Sunday, April 6, 2014

Great Memories Great Places


Enjoying Grand Geyser, Yellowstone
Great Memories extend through the years. Our vacations with Mom Gloria and Dad Cory have always been exciting from Callao, Utah, to Promontory Point –from Bryce Canyon to Vernal, Utah –From Yellowstone to Stanley, Idaho –from the Hill Cummorah Pageant to the Manti Pageant –Kirtland, Ohio to Nauvoo, Illinois –from Niagara Falls to Palmyra, New York, and last but not least, “This is the Place Monument” and onto Big Mountain where the pioneers first saw the Salt Lake Valley.  We had many picnics up in the beautiful mountains talking about how the pioneers made it to the Salt Lake Valley.  Every day is a holiday with Gloria.  Gloria makes me smile –especially when we would attend the German Credit Union Dance together, and I thoroughly enjoyed doing the chicken dance with Mom and Dad.  Happy Birthday Gloria, you are loved.  Love,
Donna
Mack's Inn, Idaho
Stanley, Idaho

No Match For This Enchilada!

When I first started dating Darell I ate over at the Bagley’s home.  Gloria said, “She was serving enchiladas and told me it wasn’t very spicy”.  Well when I tasted this yummy meal my mouth was on fire!  Being raised with meat and potatoes, and mild kind of meals, I was no match for this Mexican dish.  Through the years I have enjoyed everything Gloria has cooked.  Gloria has had lots of experiences cooking for her family along with many years, cooking for the Heather Restaurant making and creating the most amazing meals.  She can take food storage from the cellar and make the most appetizing meal.  Thank you for showing me some of your great cooking skills.  I know you’re the best mother-in-law in the world.  Happy Birthday Mom Gloria!  Love,
Donna

Mom's photo taking skills

Mom has a unique way of taking photos.  No mater where she is standing she is always too close.  When she realizes she is too close, she leans back rather than just taking a step back.


We love you!

Pies

I appreciated Mom's cooking but I especially enjoyed her baking. Mom helped me learn to love pies at an early age.  Mom worked as a professional pie maker at The Heather in order to help pay for Cor's and Darell's missions.  But even before that Mom was a great pie maker.

Pies were a big part of my youth.  With Mom's help and influence I became kind of a pie connoisseur and a pie fanatic... a pie guy. 

Mom taught me how to make pie crusts so they were flakey and just right.  You have to use ice-water and you definitely cannot over mix the dough or use too much water. You have to cut up the mixture of Crisco and flour by mashing with a fork.  I was making my own pies by the time I was twelve and some may remember the chocolate dream pies I made. 

I preferred pies over cakes for my birthdays.  There are photos of me and my pies.  I don't have the photos with me but I can visualize me sitting at the end of the table with three pies in front of me, each pie with 3 or 4 candles in them, and my arms stretched out to embrace them. I'm sure I had a big smile on my face too. My favorite was banana cream pie.  Mom made the best banana cream pies.

I really looked forward to Thanksgiving.  Real people, good people, look forward to Thanksgiving because they can be with relatives and think about things they are grateful for but for me it was all about the pies.  Maybe that's not all that bad, I am thankful for pie.

I was a pie spy.  I think Mom made me that way because she made me love pies.

There was one Sunday where we went to visit one of Dad's friends.  We would sometimes do this on Sunday's.  We would pile into Dad's yellow Subaru... like 6 of us in a 4 passenger car.  Mom, Dad, Joann, Susan, me and Charles.  This was while Cor and Darell were on their missions.  We went to visit Dad's friend Alan Hyde.  Mom asked if any of us kid's wanted to go in or just wait in the car.  I volunteered to go in.  I'm not sure if I thought it would be interesting or if it was because I was hungry and thought maybe I could score some food.  Anyway, while Mom and Dad were visiting I was wandering around their house and in no time I spotted a pie.  So I went and grabbed Mom and pointed out the pie to her.  She knew what to do.  She very politely asked the Hyde's if it would be ok if I could have a piece of pie.  To my joy, they said it would be ok.  They asked if the rest of the family would like to come in for some pie so Mom went outside to get the rest of the family.  She called to them "Matt found a pie" and that they could come in now to have some.  It was almost like it was my mission to find that pie that day. I needed it, we all needed it.

Later after I was married and had my own family.  We moved away to Kansas City.  We moved just a few months before Thanksgiving.  As Thanksgiving neared, I was missing Utah and Mom and Dad and the rest of the family.  I was also missing pie, Mom's pie.  Especially Mom's apple pie.  Once while talking to Mom on the phone, I mentioned how I missed her apple pies.  A few days later a fresh apple pie showed up in the mail!  It was Mom's apple pie, the best.  It was amazing because the pie was perfect and virtually unharmed by the shipping process.  This is classic Mom, full of love. She wanted to please me and make me happy.  She wasn't worried that the USPS would mess up the pie.  She didn't pack it very well, just a box and some saran wrap.  She just wanted to serve and she had faith.  We very much enjoyed that pie, probably more than any other pie.

Matt

Happy 80th Birthday!  We love you,

Matt & Maria, Taffin, Madi, Sydney and Lance

Always so Cheerful and Welcoming!

Happy Birthday Grandma Gloria,
When I think of you....I  think of your smile and how warm and welcoming you are, every time I see you! You have taken care of us and shown your love on so many occasions.  You always remember every birthday and occasion.  I will always be grateful for your help when we had very young children and that you even let us live with you for a few months.  You have always been so very sweet and kind.  Thank you for the support you have given our missionaries, it has been so greatly appreciated!  We wish we could live closer and see you more often!  Thanks for being such a wonderful Mom and Grandmother!  Happy Birthday!LOVE, Maria

Mom remembers our birthdays

The title of the blog (Lighthouse Keeping) and the lead story seem to indicate that we are allowed to poke a little fun at Mom.  Well here are a couple that I remember having a good laugh about.

Mom has always been so kind to remember all of our birthdays, including all the grandchildren and I'm sure great grandchildren... although I'm not involved in that department so I'm not 100% sure.  We have always appreciated the cards, gifts and the checks. One birthday, not too long after we had moved away, we received a birthday check that I wasn't sure how to cash.  We wondered if it would be rejected or put on hold by the bank.  We weren't sure if it would send up some kind of fraud alert or bounce back at mom's credit union.  In the end, I think we just asked mom for a  new check.

She had signed it "Gloria Birthday".

Later, for Sydney's 12th birthday she received a card from grandma that kinda made us wonder what was going on back home. 

Mom had signed the card...

"...Our Love, Grandpa & Grandpa Bagley"




Mom, Happy 80th Birthday, we love you so much. 

Love,
Matt, Maria, Taffin, Madi, Sydney & Lance

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Christmas Parties

Some of my favorite memories of grandma are the Christmas parties. I remember acting out the birth of the savior with my cousins. Grandma always put together such great Christmas parties.
Love,
Nathan Pugsley