Happy Birthday to our best Grandma Farnsworth - who is hopefully getting to celebrate it somehow with Grandpa and Mike!!
Thanks to all of you who sent pictures and memories of Grandma! There are definitely enough stories and pictures to fill many books, but here are just a handful of fun things to remember about Grandma.
Ron:
I loved that Mom always cooked meals made from scratch and as we all know, she was a great cook! We always got to pick our birthday meals and desserts and she we go out of her way to make sure it was just perfect!
It was also a treat to get home from school on the day she had made bread. She would let me cut a super thick slice (or two or three) of a warm out of the oven loaf of bread that I would cover with butter and honey eat with a glass of cold milk!!!
She would probably be mad at me for this, but one of my favorite quotes is still, "Give me those damn dolls!" Only time I ever heard Mom swear. Wish I could say the same about me!
Lizzy:
My favorite memories of Grandma was around the Holidays. I love how she always made sure the kids had fun with games, prizes and so much more. I always looked forward to her AMAZING home cooked FOOD!! She always centered her life around her Family!! I will forever be grateful for the amazing example she sets for me. Families together Forever!!!
Bingo Time!!
This is Liz's little girl, Thea, who Liz found asleep with the program from Grandma's funeral. 💕
Maddie:
I think in Grandma’s ideal situation, she won’t be seeing any computers or blog posts from where she is, but if somehow she’s figured out wifi in heaven and makes an exception for us, I would love to say hi Grandma! I love you and miss you every day!
Like many of us, I have many fond memories with our grandma.
I loved playing scrabble with grandma. She was superb at it too. Years ago I scrapbooked one of our games. I’m glad I did. As you can see, she kicked my butt. I’ll attach with it another scrapbooked page with some cute, cute photos of her.
A funny memory that comes to mind is one of the times she put me on the phone with the DirectTV guy to fix something on her TV. I was around 14 I think and this older guy sounded like a creep. He was asking me all about the “boys at my school” and if I “liked them.” I was pretty scarred and I remember getting the courage to ask grandma “can I not talk to them again?” We laughed together about that moment several times.
Lastly I loved seeing her plan out Christmas for us grandkids. I remember one year hanging out at her house while she was hunting down pajamas for all of us. We got on the computer and she hated using a mouse. But she was so thoughtful in each pair she searched for. She knew everyone’s size, favorite show or movie, and what stores might have the right ones. That was so loving to me. There are a lot of us and it was no easy feat. She loved making things fun for us and I will forever be thankful to her for that.
One of my top favorite things about grandma is how good she is at gathering all of us. I love you all and miss you!! Maddie
Grandma did everything she could to be there for special occasions and family events as her kids and grandkids (and then great grandkids) got older and had lots of things going on. She was quite the adventurer and always made us feel special by being there with us for fun events.
Dillon:
Grandma hosted so many fun spendovers for us kids. She’d make several trips upstairs to make us popcorn and treats. One spendover she took Hardy, Truman, McKinley and I to Walmart and got us each our own two liter soda. We went back and watched Home Alone. In the mornings she always made us breakfast that was usually some really good pancakes or waffles with eggs, bacon, and milk and juice. Grandma always made it a blast, and always brought out the better part in me when I was around her.
Mo:
So many memories of grandma. Some of my favorite was from our trip to Boston. Grandma bargained a price on some Wizard of Oz musical dolls that I wanted from a gift shop in Salem...😅 I still have the dolls and think of how much effort she went into bargaining the price for me to have them haha. The dolls remind me of her as well because I know she liked the Wizard of Oz and the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Still one of my favorite movies. 🥰
From Tiana -
Speaking of movies and Grandma... One time Grandma made a little trip to Boise and brought some of the cousins to visit us,
As it was getting closer to time for them to head back home, us kids were all trying to think of a way to stall so we could have a little bit longer together.
We got desperate so we quickly ran to the movie case and grabbed the first movie we could ("Annie"), turned it on, and fast-forwarded it about halfway in so it would look like we'd been watching it all along.
Grandma came down to gather up the cousins and head out but we showed her that we were in the middle of a movie and asked if they could stay until the movie was over.
Being the good grandma she was, she told us we could finish but then they had to get going. So even though we didn't necessarily want to sit and watch "Annie", it was better than having the cousins leave! :)
Keith:
Mom was always willing to sing a song to us right as we went down for the night. I can see her silhouette with back lighting from the hall as she would stand in the doorway. Somewhere Over the Rainbow was probably my favorite. She had a good singing voice. Always made me feel loved.
Shelle:
I always appreciated mom whenever we moved into a different house. She would come and clean or paint or wall paper the walls. And the best part was when she would organize the kitchen for me. I was always totally impressed with moms organizational skills. ❤❤
More from Tiana:
One time when Grandma and Grandpa came to Boise they had Becky with them and Grandma took us kids to the Cracker Barrell and let us pick out something from the little gift shop.
Becky and I found a block of fudge that we thought sounded good so we chose that and on the (short) drive home we sat in the back of the van and excitedly ate it...all of it.
Shortly before we got back home Grandma, who was driving, said to us in the back, "Hey girls, when we get home let's crack open that fudge and see how it tastes!"
