Hartman Happenings

Spring Things

2010-06-16T11:20:00.023-05:00

Our new little granddaughter Rebekah Christine was born on February 10, 2010. We didn't get to see her until April since Brent's family were living in Kentucky at the time. They are back in Missouri now. This picture was taken of Rebekah with her brothers Moses and Brigham when she was just a few days old.

Sadie, Hannah and Abby after breakfast at McDonalds.
Moses and Brigham at Sams.
Baby Bekah, about 2 months old, but refusing to smile.
Abby and Hannah with our cute little redbud tree.
Brigham holding Bekah.
The first weekend in May we went to Pella, Iowa with our friends the Burchs, Frames and Jacksons to the Tulip Festival. There were severe thunderstorms and hail the night before so most of the tulips had been beaten down. The temperature also turned very cold so we had to go shop at Walmart to get warmer clothes to wear. I don't want you think we would wear some of these clothes on purpose. Bill loved his quilted lumberjack shirt he got for $5.00 but I don't know if I will ever allow him to wear it in public again. In this picture are Jim Burch, Bill, Tom Frame and Dave Jackson.
The girls, looking equally cute. Sue Frame, Sandy, Linda Burch and Shirley Jackson.
Shirley and I trying on the little dutch hats. We had also been rained on that day which didn't help with the look.
Bill and Dave trying on the dutch boy hats.
Sandy with the wooden shoes.
Bill with the dutch bologna.
The whole group with some tulips that actually survived the storms.
Bill at home with Sadie, Abby, Hannah and Moses - doing what he does best - playing horsey.
Moses fell asleep with his computer. They sure do start young.
Moses and Brigham. Moses turned 2 on June 5th. Brigham is 3 1/2.
Linda and Don were here for Memorial Day. We had a fun day decorating the graves and going out to eat at 54th Street Grill. Linda, Mother, Sandy, Abby, Hannah and Sadie at Daddy's grave.
Linda and Don at Grandparent's Smith grave.
A cemetery worker volunteered to transport mother around the cemetery. It was a highlight for the girls as well. They want to buy a golf cart now. The rest of us had to walk.
The girls at great grandma's house in some new clothes.
Four pretty granddaughters - ready for church.

For Brent's Birth Family

2010-04-08T16:51:00.011-05:00

This has been an exciting week for Brent. He has made contact with his birth mother, a sister and brother. They all still live in Long Beach where Bill grew up and where we were living when we adopted him. I am posting a few pictures from his life so they can see what he looked like over the years. We have been blessed to have him as our son and are grateful they allowed us to be his parents.

This was the picture we used for our Christmas card in 1974. Brent was 9 weeks old.

This is Brent at 6 months.

Here is Brent at 2 1/2 with his little dog Peaches.

Brent with his sister Heather around Christmas time. He ws 5 1/2 and she was 18 months.

Another Christmas card picture for 1984. Brent was 10 and Heather was 6.

This family portrait was taken in 1988. Brent was 14 and Heather was 10.

This was one of Brent's senior pictures. He was 17. He turned 18 the August after he graduated.

Brent and Amanda with Sadie and Hannah in Salt Lake City in 2003.

Here is our whole family (minus Rebekah) when we took everyone to Disneyland in December 2008.

Scenes from Summer

2009-08-23T18:57:00.039-05:00

Since summer is almost gone I thought I had better update my blog. Besides having to deal with Mother's health problems and Bill opening a new office, we were still able to enjoy some visits with family and friends and fun with the grandkids.

Linda and Don came in June. Linda helped me decorate Bill's new office while they were here and Don helped hang pictures and move computers. The grandkids loved spending time with Uncle Don - a great kid pleaser.

Here is Linda and Don with Sadie, Hannah and Abby.

Bill arranged for Don to have a ride in our friend's little red corvette. I think it took him back to his youth.

Here are some pictures of the fruits of labors in Bill's new office.

Brent's family helped us trim the trees in the backyard. These are the fastest growing trees you ever saw. My Dad had Brent plant them when we moved in over 4 years ago and they have grown 5-7 feet every year. They are some kind of Austrian shade tree he ordered off the TV. We can't even keep up with them.

