Happy Mother's Day, Mom/Margie/Grandma!!

 A collection of memories and pictures for our mom for Mother's Day. We love you!! 💓

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Scott and Amy ~ 

I am pretty old and not a good journal writer so my memories may or may not be accurate.  But mom’s memories of me are pretty questionable too.  Every time she tells it, I am more of a prodigy - speaking at 6 days and walking at two weeks. Several things she attributes to me I have no recollection whatsoever. I remember her taking all sorts of classes in her early married years - cooking, cake decorating and some club she has a love-hate relationship with - T.O.P. S. I recall her being super busy with my younger siblings. I remember her ironing in the family room at our Saint Street house and how she teared up watching the moon landing on a black and white TV. After moving to the Hermitage house, mom and dad were part of a “young married” group. One day they had an extra ticket to “Hello Dolly” at the Promised Valley Playhouse and they let me accompany them. It was one of the most remarkable experiences of my life.

I remember her making me go read her journal when there were serious things her emotions wouldn’t let her share vocally. I remember going shopping with her Saturday mornings at Harmon’s on Ft. Union where she used two thousand coupons and then unloading the groceries and cutting off UPC labels (barcodes for you younger folks) and storing them in little recipe boxes. I remember her tearing up during Hallmark commercials and about any other circumstance. I remember how happy (and maybe relieved) she was when I found Amy who loved me. Mom even shared her lasagna recipe with Amy. I admire her devoted and even desperate effort to impart all of the knowledge, wisdom, truth and love she can to her descendants. I hope I can follow her example and be half as successful. - Scott

I remember when my kids were young and Grandma Westra would come over, she would always bring a bag of books to read to the kids.  The kids would always be so excited to see what she had brought!!!   I do the same thing now with my grand kids!! Letti always loves to look in the front of the books to  see if they were given to her mom by grandma Westra!!! Thank you for helping  my kids to love reading !!! Love  you!! --Amy

Chris and Kim ~ 

Mom would always know and be interested in the details - what girl I was interested in, or what test I was taking.  I appreciated that and it always let me know she loved me.  I tried to follow that example and always know enough about my boys that I could ask them specific questions.

Though this is in the later years, I appreciate being taught about investing in assets, and the way that increases your value (and keeps up with inflation).  Buy low, sell high.  Buy and sell in increments.  Don’t panic.  Stay invested long term.  This has made a huge difference in our net worth and lifestyle and my boys have all learned it WAY earlier than I did.

--Christopher

My memory is just of being consistently loved, and appreciating the generosity of mom and dad towards me, which I didn't have with my previous mother-in-law. We really enjoy our time together, and mom's interest in our life. -- Kim

Wendy and Rick ~ 

I love exercising with Mom in her “swim spa!” It gives us a chance to exercise and visit at the same time! I love being able to talk with Mom and catch up on everyone’s lives! I love Mom’s desire to continue to educate herself and pass along whatever she has learned to her posterity! I love how Mom prays for ways to help her children and grandchildren. Some of those answered prayers have come in the way of opportunities such as FSY, church history tours, and other get-togethers. Inspired ideas that have come to my mom have often been answers to my own prayers. Thank you, Mom, I love you!!
– Wendy 

Jen and Gray ~ 

• One random "Mom Memory Montage" is Progressive Rummy. I remember her playing with me and my friends back in my high school days. Lots of NewYear's nights in the later years. Once when Mom proudly went "down and out" in the final hand, and had done sets instead of runs (nope! Back up into your hands go the cards). Mom laughing (sometimes to tears) over Grayson's comments. Buying tons of cards (it's just a little 2) ... having multiple legs (I looked under the table, she always only had two legs!), so many possibilities. 

• Having a birthday so close to Mom, we'd often combine cakes ... and happily we both LOVE the white cake with buttercream icing from Sam'sClub. Quite a few cake memories (including me holding it up and tilting a little to get a better camera view, and it toppling over! Oops. Mom laughed and laughed and said it still tasted good). A birthday picture in 2009 that we re-created 13 years later in 2022. 

• Recently, it's been fun talking about books and Goodreads, or what TV/Movies we’ve enjoyed. I belatedly jumped on the Wordle bandwagon, but NOT to the extent that Mom loves the game and does all the variations. During Colton's college basketball season, if Mom and Dad weren't out gallivanting, they'd always tune into the streaming games and watch and send little comments throughout and at the end (Mom would watch to the end ... I think Dad might have fallen asleep, as some of them went late). 

