Christmas Memory

I forgot to mention that when I was five years old, one of my most favorite Christmas gift was a Barbie House my mom constructed for me out of a box. 

 You know the saying "Kids would rather play with a box than their toys"... Well, we were so poor, we did play with boxes. Hehe

My mom painted a box and added widows and furniture. She had an uncle make the furniture, I think. And she found some carpet, wall paper etc, and made this really amazing dollhouse for my Barbies out of a box!  She painted the outside white, and I remember the living room of the barbie house was white and blue. I loved that house a lot. I played with it all the time.

 My younger sister sat in it and got in huge trouble for it, and that is how it got ruined. I got her back by hitting her with a broom stick. (yes, lovely sister rivalries)

My Sixth Birthday

Because I was born in February, birthdays in Utah were pretty cold. Well, the year I had my sixth birthday was awesome for me. 
 I was in love with Neil Diamond. I mean, he was my hero. 
 I knew every word to every song, and I could sing them all. I had everyone of his Albums, I had a Mickey Mouse record player, and my mom had a cool stereo and we would jam to his records. My mom loved him too. 
  Neil Diamond came to concert to the Special Events Center in Slat Lake City, Utah! David, as you recall from previous memories of him, gave my mom four free tickets to the concert. One for her and mom was awesome! Instead of taking friends with her, she took us three girls! 
 It was my first concert! How I loved it. I remember singing every song. I knew every word, My sisters and I were in heaven! The special perks to having a Step- Dad that was a D.J. was awesome! We could go to any concerts, many restaurants, movies, plays, etc, for free. 
I loved that I was there. 
As we were there, I saw my birth father. Strange that I would know it was him, but it was. I remember he walking by us, and I said that is my dad. 
 My mom said "Oh, honey, your dad is in Alaska, he is not your dad" I insisted a man with a beard and was really tall was my dad. I had only seen him one time, and sure, I was 2 when I had seen him, but the tall man walking towards us was my dad. I remember my mom watching him as he walked by and running up to him as we was a few years away. She said something to him and he came back and said hi to us. I recall that the next day he came to see me and my sister, and brought me a white winter coat and boots and some clothes. He bought D some clothes, as well as an out fit for Chimra. He told me he would come back and visit  me every week, but he did not. 
 I recall he telling me that he wanted me to come visit him in Alaska in the Summer times, but that never happened either. 
 Anyway, I saw my dad at a Neil Diamond Concert and I loved that Concert. 

Christmas Time

I remember a lot of Christmases. 

 Another Christmas I remember, was living in Salt Lake City, I was 5 years old and in Kindergarten. 

 My mom sat down with us and explained that although there is a Santa Claus, and although he is real, we were not able to have any presents because my mom did not have any money. 

 My mom said that we were very good girls and she loved us so much but that Santa will not be able to come to our house that year. She said we will Celebrate the real meaning of Christmas and it was about Jesus being born and about being good to others, but not about the gift we had. 

 I was not allowed to play out side that year. The reason was not because my mom was mean, but because I had no coat. I would get about three sweaters, and my mom would crank up the heat in the car before driving me and my sisters and a couple of friends to school. She would drive me so that I would not have to stand in the cold and freeze waiting for the bus. My older sister had a jacket, but she was a lot taller than me and that year, because we had been living in California, my older sister had no winter hand me downs. So, I was always inside, near a heater to keep warm. My mom spoke with the Teacher, giving me permission to stay inside, and I would stay in the classroom reading books while the other kids played on the play ground. I would then go on the bus and head straight home, as to not freeze. 

 Well, after this speech my mom gave us about Christmas, we headed to church. 

  It was a Sunday, and a few days before Christmas. 

After the Sacrament Meeting, my sweet Primary Teacher approached me with a really pretty Christmas gift which read "Do not Open until Christmas". I was so excited to put it under the Christmas Tree. 

 That year, instead of Primary in the middle of the week as usual, we had a Christmas party. My mom and uncle taught my sisters a song that was very popular from 1950's. The Lenon Sisters sang it, and my mom taught it to us. We practiced and practiced the song.  My mom made a little Toy Shop for the song, I remember it being so pretty and for the Church Christmas party, we, my sisters and I sang a song called, "Shake Me I Rattle" maybe it is another title, but I remember it being that. 

  Anyway, It was Christmas eve. We went home after the Christmas Festivities, and I am not sure if that very night we went to see the lights and come home to drink hot cocoa or if we did that a few days before that, but One thing I am sure of. 

