Well, I've put some thought into and realized we have quite a few traditions that make our life enjoyable. Some might seem strange to others, but it makes us who we are.
1. Driving through the cemetery
In August 2003 I made my first trip to the Taylor Cemetery for the burial of his Granny Hatch. There was such a special feeling there and the tree lined roads gave it such a neat look. I told Jared I wanted to be buried there. Little did I know that less than two months later I would call Taylor home and in the years to come the cemetery would come to mean much more to me than tree lined roads.
Jared's mom was buried there in January of 2009 and since then we have visited almost daily. It's simple, we simply drive down her lane and everyone says "hi Grandma Hatch!" (When Grandma Miller died 18 months later she was buried on the same row so we have added a hello for her as well.)
Last night as we were driving through Jared and I tried to guesstimate how many miles we put on a year just in visits to the cemetery. It is exactly 1/2 of a mile from our driveway to Marlene's grave and we estimated we visit 365 times a year. We figure that on any given day one of us is there. In nearly five years that equals over 1,800 miles. Rarely do we arrive home from errands or some place and my girls don't say "can we go see Grandma Hatch?" How can you say no to that?
Over the years we have spent many hours decorating, manicuring the grass around her headstone, hanging out (we've held a few family home evenings there) and trying to create more memories that include Grandma Hatch.
February 2009
February 2009
July 2009
August 2009
Walking to the cemetery. March 2010
The sunset from Marlene's grave. September 2011
2. Popcorn and M&M's
Growing up my mom would rarely (like maybe once a year) buy M&M's and let us add them to our popcorn. It was such a special treat and one that I always wished we could have more of. My kids should consider themselves spoiled! To us, M&M's is a staple. Some people panic if they run low or bread or milk. Not us. We panic if we run low on M&M's. They eat it almost daily (even as I sit here and type this) and it's a guarantee that Friday nights will not only have a babysitter but also popcorn with M&M's. I remember feeding popcorn to Addie (sans the candy…I think) when she was only about a year. I would break the popcorn up into little pieces and feed her.
Addie-July 2006
2013
3. "Goos Night"
We have a problem in our house. When it's the one of the girls' turn to pray, then often speed through it not concentrating on their words. We've talked about it with them numerous times, had Family Home Evenings on it and even stopped them mid-prayer but there are some signature phrases they just can't let go of. It's almost a guarantee we will get the phrase two or three "help us to have fun tomorrow" times in one prayer. Another one is "help us to all be home." What does that even mean when we are all kneeling together as a family at the end of the day?
But my favorite has to come from Addie. Every night she prays that we will have a "goos nights rest" intend of a "good nights rest." I finally called her out on it one night and asked her what exactly a "goos night" is. We all laughed when she realized she didn't even know what she way saying! And now saying "goos night" instead of "good night" has become part of our nightly routine.
4. The Spinning Song
Before we said goodbye to our first piano the girls would ask me to sit down and play The Spinning Song for them. As I played the song, often by memory, they would dance on the tile in front of the front door. I think they were wishing they had tap shoes on but we settled for high heels or bare feet. Last week we bought a new piano and what do you think the girls' first request was?
This whole crazy dancing is new to Colton so he just sits back and observes the craziness.
5. Baths
This seems like a strange thing to consider a tradition but in my eyes it is. They love to squish in together and play. Last week Addie and Kimber tried to set a world record by keeping their bath water as clean as possible. Their idea, not mine.
March 2011
2013
And it almost never fails, while washing their hair we pull it up to the highest point to make a spike. We tried to get a picture but this is what we ended up with.
6. Comfy Pants
I seriously love comfy pants. I don't let myself wear them as much as I wish I would but I look forward to the end of every day when I can take my jeans off and slip on some comfy jammie pants or shorts. And I've love for them has transferred to my girls. Check us out on my 27th birthday, Kimber and I had like minds.
7. The circle picture
We've only done it twice but you could consider it a tradition in the making. Should we ever have more children we'll do it again.
August 2010
October 2013
We are a family full of small traditions that I hope my kids will remember when they get older. Isn't it the little stuff that creates the best memories anyway?
0 comments:
Post a Comment