I'm On Top of the Ball

Most of us remember how Grandma could never quite get her phrases right.  I sometimes laugh when people use cliches because I think of how Grandma would have said them...

"I'll HIT BASE with you later."
"I'm not your KISSY."
"I'll give you a HANDS up."

This story happened a while ago but I decided it would be fun to share.  I was being really productive one day and getting lots done at home.  My mom came up to talk to me and I popped off, "I'm on top of the ball!"  She immediately began laughing.  I had no idea what I had said wrong.  What was so funny?  Then she replied, "You mean, 'you're on top of things'?  Or maybe even, 'you're on the ball'?"  To this day I still say that I'm on top of the ball.  People know what I mean, right?  Plus they even get a good laugh :)  I, like Grandma, can't seem to get my cliches right.  I don't care though.  It makes me think of her every time I say it.

Mom... Thanks for LAUGHING

Mom... Thanks for LAUGHING

Tyler • Sierra • Briana • Tanisha • Trena • John

HERE is a flashback to Cascade 2012... the skit that only Grandma really enjoyed, if the sounds of laughing on our video tape are any indication. Maybe we needed to preface our singing about previous Family Cascade Skits, which we combined with our new love of Chick-Fil-A (something that came about after our move to Texas... where everyone seems to be an addict & the drive-thru lines are insane!) before charging right into our melody.  Maybe Grandma loved it most because we managed to indoctrinate her into our "I could eat Chick-Fil-A 7 Times a Day" club :)  Mom first joined me in Indiapolis, Indiana when Briana competed in the Grand Nationals Marching Band competition in Nov 2009. It was there in a downtown mall that we shared her first Chick-Fil-A sandwich and a seasonal Peppermint Milkshake! I'm telling you, she was hooked and we went back a 2nd time before leaving Indianapolis :)

There was no swearing when TWHS Band didn't take 1st place ... but Mom was sure we were jipped! (She was right! haha) I suppose all in all she didn't think of the Lucas Oil Stadium as a Godforsaken Hell hole! ... I had to add that... cuz Brandon's post about Grandma swearing made me laugh a little. If that is Grandma swearing... may her example of swearing be my worst!

Thanks for laughing at our skit MOM.  You're the reason we ever prepared skits for camp anyway.

I LOVE YOU

I MISS YOU

I hope they have something like a Peppermint Milkshake where you are :)

♥ Trena

Marriage Advice from Gramsies

Tomorrow is October 1st, which means in about 19 days it will have been a year since we said goodbye to Grandma for a time.  This of course has got me thinking a lot lately about her, and what I've accomplished since she's been gone.  I made lots of goals after she passed away, as I'm sure some of you did.  I hope everyone has kept up with the things they felt impressed to do "for grandma" since she left.

I've wanted to share this for some time, but I must admit I can be a bad procrastinator, but finally I've sat down and I'll type it up for all of you.

When I got married two years ago, Grandma threw me a bridal shower in Idaho at her home.  Aunt Fayann came up with the neatest thing: she had sheets of cute scrapbook paper that she handed out to everyone in attendance, where she instructed all to write down words of advice for me as a soon-to-be new bride.  Gramsies of course wrote some special things, things I hadn't read since that shower.  When she passed away, I came home from the funeral and pulled out the paper she had written advice on for me.  It's very special to me and Dallas, but I think she would share this with any couple, or anyone dear to her, which is why I wanted to share it with all of you:


Tanisha & Dallas:

Hold hands as you kneel together in prayer at night.
Remember the importance of the words, "Thank you," and "Please."
Put yourself second in your relationship, and the other one first.
Read, study, and discuss your scriptures together on a regular basis.
Be faithful in keeping your journals.
Give me lots of great grandbabies.

Love,
Grandma Lewis


I love remembering Grandma and the emphasis she put on nurturing every important relationship.  As Thanksgiving draws closer, as well as the year mark for Grammy's passing, I'm thankful for the amazing blessing of family - for each of you, for your efforts to keep family updated on your lives, for the bonding times we've had and for the new memories we'll strive to make together.  I'm thankful for Gramsies, for the love she had for each of us, and for the sacrifices she made to create the family legacy we all enjoy now.