When we got home, Santa had come, left us tons of toys, and filled our stockings, Mom was wrong about something, if one thing, Santa still came even though she had no money. 

 I know my mom could not have afforded it, and I remember everything I got. 

 I remeber what Chimra got, and I remember D got. 

 D got new clothes, Chimra got a barbie dream boat, and some barbies, I got a beautiful doll house, a couple of barbies, and a baby doll. We all got flannel pj's. 

I can only imagine how grateful my mom was. 

Looking back, when I was much older and a heck of a lot more wiser, my mom grew more and more to be my hero. 

She was always honest, always good, happy, kind, and always gave us the best possible life she could with what little she had. 

 And, she always believed in Santa Claus. Always

I was 2 1/2 years here. We moved around a lot and one time had a storage, where the owners lost tons of our stuff. Pictures included.

The gift my Primary teacher gave me? 
She knitted mittens, a hat, and scarf for me to keep me warm for the winter. Not everyone in the class got such beautiful gifts, but I did. I brought her a plate of cookies made by mom and decorate by me the day after Christmas. I did indeed wear my mittens and set she gave me. The set was made of a soft wool, pink and hot pink in color and I loved them.

School Days, School Days, Dear Old Golden Rule Days

  

  

Five years old, Kindergarten picture. Please read below for an explanation as to why this picture is so funny