Becky and I looked at each other guiltily as we realized that we hadn't even stopped to think that anyone else was gong to want to try our fudge!
Eventually one of us had to break the news to Grandma but I'm sure she just laughed!
We all know Grandma's strong affinity for Tei Fu and all the uses she put it to.
One day several years ago, a younger Dillon was telling David Salofi how sometimes he felt like Grandma didn't always pay attention to him when he was telling her something. His example went something like:
Dillon: "Grandma, my toe hurts."
Grandma absentmindedly: "Put some Tei Fu on it."
Dillon: "Grandma, my stomach hurts."
Grandma absentmindedly: "Put some Tei Fu on it."
Dillon: "Grandma, my feelings are hurt."
Grandma absentmindedly: "Put some Tei Fu on it."
We also know how much Grandma loved popcorn (heavy on the butter), and sweet treats.
On the morning of Liz and Jacob's sealing in Salt Lake, Grandma and Grandpa, Lisa, Heather, and myself all rode there together early that morning in order to get Grandpa there in time to prepare to seal them.
Because we left early, Grandma had previously gotten a box of donuts for breakfast so we all ate a donut on our way out the door.
By the time we made the drive to Salt Lake and dropped Grandpa off to go get ready, the rest of us were starting to feel a little droopy from our sugary breakfast several hours before.
Grandma led the way to the Lion House and told us to get whatever we wanted for an early lunch before the sealing.
As we first walked in and passed the front counter there was a big basket of ginormous cookies for sale that Grandma had her eye on. But we proceeded to keep moving and found a table and ordered lunch.
We were feeling much better so some of us ordered a little dessert for after lunch but after a few bites decided we were done. So Grandma made sure to clean up the treats we couldn't finish - and bought a huge cookie on the way out, that she opened up right away and started sampling.
You could always count on Grandma to be up for a good treat!!
Grandma and Grandpa always made an effort to attend or help with various events going on with the family. Anything from dance recitals to
bridal showers,
birthdays,
and holidays!
Basically, all Grandma wanted was to have her family around and provide a fun, happy place for everyone to be together. The gospel and her family were her two greatest treasures and she went to great lengths to make sure there were plenty of get-togethers and activities for everyone.
I heard her say once how happy it made her to look out of her kitchen window and see the pool full of kids having fun.
Holidays were always so special and somehow Grandma was always able to make sure there was a place for every single person - no matter how big the family got!!
Every holiday and season had something fun to do and Grandma was always behind the scenes making it extra special and exciting.
I still remember the smell of the upstairs bedroom at the end of the hall when I was little and it was Christmas time. I got to sneak in there with my mom and Shelle to get a little homemade treat. Grandma was storing all the cookies, caramels, bonbons, toffee, and other goodies back there. The room was dark and chilly and smelled so good! It felt a little bit magical.
Grandma with us in the Atlantic Ocean during our visit to her and Grandpa during their mission.
Summers at the Farm were some of my favorites and usually David and I got to go stay for several days each summer. It didn't get much better than that!
One of the things about Grandma is that she had a way to make the impossible possible. The year that Grandma and Grandpa were leaving for their mission, Grandma asked my dad what I wanted for my birthday. I told them I wanted "The Standards" and guess what - that's exactly what I got!!
Grandma surprised the whole family and got everyone together for a birthday party and had The Standards there as the special guests - even serving them birthday pie after the performance.
Grandma was up for trying all kinds of things!
Don't forget Grandma's donuts!! She made them to perfection and will always be a legend for that!
Grandma in Nauvoo!
Hardy told us that he used to prank call Grandma all the time and talk to her in the Napoleon Dynamite voice.
One time he asked Grandma (who didn’t know it was Hardy) if he could talk to Jose.
Grandma told him that she didn’t think there was a Jose there but, in his Napoleon voice, Hardy said, “Could you just go get him, please?”
Then he heard Grandma calling Grandpa to ask if there was a Jose there - which Grandpa assured her that there wasn’t. Grandma and Hardy went back and forth about it for a while...😂
Hardy also thought it was funny when Grandma had gone to see “The Book of Eli” then asked Jana if she had ever seen it. Jana said she hadn’t since she doesn’t typically watch R rated movies. Hardy said Grandma acted a little innocent about seeing it for a minute and then went on to explain why it was such a good movie.
McKinley said that one year Kelani and Cody went to see him on his birthday so they all went to the Farm to watch a movie. They found the “Taken” series down there so they put one on and pretty soon Grandma shuffled down with a handful of popcorn and saw what they were watching and exclaimed, “I love the “Taken” movies! I know they’re rated R but...those guys needed to die.” (The best part was that the movies aren’t even R rated)!)
It’s true though! Grandma was always up to watch a good movie, no matter the time of day!
I also love that Grandma loved to read and read everything from the kid books her grandkids were interested in, to the deep doctrine books of the church.
Not to mention all the awesome Harry Potter parties Grandma had and how much she loved to sit and watch Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings with anyone who was interested.
Happy Birthday!!
Thank you for the happy life and the love you have for each of us!
We love you a bushel and a peck!!
