52 Week Challenge: Question 10
Share your memories of your paternal grandparents? Where did they live? How much were they involved in your life?
Kristin:
My paternal grandparents were Kate and Jack McKinnon. I love that the names Kate and Jack are so trendy right now. Who would have thought it? There is even a Kate McKinnon on SNL. How funny! We always called them Grandma and Grandpa McKinnon. We didn't have any cutesy names for them. When I was older and in college I started calling my Grandpa "Pops"...actually I called both of my grandpas that when I was that age. Reilly called my grandpa "Papa McKinnon". When they were being sweet to one another my grandma called my grandpa "Daddy" and when he was being sweet to her he called her "Mother." Both their sons used to affectionately call my grandpa "Pappy" when they were being loving.
My Grandma and Grandpa McKinnon lived out on Geneva Road out toward Utah Lake in Provo, Utah in the area called Vineyard. My Grandpa grew up on a ranch in Randolph, Utah near Bear Lake. He loved where he was from. He grew up with a lot of sisters and only two brothers. His sisters doted on him. He was very beloved his entire life. He met my grandma when she came to Randolph to visit her newlywed sister. Maysell, who had just moved there. They met at a dance. They married in the Salt Lake Temple and moved to Provo where my grandma was from. My grandpa served in the South Pacific during WWII. He had many jobs usually in the construction industry. When I was a kid he worked at Geneva Steel. On days when we didn't have school, we would often go to their house and spend the day. I loved helping my grandma pack his big black metal lunch box that always contained a can of coca-cola and some kind of Hostess cake. He LOVED Twinkies, Ding-Dongs, Snowballs, Cupcakes, and Zingers.
My Grandma was born in Provo and grew up in a big house off of Center Street. She came from a large family of girls. She had one biological brother and then when she was a teenager her parents adopted a son who was the youngest of the family. My grandma always lived fairly close to most of her sisters. They could be a quarrelsome bunch...someone was always mad at someone or not speaking to someone... but they were still a close group and always spent a lot of time together and were always into each other's business.
My grandparents lived on a farm with a bunch of acreage that stretched nearly to Utah Lake. They had all kinds of animals: horses, cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, dogs, and cats. We used to love spending time at their house. They had a huge vegetable garden, a big barn, and a bunch of outbuildings. There was also an irrigation ditch that ran through their farm and part of their property line ran parallel to the Provo River. It was so fun to go to their house!! We were the only grandkids and we were spoiled rotten. We always knew that we were loved and adored. My grandparents were active members of the church and they were always hopeful and encouraging that we would go to church some day. I love that I often saw my grandpa kneeling and praying for his family.
My grandpa was very active, super hard-working, and a lot of fun. We loved to follow him around while he did all of his chores on the farm. He also would play with us...especially games in the yard. He would chase us around and make us scream with laughter. ( I am going to add in the memories that we shared at his funeral. They describe our Grandma and Grandpa McKinnon perfectly.)
Tyler read this at my grandpa's funeral:
The girls have many fond memories of times spent at their Grandma and Grandpa McKinnon's house. They loved spending time down on the farm with Jack, following him around while he did his chores, helping him with the animals, naming the calves and riding in his old pick-up truck. They used to love playing pioneer on their farm and used to pretend that his old pick-up with the cattle guard was their covered wagon. They would sweep it out and pretend that they were traveling across the plains.
Jack had a huge garden and used to plant rows and rows of peas and strawberries just for the girls to pick and eat. He was also an amazing flower gardener and grew all kinds of gorgeous flowers. He used to let the girls cut all the flowers that they wanted out of his yard. They would take home huge bouquets of lilacs, snowballs, roses, tulips, and zinnas.
