New Career New Jobs !!! Exciting!!

Gosh its been a long time since I've been on here. Alot has changed in the last couple of years. Ed has made our little home into a nice retirement cottage. Too bad we can't retire!!! Ed & I have been racking our brains (whats left of them) trying to find something we could do other than our physically stressful jobs. And a little praying too. What happened the other night was a total shock to both of us. The owner of Perkins called us - we know him well from when Mishelle worked there - his name is Ed too, (Is that a sign) He wants to reopen the the resturant and wants us to invest and help manage it!! It won't be Perkins anymore because he lost that franchise - it will be a "Chuck E. Cheese". Finally a family fun resturant that everyone can enjoy. We were hesitant at first- didn't know if we wanted to invest our own money in something like this - but after doing some thinking we decided it would be something fun to do in our old age. No stress, how hard can it be. Fun Fun Fun all day. The renovation will take a while because of the games and things that have to be installed and all new cooking equipment but Ed can help with that. They are going to fly us to California to a "Chuck E. Cheese" school. I know that sounds funny but it is required for owner/managers. There is so much to learn - kind of scarey in fact - but Mishelle said that when they move back in a couple of years she would help. And we have lots of nieces and nephews always looking for a job. Well at least we will be closer to our new job! And what a relief to not have that long drive everyday. This is just the change we needed and we are looking so forward to the new easier life style. Hope to see you all when we get things open at the new Chuck E. Cheese!!

September flashbacks

Wow what a month!!! Where did it go. We started with community days and I don't know what happened after that. Its all a blurr. Grandma Cox gathering us all at the Hospital ER. I don't even know how everyone found out so fast. The hospital in Moses Lake & Spokane couldn't even believe so many family members would come for one person. So she should feel very loved. We are just so thankful they found the problem and stopped the bleeding. 5 pints of blood later she is feeling better and on the mend. One thing her illness did was reunite us with our cousin Karlene in Spokane. We were able to stay at her house while mom was in the hospital and we were so grateful for her hospitality. If you ever have a chance you need to visit her. Her house is listed as a historical site in Spokane and so interesting to tour. The month ended being able to celebrate mom's 84th birthday. So glad she is still with us and getting her health back. Another milestone was Ed turning 70. Wow that used to seem so old but he seems much younger than the 70 year olds I used to know growing up. He hasn't slowed much - maybe thats why he seems young still. He still works, still restores cars & tractors and still grows pumpkins. I'm hoping he at least outlives his 90 year old mother. Life just keeps racing by and there's no stopping it. My only advice is - if your mom and dad are still alive give them a call once in a while, tell them you love them, and appreciate all they have done for you. You are who you are because of them. We are a lucky family cause there's not a bad apple in the bunch!!!! Love you all!!!!

September Tibits

I know I'm late but who really cares. I can't believe that 42 years ago this month I was planning my wedding. I might have mentioned these things before but you might be interested to know: My wedding dress only cost $205.00 and I got it at ZCMI's in Salt Lake City. We got married in Cardston Alberta Canada and hotel prices were $20.00. My mom and dad were the only people at our wedding. Except another couple that were there with only his parents.We were married on Sept. 21 and our reception was on Sept. 25th - Ed's birthday. We came home from Canada to a TP'd house & potato chips crushed in our bed. (Thanks to my sister Sharon and Nelson Cox who also kidnapped me from my wedding reception and drove around town with Ed in close persuit) My 3 tiered wedding cake cost $45.00 and we served a whole crowd with it & red slushy punch. My colors were Baby blue, pink and white. Bobbie Whitaker sang "You've Only Just Begun" (Boy was that the truth!) I came home from my honeymoon and was instantly a new bride and a mom to Nick who was 4 years old. Our first house was the little house out by Connie & Nelson Cox's although it wasn't located there at the time. It was on the other side of town and it cost us $50.00 a month. We later bought a single wide trailer and moved it by Mom and Dad's on 6 S.E. It cost $99.00 a month and I wondered how we were ever going to make that big payment. So 6 kids, 19 grandkids and 1 great grand child later here we are. We've moved many times and had more cars than I could ever count. Prices have quadrupled in everything. I would never have imagined how much everything would cost this many years later. We were always warned though and I'm thankful we always tried to stay out of debt and have a food storage. Which came in handy many times. What a ride it has been and as we near our golden years I am thankful for choices I have made. Marrying a good man, being married & sealed in the Temple for eternity to my family, having a family & staying active in the church. We might not be millionaires but we are very rich in the things that matter most. The time has just flown by so fast I can hardly believe it. But I am a happy woman for every minute of it - good and bad!

August Post

Congratulations to Mom, Sharon, Deby and Andy for surviging the trip we have all longed to take. Taking the Church history tour has always been a dream of mine. It sounds like you had a wonderful time inspite of the bumps bruises and sore muscles from all the walking. I have to give kudos to Sharon, being the healthiest of the bunch, for keeping this group of disabled family going. Even though I know you are handicapped yourself! I guess the biggest award goes to all of you for being able to stay in the same hotel room night after night and still be speaking to each other at the end of the trip. We all know that what happens in Nauvoo - stays in Nauvoo and I really don't want to know all the details. I have heard the spiritual experiences you had and I'm good with that. I'm sure that if you all never take another trip in your life time you are good. I would be too. This month is bitter sweet for me as I prepare to say goodbye to Mishelle and her family as they make their move to Winamucca Nevada. I never thought she would ever move away from here and it has taken some time to get used to. I am excited for the new venture and I know they will be able to do great things there. This is a great opportunity for Kyle and I am happy for them. We hope to be able to visit them once in a while but that means I have to keep working. Thank goodness for modern communication like texting and skyping. The one thing I have learned in this life is that the older we get the more things change. We can never assume things will always be as they are. What I know for sure is this life is flying by - we just have to hang on and enjoy the ride!

