Old Photos

I love old photos of the family. My Aunt has been scanning old photos of the family for the last few years and I appreciate each and every one. It makes me appreciate my heritage, and I'm not talking about my ancestors from way back when, I'm talking about my parents and their parents.

For instance, this is a photo of my Mom talking with one of her grandfathers while six of her children (eventually there will be eight of us) are posing for the picture. I appreciate this picture for many reasons, one is simply because we are holding still and posing for a picture while my Mother is not. How many, many times in recent years has she expressed her frustration that her children won't let her take pictures













I also appreciate this picture because it reminds me of the one time I got to meet my great-grandfather, who lived in Nogales, AZ, if my memory is correct. Lastly, I appreciate this picture because of cute little Rebecca and the cans she is holding to her ears..... such a Rebecca Joan thing to do.


Here's another great photo; this one is of my Dad and his parents. I love this photo because I can see, not only the face of my brother in this young picture of my Dad, but also the face of my two sons. It's so amazing to see the resemblance of our children to their grandparents through old photos. My grandfather's smile has carried through to Evan and Tori. I can see their smile in his face.





















Here's a photo that's really not so old. It was taken in 2006 during a family reunion in California. We don't have all of my siblings in the picture, we're missing Rebecca and Nan, but it's the most recent picture with the majority of siblings and their children.

We've really got to work harder to get another picture with all the siblings and their children.

When I look at this photo I can't help but think of how far we've come from the humble beginnings of my parents, to a crazy home life with eight children, to our own individual families. My Mother is the daughter of a dairy farmer in Gilbert, AZ and my Father is the son of a firefighter in Sierra Madre CA. Together they provided a stable home for eight crazy children, seven of them being daughters.














Our lovely parents provided us with a stable, loving home; a home that allowed us to be creative while finding ways to entertain ourselves. Life wasn't always perfect but I appreciate the sacrifice of my parents and I really appreciate the memories I have from growing up at home. Memories that could fill a book and keep you laughing.

Just the memories of the variety of pets we had at home, just those memories alone could fill a book. Pets ranging from the typical cat (always there was a cat), dogs, turtle, rabbit, chickens, birds, mice, and hamsters.

For instance, the memory of the chicken roosting on the bumper of the family station wagon while we were driving through the city of Orem. It's true... I don't lie. Mom was driving with me and Alison as passengers. People kept honking at us and we honestly were confused; confused up until we pulled into the driveway and our neighbor walked over to point out the chicken roosting on the bumper. True story.

My brother was raising chickens as part of his Boy Scout Eagle Project. These chickens occasionally escaped the coop and wandered the yard and this one decided to take a nap on the car bumper. That's just the tip of the iceberg that is the Clawson Family pets!