• Blackham Boy Grandma Westra associations might dominantly be a ROTH/Fidelity association. All the birthday and Christmas monies invested, and encouragements to invest on their own. It's something they'll appreciate even more in the future!  Also lots of fun memories at the Havenmoor House. Holidays (Easter and ChristmasEve), Cookies&Cousins, Waffles&Westras. The toy cabinet, the little pool table downstairs, the cave, all the flowers …

• Once at the Blackham home, we starting making a list of homonyms ... I told the boys that this was something Grandma Westra had done in my early years, as well as teaching us lesser known words like dearth and plethora ... the latter means a lot! -Jen

Shane and Alicia ~ 

I always remember Mom being there for me. Whether it was fixing a huge piece of strawberry shortcake, playing games like Boggle, or just talking, Mom was always attentive and caring. One thing that has really amazed me is how much Mom continues to love, serve, and pray for all her kids and her grandkids, regardless of age, stage, or circumstance. So much of what she still does and how she spends her time is to help her family. - Shane

I remember just after Adria was born, I was so tired and wasn’t feeling like myself. One day Margie announced that she and LaMar would come babysit while Shane and I went to lunch for a date. I hadn’t realized that I needed a little bit of time away until we were at lunch. Now that is something I try to do for young parents around me when I can. Another thing I admire about Margie is her green thumb! I love looking out at the flower beds in the back and enjoy their beauty. --Alicia

Derek and Danielle ~ 

When I think of “Memories of Margie,” I think of: fresh homemade bread with homemade jam, fruit leather drying on the deck of the Hermitage Circle House, meatloaf and lasagna, her dancing around the kitchen with her “exercise tapes,” digging through her purse for a mint or candy during Church, watching Star Trek together, and taking 10 minutes longer than everyone else when deciding what to order at a restaurant. ;) Of her many amazing and admirable attributes, a favorite is her thirst for knowledge. Whether it was consuming BYU Speeches while on the treadmill, reading business books (despite not working in business), learning EVERYTHING about the stock market and family finances, or helping countless people with gospel resources - her insatiable appetite for learning is impressive and rare. Thanks for your amazing example mom! Happy Mother’s Day! - Derek 

There are so many things that I love about Margie! She is the best mother in law I could ask for. She has a love for education and is always learning and sharing her wisdom, allowing others to benefit from her studies. I love how supportive she is of her family, providing love ad support in whatever way is needed, including attending rainy soccer games to cheer on her grandkids. I love how she encourages mental and spiritual growth by providing financial support for FSY, church history trips, etc. It's also so fun to see her competitive side when we play card and board games together. She's just the best and I'm so grateful to know her!

--Danielle

And a few of the grandchildren...  

I admire Grandma's desire to learn more about all kinds of things, but specifically finances. She puts in the effort to make sure she's got accurate information and shares it with her loved ones to help us all plan for a stable financial future. Brandon and I have also loved going to see shows with Grandma and Grandpa at Hale theater! She is thoughtful and loving and it makes me happy to see how much she loves our little family and watching her posterity grow in general. Love you, Grandma! - Janika

I love talking with Grandma about the finances and the stock market. I love getting her opinion on things to help me formulate my own ideas and make better investment decisions. -Jase

I love Grandma so much! I loved going to her house as a kid, and some fun memories I have is convincing her to open up the freezer in the garage so that we could make some papa murphy’s pizza for dinner even though she was always planning on “saving it for later”. Grandma is really good at saving. She has great self control, and she does an incredible job teaching all of us about our futures and why we should save now financially! I’m forever grateful for her wisdom, and what she has taught me about priorities. Love you Grandma!

