december is for birthdays. . .

yesterday was the nineteenth.
that means it was my grandfather's birthday.



This is my grandpa, JL.
He was a principal.

My grandpa is one of my best friends.
After all, he was the second person I told about my first kiss on the way to st. george.
(my parents and sisters count as one person, I just decided)
He is one who recommends me to read certain books.
We've been on lots of many road trips.
Been to auctions. Named cows after me and my best friend, Erika.
(even though he didn't tell me that those cows were the very same ones that were in my basement freezer)
We go out to lunch or dinner at least once a month.
From him I've learned
To always be happy. And smile. And laugh.
That when he says that he'll throw you out the window, he's just pretending.
About Jeffrey the Monkey and his many adventures.
That it is possible for someone to know the name of every player on every team in every sport.
{I promise, it's true.}
To always smell the ground before you set your sleeping bag on the floor of an old apartment (actually, I think he may have learned that one from me)
That when you're working hard, nothing is better and easier than slim fasts and v8.
What happened to the three marines when they ate the beans. . .
That if you ever think you are good at Monopoly, my grandpa is better. Always.
The key to get rich.
Well, not the actual key to get rich. But that there is one.
I think it has something to do with cows, monopoly, macadamia nuts and paint.
and that Almond Rocas, Sees candies, and Sour Cream Twists are really yummy.

Oh, I love my spanky grandpa.
He's the best.

(Even though one time he tried to poison us with dog food. But that's a story for another time...)



today is the twentieth.
that means that it is my mother's birthday.


meet little stefanie.
{the daughter of aforementioned JL}

isn't she a cutie cutie?

On Mother's Day, I wrote this for my mother.
She is a cutie cutie, huh?
I still stand by every word I said
(except that she made her children drink hormone-free milk. I found out that that only lasted a month or two)

She is a wise woman.
And she hand-quilts,
Claims she was born in the wrong era,
And, come January, she will be working much closer.
Because she loves us so much.


Love you, mother.