Love you all!

Love Tanisha

Dreams and Curse Words

I had a dream with Grandma in it the other night.  We were all just hanging out in the temple with her.  I thought to myself, "I don't think that Grandma is supposed to be alive, but here she is. COOL."
I suppose that is more real than a dream.  She probably spends a lot of her time in the temple these days.
I remember a letter she sent me on my mission, right after she got home from Jerusalem. She said that she enjoyed her time over there but that "the spirit is not there. It is one thing to walk where Jesus walked.  It is another thing to walk where he still walks today."  She probably knows the truth of that better than most right about now.  I'm grateful that she was a great example of temple service and the power it contains.

On a lighter note,  people mentioned that they have never heard Grandma swear. Well I have! It was at a triathlon at Yuba Lake in Southern Utah. My dad and Lance competed in it together. This was back when Lance and fam lived in Orem, I don't remember the exact year, that's more Grandpa's thing.
When Lance came out of the water we waited and waited AND WAITED for Dad to come out.  We were all getting pretty nervous as a nice wind had kicked up and the water was white capping.  Eventually Grandma couldn't take it anymore. She said, "I HATE THIS HELL HOLE!"
And that wasn't the end of it.  After Dad got out of the water (second to last- we were all just happy he was alive) He had a nasty wreck on his bike after going around a turn with lose gravel. It split the palm of his hand open and he had to be brought back to the start line via ambulance, as his bike was in bad shape and his glasses were broken. That was the last straw for Grandma.  She said, "I AM NEVER COMING BACK TO THIS GOD FORSAKEN PLACE!" And she never did.

I guess only a mother's love was strong enough to make her swear.  We sure love you Grandma.

Folding Pants

Every time I hang up my church pants I think of Grandma. I remember when she came over to our house in Grand Junction CO when I was 6 or 7 and helped me hang up my pants...CORRECTLY.
She showed me how to match the creases up at the bottom and carefully feed the legs through the hanger to preserve the crease.  My little hands couldn't hold the pants and the hanger at the same time and ninja the pants through the hanger like Grandma did, so I put the hanger in my mouth so I could use both my hands.
I still hang up my pants by putting the hanger in my mouth, matching up the creases, and feeding the legs through.  Lana told me once she liked that I paid so much attention to how I hung my pants up and thought it was impressive. No one to thank for that but Grandma.  She was good at helping bring out the details of life and making them shine :)

How would you like your Eggs?

I'm rather picky with how I like eating my breakfast eggs. There is that slim margin when the eggs are perfectly cooked; no runny insides nor are there any crusties around the edges. Nana always made the yummiest and most flawless eggs for breakfast. She cooked her eggs on low heat, covered the pan for a few minutes and simmered those babies in butter! Another key to her pretty eggs...the yolk was runny. I didn't like my yolks runny. I never said anything to her though, I'd just eat all the egg whites and then try to get away with throwing the yolk part away. But of course there is no wasting of anything at Nana's! She was always there encouraging me to not miss out on the important nutrients of the egg yolk. I did different things like squeezing out most of the yolk, but then I took to just shoving the whole yolk in my mouth the  swallowing quickly. In the beginning I would gag the yolk down, though many more eggs down the road I began to love the runny yolk! And so today, I prefer my eggs over easy/sunny side up. I still eat my eggs in the same youthful manner as well; I eat all the whites first, pivoting around the egg yolk, and then I just shove the whole yolk in my mouth (which is attributed to my little OCD of not wanting the yolk getting all over my plate, one bite solves that problem haha). 

(tonight's dinner that inspired this memory)

Muffin Joke

Grandma's favorite joke (as told by her family):

Two muffins are baking in an oven. The first muffin turns to the second and says, "Sure is hot in here!"
The second muffin yells in surprise, "Ahhh!! A talking muffin!"