Memories of Mom

Well it's getting a bit dusty over here at KGC Blend. I know there are those of you out there who could be posting but I guess it's up to me to keep this going for now. I realize there was a birthday I neglected to post about. Our mother's birthday was August 9th. For some reason that date seems to sneak past me and I realize it a few days after it's passed by. This year was weird. I sometimes dream about mom. I dream that she is alive and that her cancer has been cured and she is here to give me her love and advise. Then I wake up bummed that it was just a dream.  These dreams are usually few and far between.  For some reason during the week of her birthday I had several successive dreams compounded during the week leading up to August 9th. I'd wake up and think "weird- I had another dream about Mom." Then the thought would leave and I'd go about my busy day. It wasn't until about the 11th or 12th that I realized her birthday had passed again without my thinking about it. Then I realized that my subconscious had been thinking about her all week.  It was weird.  I like to think that maybe she was with me in spirit (at night) all week.  I don't really know this, but it's a nice thought.  I miss her still.

She was a completely selfless person.  She was a great listener and hardly ever talked about herself even though she was most interesting.  She loved all people: poor, unpopular, unloved.  She loved the underdog- so do I.  I still remember the Samoan man who came knocking asking for work.  After she paid him for weeding the yard he mentioned that he was not as good as her.  She told him "not so- God loves you just as much as he loves me, and she gave him a warm hug."  I will never forget it.  I was a young girl at the time, but it struck me deeply.  She never played into that snob hill mentality that was so prevalent in Oak Hills.  She refused to be a part of the sororities in college, even though I am sure they wanted the homecoming queen attendant as a feather in their cap.  She always taught me that "pretty is as pretty does."  I hope to pass that along to my daughters one day.  We live in such a materialistic world where girls are taught that being ornamental is best.  Our mother was a looker, but she was much more than a pretty face.

I wish I had her here to ask about my children.  This parenting job is a tough gig and I am certain most of the time I am getting it wrong.  She could help me with so many things if I could just pick up the phone and call her.  Maybe I need to be more in tune with the spirit so that she can help show me the way.  She's probably shouting advise through her mega phone on the other side of the veil but I have earthly cotton stuck in my ears and can't or won't hear what she would have me do.

Mom would have been 81 last August.  I hope she is well on the other side.  Probably running the nursery still....  Now uncle Bob is with her.  They probably have a lot of catching up to do.  To those who will be attending Bob's funeral this week, if you feel our mother near, say hello for me will you?

Kelly

PS for those who read this who are unaware, our Uncle Bob Vogel had an accident that lead to him being put on life support.  There was something burnt on the stove and a smoke filled house triggered an asthma attack, which then triggered a heart attack. He was 20 min down before they could re-start his heart but no brain activity remained.  Life support was taken off on Thursday evening at 6:30.  Our prayers are with the Vogels...

Yes Sir Sir Sir Sir Sir

Dad is 82... Basically Ancient

I understand there will be a family open house for Dad on his birthday.  As much as we would love to be there and be "creamed" with you all, we will not be there.  Hopefully next year.  We are just waiting for a good excuse to come out and meet Grandma Thelma.  One other thing we are waiting for and that is for air fare to come down : )  So it may be a while.

In the mean time I would love to extend and invitation to anyone who wishes to come to our neck of the woods.  Even if you would just like to send a kid or two for a week with me in DC.  That would be welcomed!  The east coast Tagg Family would be glad shuttle some cousins around and see the sights.  Think it over!

Anyways I have decided to post our familys letter to Dad on the KGC blog... here goes.

Eliza's Answers
1-What does she love about Grandpa?  "I love how he makes something for me...does he make me things?"
2-Eliza's memory about Grandpa is him saying "I have eyes in the back of my head" (it's entirely possible she is mixing up her Grandpas here)
3-Eliza doesn't know how she is going to live her life to honor Grandpa.  She is 4 so we'll give her some time to think about that...

Audrey's Answers
1- What do we love about him?  Audrey said "he always has something funny to tell"
2-Audrey's favorite memory is playing "I love you the most" with Grandpa
3-One thing Audrey wants to do to him is give him a big hug and squeeze all the blood out of him.  (Classy no?  She may have misunderstood the last question but I liked that answer).

Drew's Answers
1-Loves that Grandpa has a big house.
2-Drew's favorite memory is having a competition with Grandpa over who was the tallest by raising up our arms higher than each other.
3-Drew is going to serve an honorable mission for Grandpa Whatcott.

Evan's Answers
1-Evan loves that he has a big personality.
2-Flying airplanes with him is a memory Evan has of Grandpa Whatcott.
3- Evan is going to learn to fly a plane to honor his Grandpa.