-- Jared

I love spending time with Grandma and Grandpa, whether we are playing rummikub, playing word streak, or watching jeopardy late at night! Grandma and Grandpa are so generous, Christlike, and service oriented. It is a gift to spend time with them! -Janelle

I remember when I was little Grandma taught us how to play speed rummikub and we would play for hours! As I've gotten older I have learned that the Rummi genes run in the family because I'm pretty good ;)  Grandma - you are so loving and generous, I would be nowhere near where I am without your support! Thank you for helping me to grow and learn, and for helping me make it to efy, the church history trip, and my mission! -Jaiden 

(I didn’t know if I would have time to get an answer from Josh, and so I took his answers from a similar write-up that we did for Christmas). Grandma makes the best warm fresh rolls (my mouth is watering just thinking about it). Oh wait, actually change my answer to that peach jello stuff, that’s the best! I appreciate it when we have time to have long chats about random things. I like to play Rummiku with Grandma. My Grandma also gave me a lot of knowledge and advice for my future!  –Josh 

I love talking about plants with Grandma and walking around her garden and talking about all her different kinds of flowers. I also love playing Rummikub with her! –Jenna 

Rella: Some of my favorite memories are being with grandma in the kitchen! I always love the jello and when she had cherries for us on the kitchen counter. One of my very favorite memories though was when she was making brownies once and asked Alexa how much time was left on her timer. Alexa said there were no timers set and grandma turned to me and made the most shocked and aghast face I’ve ever seen. Grandma is so fun to be around and I love her so much! 💖💖💖

And some other fun pictures!! (In no particular order!!)

 Click HERE for the Google Album!

 

Calendar Pages & Slideshow

The annual Westra calendar ... it's for 2025, but all the pictures are from 2024, so this post will be more of a 2024 recap. The calendar was handed out at the annual Christmas Eve party (which will get its own blog post). Here are the pages that will be hanging in the Westra Sibling homes, and that of Grandma and Grandpa Westra.  What events will be recorded on these calendars in the upcoming year? 

The family collages are full size in the Christmas Newsletter 2024 post ...

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Many of the December pictures are actually from 2023 ...

As the 2024 calendar was created before Christmas and missed out on these pictures.

... and finally, a little "cheat sheet" with all the names and family groupings!

... the "cheat sheet" featured here on the blog is a little redacted. The one on the calendar has birthdays and anniversaries, which are also included within the calendar itself. 2024 was a busy year, with several NEW additions, through marriage (there were FIVE weddings) and babies (FOUR babies ... and two more close to coming!)  Lots of graduations. Halloween was the most photographed holiday. Many of these same pictures/themes were featured in the annual Westra Slide Show as well, a double feature this year (Westra 2024 and Westra Animals!)

What will 2025 bring?

Christmas Newsletter 2024

 

The annual Westra newsletter ... updated blurbs, and hopefully, updated photos (Derek as given Chris and Jen the assignment for a NEW family photo for next year). The PDF is in Dropbox, and emailed out to Westra friends and family. Here on the blog, we'll include a close up of the copy and a collage of family photos from the year. You can check out all the Christmas Newsletters at a glance too!

Scott and Amy Westra

Scott and Amy live in the Murray Holladay area. McKenna and Spencer Erickson and their 18-month-old son Eddie live in Seattle. Spencer works for Amazon and McKenna works for Microsoft. Alyssa and Jed Smith live in Sugarhouse. Jed is an optometrist and Alyssa teaches 4th grade at Spectrum Academy in Pleasant Grove. Kellen and Natalie live in Henderson, Nevada. Kellen is in his third year of medical school at Touro University and Natalie is a personal health and fitness coach. Kemery and Mitch Willes live in Payson. They are the proud parents of Letti (3) and Della (1). Mitch works for a company that supplies contract software for the insurance industry. Kemery loves being a mom. Taylee manages the Urban Outfitters store at Fashion Place Mall. Amy loves being a grandma and spending every minute she can with her cute grandkids. Scott is the Chief Financial Officer for WCF Insurance.

Chris and Kim Westra

Chris and Kim live in Pleasant Grove. Kim works as a Medical Assistant and as a waitress at Cracker Barrel and Chris works from home. Conner (32) works construction, and Amber works from home for Progressive Leasing. Krystal (31) and Boris live in Texas. Krystal is a lawyer, and Boris is going to law school. They have a 1-year old son, Mylo. Kadan (30) and Christine live in Chris and Kim’s basement apartment. Kadan works for Fastenal. They have a baby boy, Jonah. Courtney (30) and Seth moved to North Carolina where Seth is a lawyer. Integrity is seven and Charlotte is two. They are expecting a third baby in January. Corin (27) and Kylie live in Redmond. Corin works at the United States Gypsum plant. They have a baby boy, Luke. Seth (26) and Aspen live in American Fork and they have a baby girl, Genevieve. Seth works at KCI. Aaron (24) married Abbi this year and they live in Florida. Aaron works for WGI, and Abbi is going to school. Camden (22) married Hannah this year and they live in Orem. Camden works at Equinox IT, and Hannah is going to school. Cayson (18) graduated and moved to Midvale. He works with his Stepdad doing lawn care.

