LaReal Nadene Mitchell Calderwood Pettijohn

Today is my grandma’s funeral. She passed away on Oct. 16th in Bremerton, Washington. Since I’m close to delivering this baby, I decided not to attend. I’m a little too nervous to fly – afraid I’ll end up going into labor in Anchorage while my kids are stuck down here. But I wanted to pay tribute to her and let her know how much I love her and will miss her. I am happy for her though. She has been waiting 21 years to see my Grandpa again, so I know she is rejoicing. The past few years were really hard on her – she had severe diabetes which they couldn’t ever seem to keep under control. She was in a full care facility in Washington near my Aunt Korene, her youngest daughter.

My Grandma was an amazing person. I LOVED going to Grandma’s house. We got to visit her often because she didn’t live too far away (3 hours) and we always had a blast. They had an old intercom system in their house and Grandpa would get on it to call us kids upstairs for dinner. He always said something funny like “Tiffany, Brant and Ryan, come on down, you’re the next contest on the Price is Right!” They had a basement room where we always used to play. Their food storage was down there too and we always used to get into the wheat and chew a handful of it. Grandpa told us if we chewed it long enough it would turn to gum. Mine never did though.

Grandma always had Ovaltine. Always. And she used to let us eat it right out of the can – a tradition I’ve passed down to my children. We used to go to Grandma’s house for Thanksgivings and Christmases. She had a huge dining table, which I inherited a few summers ago (thanks Grandma!). I remember doing homework at it, eating countless meals there, watching the city lights from the windows behind it. Grandma had one of those doors in her kitchen – it slid in and out of the wall. I always thought that was the coolest door – I’d never seen one before. Everything in Grandma’s house was straight out of the 60s and 70s – it was cool! She had a chair in her living room that used to rock back and forth and spin all the way around. We used to spin till we were sick or it would tip over. It was white with brown and orange flowers.

She had a staircase with metal bars for the railing. I remember that Ryan got his head stuck through them one time and we couldn’t get him out. I think we even tried putting butter all over his head. Finally, Grandpa came along and suggested that pushing him out backwards – slipping his body through the bars instead of his head. Why we didn’t think of that, I’ll never know.

Grandma had raspberries in her backyard that we used to pick. We used to take turns mowing her lawn and every day we’d fight over who got to run out and check the mail at the end of the driveway. We used to walk down the street to A&W and get root beer floats. We always had a good time at Grandma’s house.

Grandma and Grandpa also had a cabin across the bay in Homer that we used to love going to. Every 4th of July we’d head out to the cabin for a long weekend. One of my favorite pictures of Grandma is this one. Kenny was helping her get back on the boat so we could go home.
It was at Grandma and Grandpa’s house that I broke my neck and had to spend a while up there with them recovering.
Grandma was there when Jeremey and I went through the temple in September 2000.
This last picture is of Grandma and Savannah in February 2003 at my mom’s house.
I don’t have a picture of Isabelle with Grandma, but we gave Isabelle the middle name of Nadene, after my Grandma. My Grandma was a wonderful woman who I’ll miss dearly. I’m sure she’ll be watching over us throughout the years just as Grandpa has been. I’m happy for her and look forward to the day I’ll see her again as well.

Savannah turns 6!

Savannah turned 6 last week. We had her party on Saturday and she got to invite a few friends from school as well as her cousins. She picked a cupcake tree for her birthday cake and helped me decorate the cupcakes. We kept it pretty simple, just ate cupcakes, opened presents and played a few games.
Happy Birthday, Nana!

Pumpkin Carving

We bought a pumpkin last Saturday while grocery shopping. The kids have been eargerly awaiting the night we carve "the big punkin". We finally got around to it last night. They spent about 10 minutes scooping out pumpkin guts before deciding it was time to go outside and play. So Jeremey did most of the work. Savannah drew a face on one side of the pumpkin and Izzy drew a face (with Jeremey's help) on the other side. I meant to get a picture of the girls with their corresponding side of the pumpkin, but they were outside when it was finished so I never got it. Jeremey got to be the one showcasing Izzy's masterpiece.

34 Weeks...and counting...

I'll be 34 weeks along on Saturday. My how time does NOT fly when counting down to such an end as this. I'm already ready for this bundle of energy to be on the outside rather than on the inside. I know he isn't quite done cooking yet, so I'll try to be patient. But I'm tired of being bruised internally. I have a constant back ache at this point. Sleeping is almost pointless. Last night I got up 7 TIMES to pee. Sheesh. (Can I complain anymore, you ask? Why, yes, I think it's possible...) I've finally hit the 30 pound mark. Actually, I'm not sure if I should say "finally" or "holy cow, I've ALREADY hit the 30 pound mark". I like to eat. A lot. I pack on a good 35 to 45 pounds each pregnancy. They say 20 to 30 pounds is best. Oh well. From here on out I should still be gaining about 1 pound per week, so I know I can look forward to AT LEAST 6 more pounds. Woo Hoo!!

Here are a couple of shots of my blimpo status. Technically, I'm 2 days away from 34 weeks, but I actually got dressed today, so might as well take a decent picture while I can! As you can tell, the children are oh so excited to be in the picture.

34 weeks

Izzy, me and baby Mudd, Gavin and Savannah

They Really CAN Share!

Izzy and Gavin fight over this bike constantly. I wish we had another one just like it - it would result in far less fighting! I happened to catch them riding together the other day - it was so sweet! It didn't last very long, just a couple of times up the driveway and back, but it was sweet while it lasted.

Time Out For Women

Jen, Gina and I went to Anchorage to attend Time Out For Women on Sept. 5th and 6th. It was such an amazing experience. I already can't wait for next year! Some of the speakers were Sheri Dew, Wendy Watson Nelson, Emily Watts, Merilee Boyack, Chris Stewart, and a few others. Hilary Weeks was the musical guest. It was such an inspiring, uplifting experience. I definitely needed that recharge and the break from kids for that little while. The theme of the weekend was finding joy in life - finding joy in being a mother, being a daugther of God, knowing our part in the plan.

I'm not very good at describing things, or putting into words how I feel, so I'll just say it was very spiritual - so uplifting. We laughed alot, we cried, we filled our cups to overflowing. We got to meet a few of the speakers as well. I didn't know that Hilary Weeks was raised in Anchorage - she even knew the Calderwood side of my family - small world! It was really good to see so many women from our ward there as well. We were all very blessed to be able to attend. I should thank my dear husband - he took off early on Friday to come home and be with the kids so we could make it to Anchorage by 5:30 pm. He is such a wonderful husband and father! (I love you sweetheart!) I can't wait for next year.... :)

Gina, Jen, Sheri Dew, me, Sharon, Debbie

Jen, Gina, Hilary Weeks, me

me, Gina, Wendy Watson Nelson, Jen

Labor Day

"Gavin, stop eating rocks... Nana, try to look happy"

We went to the beach for a little while on Labor Day. The kids love to go - not because of the warm sunny beach with hot sand to sink your toes into...we don't have those kinds of beaches. They love to throw rocks in the water, search for sea shells (hard to come by) and climb the bluff. Even Gavin got to climb the bluff this time!