Nathan's Answers
1- Loves that Grandpa is a happy guy.
2-"Him making cheese pancakes for us" is Nathan's favorite memory
3-I am going to buy one of those plastic toys with the substances that don't mix together and are different colors.... They look like this:

Troy's Answers

1-What do you love about him?  "I love his laugh"

2-A favorite memory? "I knew I was welcomed into his family when upon my first visit to the house he offered me a slice off of his huge hunk of 'adult only' swiss cheese."

3-What will you do with your life to honor him?  "I will treat his daughter with love and respect"

Kelly's Answers

1-I love that my Dad has such great self confidence.  Nothing gets him down for too long and he has a big gigantic heart and wants to help out whenever he can.  

2-A favorite memory of mine (and his I think) is when he rescued me during a blizzard after my car had spun out and ran off the road while I was driving home from Colorado as a young college student.  He had to finish up his work that day and then come and get me in white out conditions over through steep canyon roads.  For years afterwards I was reminded of this event when I was working as a hygienist in his dental office, and patients would come through and say "Hey, weren't you that daughter of his that he rescued in the snow storm?  I was a patient that day!"  

3-To honor my Dad I will try and live a perfectly honest life.  His exactness in this department has always been an example to me.  Except for maybe that time he went to Montana to purchase a motor home to avoid paying state taxes on the vehicle.  But that's a grey area I guess.  Happy Birthday Dad!!!

The Twins Turn 57!?

I can hardly believe I just revealed the age of the twins.  It's a good thing they don't read the blog or I'd probably be in trouble right?  I better be sure and state that they don't look their age at all.  No one in their right mind would think they had that many years behind them.  That is one good trait the Whatcotts have.  I hope to follow in those footsteps myself.

Some memories I have of Dawn and Diane will be shared in honor of their birthday today.  Please feel free to click on the comments button below and offer your own memories to mine.  This blog only really works well as a group effort.  And what a great way for us to keep in touch with each other right?  For those who live far away or don't get to see family much it could be a lifeline to the family.  Anyways- I will stop guilt tripping you all and get on with my post now : )

First Dawn... Dawn was like a little mother to me when I was small.  She was 15 when I was born.  We'd go on long walks in the mountains together.  She'd babysit me all the time.  I remember going on dates with her when she was a bit older.  Her dates gave me gifts.  It was a sweet gig.  She even brought me into the shower with her on occasion.  It was very informative and not at all creepy.  Dawny loved me like a daughter.  I had a great time with Dawn when she recently visited my family all by her big girl self.  Since her son has free air fare privileges, she has been a big-time traveler.  We saw the sights in DC together and she played with my kids a lot.  It sure was nice having someone dote on the kids.  She even slept in the girl's room with them.  No showers though.  Maybe next visit (just kidding).  I will always be glad that I have Dawn in my life.  She is a truly genuine nice person with a big heart.  A great sister,  I love her.

Care Free in DC

Now Diane.... Diane is also a great sister that I love.  She has the gift of gab and loves to chat with you on just about any topic.  She has been a great help to Dad in his time of need this past year ironing his shirts and cleaning for him.  She is determined and has pursued her education against large odds late in life.  I am so proud of her for getting her masters degree in education and for getting a teaching job.  She teaches 2nd grade.  I have a second grader and when I volunteer in her class I just think "whew!  Teaching in tough!"  I am ready to leave when my hour is up let me tell you.  I guess it's no big deal to Diane who has birthed enough kids in her lifetime to outnumber the rest of us.  Maybe she missed the noise so she had to go into teaching.  I will always remember the best Diane story from when we were traveling as a family in Mexico and we'd taken a boat to Puerto Vallarta.  She got to chatting innocently with a few frisky sailors.  Then it ended up in a cat and mouse chase around on the deck.  Luckily she got away unscathed.  I seem to recall one of the twins (could have been Dawn) having no clue when learning to drive and accidentally running into the curb, almost taking out a fire hydrant.  It would seem that the concept of turning the wheel back to the straight position after taking a turn hadn't quite set in yet.  Pretty darn funny when you think about it.

Though the twins have had their ups and downs I know that they both still care for one another.  I hope they can one day work out their problems.  It sure has made for some situation-filled Christmas parties though!  You know me, always looking for the bright side.

Happy Birthday to you both!

*Correction: I have been informed by Dawn that she was the one who ran into the fire hydrant and that it was due to icy road conditions...  My apologies!  


Also another update: Diane is recently engaged to be married in June.  Exciting news indeed!

Viva La Vida

Watch for Drew and Nathan playing in the orchestra here.  Also, please don't miss the great dancing in the first row of the audience!

Poetry from Nathan

Where I'm From

By Nathan Tagg

I am from kim-chi

From tasty subway deli-man-ju,

Processed milk shakes and

Bul-go-gi

I am from my card that I carried around in my wallet,

Which said who I was and where I was from.

From my trip to the other side.

I am from my first video games

My terrible first skateboard,

My dach-chi collection, which grew and grew with each victory

And from putting 100 won pieces in gumball machines,

As if they were quarters.

