Going To Grandma's House Each Summer

Going to Grandma West's house was an annual pilgrimage in our family when I was growing up.  Our summer vacation was spending a week in Orofino, Idaho, usually in August.

Here is another sibling assignment I missed:

Write about specific things you remember about being at Grandma West's house during the summer.

So many memories flood back to me when I think of being in Orofino during the summers.

Sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste.

Sight:
 I have a very early memory (probably two or three years old) of driving up to the Dworshak Dam site, and looking at a display that told about what the dam would look like, and that the place where the display was would be under water once the dam was built.  Here is a little information on the dam.  Once it was completed, it was always nice getting that view of the dam as you drove into town, because you knew you were almost to Grandma's house.

Hearing:
Another very early memory was going next door to Grandma's house with my sister IEG and visiting the girl who lived next door, who was close to Christy's age.  I remember going upstairs to MS's bedroom, and she was listening to music, and the song was "Sealed With A Kiss".  Another cool thing about their house was the huge curved wooden banister that was on the stairs as you went upstairs in their house.

Touch:
I remember catching a blonde colored fuzzy caterpillar in Grandma's backyard one summer, and putting it in a jar, so we could watch it make a cocoon, and become a butterfly.  The cocoon was very unique, almost furry, not like the normal ones that would hang on our house in the summer.  It never did emerge from the cocoon. But I still remember catching that unique looking caterpiller.

Another touch I experiences was when an insect flew in my ear on summer when I was standing on the front porch of Grandma's house.  If my memory serves me correctly, it was a mayfly.  It flew in my ear, and started flying down my ear canal.  I was taken to the emergency room, and the doctor used a syringe filled with water to flush the insect out of my ear.  It was not a very pleasant experience.

Smell:
I remember the smells of Grandma's garden.  The soil in her garden was very dark, and I believe it was full of volcanic material, which made it a very rich soil.  Everytime I smell tomato plants I think of Grandma's garden.  It was always nice to watch Grandma in her garden, and take in the smells of, not only the vegetables but all her beautiful flowers as well.

Taste:
Orofino in the summer had the taste of corn on the cob, Swiss Steak, cucumbers in cream, and fresh picked tomatoes.  It was wonderful.

One of my favorite things to do in the summer was go to Zan's Beach and swim in the Clearwater River.  I do remember the summer after I saw "Jaws", I was terrified to go into the river, because I didn't want a shark to come and get me!!  Zan's Beach had beautiful white sand, and lots of volcano rocks scattered on the beach.

This summer we are planning a reunion in Orofino with all my the cousins on my Mom's side of the family.  It will be a wonderful time of reconnecting, sharing stories, and hopefully eating some of those wonderful meals we experienced as children.  All of us are anticipating a very good weekend.

Sunshine On My Shoulder Makes Me Happy

College of Idaho

What a welcome sight. We arrived in Caldwell, Idaho this afternoon, and there is blue sky and SUN!!!





We have traveled down here for Idaho State History Day.






Z2, Kiki Aru and I got on a bus at Kellogg Middle School at 6 a.m. this morning (and this is one of those Alpha Omega charter buses...not a yellow school bus) and we traveled down through Washington and Oregon to arrive here this afternoon, to pleasant weather.





We did run into some snow on the Blues, and ran into problems a few times when the normal rest areas that we usually stop at were closed because of the snow. But we survived.





It was amazing to go to dinner, and see green grass and sprinkler systems running. There were fruit trees in bloom.





Okay, it has been a very long winter in the Silver Valley.





I look forward to being at College of Idaho tomorrow. It is a beautiful campus, and we can again enjoy some more of the beautiful flowers and grass.





I'll give an update tomorrow night on how the girls do in their respective categories. Z2 is doing a Junior Division Group Documentary on "The Conflict and Compromise of the Coeur d'Alene Indian Tribe's Culture". Kiki Aru is doing a Junior Group Performance on "The Conflict of the Salem Witch Trials".





Goodnight.

Z2 Advances to National History Day and Carries on a Family Legacy

Don't these three look excited!! It is because Christina, Sheila and Z2 placed second in the Junior Division Group Performances category, receiving three superior ratings which means in June they are going to the National History Day in Washington D.C.



Their peformance was on "The Triumph and Tragedy of the Sunshine Mine Disaster". They wrote a script based on research they did on this subject. They did a very good job. So Z2 and I, along with Christina, Sheila, and their parents, and GT Facilitator Marcia Wall and Brianna Wendt, who received first in the Senior Division Individual Performance will be traveling to the Nation's Capitol in June. Here they are doing their performance.

Another exciting part of this whole History Day experience is the fact my daughters are carrying on a legacy. My mom developed the Gifted and Talented program in the Kellogg School District in the early 1980's, and started helping her students develop projects to go to the History Day competition. She traveled herself to Washington D.C. at least one time. Now her granddaughters are carrying on the History Day tradition.



It always excited Mom to help her students work on the different projects. Just the other day she mentioned one of her former students, and can recall who they partnered with and what their project was all about. She always enjoyed helping her students find research on a particular topic and to develop their research into a viable project.



I also enjoy doing this with my girls. It was so exciting for me to work with both of my daughters on their projects, and I loved the fact they both had local history topics. I learned alot about both topics, and learned a lot about the strenghths as they worked on this project.



I always told Z2 and Kiki Aru that they were my ticket to get to go visit Washington D.C. And Z2 has 5 more years to go, and Kiki Aru has 7 more years to participate, so who knows, I may have more trips in the future!!



If anyone wants more information on History Day, go here.



Students can begin participating in fourth or fifth grade, up to their senior year. There are many cash prizes and scholarships given out. One of our seniors, who also made it to nationals, received a $5,000 scholarship from Albertson's College of Idaho. It is also a wonderful learning process of research, process, writing a bibliography and annotating research.



Students can participate in exhibits, documentaries, performances or write essays. They also added a new category this year of developing a web page. Or email me at pkrbywed@juno.com and I will give you more info as well.