Rick and Wendy Jensen

Rick and Wendy live in Santa Clara, Utah. They have seven children, and four (soon to be five) grandchildren. Rick is the ASL coordinator and advisor for the United States and Canada for Seminaries and Institutes. Wendy is an ASL interpreter and coordinator. Rick and Wendy enjoy interpreting together, especially on cruises! Janika is working as an elementary school counselor, and Brandon works for Flex as the Revenue Operations System Administrator. They have two boys, ages 2 ½ and 9 months. Jase recently earned his MBA from Western Governors University, while working as the lab manager for Co-Diagnostics. Ellen is using her new master’s degree to provide marketing for a few start-up companies. They have two boys, ages 3 ½ and 2, and are expecting a baby girl any day. Jared married his sweetheart, Hallie, in the Mount Timpanogos temple in September. He teaches seminary at Lake Mountain Middle School in Saratoga Springs. They live in Orem and are busy working and attending graduate school. Janelle married her sweetheart, Bryton, in the St. George Temple in November. They are working and attending BYU. Jaiden is serving a mission in Mongolia and will return home in February. Josh is serving a mission in Seoul, Korea. Jenna is a sophomore and recently passed the Chinese AP test. She is involved with Madrigals and dance. Jensen Newsletter:  https://jensenchristmas.blogspot.com/

Gray and Jen Blackham

Jen and Gray and their five Blackham Boys have had a busy year. In addition to the actual work with Symphony Homes, Gray heads up a monthly dinner for veterans and built the Bluey house out of boxes for a diaper drive. He ran several half-marathons and completed the Spartan. Jen continues baking sourdough, teaching Zumba and loving all things book related. She set up a Little Free Library in the front yard. Landon works with LKL Associates. He had surgery for a torn ACL but was back playing pickleball and even ran a half marathon. Cal supervises quality control for Camson Electric and his wife Kate works at SLCC. Their doggy Vera keeps them busy! Keaton moved from his basement apartment to a townhouse in Daybreak with roommates. He works with Cal at Camson and is continuing his electrical education. He is into skydiving, roller skating and cooking (Blackstone/SousVide). Cooper is working at DLP Unlimited. He slimmed down, ran a 5k and 10k and almost always leads the family in daily steps. He's obsessed with music and went to a couple of concerts. Colton had a great senior season as his basketball team swept region undefeated. He played in the state Allstar game and committed to play for Clackamas Community College. He is currently #1 in the NWAC for assists! You can keep up with the Blackham Bunch on the family blog: http://blackhamboys.blogspot.com

Shane and Alicia Westra

Shane and Alicia live in Highland, Utah. Shane is the CPTO at Cardata, a software company that tracks car usage for employers. Alicia is the Warehouse Retail Manager for Kneaders. They serve in their ward as the Ward Clerk (Shane) and Ward Chorister/Choir Director (Alicia). They have 3 children: Adria (20) finished her Freshman year at BYU and then began her full-time missionary service for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is serving in the Oklahoma City Mission (Spanish speaking) and loves the people she has served in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Rella (18) graduated from Timpanogos High School with a 4.0 GPA. She is currently a Freshman at BYU. Rella is still dancing, taking Ballet and Jazz classes as part of her class schedule at college. She and her roommates all get along really well and enjoy spending time together. Calder (13) is in 7th grade and is about as tall as Rella. He is excited to be taller than her and measures how far he has to go just about anytime she is home from college. Calder loves designing and building things out of Legos, 3D printing clever creations, and comic books. He has a great sense of humor and keeps us all laughing with his quick-witted one-liners.

Derek and Danielle Westra

Derek and Danielle and their three girls live in Traverse Mountain in Lehi. Three kids at three different schools keeps them busy! Aniston (14) is a great student and loves music and hanging with friends! She is making money babysitting and is excited to drive and date soon. Layla (10) loves soccer (indoor and outdoor) and is a reliable goalie. She excels at tumbling and art and is super creative – always drawing, painting and creating. Noelle turns 9 in January and is in French immersion at her school. She loves playing piano and is a voracious reader. Derek works as Director of Reputation Management for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – where he keeps track of how the Church is being discussed online (for good and bad). He was recently called as Bishop of their ward (a five-year sentence). Danielle is an amazing cook and baker and loves to design and create pretty spaces. She is the compassionate service leader. She loves researching about health and nutrition and Derek and Danielle love to do DIY projects in their home and for family and friends. 

