Grandma Archie's Funeral

It was a beautiful but sad day.  Rory spoke and did an amazing job.  He and his cousins were able to share a lot of very special memories they had made with their grandma.  At the cemetery, the pink ladies let pink balloons go to honor grandma and her 30 years of service as a pink lady.  After the services we went to the church and had a delicious luncheon.  We were able to visit with family and the kids were able to play with cousins they haven't seen in a very long time.  That evening Rory's cousin, Brett, came to visit before they headed home to Kansas.  Rory and Brett were really close growing up and it was fun to see our kids play together and act like their dad's did at their age.  Brett has a son that is Connor's age and a daughter that is Kinlee's age so it was fun to take pictures and reminisce.  It was a wonderful day to honor grandma and I miss her so much but I know that she lived a good life and her memory will live on in our hearts. 

Grandma Archie

During the city of Wellington's 100 year Pioneer Days celebration two life long residents looked back in pride at a city that they have called their home for the better part of a century. They were born in Wellington, have never really left and have watched the small municipality grow and change as if they were caring parents.
Azella Thayn Bradley was born June 3, 1918 in Wellington on the family farm and according to her family she was nine years old before her father was even able to set eyes on her. He served a distinguished term and was in France at the time of her birth, fighting in World War I. Azella was the oldest of 12 children which meant that she had a ton of responsibility around the farm.
Milking cows, feeding chickens and making bread were all done without running water, electricity or indoor plumbing.
Although her family was poor and life on the farm was hard, Azella never knew it. Bradley attended the Wellington school house on the hill by walking to and from the campus everyday. According to family historians, sometimes the Bradley's would move into town during the late fall for the winter and then return to the family farm in the spring.
The cycle of life for the Bradley's involved planting, tending, harvesting and bottling all of their own fruits and vegetables. Additionally soap was made by saving the fat from farm animals putting lye in it and then letting it harden. This soap kept the family clean and was used for the Saturday night bath which took place in a number three tub with the smallest children bathing first.
All transportation in Azella's days as a child took place via horseback and on foot until her grandfather W.A. Thayn purchased one the the first motorcars in Carbon County.

Azella Thayn Bradley is one of Wellington's oldest living residents.

"I really did grow up poor," said Azella. "But you never knew it because everyone else around you was poor too."
According to Bradley, she would get a new dress every July 4 and new pajamas for Christmas.
"I was happy, loved and we always had enough to eat," commented Bradley. "And that was all I really needed."
When she was a teen she met the love of her life when a young man rode up to an LDS function on his black horse and just kept riding up to here on it until they married.
Azella married Archie Bradley in September 1935 and they moved in to a two room home in Miller Creek. Archie worked a full time job that allowed Azella to tend to the farm and house work. They had four children; Arlene, Dean, Dale and Derk. Once they were school age, Azella worked at the Wellington post office for 31 years.
The only time in her 89 years that Azella ever left the town of Wellington was to serve an 18-month LDS mission. She served faithfully and then returned to her red brick home, a dwelling she has lived in for 57 years.
"There's no place like home in Wellington," concluded Bradley.

This morning we lost an angel of a lady.  I can't even imagine life without her.  She was an amazing lady and our lives will never be the same.  I'm so grateful for the beautiful memories we have with her and look forward to the day when I will see her again.  

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family.  My mom and Gary made us a delicious dinner and I made homemade mashed potatoes and a grape salad.  I was able to pick up my grandparents and bring them down to enjoy dinner with us and it was a wonderful moment when my grandpa realized who my mom was.  He started to cry and was so grateful for a moment of clarity (he has dementia and doesn't remember us very often). We laughed and visited and truly enjoyed our time together.  So grateful for a great family and making wonderful memories.

2014-15 School Pictures

Fall Ball Fun!

We have had a busy and fun November (who am I kidding, every month is busy!).  Rory and I got to go to a 60's themed costume party for his Sergeants 50th birthday.  I've never been to a costume party before that wasn't for Halloween, and it did not disappoint.  We danced, laughed and visited with friends for hours. 

A few days later I had a visit from one of my oldest and bestest friends Heather.  We met at the wave pool and were able to visit and catch up while the kids swam.  Sometimes all you need is a visit or talk with an old friend to make everything in life balanced again. 

Connor's traveling baseball team, the Sliderz had a baseball tournament in St. George, so we headed down for some warmer weather and baseball.  It was so beautiful down there and the weather was perfect.  While down there we celebrated Matthew's 3rd birthday.  Although we spent most of his birthday at the ball field he didn't mind, he played on the playground, in the drinking fountain and under the bleachers.  After baseball we went to dinner and had Coldstone cupcakes then went swimming back at the hotel.  Connor's team won 3 out of the 4 games and only allowed 13 runs the whole tournament (the lowest number of runs allowed out of every team), but they didn't make it to the championship.  Sunday we came home to the cold weather (boo!) and got ready to back to school and work. 

Little Mr. Matthew not only turned 3, but he also is fully potty trained.  Yay to no more diapers, EVER!  He's been in Early Intervention for his speech so the school district had a speech pathologist test him to see if he qualified for additional speech help.  He qualified so we wrote an IEP and Tuesday he began preschool at Wellington Elementary.  He was so excited to start school and use the Batman backpack Landon gave him.  I went to pick him up from school his first day and he was so disappointed he didn't get to ride the bus, it was so cute.   

Kinlee enjoying ice cream on our date

Matthew on his first day of school

 

11/18/14

Election Results

The election is over and we couldn't be more excited about the results!  Jeff Wood won Sheriff and we are so excited for the changes that will take place once he takes office January 1st.  Jeff and Emily are some of our dearest friends and we are so excited to begin this journey with them, and Kadee is excited because we won't have to move and dad will soon be off graveyards. 

Red Ribbon Week and Halloween!

We had a great time last week.  We got the walls up at the house and celebrated Red Ribbon Week and Halloween.  For Red Ribbon week the kids participated in Hat Day, Crazy Hair Day, and wear your costume to school day, which also happened to be Halloween.  They had a fun Halloween parade at school where they were able to parade through each classroom and show off their costumes.  They also went to a magic show drug free assembly that Connor really enjoyed.  On Halloween we went to trunk or treat and then went trick or treating all over town.  Kinlee loved trick or treating on "snob hill" and kept asking the next day if we could go back.  We bought Matthew a Buzz Lightyear costume that he wore to a Halloween party on Thursday, but refused to wear on Halloween, so he ended up being Captain America.  After trick or treating we went back to our house where the kids and their friends ate candy and watched Hocus Pocus.  It was such a fun week and the weather was beautiful.