(Which was illegal)

I am from the military bases,

From the buildings that were once bomb shelters,

From the south of the boarder,

From the thirty eighth.

The cement step with the word “blessed”,

Permanently engraved in it.

I am from the great and terrible hill that,

Was climbed to get to church,

Every Sunday and Wednesday.

I am from the purple skies,

 The fourth largest city in the world,

The massive amounts of traffic.

The intersection of death.

The grammatically incorrect signs.

The misuse of ingurish

I am from Mr. O

I am from god

I am from Mister Kim

The underfunded school teachers

From troy

I am from “Everything will be over eventually”

From

“Pennies don’t really matter here”

And from

“The small choices you make will affect you forever”

From

“The door of fate swings on small hinges”

And from

“Will you run down the street and buy some milk?”

with our friend Buddha

Q & A with Candace

1.     1. Hi Candace!  What’s happening in your life?  Enquiring minds want to know! Does losing 25 lbs count?? Haha … Um see below?  #2 & #3 & #8 hold the most exciting news. J

2.     2. Tell us about your love life?  Who is that dashing young man we see on your blog? I have been dating the most handsome & incredible guy – his name is Matt Burch.  He is 32 and divorced with 2 kids.  A mouthful I know, but as cheesy as it sounds – totally worth the baggage.  He is a CPA for Ernst & Young and works REALLY hard to provide for his kids, which I find admirable. He has a little boy who is 4 and a little girl who turns 2 this month. They are the lights of his life. He is the perfect Daddy. They are also the lights of my life right now. I just adore them. Really. We have been dating for 7 months, and are talking saying the ‘love’ word so I’m getting pretty stoked to move from the W’s to the B’s.  J

3.     3. What are you doing these days at work? I work at HP and just recently got a promotion onto a team I’ve worked hard to get on. I am a Sales Specialist (which is basically a Partner Business Manager) for HP.  So I support all of HP’s partners/resellers in the West Region. I love it so much – I get to travel each quarter out to California, Oregon, Washington, etc.  I just love being the “go to gal” and that’s precisely who I am for the West.

4.     4. What do you think about the revelation that the writers of Mormon Bachelor Pad were really 40 yr old balding divorced men?  Wacky!!!  I was a little disgusted and just sad that they have such pathetic lives that they can live separate lying lives.  Their stories were pretty crazy….

5.     5. Do you find enough time to play with your kissy face BFFs lately? Nothing is more important in this life than the relationships we nurture with others in this life and with our Lord.  My friends buoy me up and I am proud to call them my BFFs.  I ALWAYS make time for those I love. Always.

6.     6. Are you remembering to be like Arial in the Little Mermaid and “keep singing!”  Though life takes me through the happiest of times and the saddest of times, I always having a song in my heart ~ I just don’t always torture other people by SINGING it.  J

7.     7. Have you been using your floral arranging talents lately?  The flowers you did for JoAnn’s funeral were lovely btw.  Thank you, it was an honor to do flowers for the family.  I recently set up a blog/website for my side biz for flowers (www.candacescreations.blogspot.com) and that has brought me 2 weddings so far for the spring, and this weekend I am swamped with orders for 2 different Proms.  I love doing flowers and foresee it being forever in my future.

8.    8. What does the future hold for you Candace…. Ideally.  If you had asked me this 5 yrs ago I would have the storybook answers of “Married in the Temple, Kids, Stay at Home Mommy, Gorgeous House, Nice car….blah blah”  But now?  Of course I still want to get married *to Matt ideally* and of course I will eventually want kids, but if I marry Matt – I got 2 right off the bat! YAY!!  And the house thing – well, keep it on the downlow – but we are already casually looking…. Just in case we get married. J  I do plan on working and even when I do stay at home (3 kids would definitely warrant staying at home) then I would like to start my own flower business from home. Matt is 100% supportive and I think it would be fun to eventually include the kids in my business. I also plan to FINALLY finish my Bachelor’s degree at Weber and/or University of Utah.  That is another story in itself… No matter what happens, I plan to be happy and always continuing up and up with my knowledge, work ethic, and relationships.

      9. Tell us an embarrassing moment why don’t you?  Embarrassing moment of the week: I was talking to a work associate that I admire for his hard work. I took my ring off and noticed my finger was green under it (while he’s talking). I decided to use spit to clean it off but instead of just wetting my finger like I had thought, I had this long spit string that attached from my mouth to my finger.  I was mortified when the associate just stopped talking and stared at me.  His face seemed to say “REALLY?”  It was way embarrassing      
     10.You are super pretty Candace.  I hope you know that.  But you are also nice on the inside which my mother taught me was the most important. Thanks Aunt Kelly, your mom is one of my most favorite people that has Ever lived. (definitely in the top 5)

Candace and Matt