They do make great trees for climbing as Hannah and Brigham can show you. They have also helped shade the back yard so I guess all the trimming is worth it.

Moses and Brigham are great little buddies. I think Moses will outweigh Brigham some day. He is a real little chunk, a solid heavy little boy.

In August Larry and Burna came to Missouri for a visit. They were at the tail end of their vacation but we were still able to show them some of the Kansas City area and introduce them to Ray Stevens comedy so they would have something to entertain themselves on their way home.

Here is Bill with Larry and Burna outside Bill's new office building.

We took them to the Steamboat Arabia museum. The steamboat had sunk in the Missouri River. Over time the river's course moved, leaving the Arabia and her treasures buried deep beneath a Missouri corn field. In 1988 it was found, dug up and items preserved. They called it a floating WalMart for it's time. You wouldn't believe the stuff they found. Very interesting.

Sandy with Burna in one of the Museum's room.

We took them out to eat at the "Jazz" - a Louisiana, Cajun restaurant. We all had Chicken a la Mer, my favorite. We also went to Cabela's since they had never been to one. They were "thrilled" to see the aquarium and all the stuffed animals. We called it the "dead zoo".

A kind person took our picture. Here we are: Larry, Burna, Sandy and Bill.

Nathan and Kristy's family also came for a visit in August. Brent's and Nathan's kids really bonded and had a great time together.

Here are Christian and Sadie,

Michael and Hannah,

Abby and Finn,

and last but not least, Moses, Brigham and Esplan.

Here are Nathan and Kristy with Grandma the morning they left for Utah. Christian and Michael are standing by. Finn and Esplan were already strapped in their seats.

Last weekend we took a trip to Branson with three other couples from our ward. We had great fun.

Here are the guys before we left Platte City: Dave, Jim, Tom and Bill

Here are the girls: Sandy, Sue, Shirley and Linda.

We went to great shows,

shopped,
ate heartily,

and relaxed.

A fun time was had by all.

Stephensons Visit Missouri

2009-06-02T16:04:00.021-05:00

Heather, Robert, Micah and Ellie made their annual trip to Missouri last week. Unfortunately, the day before they arrived we had to put my mother in the hospital with pneumonia. She was in the hospital from Friday to Wednesday. After church on Sunday we all invaded her room which included a visit from the seven great grandchildren.

In spite of a dismal beginning, we were all able to have a fun family vacation with Brent's and Heather's families. This included lot of rides in the car. Most of the time we were able to get all of us in two vehicles: Heather and Robert's Durango and our Toyota Highlander. Here is a picture of Brent and Amanda in the "rumble seat". We had to put car seats in the middle two seats because they wouldn't fit in the back. After this trip Brent and Amanda opted for a different arrangement. Brigham is sitting in the middle with Moses facing backwards in the other seat.

Brent and Amanda came to the rescue many times during the week by doing most of the cooking, smoking us a pork butt and spareribs and making their famous kettle korn.

The evenings were cool and a fun time for the kids to play outside and ride bikes and scooters. Here is Micah riding Hannah's bike.

Robert and Heather brought their Wii and the girls had great fun with that. Micah and Sadie are playing Star Wars.

On Memorial Day we went to the cemetery in St. Joseph and decorated the graves of my Dad, Grandparents Smith, Grandparents McCoppin, Aunt Phyllis and Valeria's parents. It was overcast that day but didn't rain. The kids enjoyed cleaning the headstones, trimming grass around the headstones and placing the flowers. Everyone had a job. They also enjoyed searching for the right graves. Here are some of us at Daddy's grave.

The week included some good meals out as well. Here are Sadie, Hannah, Heather, Ellie, Abby and Amanda waiting for a table at Cheddars.

There were also several nights of sleepovers. Ellie and Hannah talked into the night and enjoyed telling their own made up jokes.

We spent a fun lunch at Chuck-E- Cheese for pizza and games. Ellie, Hannah and Sadie are enjoying one of the attractions.

Heather's kids hadn't been to Build-a-bear and Ellie had some birthday money she wanted to spend. Micah picked out a black bear dressed like Spiderman and Ellie got a princess unicorn.

