At Blair's wedding in May 2010.

At this time Grandma had given up smoking and was using electronic ciggarettes, which she would demonstrate to anyone who was willing to watch!

At Grandma's house in Moses Lake in 2009. The kids LOVED the beautiful green grass in her backyard, and the fact that her freezer was chock full of ice cream.

I wish I had more pictures to put up of my wonderful Grandma! I was so blessed to have her in my life. She was a constant presence, even during the years she was living so far away in Washington, D.C. We visited her there twice as a family in elementary school. The second time they lived there, my high school band went on a trip to D.C. and Grandma & Papa came to all our events and also took me out to dinner during that short trip.
I remember when the movie version of the X-Files came out ... FEMA was the villan in that film. Ha! That was where my Grandma worked, how could it be bad? Grandma was always pretty technology saavy for her age and she sent lots of e-mails (mostly forwards!). As her computer aged, she mostly just played solitaire. She taught me to play several versions of solitaire with real cards when I was young, an amazingly rare skill these days.
When Kelly & I were pretty young, Grandma heard that we liked marinated artichoke hearts. So the next time we spent the night at her & Papa's apartment, she served real steamed artichokes. Not quite the same thing! I'm sure our response was less than gracious. But I still remember how sweet she was to make us that. Grandma's refrigerator was always something of a running joke. When we were very small, my mom cleaned their apartment, this was in the city. I remember her cleaning out the frige and finding things several YEARS old. Grandma loved blue cheese and it was speculated that she was trying to make her own moldy cheese in the back of her frige.
Another memorable part of spending the night at Grandma Jeanne's was that the next morning she would French braid our hair. Grandma was a pro at this. It was a painful and eyebrow-raising experience. I wish I had asked her to teach me to French braid AnneMarie's hair.
I am happy for Grandma that she is at home with the Lord and reunited with Papa in Heaven, but she will be missed! I am grateful for the times we spent together and the many happy and funny memories I have with her.