Do you remember all of the songs we sang in the car, interspersed with games of ZIP and quarrels over who really got that white horse worth 5 points and being scrunched and someone always pulling someone's hair, and Jeff teasing and making kids scream?? We sang "Clickety-clack kalunk kalunk , the train is coming, kachunk kachunk...",  "Over the river and through the woods...",  and all of our Christmas repertoire, when we went for the holidays.  We sang songs from "The Sound of Music", "Oklahoma", "Annie Get Your Gun", "Peter Pan" and any other records we had at home.  I know this probably doesn't sound too familiar to the younger kids as some of the songs changed over the years.  We sang "When I came to this wondrous land, I was not a wealthy man...", learned from the Mckees and sung around the campfires along with "Late Last Night",  and "Old Joe Clark" and " The Animals Having a Barn Dance". I've taught our children some of these and it's been such a sweet "full circle" moment to hear them belting those songs out at the top of their lungs as we drive on vacations or to visit family.  Music is definitely part of my memories of trips to Preston.  Dad was always happiest when we were going there.  I remember him laughing and singing right along with us.  When we got there,( it seems like we usually went to the Palmer house first) and after the greetings, we got to play outside if it was good weather and the barn and the corrals and the trees and the milkshed were so fascinating!  We would play "house" in the pine trees and climb the low apple trees and suck nectar out of Grandma's honeysuckle flowers and put our fingers in the snapdragons and open and close them to talk.  I remember vividly a time when I sat with cousins and cracked open peach pits on top of a wooden trap door by the sidewalk that I think covered an old well.  It was exciting and dangerous to whack them with hammers and rocks and eat the nut inside. When it was winter, we were usually sent to the back room to play while the adults visited, and playing "Phone" with the string that came out of the old heat register quickly LOST it's fascination.... so you moved on to the duck with the ball stuck inside but attempts to remove it were fruitless and you found yourself bored and wandering to the front room where you were told to, "Get to the back room!!!".  I found an old picture tucked behind other pictures a few years ago that shows Amy and Jeff and I and Melanie all dressed in old chore clothes and feeding Albert the lamb from a green 7UP bottle.  It brought back early memories of going out to watch chores being done and observing intently as the cows walked in to their stanchions, and the milk machine latched on to the udders (I'm trying to word this delicately) and started the milk going through all the tubes into the other room where the big machine stirred it around and around.  We would squat down against the wall and watch the other stuff that comes out of cows( please note again the delicacy of the wording) as it fell into the trench behind them and someone with a square shovel would start at the north side and slide it all down to the south wall and out of the barn. So very thrilling for the city cousins to see how the country cousins lived!!  There was Prince, Grandpa's big red horse that I dreamed of using for my reign as THE FAMOUS PRESTON NIGHT RODEO QUEEN and Pud, the huge furry dog like the one on Bug's Bunny who blows his fur out of his eyes every once in a while to see what Wile E. Coyote is doing to his sheep. I think everyone remembers homemade bread and real butter and cream that made mush into manna from heaven, bacon or sausage and eggs, and Mulligan, and the older kids will remember Poohah (sp?)  Rhubarb pie with cream  was another favorite from Grandma's table as well as any roast beef and mashed potatoes and gravy dinner that she ever made. Sometimes there were unfamiliar vegetables, but if you put butter and salt on just about anything it tastes alright?!?  I didn't like horseradish or raw onions or liver or fat on meat or buttermilk but I was forced to try them all.  I had to try to swallow an aspirin one time at their house and I think I almost threw up and Grandma was so mad.  Haven't you heard of a gag reflex Grandma?? Grandpa Palmer always talked about his mission to New Zealand  and even did the warrior thing with the scary face and tongue hanging out which was cool.  Grandma pulled out her fake teeth to make a face sometimes too, which was good, because it let me know they had a sense of humor.  I kind of wondered when I was little. They were strict and harsh at times which was bewildering to us and stressful for Mom, but I knew they loved me.  I loved the familiarity of their home with its old pictures always in the same place and the player piano that was so fun to hide under and slide open the panel and see the gears and music roller.  I loved the old rocking chairs and the interesting decor.  Amy,  do you remember that red dish that had a tiny cat hanging on to the side, looking down into the bowl?  All of the ancient dishes and pans and the table and chairs that we knelt at for family prayers before we ate.  And the upstairs!!   It was so exciting to explore the old chests of drawers and see old pencil cases and medals and pictures and sleep in Aunt Pauline's big white bed with the fairy silhouette hanging on the wall across from you.  And the ancient bathroom with very old fixtures and a scary tub that was rarely used. When we were very young, Grandma made two little crocheted blue snow hats for Amy and I.  They sat on top of our head and tied under our chins and had ringlets dangling down the back of our head. We looked like little old-fashioned pioneer girls and we loved them. I think she made some little crocheted bassinets for a tiny baby doll that you turned inside out and it was a purse with a drawstring.  One of my favorite things from Grandma and Grandpa's house was a book about Elves and Fairies--the pictures were so interesting!!  When we lived there by Grandma I found it one day and she told me to take it home to read to my kids.  So I did --AND I KEPT IT!!  Don't tell the cousins!  No memories of Grandma and Grandpa Palmer's house would be complete without mentioning Joel and Lois and their family.  Such a busy, happy, crazy family--such good hearts.  I remember Uncle Joel always teasing and making his faces and swatting Aunt Lois on the rear (shocking!!) and telling his funny stories with plenty of colorful "farm profanity" thrown in that really kept our attention.  