Ezekiel decided he was hungry at 4am this morning and for some reason I couldn't get back to sleep. As I lay in bed this memory came to me and I decided to record it. Although I was there when this happened Matt's memory will be more detailed.
A very good friend of mine and Caprece's, Kollet, invited us (Matt, Caprece, Chancey, and myself) for a camping trip to yellowstone. Kollet and Pat had two little ones. One just older than Chancey...Savanah is her name. One just younger than Chancey...practically a newborn as Chancey was probably at most 8 months old at the time. Anyhow, Matt and Caprece brought a tent for their family to camp in and I was camping in "THE" sentra. Pat and Kollet had a 5th wheel camper...very nice! We were all excited about the trip and the area we camped in was beautiful. There are TWO things that stand out for me on this trip. First, I gave Chancey her first taste of chocolate while we were floating down the creek/river. It was a tootsie roll and she absolutely loved it! I got a lot of flack for that one but well it was an "aunt" thing. Second, the bear scare. The first morning I awoke to this story. Matt and Caprece settled in their tent and were asleep...well, Matt was asleep. Caprece had been awakened by the sound of something walking outside the tent. She of course immediately awoke Matt. Now, it is important to understand how Caprece's mind works, not to downplay in any way the scariness of the experience, but she was afraid alligators were going to come in our house when she was younger and was a bit worried about encountering big foot too. She tended to scare easily. I am certain Matt was the voice of reason in this situation however even he was a bit concerned because they had a baby in the tent with them. It, the bear, was snooping and walking around the tent. We assume it was a bear...I don't know if we ever confirmed what it was. I am so glad I slept through it all. So, they decided to go into the camper with Pat and Kollet. BUT they first had to wait for "it" to leave and be sure it was really gone before they made a mad dash from the tent to the camper. I can't imagine the fear Caprece had from the moment she stepped outside of that tent to the moment she and her family were all safely inside the camper. I do know it left a lasting impression on her mind. As far as I know she and Matt never camped in a tent again. The next day she and Matt shared the experience with me and I would have laughed but for the fear I saw in Matt's eyes. Although the beauty of Yellowstone was exquisite it couldn't compare to the bear scare! :)
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
A few Kimmie Jo Memories
For those of you who aren't familiar with Caprece's family tree :) Kimmie Jo is Caprece's Aunt....Jacqi's youngest sister.
My fondest memories of my niece Caprece started when she and Karmen came to live with us on 2nd ave. in Marianna Florida. (Jacqi had to sort through some unpleasant business before she could join us.) I had always been the baby of our family meaning that I had never had to take care of anyone. Caprece and Karmen became like younger siblings. I guess because they were so close in age and depended on each other, they acted a lot like twins. It was like they could read each other’s thoughts. They were always instep with each other. It’s not that they did anything bad; they were just always coming up with ways to aggravate a pre-teen who didn’t know the first thing about baby-sitting. LOL We learned together.
They loved to have stories read to them, Karmen would sit with me looking at the book but Caprece had to keep moving. She would act out the parts in song or dance. I used to think she would be involved in the arts in some way. (Acting, singing, dancing) Sitting still was not one of her favorite things. I could identify with her as I couldn’t or didn’t want to stay in any one place for very long. I used to call Karmen my baby genus. Believe me, it wasn’t that I was a good teacher; she just wanted to learn everything fast. She was reading before she started school.
Caprece was always curious and didn’t want to miss anything that was going on around her. We would laugh so hard when she would get so caught up with what ever was going on that she would put off going to the bathroom, afraid she would miss something, until she would start dancing in place, holding her self until someone would whisk her off to the bathroom. She was always giggling and having fun. She could be sullen but those times were rare. She really had a positive spirit.
I loved the way she was uninhibited around her family and friends. Again I thought she would be a famous actor one day. Mom used to say this trait would help her when she grew up and faced the world as an adult. (Mom was always full of insights).
The summers were spent at the local swimming hole called “Blue Springs”. Mom would drop us off at lunch and pick us back up after work. The water was freezing, fed by a spring from a cave. It would take them both a while to work their way into the freezing water to the point they were used to it. They were eager to learn to swim and I was eager to teach them. We knew we had to get to the point where we could all hang out with the big guys.
