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| Four generations: great-grandma, grandma, mommy and Elise |
Elise is the fifth generation first-born girl on her mom's side of the family. This is the first and only photo of all of us first born girls together. I love the photo and will cherish this memory for years to come. Great-grandma absolutely loved getting the opportunity to meet her first great-granddaughter! She was all smiles and laughs in the company of little Elise. She commented on how she is, "a precious little doll" and "adorable, just like her mommy". Great-grandma passed on just a few weeks after this photo was taken. She will be missed tremendously, but her memories will always live on. I sing Elise the same nighttime lullaby she used to sing to me as a little girl. Every time I sing it, I think of her and smile.
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Great-grandma and grandpa on their wedding day
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The happy pair vacationing in Hawaii
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| Proud grandparents with their first granddaughter; chubby momma! |
Elise will grow up hearing plenty of stories about her amazing great-grandparents. They were undoubtedly two of the most special people in my life and I shared so many incredible childhood memories with them. Elise will hear all about mommy's summer visits to the farm in South Dakota, her myriad of animals, ice cream nights at Lake Norden, feeding the baby calves, nightly sunset watching, swimming at Starlight, pocket gopher and woodchuck detail, mommy driving the tractor mower, hunting for arrowheads at Lake Albert, mommy forcing uncle Colin to catch mice for her to keep as pets, the playground in Watertown, grandpa's motorcycle rides, library days at SDSU in Brookings, putting on outdoor plays for the grandparents, hide-and-seek in the old barn, riding on the tractor and combine with grandpa during the harvest season, grandma's mosquito net, horseback riding, grandpa - "the sea monster", deer watching at sunrise, grandpa's nightly story-telling and grandma's comforting lullabies, the tide pools at Laguna beach, duck-feeding at the creek, trips to Knott's Berry Farm, Pismo beach outings, and the list goes on and on. We have so many great memories together and I miss them dearly, but I find happiness in knowing that Elise will someday share similar ones with her own grandparents.
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| Great-grandma with mommy as a toddler |
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| Great-grandpa took mommy for her first horse back lesson! |
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Young mommy and uncle Colin at the farm
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| Driving the John Deere |
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Riding grandpa's motorcycle
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| Great-grandparents with mommy and daddy in 2003 |
