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Family History

July 12, 2013 / vanalee / 0 Comments

Helen Madeline Brown Gren – My Grandmother

I have never really had much time for family history. I always thought is was something old people did so they could perform LDS ordinances for those who had passed away. Well now I am old and I am interested in my ancestors, maybe because I hope someone will be interested in me. I think that it is natural as we age to hope that people will remember us when we are gone.

I have spent a lot of time over the past few months going through family photos and documents. I like the new and improved Family Search website and the ability to upload photos, stories and documents. The website is great and anyone can use it. You can login with an LDS account or if you don’t have one you can quickly set up an account. You don’t need to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to use this really great resource.

When I first experimented with uploading some photos I was surprised to discover that there were already some photos of my ancestors posted. It was fun to find photos of my father’s grandfather and great grandfather and see how much he looked like them.

I posted a story that my great grandmother wrote about her father. This has made me think about all the stories that are inside of me. I have been making notes each time I think of one so I won’t forget all the stories. Now, I just need to get busy and write them down.

Cousins

June 30, 2013 / vanalee / 0 Comments

One weekend while Rorey and John were here, Ellie and Daniel came over to play. Then we spent some time at the park with Henry. Here are some photos of their cousin fun:

Bridge Fest

June 28, 2013 / vanalee / 1 Comment

When the bridge between Kingwood and Atascocita across Lake Houston opened the YMCA had a fun run to celebrate. Andrew, Kristina and Alex ran in it. Kristina, Brian, Alex and Henry participated again this year.

Valentine’s Fun

June 24, 2013 / vanalee / 0 Comments

I had Ellie, Daniel and Henry over for a little Valentine’s Day activity. It involved finger painting and decorating cookies-

Ellie liked the finger painting, but Daniel and Henry did not. Mostly, the boys just liked eating the cookies-

The Frozen Hague

June 22, 2013 / vanalee / 1 Comment

While we were still in Australia for Christmas we found out that Ruth would be having knee surgery after the first of the year. What none of us know at the time was that it would be major surgery and she would be off her leg for six weeks.

We were in Australia with all summer clothing and they were in the middle of winter in The Netherlands. I wanted to go to help, but I needed to stop home first. I was in Houston for a weekend…just enough time to catch up with family here and change wardrobes.

I arrived the morning after a big snowstorm. The temperature was below freezing and stayed that way most of the time I was there. When I hopped into Big Blauw the first thing I was reminded of was the standard transmission. It’s not that I can’t drive one, it’s just that I haven’t for awhile. Also, it would be a van filled with kids and I would would be driving on the left in the snow. I have done all of those things a lot so it didn’t take me very long to calm down.

I pushed Mark and Holli to preschool in the jogging stroller. The other children were pulled by their mothers on sleds. The stroller went through the snow well,Â but the sleds looked much more quaint and fun.

My days were filled with car pools, laundry and cooking, but I had such a good time. I love being with family and serving. The car pools always began with an argument about where everyone was going to sit. I finally got tired of the bickering and when it would start I would crank up One Direction or Taylor Swift and soon everyone would be singing along. Man, the words to You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful and We’re Never Ever Getting Back Together Were Stuck in My Head for Weeks, in a good way!

Here are some photos:

My early birthday celebration

Belgium Chocolate Trifle

It was great fun!

Aussie Family Photos

June 21, 2013 / vanalee / 2 Comments

Luke, Allyson, Maddie and Izzie had some photos taken at the beach a few months before they moved to South Africa. These are some of my favorites-

Christmas in the Land Down Under

June 20, 2013 / vanalee / 1 Comment

Our routing to Perth was unusual for us. We have definitely been Pacific Ocean fliers for the last 6+ years and most of that flying has been on Singapore Airlines. This flight was on Singapore Air, but it was over the Atlantic…Houston to Moscow ( I can now say I have been in Russia…technically, but not really), Moscow to Singapore, and Singapore to Perth. The return routing was more familiar…Perth to Singapore, Singapore to Narita, Narita to Los Angeles, and Los Angeles to Houston. Spending Christmas in the southern hemisphere is different.

We arrived in time to participate in creating the traditional Christmas sugar cookies-

Christmas day we opened gifts and then got ready for the grand Aussie tradition of going to the beach-

A true beach towel has fringe!

Furbies and boogy boards

Christmas Day sunset from the beach

The next day we headed north to The Pinnacles-

Our picnic lunch was tricky, it was very windy.

After lunch we walked down to see the beach, it was beautiful-

A very fun day!

Most of our days were spent on Cottesloe Beach…I am sure going to miss my trips to Australia. I love this beach!

I also helped Ally and Maddie with a cupcake decorating class for the Primary Activity Day Girls-

.Maddie and Izzy both took swim lessons at Cottesloe. We loved watching them learn to swim in the ocean-

Maddie got her first jellyfish sting during swim lessons. It was the first of five for the summer!

Â We also saw several movies, visited the aquarium, and met Luke downtown for a yummy lunch at Nando’s-

Â With Luke, Ally, Maddie and Izzy moving to South Africa we will miss visiting Perth. We are excited to go on Safari with them!

Running and walking

June 19, 2013 / vanalee / 1 Comment

In October, we went to Dallas to watch Andrew and Kristina run in a half marathon. They did great and finished faster than they had anticipated. Their matching, bright orange shirts made then easy to spot when we stopped to watch along the route.

A few weeks later, those of us living in Houston participated in the Firefly Run. Brian and I walked it. Rick, Stacey and Kristina ran. Henry rode in his stylish jogging stroller and Alex, Ellie and Daniel cheered us on. It was a fun family event although the route around the Reliant Stadium parking was not very scenic.