ASHLEY’S VACATION AT GRANDPA AND GRANDMA'S HOUSE
Neona Owen - Aug 19, 2001
OK, FOLKS, HERE IS THE SAGA OF ASHLEY’S VISIT TO GRANDMA AND GRANDPA’S HOUSE…
as outlined in E-mails to her folks!
Elaine and Ashley came down on Wednesday August 8, 2001, which just happened to be Elaine’s
Birthday…for her Birthday Ashley is staying with us for the next 10 days!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELAINE!
Elaine visited with us until almost 4 pm and then put the top down on her Mustang convertible and headed
home.
After dinner we spent some time in the hot tub, then I played Mille Bornes (a mileage game) with
her. Dick went to Roseburg and bought an Air Conditioner. He put it into the computer room. It
sure was nice and cool in there by evening! We played in the Hot Tub, watched tv and then got
ready for bed and our bedtime story.
On Thursday we didn’t do too much. Dick went to Eugene to a family meeting for David’s family and
Ashley and I played Mille Borne several hours ( an hour at a time). Ashley and I went to McDonalds
for lunch, then came home and played on the computers for awhile where it was nice and cool.
When Grandpa came home and had lunch and a rest, he went back to Roseburg and picked up another air
conditioner and put it into the living room. It was already so hot in the house that it really didn’t cool
it off a lot before bedtime, but it helped. The weather didn’t cool down much that night and we
were glad for the coolers on Friday.
Thursday while Dick was with Stephanie and family, he invited them to come over to our house on Friday and she called and said they were going to come on over. They got here about 10 o’clock. She sure has a handful…They have three of their own kids,
Ashley, age 5, James, age 2, and Stephen, 8 months. She is the foster mom to David’s son, Colton, age 12, and the son of another of Conway’s brothers, Tristen, 11 months.
She manages pretty well. I say ‘she’…Conway works all day, so she does have most of the care of them…at least until he gets home from work. He helps her a lot. I’m real proud of them.
OK, now we have two Ashley’s here…so to separate them out for this story’s sake, granddaughter Ashley Daniels, Age 8 shall be referred to as Ashley May, and great-granddaughter Ashley Bruhn will be referred to as Ashley Ann.
The little kids played on the swings for a little while and then Ashley Ann wanted to jump into the hot tub. So she got into her suit and was into the tub. Ashley May was right behind her.
We put Tristen and Stephen into the boxes the air conditioners came in and put toys into the boxes. I brought out the toy box from the computer room and James got into that one. They thought that was fun.
Then we put Stephen and Tristen into the floatie rings and let them play in the water. James isn’t much of a ‘water’ person, he only got in long enough to get right back out. Colton said he wasn’t going to get into the hot tub. He had heard Grandpa say yesterday that maybe we would go to the big pool up at Alan and Renee’s house. He wanted to go up there.
He did finally get into the hot tub, and then didn’t want to get out for lunch! We played and visited and after lunch we put the little kids (all three of them, and at the same time!!!) down for naps. I suggested that Dick and Stephanie take the older kids and go to the Fackrell’s and play in the pool. I would stay and watch the little ones. They would have fun, and the babies would get their sleep. So they left and went up there.
The babies slept until just before Stephanie came back down here. Stephen woke up first about 5 minutes before Stephanie drove up, but he wasn’t crying. Stephanie nurses him, so she knew when it was time for him to wake up hungry!
Tristen woke up about 15 minutes later, and then James woke up about 15 minutes after that. I brought in the cardboard boxes and turned them on their sides. The babies liked crawling into the boxes to get the toys.
We had B B Qued Steak and corn on the cob to go with our potato salad and watermelon we had left over from lunch and after dinner Stephanie packed all the kids up and headed home. We had a very nice day.
Saturday we got up and got ready to go to the Douglas County Fair. Saturday is always the last day of the fair. And it is Kids Day…you can buy a ‘bracelet’ for $11 and ride as many rides as you can get on all day (until 5 pm) BUT the lines were so long, Ashley May only got to ride about four or five ride before we were all so tired out that we had to leave. The lines were so long that it took 'forever' to get on any of the rides. It was hot, but not as hot as it has been the rest of the week. It was actually a good day at the fair. We just don’t usually spend that much time standing in lines! But Ashley had a good time and that is what we went for.
Well, she has been here 3 and ½ days…7 more to go…will send an update in a few more days.
Love
Mom
Neona Owen - Aug 22, 2001
Sunday after church Shannon Crager came home with us. We had Papa Murphy’s Pizza for lunch. After lunch the girls got into the hot tub and played for a while, then they got out and played Mille Bornes for awhile. Ashley and Shannon took turns writing on the white board and typing on the typewriter Ashley got for $2.00 at a garage sale on Saturday. (It only has 2 letters that won't type...G and W) Then they went up into the play house and played for a while. After they got tired of that they came into the computer room and took turns playing games on the computers. My computer has more fun games on it than Grandpa’s so that is why they had to take turns.
We took Shannon home about 6 o’clock and talked about bringing her back here tomorrow. We were really tired, and Grandpa went to bed at 8:30 and Ashley and I read our story and I was in my own bed and fast asleep by 9PM!
Shannon is Kaylee and Sierrah’s cousin. Her mother is their Grandpa Alan Fackrell’s sister, Melinda Crager. So she is Almost Related to Ashley! Shannon is one week older than Ashley.
Ashley was up by 7AM and I didn’t get up until after 8! I never sleep that late!