July Post

Wow! Almost missed this month. Since Ed & I moved to Moses Lake I feel like we live hundreds of miles away. Even though we drive to Warden everyday for work. I saw Cara in T & C the other day and I had seen her the day before and she asked me why we drive to Warden to eat everyday. I guess she didn't get the memo that we still work in Warden. Anyway, we've lived in Moses Lake for a year now and how many of you have come to see us? Not many. We would love to see anyone who would like to come see us. We have done a lot of work to our little future retirement home - Ed has worked really hard to fix things up before he can't do those things anymore. I guess we're getting it done so that once we retire we can just sit and look at it. I didn't think we were that hard to find but Mom has ventured over a couple of times and gotten lost. Ed's mom has just said she will park at Perkins and to come get her. I don't think we are that hard to find? Anyway thank goodness for facebook or I wouldn't know what is going on. Well that and mom. She seems to know everything and I'm thankful for that. I do miss seeing everyone on Sundays and catching up. But we are busy in our little spot, doing missionary work, geneology, teaching Sunbeams (it takes both of us) watching our grandkids,and going to their games when we can and ! I thought as we got older things would slow down but just our bodies do - not things to do. I hope I can keep up! We have Uncle Bill's grandson (who is 28 and 6ft 7") living with us for a few months while he is interning with Dr. Nobel at the Moses Lake Community Health Center. He is going to be a P.A. He lives in Portland with his wife and 2 children. He gets to drive home about every other weekend and see them. He's a great guy - much like his father and grandfather. And as it turns out he likes to build things and has helped Ed with a lot of things. So we feel lucky to have him. This is it for July. Love you all!!

Memorial Day 2013

Memorial Day was a great day this year as always. While Ed and I were in San Antonio we missed the family Easter party and it was really hard. So I told myself I never wanted to miss a family gathering again. Even though it rains every Memorial Day and the wind blows and its so miserable. Why would we put ourselves through that and want to be there. Because its tradition. I have pictures of all of us when our kids were babies and we're all wrapped up in blankets at the state park on Memorial day. So its not like we had a lot of "great weather" Memorial Days. The ones its hard for, I think, are the sons and daughter in laws that didn't grow up having a BBQ in the wind and rain on Memorial Day. But its hard to explain why we do it. Its a 3 day weekend and a wonderful opportunity to take off on a great get-away but we don't because we would miss a day with all the family. And it gives us a great chance to think about our relatives who have passed away. We show our kids and grand kids the graves and tell the story about each relative that they didn't have the privilege of meeting on this earth. Their Grandpa, their cousin, their Aunt or Uncle. How else will they know about them? I hope our extended family understands how important this day is to us and will continue to come and join in as we celebrate the lives of family members who have passed away. And it gives us a great opportunity to be together as a family. I don't know how many of you know this but Grandpa Cox passed away right after Brian and Roni got married. And they were suppose to leave for their Hawaiian honeymoon the same time as Grandpa's funeral. Not only didn't they go but they didn't have insurance on their trip so they didn't get their money back. We tried to talk them into going anyway but they wouldn't. I have always thought that was such a kind and generous sacrifice for Dad. June 6th is Mom and Dad's 66th wedding Anniversary. What a great example they have been to all of us. I see so much of my Dad in his Grandsons. They are kind, and generous, honest and hard working men. We truely have been given a wonderful Legacy. Love you all!!

Not April Fooled

For those of you who look forward to my April Fools stories every year I'm sorry. Just didn't have it in me this year to come up with anything. Even my boss texted me and asked if our Bishop had called us into his office this year and if I had anything to announce. I think our trip to Texas and work has wore me out!!! Right at this time I am trying to Import 50,000 lbs. of beans from Chile. You can't imagine the paperwork and hoops you have to jump through to make this happen. The last time we imported beans from Chile the sheriff showed up to go through our beans because police dogs picked up the scent of drugs in our container that came into LA. So needless to say I am a little weary about importing. I never, in my wildest dreams imagined I would be doing this kind of work. Shipping seeds all over the world - Me, the girl, who when I got married made my husband call the Dr. for my own Dr. appointments because I was too shy. Now I communicate with foreign customers through phone calls, emails and texts. Sometimes I can't hardly understand them but we make it through. I fight with the Dept of Agriculture and have probably been put on the FBI list for irate US citizens as I argue, plead and beg to make our shipments legal to ship. My boss told me to do whatever it takes to get an order through and I had to have him clarify to me what "whatever it takes" means. I love Pure Line Seeds but I would never do anything illegal, immoral or dishonest for them. Well almost anything. And they know it! I am going on my 15th year here and wondering how I lasted this long! Its the money. Yes I said it. Money. Its what gets me up at 5:30 every morning and keeps me plugging along through the stress and mess. Someday I'll hang up my pens and pencils and computer key board. It will be a glorious day!!!