G-MA and G-PA

As a kid, I absolutely adored my grandparents—still do. My grandparents are not, I would say, the most typical of grandparents. My grandpa is Mexican-America, the oldest child (of the oldest child), a very proud man who values family above all else. He is not a man who has ever had a need to have material possessions or a need to gain vast amounts of money. My grandma is from western Germany, the oldest of two girls. She has lived through some really difficult times and is a strong woman through it all. She should have been a sportscaster (she can talk NBA with the best of 'em) and she worries endlessly about all of her children and grandchildren. When my grandpa was 17 (or 16?) he found his way out of the small mining town of East Carbon, Utah, joined the Armed Forces and was shipped off to Germany. There, he met my grandma. How, in his limited German and her nonexistent English, they managed to fall in love, I don’t know. But, here they are 50-some-odd years later! They just recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Amazing!

We had such a nice visit with my grandparents on our last visit to Utah. I could sit and talk with them for hours I think. The highlight of the visit though, was taking the kids out to the pasture to visit the animals. My grandparents have lived on the same property, with a variety of animals, for 40+ years. I have such fond memories of helping grandpa feed the chickens, visiting the chicks under the heating lamps in the garage, picking out and naming a chicken that would be "mine" (but would live at their place--until I could talk my mom into letting me take it on the long and winding trip back to our tiny home in middle-of-nowhere eastern Utah), and helping my grandma weed her flowers or hang laundry out to dry.

I feel so lucky to have such great childhood memories of my grandparents and to, now, have such a great relationship with them. They are so vocal in their support of us and tell us that they are proud of us so often. :) They are both amazing people with complex and incredible stories. I'm so happy that my kids will have such great memories of them too.

Milo and Isabel following a mama duck and her ducklings through the field. They kept yelling (in falsetto voices), "Don't be scared of us baby duckies! We just want to hold you!"
This is written in the cement at the bottom of one of the clothesline poles. I remember twirling around this pole, watching my shadow while grandma was hanging laundry on the line.
Checking out the tomato plants with Grandpa. It was cute to hear the kids say "Oh we grow tomatoes on our farm too! We LOOOOVE tomatoes!".
Giving Grandma Rosa a big hug. She always has fresh tortillas and a treat for the kids. It was so cute watch Milo play with her--she kept tickling him and tickling his foot. He was a big fan.
Checking out the lawn ornaments. My grandma is a big fan of lawn decor. It seems like she has something new and different everytime we go for a visit. Right now, they have a collection of lawn gnomes that my grandpa painted. Big hit, needless to say.
Just before I snapped this picture, Milo was holding onto his wallet chain while they walked!! So cute and funny.
Feeding the goats.
Grandpa said that he was glad that Milo likes animals so much. He loves animals too and says that they are the reason he has stayed on his property for so long.
Isabel was a big fan of feeding the goats unless the goats actually tried to come near here--and heaven forbid they touch her.
Checking out a duckling with Daddy. Grandpa used to amaze us with his bare-handed baby fowl catching skills when we were little. He still does amaze, but sometimes he uses a fishing net to get the job done these days.