Another favorite activity with Jack was going to the dump. Jack used to collect scrap metal and then would take it to be weighed and exchanged for cash. The girls used to love to go with him and loved to help him find metal, not to mention all the other treasures they would find, and come home with. One time they came home covered in hives. Kate about had a fit, but they had the time of their lives. Once they found some old cologne in the shape of a golf ball at the dump. They thought that Jack would love it! He swore he loved it and took it home and kept it. He has had it all these years. He even used to bravely wear some when they would come to visit and would ask if he had put any on that day. One the way home, Jack used to take some of the money he got for the metal and would stop at the Texaco on the corner that the girls called "the candy store" and he would buy them all the candy they wanted and 25-cent grab bags.
The girls loved going on adventures in the motor home with Kate and Jack. Kristin, Stacey, and Kelley always wanted to go to Liberty Park in Salt Lake and they never wanted to go in the car. They always wanted to go in the motor home. Kate would make a picnic of the girls favorite foods: Kentucky Fried Chicken, chips, cake, and all the country time lemonade they could drink. Then they would go on all the rides that used to be there. Jack loved scary rides. He loved going to amusement parks. He was always the first one on all the scary rides. His favorite ride at Liberty Park was the Tilt-a-Whirl. He could spin and spin and never get dizzy. Kate only wanted the girls to ride the carousel but Jack would take them on everything. He especially loved to take them all up on the Ferris Wheel. He would tell them to "Yell at Grandma!" and they would wave while he would start rocking the seat back and forth like crazy. Kate would be on the ground screaming and Jack and the girls would laugh and laugh.
Jack had quite a sense of humor and loved to tease Kate. The girls remember playing many wild card and board games with their grandparents. They particularly liked Old Maid and Spoons. Jack used to cheat and slip the girls cards under the table so that Grandma was always the Old Maid. He also used to help the girls cheat at Spoons. They made up all kinds of wild rules and once when Grandma didn't get a spoon the rule was that she had to get up and bray like a donkey. Kate acted disgusted and put out but she could hardly do it because she was laughing so hard.
Jack used to let the girls name all the new calves in the spring. They would check on them and ask about the calves when they called and came to visit. He always told them not to make a pet of them but they never listened. Many times they would be eating a steak or hamburger at their house and Jack would ask, "How do you like that steak?" and then when the girls would answer that it was good, Jack would laugh and say, "Well it should be...You're eating Blackie!!"
The girls loved having sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They got away with murder and they knew it. They could stay up late, watch whatever they wanted on TV, and eat all the cake and ice cream they wanted.
Another favorite pastime for girls was snooping. They used to love to go through Kate and Jack's drawers, closets, and cupboards. They were sure that they would find a treasure and they always did. Jack used to yell at them and say that they were big snoops but he never stopped them and always made sure that there was plenty of black licorice and doublemint gum for them to find. The girls would go through their closets, dress up in their clothes, and come up with some crazy costumes. They would put on plays and sing and dance. Jack always talked about how much they would make him laugh with their crazy shows. Then after sleeping over they always got to eat one of Grandma's famous country farm breakfasts: hotcakes, eggs, toast, sausage, bacon, orange juice, and chocolate milk. But their favorite thing to eat was mush--just like Grandpa.
The girls loved to play games out on Kate and Jack's big front lawn and Jack was always in the thick of things. He was right there playing Tag, Red Light/Green Light, Mother May I, Statues, and Wolf Over the River with them. Then they would go in and eat Jack's favorite ice cream: cherry nut.
Jack used to sell night crawlers to fishermen headed to the lake and if the girls were good they could go down into the basement, get into the worm refrigerator, measure out a cup full of worms, and take the money from the customers. Jack always let them keep the money.
The girls have so many wonderful memories: feeding the ducks at Utah Lake, eating at the Coachman and Chuck-a-Rama, going fishing at Strawberry Reservoir, swimming with Grandpa at Bear Lake and at many motel swimming pools, riding horses, and going on vacation with them.
