aunt d

By Nilla
Well, I suppose I could let someone else go first, since she is my mom... But since no one else has yet, I will :). I suppose I could tell funny stories like how my mom would mess up saying things like when she called the characters Mulder and Scully from X-Files "Scullet and Mahone." Or like when she exclaimed to Brad, Christina, and me one afternoon after school around 1996 that "Rapper Shaker" was dead. (Translation: Tupac Shakur had been shot). Or I suppose I could talk about how she used to annoy me by saying, "Patience is a virtue" or when she would sing to the tune of like an Army drill song (in the lovely darkness of 5:30 in the morning) "It's time to get up, it's time to get up, it's time to get up in the morning!" (Yeah, who wants to hear that in the morning when no one should be awake, much less as chipper as she was!). But you know what? I think what I really want to share about my mom is something I'll never forget... Well, a couple things. My mom is selfless. I will never forget how, for my 16th birthday, she spent the night before making a ton of cupcakes for me to take to seminary, Spanish class, and then to the pool afterwards. I'll never forget how, when I was trying to lose weight in 10th grade, she would buy fresh fruit and cut it up for me for breakfast every morning, and how she would buy me all the fat-free and low-fat things, even though they added to the grocery bill. I'll never forget how she dropped everything and flew to Alabama when I was going to get my endowments; and I'll never forget seeing her in the airport in Philly when I had no idea she was coming. I love my mom. And I hope I can one day be even a fraction of the kind of mom she's been, because then I'll know I'm a good mom too :).

by elka (emphasis ka)

paulboRV??? i will always remember that memory. it was the first time i'd ever seen my mom laugh THAT hard. i also remember you being a culprit in the el using all my film taking self portraits, one of which you are in. but you will always be "the good sister" (as put by kenny the loud!)

Tarylyn's memory...

(I haven't been in the family that long so bare with me!)

I'll never forget that time that we went to San Antonio, Texas together on the greyhound bus. I was..what...like eight and a half months pregnant with Saria (and technically on bedrest). It had to of been the worst road trip ever just on that factor alone, but I had mom with me!! She had organized everything and had a rental car waiting for us at the bus depot. Neither one of us had been to this place ever before, and if any of you know Mom, which I know you all do...you KNOW that she's... well...I can't think of a good word so I'll finish my story, and you can tell me what word it is. OK so we find a hotel (it's hard to do this because everyone is in San Antonio this weekend for their loved ones basic training graduation like we are) and we end up having a room with one bed in it, so we have to sleep together, which I didn't mind at all but seeing as how I wasn't even a member of the family yet "officially" and how I was almost ready to pop...you can imagine how comfortable we were. ANYWAY, my memory is this... We were driving on the base, trying to find the place to meet Brad. We had met him the day before and so I assumed she knew where the place was, but here I was looking at this simple hand drawn map that the base provided and I was telling her which direction to go in. So we get to this stop-light and she asks what direction she goes, left or right, and CLEARLY to me the building we're meeting Brad on is the right, and the map clearly states that and so I tell her right, and she says to me "I think it's left" and she goes left. OK so maybe the memory part isn't what's funny...but my inital reaction, and thoughts may be. I was like (in my head of course) "woman, I have a map right here, you ASKED me which direction to go in, and I told you and you STILL went the other way. " I've been in the family for eight years basically, and I giggle everytime I think of that simply because I now KNOW what kind of person MOM is, what's the word?? Delicate? not quite...I think Brad would call her "flighty" sometimes...that's sorta what I'm leaning to, but delicate sounds nicer haha. I also remember on that trip we all went to this HUGE mall (great place for a lady on bedrest I assure you) and we go into the HALLMARK store and sitting there on the shelves are these incredibly cute stuffed bunnies, some are white, some are tan, some are black etc...and I turn to Brad and tell him I wanna get a bunny for Saria so we sit there for ten minutes arguing about which one to get, and finally mom picks the tan colored one, tells us that white will stain, and decides for us. That was a lot of help Mom, thanks!! (Brad named that bunny Fuzznuggets while we were waiting for his bus to come get him and take him back to the base and that is exactly what Saria calls it to this day. I love mom and everything about her, she is the most selfless person I know, and I am so glad she's my mother in law! I love the fact that no matter what happens she's got a cheery laid back, FAITHFUL attitude. I loved how, when I was dating Brad, I would come over to the house and she'd be washing dishes and singing or just walking around singing, she sings a lot doesn't she. I also loved the fact that she was by my side a few weeks ago as Brad and I went through the temple for the first time. I also happen to love all of her offspring!! (ONE more then the others!!!) And I really feel at "home" being around her. Oh, I should add also, that I LOVE her cooking too, but who doesn't right?

Mrs. S's Memory:

I don't have anything specific, but just how sweet and nice I always remember Aunt D being. She was such a great help at my wedding. I remember how much her and my mom would laugh...it almost gave me insight into how they were as kids. I also remember how my mom said that when she was inactive (growing up to before elka was born) she had always looked up to the example of her big sister who remained constant in going to church. It was because of that example that my mom started going to church and raised us in that religion as well. For that I am eternally grateful because it has had one of the largest impacts in my life!

Aunt H's memory of her sister

I love this picture of D!! We were in Yellowstone park (I think) and she had lost her shoe in the creek. You should have seen her running, half on the bank and half in the water, trying to catch her fast moving shoe. The "running" was really more like hobbling because she was minus one shoe. The whole time she was trying to get the shoe she was saying, "Oooo, eeeee, ouch!" because of the stones that she was stepping on. Oh what a great memory!!! I love the smile on her face. BTW, she was dumping the water out of her shoe in this picture.

Memory of Aunt D by the El

So I have that glitch in my brain that many of you have also. You know the glitch I'm talking about, the one when you see a camera sitting there and it calls to you and says "pick me up! I'm lonely! No ones used me in over ten minutes! Please pick me up and take a picture of yourself!"

So I was dating this girl, she was hot (not the one in the photo.... NO I mean shes hot too but the girl I was dating is not the girl in the photo) and I was really into her. So this hot girl I'm dating invites me to go to her grandparents fiftieth wedding anniversary in Seattle Washington. I really wanted to impress this hot girl so of course I said I would go. Really I had to because the challenge had been initiated by the hot girl the first time we ever met. Her mother introduces us and the very first thing she says to me is "SO your from Arkansas, My room mate is from Arkansas, she smells!" Game on! I earned enough points by going to Seattle to get her to go to my hillbilly farm in Arkansas and showed her my armadillo catching skills and she was all mine! (to read that story go to elkas blog tittled "message to my sil")

Anyway I go to Seattle and meet the Lymans. It was a great time. It was the first time I got to meet Aunt D and we had lots of fun and of course there was this camera just sitting there beckoning me to take a picture with it. What a great self portrait of us! I'm looking forward to the reunion and all those lonely cameras left sitting on the tables. I hope me and Aunt D will hear a few of them calling to us! I hope we find Aunt D's sisters camera (the silver back). She loves pictures with people sticking their tongues out. Love ya Aunt D! EL