Mom's friends, Atz and Nedra Kiltcher moved to Payson, Utah, meaning I saw Shane on occasion. The Kiltcher's would come visit us and sing and I would play with their kids, Shane and Jeul. (She now is a singer and spells it Jewel) Shane, Jewel and I would roller skate and I taught her how to roller skate. She was about 5 years younger than me. I remember being in Kindergarten and her and Shane stayed with us for a few days. I carried her around, and played with her, She was the most beautiful baby and so sweet. We had much fun together. She remembers me because one day she saw a roller skater Avon bunny pinned to my shirt. Behind the face and tummy of that bunny was lip gloss. She admired it and I gave it to her. She had me come back stage to one of her concerts a couple years ago and she told me how much fun she had with me as a child. Wow. 
 When I was Five Years Old I started Kindergarten. I was bored. I had to help other kids learn to read. 
 I will explain why. In my class, we had to learn together as a class, not individually. Well, I was reading really well, and I wanted to learn more but in order to do that, the kids that were struggling with reading needed to be caught up to my level. 
 How could I help them learn to read better? 
Positive Reinforcements. (Of course) That meant a lot of my free time at home was spent baking cookies for my fellow class mates. My mom hated this, because that meant I would bake the cookies, and they would kind of turn out like baked salted  dough so she would have to remake them. Well, I was watching a "Mister Rodgers Neighborhood" with  my cereal, as I did every morning before I went to school. (I thought he was talking to me and so I told my mom Mr Rodgers has to talk to me before I go to school.) Well, he taught us how to make some salt dough! He did it without using the stove top and that was quite a capitol idea for me! I went to school that day in anticipation for going home to make my class mates some wonderful salt dough (home made play dough) I was excited!!!
 I was more than excited... 
 I got home, took out the flour. Dang it, some spilled... Oh, well, I will clean it up (and I cleaned up some of it) But when I mixed it, it was a little runny, but the bag of flour my  mom had in the cupboard was HUGE so I used that one (in retrospect, OK, It was ten pound bag.) I used all of the flour in the house, all the salt and I made the dough. I thought I would make my mom's day by making her a birds nest before she came home. 
Some how, I think there was still some of the mess, She found out I had used up all the flour in the house.. (How did she know it was me?) My mom never yelled, my mom never swore. But my mom was really upset with me. 
 As a matter of fact, although I have always had a love for cooking my mom literally grounded me from cooking until I was 12. WHAT??? I know!!! Torture huh?
  I had another obstacle. 
Picture day. Now, it is every mother's dream to have School Pictures of their kids filling the home's hallways of every year starting from Kindergarten through High School, each child lining the hallways of pictures, so when family members, friends come to visit and need to use the restroom, they take the long walk down the hall of fame.
 On such an occasion, parents mostly mothers, dress their daughters in the best clothes, make the hair just perfect, and the boys are usually in ties and sport jackets. Sadly, that is how they leave home. But, one can not expect kids to not play on the play ground, every child can not get their picture taken right at 9 am to assure that their hair and clothes stay perfect. 
  Usually the Kindergarteners go first, youngest to oldest. I decided to cut my hair a few days before picture day. I wanted an extra special picture, so I made piggy tails, myself, before I went to school. For a prettier surprise to my mom, I smuggled make up in my back pack before we headed out the door. My mom saw my lipstick I put on my lips and said, "Promise  me you will take out the piggy tails and take off that lipstick before you get your picture? Here is a comb to brush your hair". Of course I promised her to take out my piggy tails, but it did not mean I really was going to do it , I mean, she was not really going to know, right? And besides, she has no clue about my make up surprise. How I dreamed of the best pictures. She will hang my picture where everyone can see it, not in the hallway, but living room status. 
 Right before pictures were taken I asked my teacher if I could to to the bathroom, and how I slipped my makeup in the bathroom with out her noticing is still a debatable mystery today. 
 But, I did.  I put on my mom's mascara and eyeliner. Oooh the burn my eyes felt when I accidentally poked my eye with the liquid eye liner brush. That started sort of a snow ball effect on my picture. When I got to the photographer, I was a little surprised when he looked at me and asked the lady taking the money to "come now". When she came, she told me to wait a minute and went to her purse and I asked her to please not ruin my make up. 
 Instead, she got a Kleenex, and licked it, wiped my eyes and bada-boom, ruined my beautiful make up.In one swipe my dreams of my beautiful picture shattered into a million pieces full of spit and Kleenex. sigh... At least they didn't touch my hair.  My hair!?! Oooh heck, I promised my mom  I would take out my piggy tails before the picture. After the picture was snapped, I asked the Photographer if I would do it again, because I promised my mom I would not have the piggy tails in. "Believe me, she will not notice your piggy tails, well, that will not be the only thing she notices" He said as he laughed and said my picture was "just fine, really memorable" Well... I think I will believe him! So I took out my piggy tails and thought... "Mom will never notice Awesome!"
 I thought I still had a chance of getting Living room shelf status. When I got home my mom said "How did your picture turn out? did you take out your piggy tails?" (believe me, your mom will not notice... echoing in my ears as I blurted out,) "Yep, I looked really cute" and my mom said, "We'll see" (What did that mean? The photographer said my mom will not notice) I skipped outside with my bike and rode it around the complex, and played in the sandbox, I remember it was a really sunny day
  In those days, retakes were done before you got the pictures back. So, a week after retakes, my pictures came, and how cute I looked, but my eyes did not look like I expected them too. I wanted more of a Hollywood look, and shoot, my hair was not as blond as I normally am, oh yeah, I cut my hair a couple of days before. Will my mom see how cute I look?
 When I got home Danae pulled out her pictures. She looked so pretty. She had long brownish-golden hair, natural curls, green and hazel eyes, my big sister was just gorgeous.
 Then my mom saw mine. Remember when I said that my mom never yelled? I mean Never EVER? 
 Ok... She did! Yes, My mom yelled. It was more of shrill. At first I thought she was happy and excited of my beauty, but after a few seconds, I ran to my closet. Her shrill was not happiness. It was terror and horror. My mom was so angry. I could not figure it out. What the heck was she yelling how bad my pictures looked. To this day, ı have never heard my mom ever sound with such a horror scream that went as far south as the Grand Canyon and I am SURE that her scream caused an Avalanche in the Most Northern part of Alaska. 
She shrilled, "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT??????"
What was ALL she said. So, understandably, you can see why at first I thought she was so happy... My mom usually has a very beautiful soft spoken not high pitched sound. But, her What was very high pitched and... Long. Then she said "Retakes were LAST WEEK!! I TOLD YOU to take out the piggy tails and WHY Did you get into my make UP!?!?!?!" I said "I put it back" and then I instinctively ran to my closet. (Good choice... And I am alive today because my mom chose to stand there yelling instead of following me to my room)
  My mom wanted to throw them away but when David saw them, He gave her money for the package and said (while laughing),"One Day you will look at this picture and laugh." He bought them and He hung it in his living room. Every time he saw it he laughed so hard. My mom saw it 30 years later, and said,"David is right! It is so funny now, boy it was not then!" MY mom was always wonderful like that. She could look at things differently and laugh. 
We laughed a lot growing up. MY mom taught me to see humor in things. Even in Not Living Room Worthy Pictures.

