getting to know me - a childhood version

Tammy hosted another round of getting to know you over at create a connection!

She thought for this week we could look at some of our childhood memories.

1. What was your favorite childhood family vacation? Where did you go and what do you remember most about the trip? (this doesn't have to be a big trip... even a camping trip - or whatever you remember!)

we did a ton of camping when i was growing up. there was one trip i took w/my mom - what i remember most is wanting to taste the pretty white (large) onion. i'm sure mom warned me, but i probably (knowing me) asked her over and over again...so she let me take a big bite of it -- OH MY!!! there was also the month long trip my dad and i took the summer he and my mom got divorced. we went to all of the states west of the mississippi and iowa (where my grandparents lived). we saw so much cool stuff - i remember lying down in four corners (no picture of that), going to mesa verde when you could still go in and really see everything - and even touch stuff! we saw a bear in yellowstone, saw old faithful, slept under the stars, i got a million and one mosquito bites and was referred to as The Polka Dotted Lady b/c of the calamine lotion dots i had all over my body. sleeping in a hammock and watching fireflies w/one of my dad's oldest friends at his cabinish place - very hippy like living there. there were all of the camping trips with dad and moni and my cousins and aunt and uncle to Lake Perris. my cousins and i would go riding our bikes everywhere - we were junior rangers 10 times over - collecting trash etc. moni, dad, matt & i went on a long trip up to canada one year. that was really cool too. we did a lot of camping trips and i loved them all.

2. If you knew your grandparents, what do you remember most about them as a child? If you didn't know them, what stories do you remember being told about them?

my dad's mom died when i was very very young. i remember feelings more than anything else about her. his dad died when i was 7 or 8. i saw him last on our trip to iowa. he was apparently a hard person, but i mostly remember his crooked smile. his 2nd wife, gramma enid, came out about once/year for many years. she died this past year. my mom's dad died when i was 6 of complications w/MS. he was in a wheel chair when i knew him. he had a wonderful laugh. from him i get the laughing until i'm crying when trying to tell a particularly funny joke. my gramma (mom's mom) is now 92. her short term memory is very very short term these days, but it hasn't always been like that. i went to visit her once/month when i was living w/my dad and stepmom. we would go to the movies, or just hang out, we shared so many good times together. she has always been there for me. and i am lucky enough to actually have another set of grandparents. papa and gramma are moni's parents. my papa died in 1995 - just as rob and i were coming home from our honeymoon. it was not unexpected. we talked to him a few times while we were on our honeymoon. anyway, papa and gramma took care of us every thursday after school. my cousins and i would play "spy" a lot (they lived next door to papa and gramma). we were never as sneaky as we thought we were, but that's okay :) i have so many good memories with them. i'd give my papa back massages -- i was very proud of my strong hands. his shoulders were often very tight, so i would massage them. he said i did a good job of it which puffed me up proud like a peacock. gramma is still doing really well. we saw her at tamale day. she has a wonderful smile and a laugh that makes you smile. she's an amazing cook. she used to make homemade tortillas and they'd be ready when nisa, travis and i would get home from school. oh my DOG there is just not much better than freshly made hot tortillas with a bit of butter inside of them straight off the griddle!! YUM!

3. Do you have siblings or not? What do you remember about growing up with or without them?

i do. i have a blended family, so i have several. i have jer (5 1/2 years younger), jolie (8 months older), ted (10 months younger) and matt (8 1/2 years younger). i grew up w/jer for 3 years, then had a break of 5 years while i lived with matt, then back up and living with jer until i went to college. matt and i have always been of the mutual admiration society. i made him all sorts of costumes and made at least one of his team banners. we had a wonderful time together and we still do. i don't get to see any of my siblings often enough. jeremy was able to push all of my buttons. but we also had fun together. he could make me laugh until i nearly peed my pants. he still can, i'm sure. jolie and ted were with us every other weekend - so jolie, ted, and jeremy pertain to mom and ken, and matt is moni and dad's. is it all clear? i always wonder about that. i don't think of my sibs in terms of steps/blood/half, so i know i've confused people on occasion.

4. What did you like best about summer vacation from school? camping.

5. Did you like school or dislike school? What is your most memorable school moment?

mostly i really enjoyed school. my most memorable school moment? hmmm...it could be when i stood up to the school bully in 5th grade. or maybe when the hail came down in 4th grade and we all ran out to stand in it - i remember thinking it would taste like rock salt b/c that's what it looked like. or the talent show in 9th grade, or perhaps being a pickalittle lady in 11th grade? asking doug orr to dance to "hard for me to say i'm sorry" in 7th grade (if no one was going to ask me, i was going to ask them - i'm the same way now when it comes to dancing). he turned out to be my first boyfriend 2 years later. or it could be in 7th grade when the principal called first my cousin in and then a few minutes later called me in to let us know that gramma had made it through her operation and was doing fine. or when i wrote an article for the school newspaper in 10th grade about how odd it was to have such a division of races at my new school in northern california when in so cal there had been more different races but less division.

Bonus: Post a favorite photo of yourself from your childhood!!

my bonus points

this is one of my very most favorite pictures of myself. i think i'm 5 in this picture - maybe 4. i can't remember if it's pre-divorce or post. i can remember the day and there are other pictures of me playing with my friends angie, parkie (parky? it was a nickname - his real name is gary), and timmy.

this is april or may of 1978 when we were moving for a short time to my gramma's house. this is my newly 2 year old brother jeremy and my 7 1/2 year old self. omg! in this picture, i am irene's age!! wow!
this is the month after mom and ken got married. we're at our new house in oakland (so july 1978). my hair STILL does that same funky flippy thing on that side. so, from L - R we are: me (7 1/2), jeremy (2), ted (6), and jolie (9) and my mom in the background. we were going to Casa Maria and we kids are in our wedding clothes.
i don't have any pix w/my baby brother, matt, scanned yet. but i do have this one. i love this picture from my wedding - all of us laughing and having fun. that's my baby brother on the left. he was 16. he's to the left of jolie (she was my maid of honor). man it was beautiful that day.