Schaffer Schenanigans: April 2013

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Grandpa Schaffer's Memorial

Jim and I were able to attend the memorial for Jim's Grandpa, who passed away December 21, 2012. It was great to see family that we haven't seen in years! Jim's mom, Nancy, and sister, Audrey, drove all night from Maryland. Duane and Diana came from Ohio. It was a very nice service and especially great to see everyone together.

Things we learned about Lester and Marietta:

1) They were dirt poor most of their life. The most grandpa made an hour was $8.

2) Grandpa was feisty as a young man and became more soft spoken and mellow as he got older.

3) Grandpa arrived in Germany about another after D day.

4) They had an outhouse while the children were little. Indoor plumbing didn't come until much later. Even then Grandpa would bring home buckets of warm water for the kids to share during bath time.

5) Jim has more cousins than I realized.

6) No one really knows when they got engaged, but grandpa is known to recall "I guess we really liked each other and got along, but don't really know why."

Things we knew about the Schaffer's:

1) Grandpa was baby lover. He loved his grand babies and great grand babies so much. There are so many pictures of him holding a baby in his lap, smiling and being in grandpa heaven.

2) Lester and Marietta were hard workers and great budgeters.

3) They left behind friends and family that love them dearly.

Spring stuff 2013

Here is some of what we have been up to this month:

Bridger and Kacy have been in a gymnastics class.

Aron has been loving toddler time at the library.

Bridger found a Yoda picture at the library. We are super into Star Wars right now.

Jim took this picture outside his office window.

Mr. Bear gave us another visit and we fed him donuts.

The boys found a secret hiding place at the park.

Kacy's tadpole died so we gave it a memorial service.

Bridger has become a really good climber.

We have seen a lot of pretty blossoms.

We love snuggles!

Bridger and Kacy like re-enacting this scene from Lady and the Tramp.

Friday, April 26, 2013

My little helper

Grandma and Grandpa Churchill

On the way to Grandpa Schaffer's memorial service, we were able to visit Grandma and Grandpa Churchill for a whirlwind day and a half trip. Jim wanted to find some pictures of himself as a kid, which uncovered a box of photos that we helped organize into decades. This opened a few floodgates of stories and memories which were a real treat to hear about.

Things we learned about the Churchills this week:

1) They are both big fans of "50 shades of Grey"

2) Grandma only completed school through grade 10, and married grandpa when she was 16.

3) Grandpa stole coconuts and was chased by police while riding a motorcycle while stationed in Hawaii.

4) Grandpa decided he would not smile in any photograph taken in the 1970's. he said this was intentional and We could not find any evidence to prove otherwise.

5) Grandma has one brother and Grandpa has 2 step brothers and 3 step sisters.

6) Grandpa has more pictures of trout he has caught and deer he has shot than any other person I know. Almost had more pictures of these than he has of people.

Things we already knew about the Churchills:

1) They are amazing, quality people.

2) they are loving, warm and kind.

3) they have been a great influence on Jim by making him always feel at home and influencing his love for the outdoors.

4) they are hard workers and love life.

We love you guys! It was wonderful to see you!

Parrots

There was a presentation on parrots at the library. Afterwards, the kids were allowed to feed, hold and let the parrots fly on our heads!

April Conference

Conference weekend was super! As we listened to conference, the kids played conference bingo, had conference jelly beans, and colored. Between sessions we even had some sunshine where we could squeeze in some playtime at the park.

It was a great couple of days filled with inspiring messages.