July 24th was not always about Pioneers

When I was about 4, we were living in Utah, and in a basement apartment of Atz and Nedra Kiltcher, and we were happy. I loved 4th of July and 24th of July. The Latter is popular among Mormon Culture. (L.D.S. Culture) This is the day Celebrating the Pioneers coming into Salt Lake City Utah, and Brigham young Declaring "This is the Place". 
 Well, I loved this day. We got to dress up like Pioneers and play games and do fun things with our families. In Utah we went to Parades and watched fireworks.
   I thought, Before the Pioneers, what was in Utah? and I asked my mom. She said that it was desert, and Native Americans. Well, my mom's mother's side of the family (Grandma Lorene and Grandma Lambert) side: They were Native American. I asked my mom if I could dress up like an American Indian instead of a Pioneer to honor the American Indians. My mom was thrilled. Well, we did not have much of a costume for me so I sported the Head- dress in the picture above. I loved that head-dress. I would wear it all the time. My mom bought it for me in the Grand Canyon a year before that picture above was taken, and I was thrilled to wear it. 
 Little did my mom know was underneath my red shirt I was wearing I had given myself war paint. I took my mom's red lipstick and black eye liner (she used the liquid stuff) and I drew me some really awesome designs, put my shirt on and wore denim cut offs and flip flops to this Primary Party we had in the park. We went to Pioneer Park and were there for about an hour. My mom thought she would do a couple of things before coming back to get me. 
 As soon as she left, I took off my flip flops, and red shirt and ran around with my head dress and shorts. My mom upon coming back was so surprised. I recall her trying not to laugh, and trying to tell me not to take off my shirt in public again. 
 That was one of the first July 24th Celebrations I remember growing up.

How I got loads of Candy

My mom's best friends were Atz and Nedra Kiltcher. Mom know Nedra as a child from Alaska and Atz was a year younger than my mom in school, I think. Atz was always funny, my mom said. Nedra sang like an angel. She also played the piano beautifully. Atz and Nedra wanted to help my mom and they lived in Sugarhouse, Utah in an old bungalow 1924 style. They had a basement apartment with a small kitchen, a bathroom and two bedrooms, a living room... It was a nice place and I remember loving it there. Atz and Nedra had one child named Shane, and he was a fun friend. He was C's age, but Shane and I got along and played often. D started school. I was about 3-4 and C was about 2-3. We were on a hill, and about three houses down and around the corner, and two blocks was the School that D went to. Everyday, I would walk to the corner when it was time for D to get out of school. I would wait for about two minutes as I would see D come walking up the street. I was so excited for her to tell me everything that she was learning. She would read with me after school and teach me everything she learned. Sometimes, she liked to be alone and so my mom made her a room for herself. She would make me do the secret knock if I wanted to come in. Sometimes she would tell me the secret knock was wrong, so that I could not come in. She some reason that that was so funny. 
  One day while I was waiting for D, a car pulled up in front of me, and a man opened the door. He was in a long blue Cadillac, and wearing a blue suit. The man opened his brief case. Inside was a candy shop. The brief case was loaded with candy. I have never to this day I have never seen so much candy outside a candy shop and out of the Halloween Season. That man, whose face I will never forget, was trying with candy to get in his car, and my 4 year old mind was racing with how I could get that candy, give it to my sisters, eat some, I was so excited. As I started toward the car, the corner house German Shepard went wild, it started ferociously barking and it was the first time I had ever seen this reaction from the dog. It scared me. The an was saying, "Come on, I will give you some candy, just come get some candy" the dog barking, I stared getting scared, but, I attributed it to the dog sounding like he wanted to jump his fence. Just then, my sister grabbed me from behind and said to the man, "We have candy, we don't want any" ... WHAT? We don't want candy? I was shocked, I was stunned I was upset that  my sister dragged me (literally dragged me) away from the man with the candy suit case. the man drove away and D said was we were walking up the hill, "What are you doing? Never NEVER take candy from any man, any body, they will kill you". I was crying. I just wanted candy. we walked up the hill and in the home with me crying. Mom asked what happened, and Danae told mom about how she was walking to meet me when someone was trying to get me into a car, and the man had a bunch of candy. "Well," mom said, "You did not get in the car, so you will get a reward. Let's go buy all the candy you wanted from that man's brief case.!" and all was right with the Universe because mom fixed it. We walked to the candy shop with mom and she bought everything I wanted.