Stewy

On my 15th birthday, September 14th, 1971, Stewart went to a novelty store in Oil City, Pennsylvania and purchased  my most memorable childhood birthday present.  He had it gift wrapped by the store and I was so happy that he had thought of me.  After all,  he was my big brother and this was the first occasion that he had picked out a gift especially for me.  It wasn't a present that mom had purchased and written Stewart's name on with her disguised handwriting skill.  This was a gift that was pure fun with no practicality involved.  

The gift was  intriguing because I had never seen anything like it.  It was a money grabber piggy bank toy. (see picture below)  

When you would put a coin in the slot, the box would tremble and then a hand would sneak out and quickly snatch up the penny.  I only used pennies because I only made 50 cents an hour babysitting.   This was a great novelty gift for my teenage mind.

I saw Stew just a few weeks ago.  He was lying in his hospital bed and we were having a light conversation about old memories.  Stew was trying to be brave.  His one liners were sparse but he managed to fight the pain and enjoy a few moments with his visiting sister.  I reminded him of his great gift to me on my 15th birthday.  He had no recollection of that money grabber piggy bank toy that remains so vivid in my mind.  

The gift summons up those good old childhood memories of days long passed. The days when we played hide and seek on Columbia Street, delivering newspapers, the family dogs, the neighborhood friends, driving in the car and screaming for ice cream,eating too much candy and pop at the corner store and then paying for it when we saw Dr. Cusik, swimming each summer, street hockey, ice hockey,  firecrackers in pop bottles, the reindeer at Wentworth Park, Louisbourg and the crashing waves and the list will continue on whenever I think of Stewart and his 15th birthday present to me..  

Thank you my brother for being a part of my life.  Until we meet again.

Love Shauna

This song is in memory of you Stew.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtMN3mXmvqU

Stew and Shauna (1958)

Granddaughters

Sugar and spice and everything nice.  That's what little girls are made of.  Mae and  Ayla 2011

Ahhh Weddings

The past few months I have had the opportunity to be a part of two precious unions.  The first was my son Brian to Taylor Parker.  They married in the Salt Lake LDS temple.  They were so beautiful and Tom and I welcome Taylor to our growing family.  She is sweet, kind and intelligent.
The second was my niece Malia to Brandon McArthur.  They married in the Seattle LDS temple.  They looked so happy and I was glad to be a part of the celebration.

Sue, Mae and Olivia at the piano

Sue and Olivia were showing Mae the ropes on the piano.  She loves music.

Nurses Pinning ceremony at BYU-I

 Brian and Taylor

 Lauren and Taylor

 Taylor's mom

 The two nurses

Congratulations to Taylor on graduating from nursing.  That is quite and accomplishment at 20 years of age!
She will make a great nurse and we were glad to be a  part of the happy occasion.

The Happy New Recruit

Matt the Military Man

Matt was sworn in today to the U.S. Army.  Congratulations Matt.  We are proud of you and wish you the best in your future dental schooling and career.

Our business partners/relatives/friends

It is so nice to work with the Mellors.  It has been 8 years now and we feel blessed to be able to work with such   great people.

The Jeans

Ayla Jean, Casi Jean and Shauna Jean. We had a wonderful moment in time together for the blessing of Ayla Jean. I am pretty sure I will always be calling her Ayla Jean for the rest of her life. My mother, Jean Gladys Dodson, was smiling that day, from heaven.

We enjoyed the day with Pedro's family and were treated to delicious authentic Mexican food, all prepared by his mother. Thank you Griselda!

Thank you for a memorable weekend. Grandpa's pretty sure that Ayla loves him best.

Our ship-Navigator of the Seas with Royal Caribbean

We celebrated our 35th anniversary by taking a cruise to the Caribbean this year. We had a wonderful time together and enjoyed the sun and warmth in Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

This ship was huge and had an ice skating rink, rock climbing wall, miniature golf, pools, theaters, and a shopping mall in the middle. So fun.

Cruising

This is the boat that was used to ferry us over to the Grand Cayman.

Tom enjoying the view from the Windjammer restaurant. We both had plenty to eat!

Each night before we went to bed our room attendant had little towel animals in our room. This is the monkey.

Shauna at the ruins in Cozumel.

The very grand dining room that we ate at every night.

On our way to swim with the stingrays.

The view from the windjammer restaurant.