Margie and LaMar Westra

It is hard to believe that we have been in our new home in Highland, Utah for two years now. We are very happy here. We are serving as Temple and Family History Consultants in our ward. Margie is also serving on the R.S. Service Committee, over our 16 Strasburg Ward Missionaries. LaMar is still serving as a Support Missionary for FamilySearch--for 22 years now. We wish good health and happiness for you and all of your families!

Love, Margie & LaMar

Storage Shelves (Roll-ey!)

As the folks moved from the Haven Moor house to their new G-Suite in Highland, they pared down possessions from the garage and food storage room (as well as the rest of the house). They would still have some storage space and Shane and Alicia's ... and even got some new "roll-ey" shelves. The Westra family had these unique type of shelves in the Hermitage and Haven Moor house ... set up to effectively rotate cans. Put the new cans in one end, take from the other to use up the oldest first.   Derek created a new set-up AND made a cute and clever little video ...

https://youtube.com/shorts/uJXaLBE7rJ0?si=xufpM35g5j0pZDET

You can find more of D&D's home improvement projects on their Functional Decor Instagram! 

Below, you can see a glimpse of the Haven Moor set up, taken after it was (mostly) emptied in preparation for the move in 2022. I wish we had some photos of the Hermitage House shelves ... I can picture them in my mind, but can't find a photo. The folks moved from that house November of 1994, and that was before digital photography had taken over ... and I don't know that anyone thought to stop and take pictures of shelves with a film camera. 

(this post will be backdated to 2023)

Cue the Clown ...

Derek sent a Westra sibling group text ...

Derek: Okay, I have a question: We gave the kids a Flintstones vitamin yesterday and I had a repressed childhood memory that I wanted to check with you all (if this is legit or not). Did we have a "vitamin dispenser" in our home (in my memory, it's like a creepy red clown) that dispensed Flintstones vitamins? Or did my psyche invent that?

Mom/Margie: I couldn't remember until you mentioned the clown. That does seem vaguely familiar. I don't know why a little clown would be creepy though, meant to be fun!

Chris: (shared an image)

Derek: Oh my goodness! That's it!

Chris: Yes, pretty creepy. Probably downstairs at Mom's house. Ha ha.

Mom: I recognize it. I don't think we still have it Chris!

Shane: I have fond memories/nightmares of that vitamin clown.

Derek: The 1980s were not kind to the brand image of clowns.

Jen: I remember it. Chris beat me to Google. The little pink fluoride tablets tasted better than the vitamins...

Wendy: I definitely remember the clown dispenser! At one point we had these huge brown vitamins that were so nasty. I used to just pretend to take them and then dispose of them later. Sorry Mom! I did take the fluorides though. 

Even though Chris had already found the image, I did my own Google search. I found a couple more pictures, showing the little "lift" that brought the vitamin up within reach, the hat on top. I was hoping for a little history on the piece (as I found about the Kool-Aid Mugs) but all I could find were some used sale listings.  So, here's a few facts about Flintstones vitamins ...

• Flintstones vitamins hit the scene in 1968. The popular animated TV show "The Flintstones,"  aired from 1960 to 1966.
• The vitamins are shaped like the characters from the animated Flintstones show;  Fred, Wilma, Pebbles, Barney, Betty, Bamm-Bamm, Dino, and The Great Gazoo. Betty was not included until 1995. Manufacturers said she looked too similar to Wilma. Plus, her thin waist caused her vitamin to break during production.
• The jingle "We are Flintstones kids — 10 million strong and growing!" was composed by Martin O’Donnell, who went on to compose the music for the intensely popular Halo video game series.
• Vitamins weren’t the only things that the modern Stone Age family hawked. One of the show’s original sponsors was Winston cigarettes: Fred and Barney were Winston men, all the way. One early cartoon featured Fred and Barney taking a “Winston break,” because “Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should.”

 Memory Moment - Commercial from 1988

https://youtu.be/zmc-Itvv-ok?si=RTql9qRevz0ky0zo