Game Day Faces

This post is for our Uncle Stephen is a huge fan of the University of Utah football team. We love you Uncle Stephen. GO UTES!!!!!!!

I Love Oreo Cookies!!!

The 1930 United States Census

Recently I have been working on indexing the US Census from 1930. What a fascinating look into people's lives. I have worked on pages from a prison in Kentucky, a nursing school at a hospital in West Virginia, farms in Texas and Alabama, and am now working on some neighbourhoods in Providence, Rhode Island. It is a wonderful look back through history and how the world has changed in just a short time. There are children in the census who would now be in their 80's and 90's, so there is the potential for some of them to still be living. So all these changes have happened in their lifetime. At the nursing hospital there were several young women whose place of birth was British Honduras, what is now Belize. I have also seen birth places such as Palestine, Austro-Hungaria, and my favorite because of my own Irish roots, the Irish Free State. I love that they have listed this way and not as Ireland, showing their fervent patriotism for a free Ireland. I also love the Canadians who are listed as either Canada French or Canada English, to determine what part of Canada they came from and of course what language they spoke.

I often get lost imagining what these people's lives were like. I feel for the girl who at 19 was in prison in Kentucky, she had been married at 13 and was listed as a widow. Did she even have a chance at happiness or any opportunity to make decisions for herself. I wonder what became of her, I do hope her lot improved. Though as the Great Depression was knocking on their doors, I greatly fear it did not.

To anyone who would be interested in helping to index you can sign up at www.familysearch.org From there you can download the software and get started immediately. There are all kinds of projects, especially for those that can read a foreign language. There are projects from the US, England, Germany, Latin America, Norway, Russia and several others that escape my memory.

Trunk or Treat

Every year our Ward has a Trunk or Treat. This year we had ours out at Hunter's Farm, where we cut down our Christmas tree last year. Usually, Stuart doesn't come to things like this, but this year they were having a Chilli cook off, and I knew Stuart would love to show off his Chilli cooking skills, so signed him up. Well, it certainly paid off as Stuart won in two categories, Best Secret Ingredient and Best Overall Chilli, so came home with TWO golden pumpkins. He was very, very, very pleased with himself. The golden pumpkins now take pride of place on the speakers either side of our fireplace. Well, done Stuart, we are very proud of you as well.

Halloween

We had a wonderful Halloween this year. Jonathan was some sort of Scream creature, Eleanor a pirate, Andrew a lion and Jacob was Tigger!! We started the evening over at our friends Brit and Brian's house across the street. She had ordered pizza for us and another family. The kids were desperate to start Trick or Treating. We kept saying to wait until it was dark, but hard to control all the kids from the neighbourhood when they have jumping beans in their shoes. Before they got started a local police officer came through the neihgbourhood, he was very good, he turned all his lights on for the kids and even sounded his siren! They were all delighted. Finally, we sent them on their way, it was that or there was going to be blood! This year was especially fun as it was Andrew's first time Trick or Treating. Off he set in his lion costume and Elmo bucket. The neighbours loved him, as he said Trick or Treat and held out his bucket. He had a brilliant time and I am sure had the stamina to actually hit all the houses in the neighbourhood!! By the time the other kids were done, he had hit about half of the houses, not bad going considering his size. I love Halloween, as it is a holiday that is simply there for the fun of it.

I Love You

Last Saturday, when putting Andrew down for a nap, I gave him kisses, laid him down in bed, covered him with his blanket, then gave him the bumper, as he now sucks on the tie tags of that, because he has finally chewed of the corner of his blanket that he used to suck on, as I leave his room he say "na nies" for night nights, and them tell him na nies, and then I love you. This time I got an I love you back!!! Apart from when you hear your child say Mummy for the first time, I think this is the most wonderful thing you can hear your child say. Andrew, I love you too.