Merry Christmas from the Heaps

Well, the night is upon us to write our blog entries to mom and dad about some memories and thoughts. As we had Christmas Eve dinner at our own house with a neighbor and her two boys, I reflected upon our families traditions. It is funny how you turn to those things that are familiar to you. I made a traditional ham dinner with all the usual sides right down to the fruit cocktail with sprite! It didn't seem right without it! I even got out the wedding china after saying I didn't want to go to a lot of work. I guess I wanted to make some memories for my own kids. I wanted them to remember Christmas at our own home and see that we have traditions also.


I wasn't always a fan of skiing while it snowed, I am a true fair-weather skier, but I did love going skiing on Thanksgiving as a kid. I LOVED coming home, walking in the house and smelling the turkey cooking. What a lot of work for a mom, isn't childhood wonderful, no stress! I don't remember the other foods we had, I'm assuming we had all the usual suspects, but I loved the smell of Thanksgiving. I also liked having that special dinner in our long johns and sweats. It was unusual for the Wilson clan to have a special dinner without our nice clothes, so to be casually dressed was a treat!


Another memory I like to visit mentally is going up to the mountains in the summer evenings. I remember Mom tossing food in the cooler and the family heading up to a favorite spot. On the way up, Mom would see flowers she wanted and Dad would stop the car so she could get out to pick some to press. I loved the spot with the huge boulders. I remember having dinner surrounded by boulders and aspens. Is this Aspen Grove? It seemed like we climbed around on the rocks forever, coming down for marshmallows! I have a memory of once on our way home our car lights went out. How does that happen? Dave and/or Matt helped Dad with flashlights, find our way to the main road. I wondered if we would make it home. I remember feeling so happy when we got to the road, I knew we would be ok!


I had two good summers working for Wilson Construction. The first summer I worked with Steve for almost a month before he went on his mission. It was fun hanging with him and letting him torture me with "Name that Tune". While he listened to the ONLY headphones,he would then hum the song and have me guess, always saying when I guessed the next song it would be my turn to listen...I am terrible at guessing songs. Dad was a good boss to me, always patient and teaching me how to do new things. I still have the tape measure that he bought for me to use. It was not as big as his, so I could hold it a little easier. I wonder what happened to my toolbelt, as I am doing projects around my house I wish I had it. I am thankful for that time I could be with Dad, seeing the hard work he did day in and day out. I still marvel that he could be the last to bed and the first up dressed, with his boots on ready for the day! I admire his work ethic. I also admire mom. She is the best supporter of those around her. She is an awesome cheerleader, always looking for the best in every situation!

Thanks for the memories Mom and Dad. I hope to pass on some good ones to my kids!

Love, Susan and Family