Aunt Lois was always right by his side in her coveralls, helping with the milking and all the chores and taking care of a growing family.  She seemed so happy all of the time and it was so fun to hear her laugh--especially when teasing Joel.  When we went for reunions, they were the only adults that were playing the games and running races with all of the kids and we had so much fun with them.  It's kind of like Shawn, who is also the youngest, and can't understand why we aren't all sliding on the water slide with the kids anymore?!? Another memory is General Conference time. We always spent it there and it was hard when I was little to sit and listen without a bingo game and treat to help move things along.  But I will never forget the time I sat as a teenager and listened to Elder Bruce R. McConkie give his last conference address.  I told my Sunday School class that I remembered the exact spot I was sitting in when he bore his testimony. I will never forget the way I felt as the Spirit bore witness to me that this man knew the Savior.  It was a defining moment in my life and I'm so grateful for it.  I guess one of the reasons this is so long is that I lived next door to Grandma the last few years of her life and I got to re-live some childhood memories as an adult watching my children grow up there.  Part II of this EPIC memory will continue later........OK,  it's been a few days and it's 11:06 pm and Kaden and Troy are working on my kitchen so I might as well try to finish.  Now, for Grandpa and Grandma Craner's.  What fun it was to head over to their house!!  There was a seemingly young, energetic Grandpa that wore short-sleeved, plaid shirts and had brown curly hair who laughed and closed one eye when he laughed, like he was winking at you.  He would put Amy and I in the green cart with two wheels and a red handle and push us all over the yard while we screamed and laughed.  Then, he would stop abruptly and slide us out the front onto the ground.  He pulled out all of the yard toys in the summer-- hoppity horses, badminton, frisbees, balls, throw and catch gadgets, and the old wooden rocking horse.  In the winter there was Mr. Potatohead (the original) made of Styrofoam that he made copies of when there were more kids than potatoheads.  There was the old Feeley Meeley game with holes lined with black felt on the sides of the boxes to put your hands in and feel all of the objects inside and guess what you were holding.  There was the mouse trap game that took a long time to set up and a short time to play, and the cash register, and the merry-go-round, and the ferris wheel. The blue poodle and the big red bear were there for many years and it was always fun to look at Grandma's beautiful Madame Alexander Doll collection.  Amy and I got to stay overnight a few times in the early days and we loved the cute little room with the matching blue ruffled bedspreads and the cupboard with shelves in the middle displaying the dolls.  There was a cute little blue stuffed rabbit on the bed that had a bumblebee on it's ear and it played " Lullaby, and good night..." and moved it's ear around like it was trying to get the bee off.  I would wind that bunny up over and over to keep from getting homesick when we stayed there.  I think Amy already mentioned the Frankenberry and Count Chocula and Booberry cereal that we had with cans of evaporated milk poured on top.  YUM-- back then, ARE YOU KIDDING ME???--now!  I remember how we sat and watched as Grandma bathed her feet in a basin and not long after that, it was one foot, and then there were no legs from the knee down.  That was very intriguing for little girls to consider and I'm sure we asked too many questions and stared too much.  Now, there was a walker and a wheelchair to examine and maybe play with when no one was around.  I don't have many memories of Grandma Craner other than that.  I know we loved the presents she got for us and appreciated them (remember our "granny dresses" Amy?) but I don't remember cuddles or endearments from her.  I knew she loved beautiful things and had lots of cool knick-knacks all over the house and the presents under the Christmas tree were all so beautifully wrapped.  But I don't remember her personality or the way she talked or laughed and interacted with us.  I realize now that she probably didn't feel well, but I don't think she knew how to enjoy children either.  She is a little bit of a mystery to me.  I do remember the morning Mom woke us up either for the funeral or to tell us she had passed away that I felt like I had just closed my eyes to sleep and the light flipped on and it was morning and we needed to get up to go to Preston because of her passing.  My first experience with death--I guess that's why it's such a strong memory.  Grandpa came up to our house a little more often to help with projects and "teach Jeffrey".  We canned a lot of corn and peaches and cherries and beans and found out Grandpa put salt on watermelon and cantaloupe and sugar on tomatoes!!  Weird!!  It was still fun to go to his house and play all the games and Amy and I played with the next door neighbor girl.  We dressed up in the old hats and pointy shoes and fur coats and Grandpa took our picture.  He was always taking our pictures and I am so grateful now because many of my growing up years and my children's are documented because of him.  I remember going with him to a store in Preston one day and they had samples of Dr. Pepper and he gave me some.  He always had Pringles, Nutter-Butters, and Creamies.  We always had reserved seats at the Rodeo Parade and the Rodeo (which, after living in Preston these many years, I know is no small feat).It was such a treat to receive some money to buy our own hamburger and drink and a Casco.  One sweet memory for me as a child is riding in the backseat of a car with him and holding his hand.  He had veins like I have now, and I would push on one and it slowly moved back into place and I did it over and over again.  I realize that doesn't sound very sweet, but the fact that we were sitting together, holding hands and that he smiled at me as I looked up at him means a lot to me.... I know this has turned into more than just trips to Grandparents' houses, but this is family history for me and I want my children to have lots of details to get to know them better.  I feel thankful that we lived by both Grandma Palmer and Grandpa Craner the last few years of their lives and that my older children have some memories of them.  They all need to write theirs--some are pretty funny! I love you all!