Kristi's family is putting together a book of everybody's memories and having a family night based on it. As part of this they asked us to put together a page or two of memories. It was a very free-form assignment--it could be childhood memories, memories since we've been married, paragraph form, bullet form, whatever. You'll notice (and hopefully won't be offended by the fact) that it is mostly based on memories we have with the Genessy side of the family since it was to be read in their family night. Anyway, we buzzed through the assignment at the 11th hour but I still thought it would be worth posting what we came up with this afternoon. Enjoy:
Blaine's Memories:Kristi has been a part of my life for almost as long as I can remember. As you might imagine, she’s been a bigger part these last few years than she was when we were in elementary school, but she’s been at least a small part all along.
One of my first clear memories about Kristi was in elementary school. I was always on track D at our year round school whereas Kristi was on track A, track C, and basically all the other tracks except D. So she wasn’t in my class but we knew who each other were. In one of the later years I began my first job at the dairy—stapling. I don’t know how it’s done now but back then each of the delivery customers would get a promotional flyer with their bill each month and myself and some of my cousins were the ones who would staple the two together. Each route had hundreds of customers and there were at least a couple dozen routes so there was a lot of stapling to do. I remember one month some of my cousins were out of town and we needed an extra helper. I overheard one of the guys volunteer a daughter about our age who he thought could help out, especially since she was currently off-track. I realized that it would surely be someone I knew and I remember being very curious about who she was. The guy of course was Dad and the next day Kristi was there to help us out (and I’m pretty sure Shawn too although my memory there is a little fuzzier). We were just kids but even then I remember the excitement of sitting next to a cute girl (who wasn’t my cousin… :-) and shooting the breeze while we worked. I felt so cool that I knew the ropes and could answer her questions and help (“yeah, switching out the staples is actually quite easy—here let me show you…”). I remember she was a lot slower than me but once she suddenly burst with joy out of nowhere: “Hey, I just kept up with you for two staples! I’ve been secretly trying to catch up to you and I just did two pages faster than you!” She was excited and I think I was in love…
Junior high I didn’t see much of Kris although I continued working at the dairy and knew who her parents and Shawn were. I fell in love with lots of other girls during this time who were not Kristi but about whom I could tell lots of other funny stories. Anyway, I was pretty much a nerd who did the stapling and now the compost and I didn’t have too exciting of a love life during this time.
High school I ran into Kristi again. From about the first day of 10th grade, my friends and me were instantly best friends with Kris and her friends. There were all kinds of combinations of different people liking each other during this time but none of it was really played out much at first. We had an English class together and maybe a few other classes and we were really good friends. In the summer we all got season passes to Lagoon and Kristi was our designated driver most of the time (a fact which I later found out kind of irked her, though she never complained). We also played roller hockey in the church parking lot by our house and though several girls came and tried to play once or twice, Kris was the only girl who consistently showed up and took the game seriously. I have lots of fun memories of that and I think that is where we really started to like eachother.
The details over the next years could fill volumes but basically we got together in 11th grade for the first time and then dated off and on (mostly on but a little off) until I left on my mission. Kristi waited for me off and on (mostly on but a little off) during the mission thanks to help from a great support network. She told me that one day she came home from a date and her dad, though he usually never pried or even asked many questions about her love life, quizzed her and just tried to give advice like only fathers can: “I thought you were waiting for Blaine. You better be careful with these boys because they don’t know you’re waiting…” Etc.
Kristi was very nervous for when I got home. She had been warned that return missionaries were weird. That they often were freaked out by girls and that she should give me plenty of space and time to get used to the dating life again. Kris didn’t find that to be the case with me—I picked her up and swung her around in the hallway of my house the first instant I saw her. We held hands during dinner that night and I kissed her the next day. Within days we were talking about marriage and reserved a date for a few months later. Only a couple weeks later I took her on a carriage ride downtown to give her a ring and make the engagement official.
Engagement was a hard time. Hard for Kristi because she was having a lot of second thoughts. And hard for me because, well, Kristi was having a lot of second thoughts. In retrospect, yeah, we moved really fast. But I’ve always been glad that I married Kristi quick and I still don’t know what the point would have been in dilly-dallying. Eventually we both felt good about it and we had a beautiful wedding.
Since we’ve been married the memories are countless. Each year I’ve compiled lists of our memories that usually have 8-12 pages of bullets. We’ve lived in 6 different apartments since we got married plus the house we live in now. We’ve lived all over the country—Utah, Oregon, Minnesota, and Texas. We’ve had two beautiful children with one on the way. I can’t even scratch the surface of memories here but we’ve been through a lot together, good times and bad, and I’m grateful that I can say that Kristi is still my best friend, just like she’s been for practically forever :-)
Kristi's Memories:A page of memories hmmmm…. Well.
