders down the road and back.

On our final evening together my sister Bonnie set up a screen on the side of the garage and treated us all to a slideshow of Grandpa’s life, including many photos from his early childhood and growing up. What a great way to pay tribute to such a kind and loving man. I love you, Grandpa!

Next up - Smithfield Happenings

The next leg of our journey took us to Bear Lake in northern Utah where we met my family for a few days of fun. Upon arriving at the beach house, Gavin and Arwen had their outlines traced by Grammy and received hand-crafted wooden boats from Grandpa just like the ones Bert and I used to float in the irrigation ditches at our grandparents’ house decades ago.

Soon we were off to the “Caribbean of the Rockies” where we cooled our toes and watched Gavin and Arwen exult over their new watercraft with cousins Rachel and Grant. Later we visited one of the many homes of the famous Bear Lake raspberry shakes, where we downed our burgers, fries, and shakes at a long table inside a covered wagon (can’t believe I didn’t get a picture!). Next we journeyed to the thriving metropolis of Randolph, Utah, population 483, where my great-great grandmother made her home in the late 1800s. Visiting the cabin where she lived, we marveled that a family of seven could survive five winters together in such a tiny space.

In between our out-and-about times we enjoyed just hanging out together. It was fun watching the grandchildren gather around Grammy for a story. Our traditional talent show featured Grant’s “Singing in the Rain” fancy feet, Raffi performances by Amy and kids, Bonnie's masterful rap renditions, and a jack-playing flashback from Grammy’s growing-up years (along with some ukulele tunes from me, of course).

Our final adventure was a day at the lake spent alternately out on the boat, hanging out at the shore, watching the kids float their boats, and jet skiing. Gavin was a master at the helm and I took my first jet ski excursion. What a blast!

Next up – 100 Pink Cupcakes (feeling intrigued?)