Of course you can't come to Kansas City without a trip to World's of Fun. Micah, Ellie, Hannah and Abby enjoyed time at Camp Snoopy.

There's always lots to eat at WOF and here are Ellie, Micah, Hannah, Heather and Robert enjoying dippin' dots, big slurpees, funnel cakes and turkey legs.

I actually managed to get all the kids to sit together at Great Grandma's house for one last picture together. From left to right are Abby, Brigham, Micah, Moses, Sadie, Hannah and Ellie. We all sure love and enjoy getting together. A fun time was had by all.

Spring Things

2009-05-13T06:54:00.011-05:00

The weather has finally warmed up enough in Missouri so that we have been able to plant some flowers and tomatoes. That is about the extent of our gardening. We are trying the Topsy Turvy Tomato planters this year on our deck, as well as in our usual, small garden spot. This is one of my pretty pink geraniums.

The girls are taking swimming lessons. Here is a picture of Sadie and Hannah after one of their lessons. We have also all joined the YMCA - 2 long blocks from our house. I have been doing some water aerobics with Amanda's mother. It is quite fun. There are men in the class as well so I'm going to get Bill to come to some of them with me.

Brigham thinks he is hot stuff on his little wheels. Since we live on a cul-de-sac, there is lots of sidewalk and safe roadway for the kids to ride their bikes and play.

Abby turned five on May 7th. We took her to build-a-bear and Chuck-E-Cheese for her birthday. The kids all had fun. She chose a pink unicorn for her stuffed animal.

Nothing is prettier than my three granddaughters dressed up and ready for church. It is fun taking them to church with us.

Fun in the Sun

2009-04-16T08:50:00.009-05:00

We finally had a warm day on the Saturday before Easter so the kids could go outside to play. Unfortunately, Brigham was taking a nap so he didn't get in on the photo shoot. Sadie got a new bike this year and handed her old bike down to Hannah.

Abby is trying her hand at Sadie's scooter.

Sadie can really make that scooter go fast. It is hard to catch her in action.

Here is Hannah riding her "new " bike. She just learned to ride on two wheels so she's having lots of fun perfecting her new skill.

Sadie took this picture of Bill, Hannah and me by our little Redbud tree. We've had such cold weather that the poor little buds have had a hard time blooming.

Moses enjoyed sitting and playing in the grass.

High Priests at the Cannery with Bozo

2009-04-16T08:36:00.011-05:00

Bill had some cancer removed from his nose on Monday. On Tuesday night we went to the church cannery with some of the high priests. Five couples went. We had a great time but they kept referring to Bill as Bozo. I had told him no one would notice, ha! ha!

Jim Burch with Bozo at the canning machine.

Jim and Linda Burch with Amy Nichols and Sue Frame. You can still see Bozo in the background. I think he even glows in the dark.

Sue Frame, Linda Burch, Shirley Jackson and me. We really liked our hair nets. Helps make up for a bad hair day.

Conference Sunday

2009-04-05T13:57:00.011-05:00

Conference Sunday was cold and dismal. It even tried to snow, but luckily the ground was warm enough that the flakes didn't stick. The kids hung out at our house while Brent and Amanda cooked a belated 62nd birthday dinner for Bill at Grandma's house. They fixed a turkey dinner with carrot cake for dessert. YUM!

Moses and Brigham hung out in their jammies all day.

The girls spent some time with their webkinz. Sadie used the desktop in the computer room.

Hannah and Abby worked on the laptop in the family room.

Abby also took some time to play with the marble works.

Grandpa Bill and Brigham did some masterful work with the blocks. We had a fun day with the kids.

Move from Arizona

2009-03-17T09:21:00.009-05:00

Last weekend we made a quick trip to Arizona to help Brent's family move back to Missouri. They were living in Concho, in the Snowfalke/Show Low area so we were able to make a quick side trip to see the Snowflake Temple and the cemetery in Taylor where Grandma Hartman is buried. Here are a few pictures of the Adventure in Moving.

Bye bye Concho, bye bye desert, bye bye Juniper trees.

Sadie, Hannah, Abby and Brigham at the motel.

Bill and I at the Snowflake Temple.

Brent, Amanda, Bill, Sadie, Hannah and Abby at the Taylor cemetery.