Caprece felt comfortable swimming under water in the shallow before learning to swim on top. I thought this was pretty incredible. They both wanted to swim where the big girls were at the diving pier and they worked hard to learn the “dog paddle.”
We finally graduated to the pier, which was pretty scary. The diving pier was a large concrete thing with a high dive and regular diving board. It started out in shallow water on the sides but in the front where the diving board was it dropped of into a big beautiful cave. There was a ladder on the shallow side but they would have to jump on their tiptoes to get to it. They had a blast! Every time they started climbing up the ladder I would hear shouts of “KIMMIE JO, KIMMIE JO, WATCH,” and they would jump into the water and come up looking to see if I was watching. My friends and I would all clap, hoot and holler “Way to go!” This would go on for hours. I never heard a complaint until they were hungry and would get really cold from being out of the water.
I left home the fall of my 16th birthday to finish school in Houston with my sister Charla. At the time we didn’t realize I would be gone for good. I watched them grow up from afar.
I’ll never forget one time Jacqi was staying with me. It was summer and Mom, Karmen & Caprece came to visit. Caprece had plans to visit Uncle Porter so Karmen was staying with us. It was getting close to time for Mom and Caprece to leave. Caprece wondered over to the swing set and just sat down. Karmen strolled over and sat by her. I’m not sure if they said anything to each other but seemed to be comfortable in their space with each other. When the time came to leave they stood and hugged hard. Karmen stood with her Mom’s around her waving at Caprece goodbye. This sounds really sad but I’m telling this memory to show the bond these two sisters have.
My fondest memories of my niece Caprece started when she and Karmen came to live with us on 2nd ave. in Marianna Florida. (Jacqi had to sort through some unpleasant business before she could join us.) I had always been the baby of our family meaning that I had never had to take care of anyone. Caprece and Karmen became like younger siblings. I guess because they were so close in age and depended on each other, they acted a lot like twins. It was like they could read each other’s thoughts. They were always instep with each other. It’s not that they did anything bad; they were just always coming up with ways to aggravate a pre-teen who didn’t know the first thing about baby-sitting. LOL We learned together.
They loved to have stories read to them, Karmen would sit with me looking at the book but Caprece had to keep moving. She would act out the parts in song or dance. I used to think she would be involved in the arts in some way. (Acting, singing, dancing) Sitting still was not one of her favorite things. I could identify with her as I couldn’t or didn’t want to stay in any one place for very long. I used to call Karmen my baby genus. Believe me, it wasn’t that I was a good teacher; she just wanted to learn everything fast. She was reading before she started school.
Caprece was always curious and didn’t want to miss anything that was going on around her. We would laugh so hard when she would get so caught up with what ever was going on that she would put off going to the bathroom, afraid she would miss something, until she would start dancing in place, holding her self until someone would whisk her off to the bathroom. She was always giggling and having fun. She could be sullen but those times were rare. She really had a positive spirit.
I loved the way she was uninhibited around her family and friends. Again I thought she would be a famous actor one day. Mom used to say this trait would help her when she grew up and faced the world as an adult. (Mom was always full of insights).
The summers were spent at the local swimming hole called “Blue Springs”. Mom would drop us off at lunch and pick us back up after work. The water was freezing, fed by a spring from a cave. It would take them both a while to work their way into the freezing water to the point they were used to it. They were eager to learn to swim and I was eager to teach them. We knew we had to get to the point where we could all hang out with the big guys.
Caprece felt comfortable swimming under water in the shallow before learning to swim on top. I thought this was pretty incredible. They both wanted to swim where the big girls were at the diving pier and they worked hard to learn the “dog paddle.”
We finally graduated to the pier, which was pretty scary. The diving pier was a large concrete thing with a high dive and regular diving board. It started out in shallow water on the sides but in the front where the diving board was it dropped of into a big beautiful cave. There was a ladder on the shallow side but they would have to jump on their tiptoes to get to it. They had a blast! Every time they started climbing up the ladder I would hear shouts of “KIMMIE JO, KIMMIE JO, WATCH,” and they would jump into the water and come up looking to see if I was watching. My friends and I would all clap, hoot and holler “Way to go!” This would go on for hours. I never heard a complaint until they were hungry and would get really cold from being out of the water.
I left home the fall of my 16th birthday to finish school in Houston with my sister Charla. At the time we didn’t realize I would be gone for good. I watched them grow up from afar.