When Kristin was in college at BYU she would come over every Sunday for dinner. Jack could be pretty picky about food. He like his meat and potatoes and dessert every Sunday night was cake and ice cream. Jack loved ice cream. One thing that he absolutely hated was yogurt. Kate loved yogurt especially frozen yogurt. One time she and Kristin decided that they were going to trick Jack. Kate had Kristin go and get a quart of frozen yogurt. They served it to him on Sunday night with his cake and told him that it was ice cream. He ate it all down without complaint. Then they laughingly informed him that it was frozen yogurt that he had been eating. He started gagging, spit out the last bite, and ran for the bathroom.
Jack could be gruff at times. He loved to tease his prissy granddaughters and ask them if they were wearing enough "war paint" (make-up) and if they were done "primping". His favorite term of endearment for them was "snot-nosed brats". He would yell at them to quite bossing him around or fussing over him and to stay out of his stuff, but they always knew how much he loved them.
In the last few months, when Jack was sick, the girls got to spend some special time with him. They had a lot of time to talk with him and share memories. They really got to know him as a person and not just their grandpa. He told them stories about his childhood-- going hunting and fishing with his brothers, neat stories about his mom and dad, and funny times with his sisters. He told them about his service in WWII, his life as a newlywed, stories about raising his family, and what it was like to be a grandparent. He gave them lots of good advice about life.
Jack was always a constant in their lives. Not just a grandpa but also a father figure. He was someone the girls could always depend on. Jack was there whenever they needed him. The girls have said that Jack taught them many things. He gave them an appreciation for animals, a love of the outdoors, and a sense of adventure. He taught them the value of hard work, how to be generous to a fault, how to serve others, and the importance of faith, family, and friends.
Even just last week he was preparing them for his death. He told them that he would not be getting better but not to worry about him. He told them that he had lived a good long life and that he did not have any regrets and was not afraid to die. He said that he was looking forward to a reunion with his loved ones. He told the girls that he was not worried about them because all three of them had turned out "real good". He told them that he loved them and they told him how much they loved him and how much he meant to them.
Jack was a wonderful grandfather, not just to Kristin, Stacey, and Kelley but also to their other brother and sister, Kirk and Jordin. He was a fantastic and patient great-grandfather to Reilly and he was looking forward to the birth of his great-grandson who is due in November. Jack will be missed every day.
Here are some memories of my Grandma:
My grandma was a girlie-girl. She was the only woman in a house full of men and boy was she excited when she got three granddaughters!! Her favorite color was pink. She loved getting together with her sisters and her girlfriends. She loved make-up, perfume, nail polish, jewelry, and going to get her hair done. She loved going out to eat and going on Sunday drives with my grandpa. She loved to visit people. She always had a big purse full of all kinds of amazing things (that she usually made my grandpa carry) and she always had white Tic Tacs.
My grandma was a good cook. People always talked about her home cooking. She also loved to decorate her house. Like clockwork every five years she would update her furniture, or get it reupholstered, change her carpet, and drapes. She and her sisters were always trying to out do each other. My grandpa always had his pick-up and my grandma loved cruising around in her Buick or Oldsmobile. (We always called it the Granny Mobile.) They would get a new version of it about every five years as well. It was always maroon. My grandparents would always ask, "What do you think of our new car?!" and we would always joke and say that it looked just like the old one!!
My grandma had a tight group of girlfriends that hung out together for about 50 years. They went to church together, were in bridge club together, were members of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers together, served together, and raised their children together. I knew them all. Wanda, Gertrude, and Dorothy were some of my favorites. Most of them lived off of Geneva Road. They were a gossipy bunch and always knew what was going on with everyone. Wanda was my grandma's very best friend. They had a little code that they used to do. Whenever they drove by each other's house they would double honk. That distinguished them from all the other family members and friends who would drive by and just honk. Too funny.
My grandma LOVED her Bridge club and Canasta club. She loved to be the hostess and would go all out and host a fancy event. She had several sets of pretty tablecloths that she would use and centerpieces for all the tables. She would fix dainty sandwiches, cake, and snacks. There was always punch in a big glass punch bowl and nut cups...filled with peanuts, dinner mints, and m&ms. She used to let me help her fill up all the nut cups...and eat all the leftovers...and I loved it. The color pink was her usual color scheme but she would also do different things for the holidays depending on which month she hosted. She served her food, punch, cake, and snacks on glass luncheon snack sets similar to the ones below but she had several different varieties.