Christmas in Platte City

2008-12-31T14:33:00.018-06:00

Christmas this year was cold, snowy and filled with McClellans. Our kids didn't come home this year since we celebrated Christmas together in Disneyland. Linda, Don, Bruce & Kimberly's family came from Utah while Emily's family and Amber came up from Texas. Ryan and family came for a short visit after Christmas so we had a total of 21 people coming and going between our house and Mother's for the holidays.

We had a Christmas Eve program at our house. Here are
Bruce, Amber, Joseph, Don and Linda waiting for their turn to participate.

Linda, Mother and Emily visiting at Mother's house.

Even though it was very cold, the kids loved playing in the snow and managed to make 196 snowballs to put in Santa's sleigh.

Amber, Linda and Emily helped roll out the noodles to dry for Christmas dinner. It is a family tradition that Mother makes her homemade noodles for all family holidays.

Emily, Hayley, Amber, Alex, Tyler, Sean, Kimberly and Joseph on Christmas morning at our house, ready to open their presents.

Bill and I on Christmas day at Mother's house.

I made hats for everyone as well as the dolls. Here is Erin with her new Christmas Doll and their hats.

On Sunday, before everyone left on Monday morning, some of us made a trip to the cemetery to visit Daddy's grave. Some of the snow had melted but it was still pretty cold that day. Standing from left to right is Linda, Amber, Ryan, Bill, Seth, Sandy, Mother and Don.

Disneyland!

2008-12-17T07:37:00.019-06:00

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Disneyland with our kids and grandkids. We must have walked 50 miles but it was all worth it. We made many great memories that will last a lifetime. We had fantastic weather - in the 70's during the day with no rain. Hannah turned 7 while we were there and we all enjoyed a great character breakfast with Lilo and Stitch on her birthday.
Here is a picture of me with Ellie, Hannah, Abby, Micah, & Sadie posing with Goofy in his Christmas sweater.

A cute picture of Baby Moses. He is a happy boy and enjoyed being outside in his stroller.

Sadie, Hannah and Abby with Snow White.

Brent and Amanda with Sadie 10, Hannah 7, Abby 4, Brigham 2 and Moses 6 months, in front of Sleeping Beauty's castele.

Ellie with Cinderella, her favorite Disney character.

Robert, Heather, Micah 6, and Ellie 3, in front of Mickey's house in Toontown.

Ellie got her face painted.

Bill and I watching Brigham and Moses on our favorite bench. We were under a shade tree and had a great view of the Castle and the Matterhorn. Brigham enjoyed watching the Disney cars and horse drawn wagons going around the Turnaround.

We came home from sunny California to snow and freezing temperatures. It is 4 degrees this morning but the gas is $1.27. We are now excited about Christmas and are preparing for the McClellans who will be coming to share Chirstmas with us this year.

What a difference a year makes!

2008-11-25T09:42:00.011-06:00

Last year at this time I was celebrating my birthday with my Dad as we did every year. My birthday is today, the 25th and his is tomorrow, the 26th. According to my mother I was born around 10:30 PM and she ought to know. Daddy would have been 83 years old tomorrow.

My mother and I went to St. Joseph today and did some shopping. Bill was working in the St. Joe office so he took us out to lunch at Boudreaux's. We all had chicken fried chicken. It was very yummy. Bill also took me to the show tonight to see the new James Bond movie.

Bill & I put up the Christmas decorations inside our house, inside mother's house and outside both of our houses last Saturday. We were truly pooped by the end of the day. The weather was pretty mild so we just kept going like the Energizer Bunnies that we are..... We were afraid it would get worse after Thanksgiving. This is the tree and fireplace in our family room.

Last year we had our little granddaughters here to help decorate Great Grandma's tree. We sure did miss their help. Here is a picture that was taken last year at this time of Sadie, Hannah and Abby.

It will be just the 3 of us for Thanksgiving this year, Mother, Bill and Me. Last year we were able to celebrate with Geoff, Emily, Alex, Hayley and Amber, and of course Daddy was still here. What a difference a year makes. Here is a picture of our Thanksgiving group last November at Mother's house. Sorry, Geoff is not seen, he is taking the picture.