We had a kind of lazy morning, then went out and picked Shannon up and brought her back home. We went to Roseburg to the McDonalds there so we would have a cool place to play. The one in Sutherlin has an outdoor
play place. We played there for an hour or so and then came on home. The girls spent the afternoon playing together. They played Mille Bornes. They played in the ‘tree house’, hot tub, and on the computers. They watched some TV and they played “School” with each of them taking turns being the teacher. They were playing hide-and seek when Shannon’s mom came to pick her up. They had a real fun afternoon together.
Today we get to go to Cottage Grove and “baby-sit” Stephanie’s kids. She has another meeting about David’s family situation. Colton and Ashley are going to help us with the baby-sitting of the four little ones.
Well, we had quite a day at Conway and Stephanie’s house. Stephanie took 8 month old Stephen with them, as she is nursing him. We were in charge of 11 month old Tristin, 2 year old James and 5 year old Ashley Ann.
We got there just as the kids were finishing up their lunch. The parents left about 12:15 and we were on our own!
Tristin is old enough that he doesn’t want to be held, but loves to climb. We had to keep a constant eye on him. He did take a nap which lasted about an hour and a half. James took also took a nap that lasted about 2 hours.
Ashley Ann lay down for a while but isn’t required to go to sleep, so she was up in about a half hour.
12 year old Colton spent most of the day on his bicycle with his friends, just coming home to check in about every hour.
Ashley May was there to help us, and did quite a job taking care of Tristin. He didn’t want to be held, but she managed to get him out of all the things he kept wanting to get into.
The Ashley’s played a couple of games while the little ones were sleeping, but Ashley Ann’s skills are quite a bit less than those of Ashley May so they got tired of trying to play the games.
They had popcicles and went outside to play on the bicycles and swings. It was hot, but not unbearable.
Stephanie called just before 4 pm and said they were still waiting for their turn for the meeting, and she didn’t know just when they would be home. She called again just after 5 and said they were on their way home. I told her “thank you for the warning, I’ll go untie the kids and take the tape off their mouths, now.”
After they came home we visited awhile, then visited with David and Kathy for awhile and come on home.
I wasn’t feeling very well, kind of light headed, and my pulse was really rapid…then I remembered I hadn’t taken my medication that morning! I took it as soon as I got home, and my heart rate dropped back to a normal speed. I had a slight temperature so I went to bed right after Ashley and I read our story. We are reading “Little House in the Big Woods” by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
I got up feeling fine this morning…
Today is quite cool. I guess our air conditioners worked too well! It was cloudy earlier, but the clouds have gone away and it is warming up.
Ashley wanted to go to Burger King for lunch today. I told her to go get into the car, and she said “Why do we have to take the car?” So we rode our bicycles. While we were there Shannon Crager and her sisters and a friend came in for lunch also.
After lunch Ashley got into the hot tub and played. After her hour in the tub, she went over to our neighbors house and played with her daughter, Kayla who is 9 years old. She has twin brother and sister who are 2.
This evening we started making her a skirt and have it all finished except putting elastic in the waist. Ashley did all the sewing on the machine, and she did the pressing. She did a very good job. Tomorrow we will make a top to go with it.
Her stay here is just about over...only 2 more days...oh, my, what a lot we have to pack into those 2 days!!
Love
Mom
Part 3…Ashley’s Vacation at Grandma and Grandpa's house
Neona Owen - Aug 26, 2001
Well, we spent most of the day finishing up the skirt and making her top. I cut it out and pinned the bias tape to it and Ashley did most of the sewing. We cut out fish from the fabric left over from the skirt, and stitched them on. It looks really cute. Ashley has done real well with the sewing. Just needs practice.
Ashley and I went to Dairy Queen for lunch. Grandpa invited us to go to Roseburg with him to find some bicycle parts, but Ashley said she didn’t want to go. So we went to DQ and had lunch. Then she came home and started working on the top again.
I have another top cut out and about ½ done…Hope we get it done before she goes home. We are planning to take her home tomorrow. We thought about waiting until Saturday to take her home, but she had another Ice Skating lesson on Saturday morning, so it will be Friday.
After the sewing session, Ashley and Grandpa got into the hot tub. Ashley decided Grandpa needed a hair stylist to work on him, and she was just the stylist to do it! She worked on him for the remainder of the time they were in the tub, stopping her 'work' only long enough to get out and eat dinner. Then she started to work on him again as he sat in his chair and watched tv.
After he was beautified, she decided to work on me…Her Dad called and talked to her for quite awhile and then she began again to try to make me beautiful. She didn’t work on me nearly as long as she worked on Grandpa, and I don’t know if it was that she just found it to be a hopeless cause, or I was easier to make ‘beautiful’! At any rate, she finished with me, and we got ready for bed. We finished the story book, "Little House in the Big Woods", by Laura Ingalls Wilder tonight and will have to start the next book the next time she comes down.
I’m glad they like those stories, for it gives me an opportunity to re-read them. I loved them as a young girl, and still enjoy reading them.
On Friday afternoon we took Ashley home. We arrived there about a half hour before her dad got home from work. We went in and raided his goodie closet and pop machine. We visited with Brent a little while, then left for home about 5:30 pm and were home a little after 8.
Well, there you have it…Ashley’s story is quite a bit shorter than Lindsey’s ’cause she only stayed 9 days and Lindsey stayed 6 weeks!
BUT…there will be more…we are going to go camping at Loon Lake next week! You will be subjected to more of our fun times with the grandkids in another week!
Love
Mom