I've sold many sets like these through my business Sisters Creed and I'm still drawn to them. I love them. They are so fun for book club and birthday parties.
My grandma loved to go on vacation. She and my grandpa always traveled with her sister Zola and Zola's husband Cub. They went all over the U.S. in their motor homes together. Sometimes we got to go with them which was so much fun and we loved to talk on the CB's.
My grandma spoiled us. She always called us her "little sweethearts" even when we were in college. Her house was always stocked with our favorite treats and drinks. Every time we went to visit her we came home with grocery bags full of treats and gifts. She loved Avon and always had a big stash of make-up and perfume for us to get into. She used to save all the little tiny lipsticks samples for us.
We used to get SO EXCITED when she told us that she had a new stash for us!!
My grandma loved jewelry. My grandpa bought her a piece of jewelry for most holidays. She had several awesome jewelry boxes filled to the brim with treasures. Some of her jewels were real and she also had lots of gorgeous costume jewelry. We sell a lot of costume in our business and it always reminds me of her. She used to let us go through all her jewelry boxes and wear whatever we wanted.
When we got older, every year for Christmas, our grandparents would give us a bottle of our favorite perfume and $50. That was THE BEST gift!! My grandparents would go to the ZCMI perfume counter with their list of our favorite perfumes for that year and my Grandma LOVED it!! It was such a special gift because we couldn't afford fancy expensive perfume on our babysitting salaries when we were in junior high and high school and my parents certainly weren't going to buy it for us. It was such a luxury and even when Tyler came along he too got to pick out his favorite designer cologne and got $50. We are totally going to do that for our future granddaughters.
One of my favorite things at my grandparents house was my grandma's pudding drawer. Tyler and I are totally going to have one at our house when we are grandparents. My grandma had a big drawer in her kitchen stocked with every kind of instant pudding you could imagine. Pistachio, butterscotch, chocolate fudge, coconut, banana, french vanilla...all the good ones. The drawer was stocked and whenever we would ask if we could "cook something" we were directed to the drawer. There was also every flavor of jello imaginable in the "pudding drawer" too. For three little girls who never got many sweets at home it was sheer heaven. We made pudding every.single.time. we went. She also always had mini-multi-colored marshmallows, Nilla wafers, chocolate milk (IN A JUG), several flavors of punch (IN A JUG), and always our very favorite chilled country time lemonade (IN A CAN...the way God intended it to be served!!)
We also had a playroom to play in filled with toys and games and a little black and white TV. That was HUGE when we were kids. We pretty much ran wild and our grandparents enjoyed every minute. My mom always said that we were complete nightmares coming home after spending the weekend at their house. I bet!!
My grandma had some specific phrases that she would always say. She never swore (unlike my grandpa--ha ha!!) Instead she would always say, "MY LAW!!" whenever she was annoyed, angry, frustrated, or exasperated. Or the commonly heard..."Laws Jack!!" when my grandpa was bugging her. Ha ha!!
My Grandpa and Grandma McKinnon weren't perfect people but they were amazing grandparents. My mom and grandma rarely saw eye to eye especially after my parents divorce but my mom always kept them a part of our lives and a part of our family. They came to Christmas when we were little and when we were older they came for Thanksgiving year after year. I really appreciated that. They were fun grandparents. Always up for an adventure, trip, or to go eat at a cafe (as my grandma used to say.) They played and played with us...games, shows, performances...you name it and they did it. We always knew that we were loved and adored. I miss them very much.
I am glad that Tyler got to know and love them. They both loved him. There are many things about the way that they grandparented us that Tyler and I want to do with our future grandkids. Being a good grandparent is an art form and they did a pretty spectacular job!!
**If you are wondering where Tyler's post about his grandparents are...I'm still waiting...** :) But since we are MANY weeks behind on this project I am posting this anyway!!