Never thought it would happen

2008-11-01T23:10:00.005-05:00

Gas prices were $1.94 at the Quik Trip this morning. We didn't think we would ever see them below $2.00 again. I could actually fill up my car for less than $30.00. WooHoo!!We are so excited to be getting a temple in the Kansas City area. It is actually just this side of Liberty. We are only 20-25 miles away. This is another thing we didn't think we would ever see, a temple we can drive to in less than a half hour. Here is a picture of the temple site. The temple is supposed to look like the Twin Falls Temple. It will be 31,000 square feet which is three times bigger than the Winter Quarters Temple. They can't build it fast enough.

Texas in the fall

2008-10-29T21:03:00.006-05:00

At the end of September we took Mother on a road trip to Texas. We stopped in Allen for the night and left Mother with Emily & Geoff for a few days. She was able to visit with Ryan and Emily's families as well as Amber. Bill and I went on down to Killeen to visit with cousins Marjay and Scotti. They went with us to San Antonio for a couple of days where we visited the Alamo, the Riverwalk and took a Segway tour.

Marjay and Scotti gave us the crazy t-shirts so we wouln't get lost. It really worked. People kept saying "Peace", "Remember Woodstock", "3 cheers for the 60's". There is never a dull moment with Marjay and Scotti.

I call this the year of the cousins because I have been able to spend time with several this year. While in Allen we were also able to visit cousin Gina and David in Plano. Here is Mother with Gina in her kitchen.
I couldn't resist this cute one of Amber and Erin. Erin was so cute and warmed up to all of us. She really stole our hearts. Erin is Ryan and Shelley's youngest daughter. We enjoyed all the kids - Seth, Emma, Alex and Hayley. They are always fun to be around.

Brian Head in July

2008-10-29T20:11:00.007-05:00

In July we took Mother on another trip to Southern Utah. She had to fly again but only to Las Vegas. We went out to eat with Gary, Tracye and Hannah and spent the night at the Mirage.

The next morning we drove to Brian Head. Brent's family drove up from Arizona and Heather's family drove down from Logan where we rented a condo for a week. While there we were able to celebrate Heather's 30th and Sadie's 10th birthdays as well as the 4th of July.

Six of our 7 grandchildren; Brigham (18 mon), Sadie (10), Ellie (3), Hannah (6), Abby (4), and Micah (5).

Baby Moses is #7 and he was born on June 5. He weighed 9 lbs when he was born. He turned 1 month old while on this vacation.

Ellie, Heather, Robert, Micah, Bill, Hannah, Brent, Abby & Sadie on top of the mountain after riding the ski lift . Some were a little scared but Hannah reminded us we needed to face our fears.

Brent and Amanda with all the kids on the porch of Brigham Young's winter home in St. George.

It was 112 degrees in the shade that day so we didn't stay outside very long.

I'll give it a try!

2008-10-29T15:42:00.002-05:00

Since everyone in the family is blogging these days, I thought I would give it a try. Heather has given me some guidance but I am still in a state of confusion. I hope this will help me in my efforts to keep a journal of some sort.

This year is rapidly coming to a close so I will try and highlight what has taken place so far in 2008.

Daddy passed away on February 5th and life changed for all of us that day as we learned to live without his presence. He had been in failing health for many years so it wasn't unexpected but it was still a surprise when it happened.

Here is a picture of Daddy with Brent's children; Hannah, Brigham, Abby and Sadie.

He loved his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Almost all of his family members were able to come for his funeral. He is greatly missed.

In April we took my mother to Hawaii for some R & R. She had not been able to travel for years because of my Dad's poor health so we thought this would do her some good. We met Linda and Don there as well as Emily, Geoff, Alex and Hayley. I don't think she enjoyed it as much as we were hoping. She hated the long plane ride and worried about going back home the whole time we were there. Here I am with Mother and Linda at the Dole Plantation.

We stayed on Waikiki Beach and had a view of the ocean from our room. This picture of Bill and I with Alex and Hayley is right across from our hotel.

Before going to the Polynesian Cultural Center we stopped at BYU Hawaii and the the Temple grounds. Here are Geoff, Emily, Linda, Don, Alex and Hayley in front of the temple.