I’ll never forget one time Jacqi was staying with me. It was summer and Mom, Karmen & Caprece came to visit. Caprece had plans to visit Uncle Porter so Karmen was staying with us. It was getting close to time for Mom and Caprece to leave. Caprece wondered over to the swing set and just sat down. Karmen strolled over and sat by her. I’m not sure if they said anything to each other but seemed to be comfortable in their space with each other. When the time came to leave they stood and hugged hard. Karmen stood with her Mom’s around her waving at Caprece goodbye. This sounds really sad but I’m telling this memory to show the bond these two sisters have.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Timeline
Hi everyone!
I have posted the beginnings of the timeline...I have completed it up to 1995 when she gets married. I will finish it within the next couple of days. Please begin to look at it and let me know if there is something I should add to it.
Here is how I would like to proceed. I would like each of you to look over the timeline and as you feel prompted pick a time period and write your memories of her in it. I would particularly like you to share things you remember that she shared with you. For instance...when she graduated high school she spoke with you about how she felt.
Directions for posting are as follows....click the "New Post" link at the top right hand of the page. Please let me know immediately if you have any problems. Once you click the "New Post" link it will take you to a page that you can type your thoughts. When you are finished just click the orange "Publish Post" button and you are finished. Remember if you don't want to publish items on the blog...you can just email them to me and I will add them to the finished project.
I have posted the beginnings of the timeline...I have completed it up to 1995 when she gets married. I will finish it within the next couple of days. Please begin to look at it and let me know if there is something I should add to it.
Here is how I would like to proceed. I would like each of you to look over the timeline and as you feel prompted pick a time period and write your memories of her in it. I would particularly like you to share things you remember that she shared with you. For instance...when she graduated high school she spoke with you about how she felt.
Directions for posting are as follows....click the "New Post" link at the top right hand of the page. Please let me know immediately if you have any problems. Once you click the "New Post" link it will take you to a page that you can type your thoughts. When you are finished just click the orange "Publish Post" button and you are finished. Remember if you don't want to publish items on the blog...you can just email them to me and I will add them to the finished project.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Welcome
Hello Everyone,
As I pondered what goals I wanted to set for this New Year my mind continued to return to Precie's children. Since I married Rodrigo I have terribly missed his Mother. There are so many questions I have wanted to ask her...especially once Joaquin was born...I wanted to know about Rodrigo's birth, what he was like as a child and so many other things. I always enjoy when Grandmommie tells me stories of my own mother and of my ancestors. So, I thought I would enlist your help in building Caprece's personal history for her children and generations yet to come. I considered many different ways to go about this but wanted to make it as easy as possible for everyone and with the least amount of expense. So, I created this blog. It is still under construction...but I don't want to wait until it is visually perfect to begin.
I will soon be posting a rough draft of a Caprece timeline and would ask that everyone look at it and please let me know if there is something missing. We will work from this timeline in building her history. My goal is to have her history completed by September 8th, her birthday. I will then print it and prepare a copy for each of her children, Matt, Mom, Dad, and Grandmommie. The blog will remain for everyone's enjoyment and of course can be added to as time goes by. Thank you in advance for helping me to undertake and complete this project. All my love to each of you!!!
As I pondered what goals I wanted to set for this New Year my mind continued to return to Precie's children. Since I married Rodrigo I have terribly missed his Mother. There are so many questions I have wanted to ask her...especially once Joaquin was born...I wanted to know about Rodrigo's birth, what he was like as a child and so many other things. I always enjoy when Grandmommie tells me stories of my own mother and of my ancestors. So, I thought I would enlist your help in building Caprece's personal history for her children and generations yet to come. I considered many different ways to go about this but wanted to make it as easy as possible for everyone and with the least amount of expense. So, I created this blog. It is still under construction...but I don't want to wait until it is visually perfect to begin.
I will soon be posting a rough draft of a Caprece timeline and would ask that everyone look at it and please let me know if there is something missing. We will work from this timeline in building her history. My goal is to have her history completed by September 8th, her birthday. I will then print it and prepare a copy for each of her children, Matt, Mom, Dad, and Grandmommie. The blog will remain for everyone's enjoyment and of course can be added to as time goes by. Thank you in advance for helping me to undertake and complete this project. All my love to each of you!!!
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