I remember that for a long time Dad was very capable of doing headstands. And he could do them forever.
I remember calling mom at work at telling her that Jen wanted to go out to lunch, and then calling Jen and telling her that mom wanted to go out to lunch, and it would usually work so that we would all go out to lunch together!
My first memory of Wayne was that we were at my G&G Genessy’s house and I finished a roll of film (remember those?) and didn’t have enough money to get it developed. I was complaining about it to everyone and no one seemed to care, but later that day Wayne slipped me $2 to develop the film and I thought that was SO cool.
I remember picking up horsechestnuts in the backyard when the going rate was one ten cent ice cream cone per 200lbs of chestnuts collected. What are they up to now? $20 per ice cream bucket? Boy how times have changed. And back then I had to deal with Shawn throwing them at me while I was cleaning them up. Kids have it so easy these days.
I remember one time Dad took Shawn and I on a “surprise” Saturday excursion. I was so excited until I noticed we were pulling up at the AIRPORT! Dad had purchased a little flight around the valley in a mosquito plane and I was SO mad. I did not want to go because I was so afraid of flying. So I wound up sitting in the car while Dad and Shawn went on an airplane ride.
I remember on our drives to California to visit James and family, that mom and dad would get little presents for us to open every hour of the drive to keep us occupied. I also remember caravanning with my G&G Genessy and getting to ride with them part of the way--- Grandma Genessy would point out all of the alien shaped power line poles.
I loved going to Payson Lakes, especially the nights G&G Genessy would come visit. I loved moms hashbrowns and going fishing with dad.
Opening one Christmas present an hour--- really annoying as a kid, really awesome as a parent.
I remember Dad and Mom saving up their chocolate milk allowance at the dairy so I could take that as my treat to school on my birthday for my class.
Crystal Springs, Saratoga Springs, Lava Hot Springs and Cherry Hills. I remember wishing I was big enough to ride my bike to Saratoga Springs with Wayne and…? Maybe Shawn or something.
I remember fishing on a rubber raft with Todd and then we started sinking, but never fear! Todd plugged up the leaky boat with a bullet and we kept fishing.
I remember sharing a daybed with Jenn and Josh (I think?) in her room, that had the most ugly wallpaper I have ever seen to date.
I remember celebrating Thanksgiving with the Bills side of the family at our church. Lots of yummy banana pudding and basketball playing.
I remember when Shawn got lost in the middle of the dessert while mom and dad were out of town and I had to call the police and was so scared I didn’t know what to do. Let’s not let that happen again.
Shawn and I would have handstand contests where we would use the piano as a timer. That probably only makes sense to Shawn.
I remember staying up late playing games (Phase 10, canasta, balderdash), etc. When Jenn and Wayne would come over. I miss those times!
I remember seeing mom pluck her eyebrows and then I tried to copy her but instead shaved an eyebrow and cut my eyelashes and told her Jimmy, who lived across the street, did it.
I remember making chocolate covered pretzels with Grandpa Genessy around Christmas time.
And sleeping over at G&G Genessy’s house and having “egg in bread” in the morning.
I remember when mom backed her new car out of the driveway and knocked off the mirror of the car on the pole. A few choice words were said.
I remember doing puzzles with mom by the fireplace when I was off track in the winter.
I remember making suckers with mom. Or did I just eat them? Can’t remember.
I remember when mom wanted to turn the hottub around so we could all have a better view of the fountain dad had put in. : )
Gwen's Memories:
Gwen remembers. . . .
Moving five times by the time she turned three
Grandma Genessy calling her “Adi” for the first few days of life
Learning to read when she was only three
Falling out of a shopping cart the day before her first birthday and going to the Emergency Room
When she got to live with Aunt Jen and family while mom and dad went on a cruise, and they tried to feed her popcorn. She’s always been bitter about that. And she was really upset when her parents came home, so much so that she only wanted Jenn and Grandma to hold her, not mom or dad. At all.
When Grandma Genessy came to help on the day that Gwen and Mom were both so so so sick (Gwen with the stomach flu and Mom with pregnancy).
Living next door to her best friend Anna in Utah, and going for walks and playing with her every day!.
Always having the most long and beautiful hair ( I think she gets it from Grandpa Genessy!), even when she was born it was about two inches long and jet black.
When she was little her neck muscles were not equally strong on each side, this is called torticollis. So we would have to stretch Gwen’s neck several times each day until it finally got better.
Not learning to walk until she was 17 months old.
Going to the Mall of American with Grandma and Grandpa Genessy
Hiding in the closet in her Texas house from all of the scary thunderstorms (alright, so really they weren’t so scary to her, but her mom was sure scared!)
Ben's Memories:
Bbb bdbdbd. Da da da DAAA. Gpga ga GA DA.
And so forth...
